Lee Gaul watches his daughter’s lessons during Zoom school and discovers a dismaying truth: She can't read. Little Zoe isn't the only one. Sixty-five percent of fourth graders in the United States are not proficient readers. Kids need to learn specific skills to become good readers, and in many schools, those skills are not being taught.

Read: Emily Hanford’s reading list
Read: Transcript of this episode
Support: Donate to APM Reports
More: soldastory.org
En español: soldastory.es

Sold a Story is proud to be an Apple Podcasts Series Essential. To celebrate, we’re making it available without ads or other announcements for a limited time.

Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.