Wednesday Community News #3 · October 21, 2026

Hi Reader,

IN THE COMMUNITY THIS WEEK

Here is one of the most common things parents tell me: "They can read every word. So why don't they understand it?"

I wrote a post in the free community about it, and I would love to hear what you see at home. Does your child read a sentence smoothly and then shrug when you ask what it meant? Come tell me.

Not in the community yet? It's free: join here​

Short on time? Here's the quick version in under two minutes: Why Can My Child Read the Words but Not Understand Them?​

THE MISSING LAYER

When a child can decode but doesn't understand, the gap is often not effort and not attention. A big piece of it can be how the brain handles the building blocks inside words: prefixes, roots and endings. That is called morphology. Once a child can see that "unhappiness" is built from "un," "happy" and "ness," a long, scary word turns into three small pieces they already know.

Never heard the word morphology before? You're not alone. This short video explains it in about a minute.​

One thing to try tonight: pick one long word from your child's reading. Say it out loud, then cover the ending and ask, "What's the little word inside?" Make it a game, not a quiz. Two minutes is plenty.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Phonics Is Working. So Why Isn't Your Child Understanding What They Read?

​

READ THE BLOG POST

"Your Child Can Read But Doesn't Understand? Here's the Missing Layer." The roots to start with, plus the research behind them.

If you want to go deeper, there is a lesson on morphological awareness inside Decoding Your Struggling Reader, one of the courses in the Family Learning Foundation Course.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

If a reading score has ever left you wondering what it actually measures, this one is for you. "The grade felt like a verdict. It wasn't."

💜 Kelly

National Board Certified Teacher · Reading Specialist · Learning in a Distracted World