Supporting Readers as Texts Get More Complex with Luke Morin

Episode 252 What actually happens when students encounter a complex text? In this episode, we’re joined by Luke Morin to discuss his article " Wading Into the Deep End: What Reading Actually Requires When the Text Gets Hard ." Luke shares a powerful classroom moment where students applied reading strategies before tackling a tough text and still couldn’t make sense of a single sentence. That experience led him to rethink what it really means to teach reading. In this conversation, we explore: Why using strategies doesn’t guarantee understanding How text complexity is shaped by the interaction between text, reader, and task What collective close reading looks like in practice How to provide “lily pad” supports without rescuing students Luke challenges the idea that comprehension can be reduced to checklists or isolated skills. Instead, he offers a vision of instruction that prepares students to wade into deep water with support, intention, and growing independence. RESOURCES " Wading Into the Deep End: What Reading Actually Requires When the Text Gets Hard " by Luke Morin "A Lily Pad, in Practice" (Collective Close Reading Sample) " Why Mastery...