S4 E3: Scaffolding Complex Text with Dr. Sarah Lupo

From Reading Road Trip by International Dyslexia Association Ontario

July 14, 2025 · 41 min · Season 4 · Episode 3

About this episode

Kate and Dr. Sarah Lupo discuss strategies for supporting adolescent readers with complex texts.

Kate is joined by Dr. Sarah Lupo, and together, they explore how to support adolescent readers across subjects with practical, research-informed strategies. Dr. Lupo discusses the five major challenges that make texts tough for students, shares tools for scaffolding instruction, and explains how to centre identity, language, and purpose in secondary literacy. Whether you're an English, science, or history educator, this episode offers concrete ideas you can apply right away. Links: Tackling Tough Texts by Sarah Lupo, Dan Reynolds, and Christine Hardigree On the Trapline by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy – Special Issue on Foundational Skills (Guest Edited by Dr. Lupo)

People in this episode

Host: Kate

Guest: Dr. Sarah Lupo

Topics covered

adolescent literacy
scaffolding instruction
complex texts
educational strategies
identity in literacy

Keywords

scaffolding
adolescent readers
literacy
educational strategies
complex texts

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Tackling Tough Texts, On the Trapline, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy