Gina Berry is a Grade 7 ELA Teacher at Andrew Carnegie Middle School in Sacramento, California

This is a guest post by Josh Wittenberger, a 4th grade teacher at Newaygo Elementary School in Michigan. He reached
Every teacher knows that look: the sigh, the slouch, and the question: “Do I have to read this?” Reading often
Many schools have successfully laid the groundwork with the Science of Reading—students are decoding words with fluency and accuracy. But decoding is just the beginning. The next step is helping students make meaning from what they read. That’s where Shoelace Learning steps in.
Shoelace bridges the gap between reading the words and understanding them. Our game-based platform supports comprehension skill-building through adaptive learning, engaging content, and real-time insights for educators. Whether it’s making inferences, identifying main ideas, or connecting background knowledge, Shoelace equips students to think critically about texts—and enjoy the process.