Today’s teens are ready to become readers—if we give them the skills and help them discover the motivation.
Zinc started with a problem our founder, former English teacher Matt Bardin, couldn't ignore: students could read the words on the page without really understanding what they were reading.
More assignments weren't fixing it. More practice wasn't fixing it. Students needed to learn what strong readers actually do while they read.
So we built Zinc.
It started in an English classroom.
Matt saw students doing everything that looked like reading—decoding the words, turning the pages, offering vaguely related answers to the questions—without real comprehension.
That disconnect became the problem Zinc set out to solve.
Zinc’s founder and former English teacher Matt Bardin breaks down the hidden teen reading challenge: comprehension.
The next big question.
We've built tools that help students make real reading growth in a remarkably short time. Students learn concrete strategies to comprehend challenging texts, build stamina and confidence, and become more capable readers.
But we know that putting the right tools in front of students isn't enough.
What would it take to make ELA class a place where teenagers develop not just stronger reading skills, but a deeper sense of motivation, agency, and purpose?
This February we're bringing educators and school leaders together for The New ELA Zinc Design Lab. It’s time to confront the realities of today’s digitally saturated culture—and to build ELA classrooms that respond and provide real meaning in our students’ lives.
Read Matt’s Substack
Learn more about the ideas behind Zinc.