A couple months ago, my kids and I got hooked on a show called Alone.

The idea is simple. They drop ten people into the middle of nowhere, hand each one a small pile of supplies, and see who can last the longest. That's the whole game. Outlast everyone else.

I'll be honest with you, Niepodam. I wouldn't make it two hours out there, let alone two months. I'm not a wilderness person. But I couldn't stop watching, because somewhere around the third season I noticed something.

It's rarely the toughest person out there, or even the one who wants it most.

The person who wins? They have the same three things every single season.

And the longer I sat with it, the more it hit me. Those three things are the exact same ones we need to teach reading well. Most of us were only ever taught one or two of them, and that's the whole reason teaching reading can feel like being dropped in the freezing cold with a tarp and a prayer.

I break down all three in this week's episode, and show you which one most teachers are missing without even realizing it.