Breathe, Then Read™
A simple, accessible program designed to strengthen reading comprehension by preparing students to learn. Before every literacy block, students engage in five minutes of guided breathwork to reduce stress, quiet distractions, and improve focus.
When children arrive at reading time calm and attentive, they don’t just read — they understand, retain, and engage more deeply with text.
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Why It Matters The literacy crisis is real — and at its core is a reading comprehension gap.
Across New Jersey, only 53% of students in grades 3–9 passed the Spring 2025 English Language Arts assessment — still below pre-pandemic levels. In Newark public and charter schools, that number drops to 41.7%. Among Newark Public Schools third graders — the critical year when students shift from learning to read to reading to learn — only 27.7% reached proficiency.
New Jersey’s new K–3 literacy screenings reveal early challenges that directly impact comprehension: 43% of students are below grade level, with significant gaps in phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension — the foundational skills needed to make meaning from text. A full report of results will be published by NJDOE Summer, 2026.
At the same time, screen use is reshaping how children process information. National data shows declining reading performance, and research confirms that increased screen time is linked to weaker comprehension and shallow processing. Students may be able to read the words — but struggle to truly understand them.
Why Breathing Makes a Difference
Reading comprehension requires attention, memory, and the ability to process meaning — all of which are impacted by stress and distraction. Slow, guided breathing activates the body’s calming system, helping students settle, focus, and stay present. In just a few minutes, students shift into a state where they can better absorb, interpret, and retain what they read.
Research shows controlled breathing can reduce anxiety, improve mood, lower stress, and strengthen sustained attention — all essential for comprehension.
Bring Breathe, Then Read™ to Your School Support stronger reading outcomes by starting with the breath.
Bring a certified facilitator into your literacy block, or partner with us for literacy fairs, family nights, assemblies, or custom school experiences — all designed to help students read with focus and understand with confidence.
What the Research Shows
Reading Comprehension & Literacy****
The 2024 NAEP — the federal government's gold standard for reading comprehension — found that only 31% of 4th graders nationwide are reading at proficiency, down from 35% in 2019. Screens are a proven factor: A 2025 peer-reviewed study in JAMA Network Open tracking 3,322 children found that higher screen time was directly associated with lower reading achievement on standardized tests.
Spring 2025 English Language Art Assessment revealed that students 3-9th grade literacy proficiency was still below pre-pandemic levels.
Researchers at Columbia University's Teachers College confirmed why: using brain imaging, they found that middle schoolers reading on screens showed shallow processing and weak comprehension — while the same students reading in print showed deep understanding. We skim on screens. We comprehend on paper.
Impact of Breathing on Focus & Comprehension
Stanford Medicine — Five minutes of controlled daily breathing lowered anxiety, improved mood, and produced measurable calm.
NIH / PubMed — Diaphragmatic breathing significantly improved sustained attention and reduced cortisol stress levels.
Harvard Graduate School of Education — Mindfulness breathing reduced classroom stress and lengthened students' attention spans — with brain scans showing measurably less stress reactivity.