Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Melissa and Lori Love Literacy is a podcast for educators interested in learning more about the science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum! Join Melissa Loftus and Lori Sappington every Friday as we tackle new ways of thinking about how to teach reading and writing. Most of our experience has been in the classroom from primary through high school, but we also have experience at district and state leadership levels in literacy. Our guests include school-based educators and leaders, district leaders, literacy researchers and experts, and passionate parents and community members. Visit our website: www.literacypodcast.com
In this bonus episode, we're bringing you research right from the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) conference, one of the biggest gatherings of reading researchers in the world. We break down the key takeaways, emerging trends, and standout research that caught our attention, and talk about what it all means for your classroom. If you want to know where the science of reading is headed next, this one's for you.
Resources Mentioned
- Words as Tools (coming soon)
- Reading Ready + Reading Go
- How To Plan for Differentiated Instruction (ACCESS Reading)
- Anderson & Strong (2026)
- Jake Downs is the host of the Teaching Literacy Podcast (it's a M&L favorite!)
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 257
Why do so many students appear to thrive in early literacy, only to stall by middle school?
In this episode, we talk with Rebecca Kockler to unpack what literacy data from Louisiana revealed about a common but often misunderstood pattern: strong early reading results followed by flat or declining comprehension growth in later grades.
At the center of the conversation is the concept of the Decoding Threshold: the point at which students can read words accurately and automatically enough to access grade-level text and grow in comprehension.
Rebecca explains:
- What happens when students never fully cross that threshold
- Why decoding instruction must continue through middle school
- How multisyllabic decoding becomes a critical turning point around fourth grade
- The powerful connection between morphology, vocabulary, and spelling
- Why fluency is the first true step of application
- How reader identity influences students’ willingness to grapple with challenging text
- What effective assessment actually looks like for older readers
You’ll walk away with practical strategies to support multisyllabic decoding, vocabulary and spelling development, integrated fluency practice, & tier 1 instruction that adapts to increasing language complexity.
If you’ve ever wondered why students who “learned to read” struggle later — this conversation will reshape how you think about literacy instruction in elementary and middle school.
Resources
- Resources for Educators
- Why "Learn to Read, Read to Learn" Fails Older Readers - And How To Fix It
- Action Guide for Educators
- ROAR
- Standards & Instructional Practices
- We Never Stop Learning to Read by Chase Young (blog)
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 256
Faith Howard shares practical strategies for improving literacy skills in middle and high school students, focusing on decoding multisyllabic words, spelling routines, and fluency practices. This episode offers actionable insights for educators aiming to enhance reading comprehension and word attack skills.
Resources
- Encoding & Decoding with Word Pyramids Blog
- I Was Doing Fluency Wrong - Until I Made It About Knowledge Blog
- Teachers Teach Teachers | Science of Reading YouTube Channel Video
- Read Like Us Podcast Episode with Jake Downs & Chase Young
- Tight Ten Article
- Literacy Lab with Faith Facebook Page
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
If you’ve ever wondered how to help your students decode longer words, this episode is for you! We’re joined by literacy researcher and professor Devin Kearns to talk all about teaching multisyllabic words.
Many phonics programs focus on single-syllable words, but what happens when students hit big words and get stuck? Devin unpacks the research behind why that happens and what we can do instead. We talk about:
- flexible decoding strategies,
- when and how to teach syllables and morphemes,
- and what “set for variability” really looks like in the classroom (spoiler: it’s not guessing!).
You’ll walk away with practical, research-backed ideas to help your students read longer words with confidence.
Devin M. Kearns, Ph.D., is the Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy at NC State, where he studies early reading and collaborates with experts in psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience to explore the brain basis of reading.
RESOURCES
- Helping Students With Dyslexia Read Long Words: Using Syllables and Morphemes by Devin M. Kearns and Victoria M. Whaley
- Following the Rules in an Unruly WritingSystem: The Cognitive Science ofLearning to Read Englishby Devin M. Kearns and Matthew J. Cooper Borkenhagen
- Syllable Division: New Data that Can Inform Intervention by Joanne Marttila Pierson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
- On Eating Elephants and Teaching Syllabication by Tim Shanahan
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Connect with us! Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 255
Experts Don Compton & Laura Steacy explore the complexities of multisyllabic word reading and the decoding challenges older readers encounter, especially those with dyslexia. They discuss how readers navigate complex words using different decoding strategies, the role of morphology and “set for variability” in reading development, and how tools like the DELP database help predict word difficulty. The episode offers practical insights into supporting literacy development and improving instruction for struggling readers.
Resources
- D-ELP Tool
- FCRR Student Center Activities
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 254
In this episode, we sit down with kindergarten teacher Anjanette McNeely to take a close look at one powerful instructional routine: word chaining.
Anjanette walks us through exactly what word chaining looks like in her classroom, from the materials she uses to the language she says, and explains why this routine is such an effective way to build both phonemic awareness and phonics at the same time.
We also explore how word chaining supports orthographic mapping, why connecting sounds to print matters, and how small instructional shifts, like continuous blending and interleaving, can have a big impact on student learning.
Whether you're new to word chaining or looking to refine your practice, this episode offers practical ideas you can try right away.
Resources
- Word Chaining: An Efficient and Effective Alternative to Oral Phonemic Awarenessby Anjanette McNeely: Blog post about word chaining and a video of Anjanette's classroom in action
- Word Chaining: A Simple Routine for Reading and Spelling (printable)You can see a picture of Anjanette's word chaining tray here
- Word Chains for Decoding and Encoding Practice: An overview on how to make and use word chains to teach decoding and encoding (from UFLI)
- 44 Phonemes (video): Learn how to pronounce the 44 phonemes in the English alphabet (from Rollins Center for Language and Literacy)
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
We’re revisiting this episode with Matt Burns because it offers one of the clearest explanations of phonemic awareness and how it fits into reading instruction.
In this conversation, Matt helps unpack what the research actually says and what that means for what we prioritize in the classroom. He explains why phonemic awareness is not a standalone precursor to reading, but develops alongside it, and why decoding should take center stage as students move into the upper elementary grades.
If you’ve ever felt unsure about how phonemic awareness fits into your instruction, or what to focus on as students progress, this episode brings clarity and practical direction.
Resources
- Phonemic Awareness, Research, Misconceptions, and Fads with Dr. Matt Burns
- They Say You Can Do Phonemic Awareness Instruction “In the Dark”, But Should You? A Critical Evaluation of the Trend Toward Advanced Phonemic Awareness Training
- RIP to Advanced Phonemic Awareness | Shanahan on Literacy
- Phonemic Awareness with Letters YouTube video, Matt Burns
- Matt Burns YouTube Channel
- National Reading Panel Report
- Elkonin Boxes, Reading Rockets
- Florida Center for Reading Research
- UFLI Foundations
- Ep. 159: Back to School: Science of Reading or Snake Oil with Holly Lane
- Road to the Code, Book
- IES Practice Guides
- Empirical Analysis of Drill Ratio Research: Refining the Instructional Level for Drill Tasks, Matt Burns (meta-analysis)
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 253
In this episode, we talk with Marianne Rice about key findings from a Tennessee report examining how well early literacy materials align with research on phonemic awareness and early reading instruction. Marianne walks us through five essential practices that can help teachers make the most of their instructional time:
- focusing on phoneme-level work
- using articulatory gestures
- connecting phonemic awareness to print
- being mindful of instructional time
- prioritizing blending and segmenting.
Throughout the conversation, Marianne shares practical ways teachers can evaluate and adjust their current curriculum without starting from scratch.
The big takeaway: small instructional shifts, especially connecting sounds to print and focusing on blending and segmenting, can have a big impact on helping students become strong readers and spellers.
Resources
- Kindergarten and First-Grade HQIM Alignment with Research on Code-Focused Instruction: Tennessee Early Literacy Report (referenced in the episode)
- 5 Focus Areas for Phonemic Awareness(printable)
- 44 Phonemes (video): Learn how to pronounce the 44 phonemes in the English alphabet (from Rollins Center for Language and Literacy)
- Word Chains for Decoding and Encoding Practice: An overview on how to make and use word chains to teach decoding and encoding (from UFLI)
- What Works Clearinghouse Guide: Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
- Phonemic Awareness: A Meta-Analysis for Planning(need ILA access)
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 252
What actually happens when students encounter a complex text?
In this episode, we’re joined by Luke Morin to discuss his article "Wading Into the Deep End: What Reading Actually Requires When the Text Gets Hard." Luke shares a powerful classroom moment where students applied reading strategies before tackling a tough text and still couldn’t make sense of a single sentence. That experience led him to rethink what it really means to teach reading.
In this conversation, we explore:
- Why using strategies doesn’t guarantee understanding
- How text complexity is shaped by the interaction between text, reader, and task
- What collective close reading looks like in practice
- How to provide “lily pad” supports without rescuing students
Luke challenges the idea that comprehension can be reduced to checklists or isolated skills. Instead, he offers a vision of instruction that prepares students to wade into deep water with support, intention, and growing independence.
RESOURCES
- "Wading Into the Deep End: What Reading Actually Requires When the Text Gets Hard" by Luke Morin
- "A Lily Pad, in Practice" (Collective Close Reading Sample)
- "Why Mastery Doesn't Matter" by Luke Morin
- "The Surprising Power of the Humble Worksheet" by Luke Morin
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 139
As we continue our focus on comprehension this month, we’re revisiting one of our most essential conversations.
In this episode, we explore a foundational truth about reading: comprehension depends on knowledge.
We’re joined by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, who explains why background knowledge is one of the strongest drivers of reading comprehension and why strategies alone can’t compensate for gaps in knowledge.
We also talk with Barbara Davidson, Executive Director of the Knowledge Matters Campaign, about the role strong, knowledge-building curriculum plays in helping students access complex text.
Whether this is your first listen or a return, this episode remains foundational.
Resources
- Knowledge Matters Campaign website
- Books by Daniel Willingham
- Reading Rockets Q&A with Daniel Willingham
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 251
One of the most consistent findings in reading research is this: how much you know determines how far you can go as a reader.
In this episode, we’re joined by Kelly Gallagher, author of To Read Stuff, You Have to Know Stuff, to explore why knowledge is central to comprehension and what that means for classroom instruction.
Kelly helps us rethink the long-standing emphasis on isolated reading strategies and instead focus on building knowledge at multiple levels: word, sentence, passage, article, and book.
Kelly offers clear examples and practical thinking that will help you reflect on how knowledge is built over time and how we can design instruction that goes deeper, not just wider.
RESOURCES
- To Read Stuff, You Have To Know Stuffby Kelly Gallagher
- Kelly Gallagher’s Article of the Week
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 251
In this episode, we’re joined by Tim Rasinski, Melissa Cheesman, and Savannah Campbell, authors of The Megabook of Vocabulary, to talk about practical, classroom-ready strategies that actually work. We dig into the biggest misconceptions about vocabulary instruction, where vocabulary words should come from, how many exposures a word truly needs, and how to move words from simple recognition to confident use in speaking and writing.
You’ll hear about:
- Why morphology and generative vocabulary are more powerful than weekly word lists
- How Word Ladders build decoding, spelling patterns, and vocabulary simultaneously
- How to integrate fluency and vocabulary through repeated reading, Readers’ Theater, and performance-based routines
- What “deep processing” really means—and why it makes words stick long term
This conversation bridges research and practice, showing how vocabulary connects to decoding, fluency, and comprehension in meaningful ways. If you’re looking for high-impact routines that support all learners. This episode will leave you with actionable ideas you can use right away.
Vocabulary doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. It can be powerful, generative, and deeply connected to everything else we teach.
Resources
- Megabook of Vocabulary (Free Printable Resource aligned to this episode!)
- Megabook of Vocabulary (Book)
- Tim Rasinski's Website + Resources
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
What does the research really say about effective vocabulary instruction—and how can we translate it into daily classroom practice?
In this episode, we’re joined by literacy expert Blythe Anderson to unpack vocabulary moves grounded in research that make a measurable difference for students. From intentional word selection to meaningful student talk, Blythe shares practical, classroom-ready strategies that help educators move beyond “word of the week” and into instruction that builds deep, lasting word knowledge.
Together, we explore:
- Why explicit vocabulary instruction matters
- How to choose the right words to teach
- The role of discussion and student engagement
- Practical routines that strengthen word learning across content areas
- How to ensure vocabulary sticks for long-term comprehension
Whether you’re a classroom teacher, instructional coach, or school leader, this conversation will leave you with concrete, research-backed practices you can implement immediately.
Tune in to learn how small, intentional shifts in vocabulary instruction can lead to big gains in student word learning and comprehension.
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 250
In this episode, we’re joined by Margaret McKeown, a leading researcher in vocabulary and language development, to explore what effective vocabulary instruction really looks like in practice.
Margaret helps us unpack common misconceptions about vocabulary teaching, including the pressure to ensure students “master” every word and the belief that vocabulary instruction must always be formal and pre-planned. She explains the power of informal instruction words “running through the classroom” and why repeated exposure over time supports deep word learning.
We also dive into:
- What learning words in context actually means (and what it doesn’t)
- How to think about vocabulary tiers without treating them like a rulebook
- When vocabulary should be taught (before, during, or after reading)
- The connection between vocabulary knowledge and comprehension
- Better ways to assess vocabulary beyond traditional tests
Margaret reminds us that vocabulary learning is more like climbing a ladder than crossing a finish line. Not every word requires deep instruction, but thoughtful, strategic choices can make a meaningful impact on comprehension.
If vocabulary instruction has ever felt overwhelming, this conversation offers clarity, reassurance, and practical insight for making it manageable and effective.
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 248
There’s a saying we hear often in literacy work: you don’t want to try to intervene your way out of a Tier 1 problem. Real change happens when classroom instruction and small-group support are aligned.
In this episode, we’re joined by Kerry Cusick and Erin Sharon, two reading interventionists, who share how aligning Tier 1 instruction with the small-group work they lead every day transformed both their approach and student outcomes. While their work lives in intervention, the routines and decision-making they describe are just as relevant for classroom teachers running small groups.
In this conversation, we explore:
- What small-group intervention looked like before alignment and what had to change
- How clearer, more consistent Tier 1 instruction reshaped small-group teaching
- What responsive small-group lessons look like when they’re built around student need
- How phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and meaning work together in small groups
- Why fluency matters and how routines move students from sounds to connected text
Kerry and Erin share practical examples from their MTSS work, including how they use data to form groups, align with classroom scope and sequence, and design small-group instruction that builds accuracy, automaticity, and meaning.
RESOURCES
- Small-Group Instruction Listening Guide
- Building Fluency with POSSUM with Melissa Orkin and Maryanne Wolf (podcast episode)
- Reading Universe
- Read Works
- Read Live
- Roll & Reads
- UFLI Kindergarten
- UFLI Grade 1
- Neuhaus Education Center Rapid Recognition Chart Generator
- Crafting Minds
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 143
This conversation remains one of our most downloaded episodes and for good reason.
As we focus this month on small-group instruction, we’re revisiting this important discussion with a team of authors who published the article Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction.
In this episode, we explore:
• Why small-group reading instruction has been so widely adopted
• What the research actually says about its effectiveness
• Common misconceptions about small-group time
• What makes small-group instruction purposeful and impactful
If you’re rethinking how small-group time fits within strong Tier 1 instruction, or wondering how to make those minutes count, this episode offers research-informed clarity.
Resources
- Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction
- Dr. Neena Saha’s Reading Research Recap of this research
- What Should Small Group Instruction Look Like? Tim Shanahan
- Reinterpreting the development of reading skills Scott Paris
- Applying New Visions of Reading Development in Today's Classrooms Kay Stahl
- Text Project with Freddy Hiebert
- Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Our Children’s Learning by Peter Johnston
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 247
Small-group instruction can feel powerful and overwhelming at the same time. Questions about grouping, time, routines, and impact come up constantly.
In this episode, we’re joined by Julia Lindsey, author of Small Groups, Big Results, to talk about what actually makes small-group instruction work. Julia helps break down small groups into manageable, intentional practices that don’t require more time or complexity, just clearer purpose.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- Why small groups don’t need to be long to have a big impact
- How flexible, needs-based grouping supports student growth
- The role of immediate, specific feedback in small-group reading
- Practical routines teachers can use right away
- How small-group instruction connects to Tier 1 teaching
Whether you’re new to small groups or looking to refine your approach, Julia offers clarity, research, and realistic guidance.
RESOURCES
- Small-Group Instruction Listening Guide
- Small Groups, Big Results: Evidence-Based Routines to Get Every Child Readingby Julia Lindsey
- Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skillsby Julia Lindsey
- Other podcast episodes with Julia Lindsey:
- Science of Reading Part 1: Decodable Texts, Sound Walls, & the Aim of Early Literacy
- Science of Reading Part 2: Decodable Texts, Sound Walls, & the Aim of Early Literacy
- Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills with Julia Lindsey
- Readers' Theater: Easy, Effective, & Fun! with Chase Young
- UFLI Foundations Toolbox
- FCRR Student Center Activities
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 246
Fluency looks different across grade levels, but it always matters.
In this special mashup episode, Melissa and Lori bring together voices from seven classroom teachers, spanning first grade through eighth grade, to show how fluency comes to life in real classrooms. Each teacher shares a best practice they use to support accuracy, automaticity, and expression, always grounded in meaningful reading.
You’ll hear about a range of approaches, including:
- Songs, shared reading, and read-alouds in early grades
- Partner reading routines that build accountability and support
- Performance-based practices like Readers’ Theater
- Using oral reading as assessment and feedback
- Structuring small groups to support different fluency needs
This episode is full of practical ideas, classroom insight, and teacher wisdom, whether you’re teaching in the primary grades or supporting older readers.
Resources:
- Check out our Fluency Listening Guide for links to all of the episodes!
- Featured Episodes:
- First Steps to Fluency: How Young Learners Become Independent Readers with Virginia Quinn-Mooney
- Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice with Lorraine Griffith and Lindsay Kemeny
- A Classroom Fluency Protocol That Works with Aaron Grossman
- Baltimore Secondary Literacy Teachers Talk Fluency with Tanisha Dasmunshi, Emily Jaskowski, and Emery Uwimana
- Watch Virginia Teach Fluency in this video
- Let’s bring back the magic of song by Tim Rasinski
- Lindsay Kemeny YouTube
- Partner Reading with Paragraph Shrinking
- 3 Phases for Fluency by Aaron Grossman
- Tim Rasinski's Multidimensional Fluency Rubric
- Aaron's website: Just Two Teachers (click Readers Theater for links to scripts!)
- Chase Young's Readers Theater scripts
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 245
In this episode, Melissa and Lori are joined by researchers Jake Downs and Chase Young to discuss Read Like Us, a research-backed fluency routine designed to help students reread challenging texts with purpose. Jake and Chase share the findings from their recent study, explain how the routine works in real classrooms, and explore why fluency grows when students have multiple supported opportunities to read connected text.
The conversation unpacks:
- what makes Read Like Us different from traditional repeated reading approaches,
- how wide reading fits alongside repeated reading,
- and why text choice plays such a critical role in fluency development.
You’ll also hear why the study showed especially strong results for fourth-grade readers and how teachers can think about applying this work across grade levels.
This episode offers both a clear explanation of the research and practical insights teachers can use as they plan fluency instruction that supports real reading where skills come together in text.
Resources:
- Grab your Read Like UsTexts
- Research Article: "Promoting Fluency Through Challenge: Repeated Reading With Texts of Varying Complexity"
- Fluency Listening Guide
Contact Chase Young at https://lfcreading.com/podcast with your questions!
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 244
Lindsay Kemeny shares her insights on effectively managing a literacy block in a primary classroom. She discusses her daily schedule, emphasizing the importance of routines in phonics instruction, close reading strategies, and writing lessons. Lindsay also highlights the importance of small group instruction for differentiation and explains how to manage center work for students! She encourages teachers to focus on progress rather than perfection, sharing practical tips and strategies for enhancing literacy instruction.
Lindsay's Book, Rock Your Literacy Block, is available now!
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 243
Jamey Peavler discusses the importance of recognizing the varied learning needs of students in all grades! She emphasizes the distinction between comprehension and word recognition skills, advocating for differentiated instruction to better support each student's unique learning journey.
Key Takeaways
- Word recognition and comprehension can develop at different rates.
- Differentiated instruction is essential for meeting diverse learning needs.
- Teachers should empower themselves to adapt their teaching methods.
- Effective teaching requires awareness of students' varying skill levels.
- Teachers play a crucial role in bridging the gap between comprehension and skill.
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 242
In this episode, Carl Hendrick emphasizes the critical role of timely feedback in the educational process, highlighting how immediate responses to misconceptions can significantly enhance student learning. He discusses the challenges teachers face in providing effective feedback and the importance of checking for understanding, interleaving, and retrieval practice to ensure that students grasp the material being taught.
Check out this resource we made just for you to accompany the content in this episode! Evidence-Based Practices to Make Learning Stick One-Pager
Key Takeaways
- Timely feedback is crucial for effective learning.
- The closer the feedback loop, the more powerful the learning.
- Checking for understanding can significantly improve teaching effectiveness.
- Understanding checks guide instructional decisions.
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 241
Nancy Hennessy and Julia Salamone discuss the often-overlooked topic of syntax and its critical role in reading comprehension. With Melissa & Lori, they discuss the architecture of sentences, the importance of understanding parts of speech, and the interconnectedness of syntax and meaning. The conversation highlights effective teaching strategies, the challenges posed by complex sentences, and the necessity of integrating background knowledge for comprehension. Nancy and Julia share practical instructional moves, emphasizing the need for explicit instruction and cognitive preparation to enhance students' understanding of sentence structures.
Takeaways
- Syntax is the architecture of a sentence. It is essential for understanding sentence structure and meaning.
- Explicit instruction is necessary for effective learning of syntax.
- Teaching grammar needs to focus on meaning, not just labeling.
- Engaging students with authentic texts improves comprehension.
- Integrating background knowledge is crucial for comprehension.
Resources
- Tips & Tools: Sentences(resource sheet)
Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.
Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.
Episode 240
Primary teacher Meghan Hein shares how she keeps the text front and center of learning. She discusses the shift from a skills-based focus to an approach where meaning-making drives instruction. The conversation highlights practical strategies for teachers to build knowledge through texts and create a more authentic learning experience. Meghan's insights reflect a commitment to continuous learning and adapting teaching practices to better serve students' needs.
✨ You’ll definitely want to listen to the podcast that inspired this conversation! Episode 37 with Sue Pimentel and Meredith Liben dives into their article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom.
Takeaways
- Shifting from skill-based to meaning-making instruction is crucial.
- Building knowledge through texts is essential for comprehension.
- Teachers must empower themselves through continuous learning.
- Curriculum should support, not dictate, teaching practices.
- Understanding the intent behind texts enriches the learning experience.
- Interleaving skills and content enhances understanding.
- Students thrive when they connect learning to real-world contexts.
Resources
- Refreshed Companion Episode with Meredith Liben & Sue Pimentel (podcast)
- Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom (article)
- Teacher Meghan Hein on Instagram (you might know her as always more to learn!)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 37
The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom is a must-read — before or after you listen to this episode!
Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel join us to unpack the true intentions behind the Common Core State Standards and how they’ve sometimes been misinterpreted in practice. They share what they’ve observed in classrooms and schools — both when high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) are in place and when they’re not.
We also ask them some tough (and important!) questions:
- What does this mean for assessment, especially “data-driven” instruction?
- What are better ways to assess and track student progress?
Meredith and Sue are smart, funny, and incredibly relatable — you’ll love this conversation. It’s truly a must-listen episode!
📖 Read the article that inspired this episode:
Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom
- Introduction to Poetry - Billy Collins poem Meredith mentions
- Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 239
Experts Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs, and Erica Woolway join Melissa & Lori to tackle one of the biggest questions in teaching today: What happened to reading whole books in school? From the pull of digital distractions to the rise of skill-focused instruction, they explore why diving into full texts matters more than ever. You’ll hear inspiring ideas for making books come alive in the classroom, the magic of read-alouds, and the power of close reading. Plus, each guest reveals their favorite book to teach. Reading entire books ignites curiosity, builds stamina, and so much more.
Resources
- The Teach Like A Champion Guide to the Science of Reading (book)
- Teach Like A Champion (Website - Resources, Workshops, Blogs, & More!)
- Close Reading: Uncover Deeper Meaning (blog)
- The Indispensable Power of [Full] Books (blog)
- Melissa & Lori Podcast Knowledge & Comprehension (Daniel Willingham & Barbara Davidson)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 238
What if the “secret sauce” to reading big words isn’t just syllables, but also morphemes? In this episode, Melissa Orkin and Alex Osburn share why morphology is essential, especially in grades 3–6, and how it bridges word reading, vocabulary, and comprehension.
They dig into practical strategies for teaching morphology, from explicit routines to vocabulary activities like the Frayer model, and show how to weave it all into real texts so students connect meaning to print in powerful ways. You’ll hear how morphology instruction can be integrated with content areas, supported by oral language practice, and used to spark stronger engagement and deeper learning.
Resources Mentioned
- Video of the Lesson highlighted in the episode. From Morphology Anthology: Volume 3, Lesson 3: The Secret Lives of Rainforest Insects.
- Book: The Structured Literacy Playbook: Preplanned Lessons for Building Phonics and Fluency Skills
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 237
Teachers know the challenge: students hit multisyllabic words and suddenly reading slows down. In this episode, researchers Jessica Toste and Brennan Chandler share research-based routines that make multisyllabic word reading easier, more automatic, and more effective. You’ll hear practical strategies rooted in the research to help your students tackle big words!
📚 Resources Mentioned
- Word Connections
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 236
Catlin Goodrow discusses her role as a literacy coach and interventionist for older students, focusing on assessing student needs, implementing effective interventions, and the logistics of providing support in the classroom. She shares insights on decoding challenges, comprehension strategies, and the importance of engaging students with appropriate texts. She also emphasizes the significance of flexibility in instruction and offers practical tips for teachers to support struggling readers. Check out her new book 'Reading Beyond the Routines,' which provides research-informed strategies for teaching literacy in grades 2 through 6.
Resources
- Reading Beyond the Basics by Catlin Goodrow (book)
- Podcast Episode - Helping Students Read Multisyllabic Words with Devin Kearns (podcast)
- Podcast Episode: Exploring the Research Behind Paired Oral Reading with Jake Downs (podcast)
- Podcast Episode - No More “Strategy of the Week” (podcast)
- Building Background Knowledge Through Reading: Rethinking Text Sets - Sarah Lupo et. al. (research article)
- Rewards by Anita Archer (paid program)
- Word Connections by Jessica Toste (free program)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 235
Matt Burns discusses effective interventions for students struggling with learning. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the learning hierarchy, identifying where breakdowns occur, and matching interventions to individual student needs. The conversation highlights the significance of modeling in teaching, shares a success story of a kindergartner's progress, and explores the application of the framework to writing and comprehension. Additionally, Burns provides insights on using assessment data effectively and offers resources for teachers to implement these strategies in their classrooms.
Resources
- Matthew Burns YouTube
- Email Matt: burnsm1@coe.ufl.edu
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 234
Michelle Hosp joins us to break down the different types of literacy assessments within an MTSS framework in the most approachable way.
We talk:
- universal screeners
- diagnostics
- progress monitoring
- formative assessments
Most importantly, we talk about when and why to use each one. Michelle helps us shift the question from “Which test should I give?” to “What do I need to know to help my students grow?” We also dig in to the power of curriculum-based measures (CBM), what makes assessment data meaningful, and how schools can align their resources to actually make a difference.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by data or unsure how to use it effectively, this episode will help you think more clearly about assessments and walk away empowered to use your data to help all your students become readers.
Resources
- The ABCs of CBM: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement
- National Center on Intensive Intervention
- Data Teaming Tools
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 233
In this episode, we sit down with speech-language pathologist Linsey Jones, who’s leading groundbreaking work in her district by delivering smart, targeted, and manageable literacy interventions to kindergarten students.
Linsey shares how her background in speech-language pathology led her to create a data-driven, highly responsive tier 2 intervention program. She walks us through how she uses assessments (think: letter-sound knowledge, early phonemic awareness, and real-time data tracking), what her 15-minute intervention sessions really look like, and how thoughtful collaboration with classroom teachers has created system-wide change.
We also talk about how her work has been influenced by literacy expert Julia Lindsey and how their entire district is now seeing almost no students falling behind by the end of kindergarten.
Resources
- Learn more about Linsey's Tier 2 Phonemic Awareness Intervention Program
- Check out Linsey's website: speechlanguageliteracyconnection.com
- Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills with Julia Lindsey (podcast episode)
- Reading Above the Fray by Julia Lindsey (book)
- Kindergarten TEAM Reaches (nearly) 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices (podcast episode)
- Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath (book)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 232
We know MTSS can feel like one more acronym and maybe one more thing on your plate. But what if it was the thing that helped everything else run more smoothly instead?
In this episode, we chat with Stephanie Stollar and Sarah Brown, authors of MTSS for Reading Improvement, who help us rethink what strong systems of support actually look like. Together, we explore how to move beyond one-off interventions and start building aligned, school-wide systems that support every reader.
You’ll hear:
- The difference between MTSS and intervention
- Why Tier 1 instruction is your most powerful lever for change
- What it looks like to work within your reality, not around it
- How class-wide supports and smart teaming can lead to huge growth
- Ways teachers (even without formal leadership roles) can spark change
RESOURCES
- MTSS for Reading Improvement by Stephanie Stollar and Sarah Brown
- Reading Science Academy with Stephanie Stollar
- MTSS Data Academy with Sarah Brown
- Schoolwide Reading MTSS Collaborative
- The Reading League Book Study for MTSS for Reading Improvement (You can still sign up for recordings!)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 231
Working with students who struggle to make sense of complex texts? You’re not alone! Christina Cover, a high school special educator, interventionist, English teacher, and literacy coordinator, is here to help!
In this episode, Christina shares real-world, research-based strategies she uses to help her students break down and make sense of challenging texts. From her go-to routine Getting the Gist to building vocabulary and using morphology instruction in context, Christina walks us through what works in her classroom.
You’ll hear:
- How to support students in summarizing and understanding complex texts
- Why vocabulary and morphology matter so much for comprehension
- Ways to make test prep meaningful without sacrificing deeper reading
- How writing can be a powerful tool for reading comprehension
If you teach in grades 3 and up, this episode is full of tools and inspiration you can take straight back to your classroom.
Resources:
- Getting the G.I.S.T.
- Word Matrices
- Frayer Models
- Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR)
- The Writing Revolution
- QFT: Question Formulation Technique
- Project for Adolescent Literacy:
- email: pal@seekcommonground.org
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Bonus Episode
In this episode, Melissa and Lori sit down with Freddy Hiebert, founder of Text Project, to dive deep into the critical role texts play in reading instruction. They explore how the types of texts provided to students not only shape their reading practice but also influence their self-perception as readers.
Freddy shares her expertise on understanding text features and the vital role of repetition in vocabulary acquisition. The conversation highlights how background knowledge supports comprehension and the thoughtful development of decodable texts to support early readers.
They also discuss exciting advancements like the use of AI for generating reading materials and the importance of designing engaging, relevant texts for middle and high school students.
Freddy unpacks the significance of morphological families, polysemy, and semantic mapping, stressing how teachers must grasp these complexities to support deeper word learning and understanding. She underscores the importance of offering students a diverse “text diet” to build vocabulary and comprehension skills.
Listeners will come away with fresh insights on creating engaging texts for diverse learners and innovative strategies for vocabulary teaching that combine context, repetition, and thoughtful text design.
Visit TextProject.org for more info.
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 230
In this episode, we discuss this article and the vital role of difficult texts with three experts: Kristin Conradi-Smith, John Strong, and Steve Amendum. They explore how thoughtful scaffolding and motivation help students confidently tackle challenging materials, clarifying the difference between text complexity and text difficulty.
Listeners will hear practical strategies for assessing student needs and differentiating instruction, ensuring every learner can thrive. We also discuss key literacy components including activating prior knowledge, the importance of decodable texts in early grades, and the power of read-alouds for K-1 students.
Drawing from research, expert guests highlight ongoing developments in understanding text complexity and stress the need for strong professional learning opportunities to equip educators with effective tools. This conversation is packed with insights and actionable ideas for supporting diverse learners on their reading journeys.
Resources
- Supporting Elementary Students' Reading of Difficult Texts
- Read, Stop, Write Intervention
- Text Structures PDF Cheat Sheet
- Check out our guests' in this book, Handbook on the Science of Literacy in Grades 3-8 (John - Chapter 20; Kristin & Steve - Chapter 8)
- Kristin's Article - It's not just about skills: Adopting a motivation-informed approach to instruction with adolescents
- Listen to No More Strategy of the Week and read the article that inspired the podcast.
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 229
In this episode, Katie Pace Miles and Molly Ness define and explain orthographic mapping as a crucial cognitive process for reading fluency and comprehension. They discuss the importance of mapping words in long-term memory, the difference between memorization and mapping, and the trifecta of phonology, orthography, and meaning that supports effective word learning.
They share a four-step protocol from their new book, Making Words, Stick, for teaching orthographic mapping. They provide insights into effective teaching strategies and resources available for educators.
Resources
- Making Words Stick - Molly & Katie’s book!
- Making Words Stick One Pager - Preview the Big Ideas in the book!
- Katie’s Non-Profit - Readinginstitutenyc.org
- Rosenthal & Ehri 2008 Study
- The Science of Learning to Read Words - Ehri
- Grapheme-Phoneme Knowledge - Ehri
- Laura Steacy’s research
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 228
If you’ve ever wondered how to help your students decode longer words, this episode is for you! We’re joined by literacy researcher and professor Devin Kearns to talk all about teaching multisyllabic words.
Many phonics programs focus on single-syllable words, but what happens when students hit big words and get stuck? Devin unpacks the research behind why that happens and what we can do instead. We talk about:
- flexible decoding strategies,
- when and how to teach syllables and morphemes,
- and what “set for variability” really looks like in the classroom (spoiler: it’s not guessing!).
You’ll walk away with practical, research-backed ideas to help your students read longer words with confidence.
Devin M. Kearns, Ph.D., is the Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy at NC State, where he studies early reading and collaborates with experts in psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience to explore the brain basis of reading.
RESOURCES
- Helping Students With Dyslexia Read Long Words: Using Syllables and Morphemes by Devin M. Kearns and Victoria M. Whaley
- Following the Rules in an Unruly WritingSystem: The Cognitive Science ofLearning to Read Englishby Devin M. Kearns and Matthew J. Cooper Borkenhagen
- Syllable Division: New Data that Can Inform Intervention by Joanne Marttila Pierson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
- On Eating Elephants and Teaching Syllabication by Tim Shanahan
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 227
In this episode, Jan Hasbrouck discusses the critical components of reading fluency, focusing on automaticity and its measurement through words correct per minute (WCPM). The discussion highlights the relationship between fluency and comprehension, the role of oral reading fluency in assessing student progress, and the importance of frequent assessments in the classroom. Jan also reflects on recent research findings from NAEP scores that challenge previous assumptions about fluency and automaticity, emphasizing the need for educators to adapt their understanding and practices based on evolving research. The discussion also touches on the debate between repeated reading and wide reading, advocating for an approach to reading instruction that incorporates both methods. Hasbrouck encourages educators to embrace continuous learning and adapt their teaching strategies based on evolving research.
Resources
- Hasbrouck Tindal 2017 ORF Norms Chart
- 2018 NAEP Oral Reading Fluency Study by White, S., et. al.
- Listen to more Melissa & Lori podcast episodes on Fluency!
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 211 from December 6, 2024
Fluency is a crucial aspect of reading. It involves automaticity and the ability to connect different aspects of word knowledge.
In this episode, Maryanne Wolf and Melissa Orkin discuss:
- the importance of fluency in reading
- the factors that contribute to fluent reading
- the need for an integrative approach to fluency instruction
- the POSSUM approach to building word knowledge
Big Takeaway: Fluency is essential for comprehension and has social-emotional implications for struggling readers. The POSSUM approach can help students make the needed connections to be able to read fluently.
Want to Learn More?
- The More You Know: How Teaching Multiple Aspects of Word Knowledge
Builds Fluency Skills by Melissa Orkin, Kirk Vanacore, Laura Rhinehart,
Rebecca Gotlieb, and Maryanne Wolf - Building Fluency with POSSUM
- Downloadable lessons featuring the POSSUM approach:
- Grades K-2
- Grades 3-5
- Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect: Repeated Reading Is No More Effective Than Continuous Reading for Improving Fluency and Comprehension in School-Age Struggling Readers by Elizabeth S. Norton
- RAN and the reading brain with Elizabeth Norton (youtube video)
- Word Finder wordfinder.yourdictionary.com - find words with similar patterns!
- Crafting Minds Group
- NIDO Learning
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 226
In this episode, Virginia discusses the importance of fluency in K-2 grades, emphasizing its role in reading comprehension. She shares strategies for teaching fluency, including within partner reading, read-alouds, and shared reading. Virginia highlights the significance of modeling fluent reading and incorporating songs and poems to enhance prosody. This conversation provides valuable insights for educators on how to effectively teach fluency to young learners.
Resources
- Watch Virginia Teach Fluency in this video
- Let’s bring back the magic of song by Tim Rasinski
- Virginia's Virtual Happy Hour Science of Reading YouTube Channel
- BONUS: A Repeated Reading Resource from our best-selling book, The Literacy 50
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 225
How do we turn fluency instruction into something engaging, meaningful, and effective? Fourth-grade teacher Aaron Grossman has the answer.
In this episode, Aaron shares his fluency protocol, inspired by Chase Young’s work, that helps students develop prosody, comprehension, and confidence through Reader’s Theater. He walks us through his structured 5-day cycle, from introducing scripts to students writing their own, and how performance-based reading transforms fluency instruction.
You'll learn:
✅ How repeated reading and performance build fluency
✅ Where to find great scripts—or have students create their own
✅ How to support students at different reading levels
Whether you're looking for new ways to engage your students in fluency practice or practical strategies to help struggling readers, this episode is packed with actionable insights!
RESOURCES
- 3 Phases for Fluency by Aaron Grossman
- Tim Rasinski's Multidimensional Fluency Rubric
- Aaron's website: Just Two Teachers (click Readers Theater for links to scripts!)
- Chase Young's Readers Theater scripts
- Podcast Episode with Chase Young about Readers Theater
- Podcast Episode with Andrew Watson: "Reviewing Research with Healthy Skepticism"
- Books by Rosalind Flynn for Readers' Theater
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 209 from November 8, 2024
Chase Young discusses the implementation of Reader's Theater in the classroom, providing a detailed framework for the process. He emphasizes the importance of structured practice, fluency, and expression, as well as the benefits of engaging students in dramatic reading. Reader's Theater can be implemented in ELA and other subject areas with grade-level texts. Reader's Theatre improves reading skills and transfers skills to other texts.
Takeaways
- Structured practice is essential for achieving fluency and expression in Reader's Theater.
- Reader's Theater can be integrated with other subjects, providing opportunities for vocabulary and morphology instruction.
- Choosing challenging, grade-level texts is important for meeting grade-level expectations and supporting students' fluency and comprehension.
- Repetition plays a significant role in scaffolding and supporting students' fluency and expression in Reader's Theater. Reader's Theatre is an effective tool for improving reading skills and fluency.
Resources
- Meta analysis - super duper effect size 1.23
- Readers Theatre Plus Comprehension and Word Study 2017
- Free Readers’ Theater Scripts at The Best Class - Chase Young’s website
- Rumpelstiltskin Readers’ Theater Script
- The Methods of Repeated Readings - J. Samuels The Reading Teacher
- More Readers' Theater Scripts at JustTwoTeachers
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 224
Helping students become fluent, confident readers isn’t always easy—especially when they’re still sounding out words and struggling with comprehension. That’s why Synchronous Paired Oral Reading Techniques (SPORT) is a game-changer.
In this episode, we’re joined by Jake Downs, assistant professor at Utah State University and host of the Teaching Literacy podcast, to break down:
✅ What SPORT is and why it works
✅ How to implement it tomorrow with minimal prep
✅ The research behind fluency, comprehension, and confidence gains
If you're looking for a practical, evidence-based way to help students become stronger readers, this episode is for you! 🎧
RESOURCES
- "Synchronous Paired Oral Reading Techniques: Supporting Developing Readers in Connected Text" by Jake Downs and Kathleen Mohr
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 151 (from June 23, 2023)
How Language Variations Shape Literacy
Language and reading go hand in hand—but how can we leverage students’ linguistic strengths to support literacy?
In this episode, Julie Washington, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who specializes in the intersection of language and literacy, breaks down the power of language variations, like African American English, and how understanding them can transform how we teach reading.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Language variations are a strength, not a barrier
✅ Students need to navigate both their home dialect and academic language
✅ Educators must set high expectations while embracing linguistic diversity
Julie shares research-backed insights and practical strategies to help educators create inclusive, effective literacy instruction. Tune in and learn how to make a real impact!
Resources
- Teaching Reading to African American Children by Julie Washington and Mark Seidenberg
- The Opportunity Myth by TNTP
- The Academic English Mastery Program by LAUSD
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 223
Antonio Fierro and Gabi Bell Jimenez break down the essentials of teaching English learners—covering the simple view of reading, oracy, and literacy instruction.
English learners thrive when we amplify language, not simplify it. They explore how to build language like Legos—piece by piece—so students can truly master it.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Embed language development into reading instruction
✅ Use images and real-world connections to deepen understanding
✅ Keep content rigorous while supporting language growth
Listen in for practical strategies to help your English learners (and ALL learners) succeed!
Resources
- Strategic Use of Visuals by Antonio Fierro and Gabi Bell Jimenez
- National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 222
In this episode, teacher coach Margarita shares effective strategies for leveraging students' native languages to enhance their learning in the classroom. She discusses the importance of making cross-linguistic connections, structured routines like QSSSA for speaking, and vocabulary strategies that include cognates. She also explains writing techniques such as the APE method and reading comprehension strategies like STAR, all aimed at supporting emergent bilinguals in their academic journey.
Margarita shares her insights on effective reading routines, the importance of language functions, and strategies for grouping students in intervention blocks. She emphasizes the role of teacher training and support in enhancing student learning, particularly for multilingual learners. The discussion also covers the structure of intervention blocks and the significance of familiar topics in language acquisition. Margarita concludes with practical tips for educators working with diverse language backgrounds.
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 221
This live podcast recording was part of the opening reception for the 2025 Literacy & Justice for All symposium in Oakland, CA on March 7 and 8.
It is crucial to ensure every student becomes a proficient reader. In this live podcast, we’re diving into the amazing strides Oakland Unified School District is making with its bold literacy vision, the challenges they’re overcoming, and the innovative approaches transforming classrooms.
We’re joined by two incredible guests: Leroy Gaines, Elementary Network Superintendent at OUSD, overseeing 16 elementary schools, and Tala Kauzer, ELA Coach, who leads literacy intervention programs K-5 at Acorn Elementary School.
About the Literacy & Justice for All symposium
The annual symposium is focused on promoting effective practice in literacy and reading skills and mobilizing the field of learning professionals around literacy as a vehicle for social justice and transformational life outcomes.
Organized by the Oakland Literacy Coalition, the annual symposium brings together school and community-based educators, practitioners, funders, leaders, and literacy champions for a comprehensive learning experience that elevates literacy in the classroom and beyond. This year’s conference drew more than 600 attendees from across the US.
Resources:
- To learn more about Oakland Unified’s ELA curriculum adoption, visit https://www.ousd.org/english-language-arts-ela/elementary-ela-curriculum-adoption
- How Oakland is Turning a New Page in Literacy
- Oakland Unified School District TK-5 Language and Literacy Framework
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 156
Fifth-grade teacher Sean Morrisey joins us to discuss all things vocabulary! We discuss Tier 2 and 3 words and discuss how you can strategically select words to teach using research-based approaches.
We also share the importance of continuously using words in daily language and ways to use data to measure improvement. Finally, we bridge the connection between vocabulary and fluency, demonstrating how it impacts performance. By the end of this episode, you'll feel inspired to transform your vocabulary instructional approach in your classroom, one word at a time.
Resources
- Academic Word Finder Achieve the Core
- Which Words Do I Teach and How? Article by David Liben
- Lifelong Literacy, Lyn Stone
- Explicit Instruction, Anita Archer
- Bringing Words to Life, book
- The Writing Revolution, book
- Text Project Vocabulary Instruction
- Word Generation Serp Institute
- Word Sift
- Coxhead Academic Word List
- Podsie
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 220
In this podcast episode, you'll hear from:
- Kirsten Taylor, a first-grade teacher turned literacy coach in Washington, D.C., and
- Kory Jensen, a fourth-grade teacher in Aurora, Colorado.
Kirsten shares a powerful explicit vocabulary routine she uses with her students. She explains how to engage students in learning new words, assess their understanding, and extend vocabulary lessons beyond the initial teaching.
Kory discusses the importance of morphology instruction. He shares practical strategies for teaching morphology, including breaking down words into their morphemes, engaging students in hands-on activities, and integrating morphology instruction across content areas.
Resources
- Kirsten Taylor- Explicit Vocabulary Routine (video)
- Vocabulary Instruction: Strategies for the Classroom (article)
- Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids―Building Vocabulary Through Etymology, Definitions & Stories(book)
- The Literacy 50 (book)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 155 (from July 21, 2023)
Curious about how words shape learning? Join us as we chat with linguist and author Lyn Stone about vocabulary, etymology, and their impact on literacy.
Lyn shares practical strategies for teaching morphology and etymology, the importance of teacher knowledge, and great resources to build students' word awareness. We also dig into grammar and syntax—how they reflect thinking and why they matter for literacy. Plus, Lyn gives us a sneak peek at the new edition of Language for Life. Don't miss this insightful conversation!
Resources
- Language for Life by Lyn Stone
- LifelongLiteracy.com
- Etymonline
- Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids
- The Writing Revolution Book Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler
- The Writing Revolution Podcast (Melissa and Lori Love Literacy)
- Ox, House, Stick: The History of Our Alphabet
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
In Episode 219, Blythe Anderson discusses the importance of vocabulary instruction, specifically through the use of vocabulary talk moves.
These "talk moves" are designed to promote word learning and help teachers effectively teach new vocabulary. Blythe covers various types of vocabulary moves, their research backing, and practical examples of how teachers can implement them in the classroom - emphasizing the complexity of vocabulary learning as well as the need for repeated exposure and active engagement to foster curiosity and understanding.
Blythe explains effective teaching moves for vocabulary instruction, including the importance of context, repetition, and meaningful engagement with words. She outlines ten key strategies that educators can implement to enhance students' understanding and retention of vocabulary. The discussion also touches on the significance of selecting appropriate words for instruction and the role of affective and metacognitive factors in vocabulary learning. Blythe encourages educators to reflect on their current practices and gradually incorporate new strategies into their teaching.
Resources
- "Vocabulary Talk Moves: Using Language to Promote Word Learning" by Blythe Anderson
- No More “Look Up The List” Vocabulary Instruction (book)
- "Flood, Fast, Focus" Integrated Vocabulary Instruction in the Classroom (IRA Brief)
- A Teacher’s Guide to Vocabulary Development Across the Day (eBook)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 203 (from August 16, 2024)Our guests today, authors Tricia Zucker and Sonia Cabell, discuss the concept of Strive-For-Five Conversations, which emphasizes the importance of multi-turn conversations between teachers and students. They explain that the goal is to stretch conversations beyond the typical question-response format and aim for at least five turns. The conversation explores the impact of conversations on brain development. They also provide practical tips for implementing Strive for Five in the classroom and engaging parents in the process.
Resources
- Strive for Five Conversationsby Tricia Zucker and Sonia Cabell
- Using Strive-for-Five Conversations to Strengthen Language Comprehension in Preschool through Grade One
- Asking Questions is Just the First Step: Using Upward and Downward Scaffolds
- Going Nuts for Words: Recommendation for Teaching Young Students Academic Vocabulary
- Article on Teaching Together research: This article shows sending home materials scaffolds parent involvement and that the impact of rewards fades over time.
- Talking is Teaching Family Engagement Resources
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 218 is chock-full of super practical ways to implement academic talk in your classroom tomorrow!
Elementary science teacher Jami Witherell shares her insights on fostering academic discourse in the classroom, emphasizing the importance of giving students time to think before they speak. She discusses practical strategies for engaging students in conversation, including the 'read a little, think a little, chat a little' approach, and the implementation of Socratic seminars and fishbowl discussions. Jami highlights the significance of preparation and creating a safe space for all students, especially multilingual learners, to express their thoughts and ideas. Her personal experiences as a multilingual learner shape her passion for ensuring that every student feels their voice matters in the classroom.
Fourth grade teacher Lauren Proffitt discusses the importance of oracy in education, detailing how her school has implemented a school-wide goal to enhance students' speaking skills. She explains the significance of structured routines and strategies that promote student engagement through talk, emphasizing the role of oracy in both academic and lifelong skills. The discussion also covers peer observations, collaborative learning, and effective management of classroom discussions, providing practical insights for educators.
Resources
- Fail-a-brationby Brad and Kristi Montague
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 167: Researcher Tiffany Hogan explores the relationship between phonics and language comprehension in this episode. She shares practical ways to make these connections in the classrooms - including read-alouds, discourse, and writing.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode
- On the Importance of Listening Comprehension
- If you don't look, you don't see: Measuring language development to inform literacy instruction
- List of commercially available Developmental Language Disorder (DLDP) Screeners
- DLDandme.org
- RADLD.org
- ASHA Voices on Apple Podcasts
- Understanding Dyslexia in the Context of Developmental Language Disorder
- Increasing Higher Level Language Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension
- Adapting Curricula for Children with Language Comprehension Deficits
- Five ways SLPs (and others) can positively impact children with dyslexia
- A generic implementation framework for school-based research and practice
- 'We test, not teach, comprehension' Jeanne Chall:
- CUBED free assessment and progress monitoring for decoding, language, and reading
- Executive functions and morphological awareness explain the shared variance between word reading and listening comprehension Young-Suk Kim
- “the acquisition of an alphabetic code is like catching a virus… this virus infects all speech processing… Language is never the same again” Uta Frith
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Episode 217Have you ever wondered how to get your students talking in a way that builds deeper understanding? In this episode, we chat with Jeff Zwiers, author of Academic Conversations and Next Steps with Academic Conversations, about the power of authentic discussions in the classroom.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- 3 Key Features of Authentic Conversations: Building on ideas, clarifying and supporting, and using information gaps to spark curiosity.
- Practical Strategies: How to use routines like Think-Pair-Share to foster meaningful discussions.
- Building a Culture of Communication: Tips for helping students share opinions, argue effectively, and engage deeply.
This episode is packed with actionable ideas to help you create a classroom where every student’s voice matters. Tune in to discover how academic talk can boost participation, agency, and long-term success!
Resources
- Article: Enhancing Instruction with Authentic Communication: 3 Features Conversing to Fortify Literacy, Language, and Learning
- Book: Academic Conversations
- Book: Next Steps with Academic Conversations
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Struggling to make writing click for your students?
In this episode, 5th-grade teacher Elise Frank shares practical strategies to tackle the challenges of teaching writing, inspired by "A Path to Better Writing" by Steve Graham and Karen Harris.
Key takeaways:
- Simplify the hidden processes of writing for your students.
- Boost ownership and feedback.
- Integrate writing across all subjects.
Packed with actionable ideas, this episode is a must-listen for every teacher! Tune in now and transform your writing instruction!
Resources:
- Focus Article: "A Path to Better Writing" by Steve Graham and Karen Harris
- See Elise's writing instruction in action:
- Video: 5th Grade ELA: Writing about Esperanza Rising with SRSD
- Video: 5th Grade ELA: The Power of SRSD and EL Education (Esperanza Rising)
- Urban teachers’ implementation of SRSD for persuasive writing following practice-based professional development: positive effects mediated by compromised fidelity. McKeown, D., FitzPatrick, E., Brown, M., Brindle, M., Owens, J., & Hendrick, R. (2019).
- Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students by Harris, Graham, Mason and Friedlander
- Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning by Patrice Bain and Pooja K Agarwal
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Steve Graham discusses the significance of writing in education, the challenges teachers face in teaching writing, and effective strategies to enhance students' writing skills.In this episode, you'll hear about:
- the interconnectedness of writing and reading
- the importance of feedback
- the role of handwriting and typing in writing fluency
- the necessity of integrating writing instruction into the curriculum
- the role of interactive writing as a bridge for early and progressing writers
Steve also shares his thoughts on the impact of 21st-century tools like AI on writing practices, and the ethical considerations surrounding AI in education.
Resources:
- Focus Article: "A Path to Better Writing" by Steve Graham and Karen Harris
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
From July 22, 2022
The Writing Revolution authors, Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler, share a 'revolutionary' approach to writing. The best part: It begins at the sentence level AND content knowledge drives the rigor. Moreover, there is an overlap in reading, writing, and critical thinking.
What are the principles of The Writing Revolution? There are six:
- Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the early elementary grades.
- Sentences are the building blocks of all writing.
- When embedded in the content of the curriculum, writing instruction is a powerful teaching tool.
- The content of the curriculum drives the rigor of the writing activities.
- Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.
- The two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising.
Resources
- The Writing Revolution, Not for Profit
- The Writing Revolution, The Atlantic, October 2012
- Writing and cognitive load theory, Natalie Wexler
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
What if young students could transform writing from a daunting task into an exciting journey of self-expression?In this episode, Laura Stam, a second-grade teacher from Wyoming, discusses her transformative journey in writing instruction. Struggling initially with an unstructured writing curriculum, Laura discovered innovative methods to support her students.
You will hear how Laura has incorporated strategies fromThe Writing Revolution and self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) to empower her students to write confidently about their learning topics, such as the Revolutionary War and ancient China. Also, you will learn how strategic tools like mnemonics, goal setting, and structured sentence expansion activities have made her students more independent writers.
Resources:
- Focus Article: "A Path to Better Writing" by Steve Graham and Karen Harris
- Laura's Teaching Videos
- 2nd Grade Writing: CKLA, ThinkSRSD, and The Writing Revolution
- Writing with Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and ThinkSRSD (2nd grade)
- Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) Grade 2: Collaborative Writing with The Magic Fish (1/2)
Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) Grade 2: Writing with The Magic Fish (2/2) - Core Knowledge Language Arts Grade 2: Indus River Writing Demo
- Institute for Excellence in Writing
- The Writing Revolution
- From Struggle to Success: Navigating the Writing Process With Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
This episode highlights the close connection between reading and writing and the importance of teaching them together. Young-Suk Kim uses a structural house analogy to explain their interdependence. Karen Harris introduces the SRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development) model, focusing on evidence-based practices that build self-regulation and explicit instruction for writing. We discuss the researchers brand new study with 1st and 2nd graders, including the SRSD Plus approach, which adds instruction in handwriting, spelling, and oral language. Our guests share practical tips for improving handwriting fluency and research on SRSD Plus’s positive impact on early writing and student confidence, offering valuable insights for classroom teaching.
Resources
- Enhancing Reading and Writing Skills through Systematically Integrated Instruction (with HOUSE graphic that Young explains in the beginning of the podcast)
- The Science of Teaching Reading is Incomplete without the Science of Writing: A Randomized Control Trial of Integrated Teaching of Reading and Writing
- Yes, they can: Developing transcription skills and oral language in tandem with SRSD instruction on close reading of science text to write informative essays at grades 1 and 2
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
Melissa & Lori Love Literacy™ is a podcast for teachers. The hosts are your classroom-next-door teacher friends turned podcasters learning with you. Episodes feature top literacy experts and teachers who are putting the science of reading into practice. Melissa & Lori bridge the gap between the latest research and your day-to-day teaching.
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
From 5/10/24
In this conversation, Stephanie Stollar discusses the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). MTSS is a framework for school improvement that helps to provide support for students with various needs. The MTSS framework focuses on using data to identify barriers to student performance and making plans to eliminate those barriers. Stollar explains that word recognition skills are more discreet and sequential, while language comprehension skills are more unconstrained and complex. Stephanie recommends that special education resources should be blended with general education resources from the beginning, and students should receive intensive support as soon as it is needed, without having to go through a series of interventions and assessments. She also emphasizes the importance of evidence-aligned instruction and the need for team-based decision-making in the MTSS model.
Takeaways
- MTSS is a framework for school improvement that helps teachers provide support for students with various needs
- The tiers in MTSS are prevention of reading failure, with tier one being primary prevention for all students, tier two providing extra support for students at higher risk, and tier three offering intensive and individualized support for struggling readers
- Differentiate tier one instruction and provide targeted instruction based on screening and diagnostic data
- Assessments in MTSS include screening assessments to identify students at risk, diagnostic assessments to determine specific instructional needs, and progress monitoring assessments to track student progress.
- Blend special education resources with general education resources from the beginning and provide intensive support as soon as it is needed.
- Focus on evidence-aligned instruction and team-based decision-making in the MTSS model.
Resources
- Stephanie's Reading Science Academy
- Stephanie's MTSS Course
- Watch Stephanie discuss...
- the importance of using universal screening data to reflect the effectiveness of Tier 1 instruction and design core instruction
- the elements in a coordinated, comprehensive assessment system
- why you should teach word recognition and language comprehension at the same time
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
Phonics alone won’t solve the literacy crisis.
Natalie Wexler's new book: Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learningadvocates, which connects the science of reading to the broader science of learning.
Key Points:
- The current reading crisis is fundamentally a learning crisis.
- Cognitive science principles, such as retrieval practice, should apply to all learning.
- Advocating for a knowledge-building curriculum supports all students, particularly those who struggle.
- Writing instruction should start with explicit techniques.
- All teachers should integrate literacy within their content.
Beyond the Science of Reading advocates for an integrated approach to literacy that combines cognitive science principles with literacy instruction, emphasizing content knowledge, explicit writing instruction, and cross-disciplinary teaching to boost student success.
Resources
- Natalie's new book Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning
- Do We Need to Teach Comprehension Strategies Explicitly?
- The Writing Effect
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
From June 22, 2021In this episode, reading and fluency expert Tim Rasinski tells us all about effective fluency instruction! How does repeated reading build fluency instruction? Why does text difficulty level impact fluency practice? What do effective accuracy, automaticity, and expression sound like?
Check out research, articles, and helpful materials located on Tim's website and follow Tim on Twitter @TimRasinski1. We also discuss this piece by Nell Duke.
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
Fluency is a crucial aspect of reading. It involves automaticity and the ability to connect different aspects of word knowledge.
In this episode, Maryanne Wolf and Melissa Orkin discuss:
- the importance of fluency in reading
- the factors that contribute to fluent reading
- the need for an integrative approach to fluency instruction
- the POSSUM approach to building word knowledge
Big Takeaway: Fluency is essential for comprehension and has social-emotional implications for struggling readers. The POSSUM approach can help students make the needed connections to be able to read fluently.
Want to Learn More?
- The More You Know: How Teaching Multiple Aspects of Word Knowledge
Builds Fluency Skills by Melissa Orkin, Kirk Vanacore, Laura Rhinehart,
Rebecca Gotlieb, and Maryanne Wolf - Building Fluency with POSSUM
- Downloadable lessons featuring the POSSUM approach:
- Grades K-2
- Grades 3-5
- Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect: Repeated Reading Is No More Effective Than Continuous Reading for Improving Fluency and Comprehension in School-Age Struggling Readers by Elizabeth S. Norton
- RAN and the reading brain with Elizabeth Norton (youtube video)
- Word Finder wordfinder.yourdictionary.com - find words with similar patterns!
- Crafting Minds Group
- NIDO Learning
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
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Secondary educators have students in their classrooms who weren’t taught to read. Because of these reading deficits, students likely have a difficult time accessing secondary texts and tasks. Our guests today, Supt. Sherry Sousa and Educator Julie Brown, discuss a secondary intervention they developed that WORKS and is totally doable. The best part? Students partake in the intervention in addition to - not instead of - their regular high school English classes.
Resources
- No Time to Waste: Structured Literacy for Young Adults
- Ameer Baraka video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyFiOYCqvyk
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
Fluency is complex, especially for older students.
In this episode, Janee' Butler shares:
- how fluency instruction looks from early grades to secondary
- about challenges students and teachers face,
- practical strategies for improving fluency,
- a reminder not to forget about student motivation, especially for older students struggling with reading fluently.
The Big Takeway: Reading fluency is essential for older students to be able to comprehend what they read. Teachers need the knowledge of how to help each student!
Want to Learn More?
- Janee's presentation at PaTTAN Symposium 2024: Achieving Adolescent Literacy Proficiency: The Importance of Fluency
- Teaching Oral Reading Fluency to Older Students by Tim Shanahan
- Phonics and Spelling through Phoneme-Grapheme MappingbyCatherine Grace
- Really Great Reading assessments (free)
- DIBELS assessments- 8th Edition (free)
- Plain Talk About Literacy & Learning Conference 2025
- email Janee': janee@mycll.org
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
From June 3, 2022
Today middle school educators from Baltimore City Public Schools join us to discuss their focus on fluency through Continuous Improvement work with fluency using HQC. What is Continuous Improvement? Why is this a useful framework? “Possibly wrong, definitely incomplete” is a mantra that resonates. The educators share their approach, impact, and outcomes for students. Secondary teachers… this one’s for you.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice
- Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski
Resources
- Carnegie Foundation Continuous Improvement in Education Resources such as videos, tools, and publications
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
Chase Young discusses the implementation of Reader's Theater in the classroom, providing a detailed framework for the process. He emphasizes the importance of structured practice, fluency, and expression, as well as the benefits of engaging students in dramatic reading. Reader's Theater can be implemented in ELA and other subject areas with grade-level texts. Reader's Theatre improves reading skills and transfers skills to other texts.
Takeaways
- Structured practice is essential for achieving fluency and expression in Reader's Theater.
- Reader's Theater can be integrated with other subjects, providing opportunities for vocabulary and morphology instruction.
- Choosing challenging, grade-level texts is important for meeting grade-level expectations and supporting students' fluency and comprehension.
- Repetition plays a significant role in scaffolding and supporting students' fluency and expression in Reader's Theater. Reader's Theatre is an effective tool for improving reading skills and fluency.
Resources
- Meta analysis - super duper effect size 1.23
- Readers Theatre Plus Comprehension and Word Study 2017
- Free Readers’ Theater Scripts at The Best Class - Chase Young’s website
- Rumpelstiltskin Readers’ Theater Script
- The Methods of Repeated Readings - J. Samuels The Reading Teacher
- More Readers' Theater Scripts at JustTwoTeachers
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
The science of learning is what research says about how our brains learn.
In this episode, Nathaniel Swain discusses the science of learning, emphasizing its connection with the science of reading.
He shares:
- key mindset shifts for teachers
- the significance of coherent curriculum planning
- practical strategies like using mini whiteboards and advanced organizers to enhance student engagement and understanding
He also highlights the need for responsive whole-class instruction and the importance of closing learning gaps early in students' educational journeys.
Resources
- Nathaniel Swain's website
- Harnessing the Science of Learning: Success Stories to Help Kickstart Your School Improvementby Nathaniel Swain
- Asubel’s Meaningful Learning in Action by Sarah Cottingham
- Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
- Ep. 115: Kindergarten TEAM Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
- Ep. 154: Fluency Instructional Routines with Nathaniel Swain
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
From July 14, 2023What if you could unlock the secrets to fluency instruction in literacy, and transform your students into confident and skilled readers? Join us as we delve into this crucial topic with Nathaniel Swain, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University in Australia, who shares his expertise on the three components of fluency: speed, accuracy, and prosody. Let's explore together how balancing speed with comprehension can make all the difference in today's digital age, where skimming and scrolling are the new norm.
We discuss a variety of practical strategies to help students practice fluency in the classroom, such as choral reading and paired reading. Nathaniel also sheds light on the role of technology in simplifying the process of creating engaging materials. Discover how to create an environment that fosters student engagement and understanding, and learn the differences between fluency instruction in primary and intermediate classes.
Finally, we examine the value of fluency in reading instruction and how it can be integrated into the literacy block. Nathaniel explains the self-teaching hypothesis and emphasizes the importance of exposing students to unfamiliar words and challenging texts. Don't miss this insightful episode packed with tips and strategies to help your students become fluent and confident readers!
Resources
- Think Forward Educators
- Five Ways to Focus on Fluency, Think Forward Educators Blog
- Fluency Rubric, Tim Rasinski
- Readers Theater Scripts, Chase Young
- Fluency Resources, Tim Rasinski
- Nathaniel Swain on Writing to Learn, ERRR Podcast
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
The authors of No More “Strategy of the Week”: Considerations for Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Bookdiscuss the importance of teaching comprehension strategies in a text-centered approach. They emphasize the need to move away from isolated strategy instruction and instead focus on using texts as the center of instruction. They highlight the importance of background knowledge, vocabulary, and text structure in preparing students for reading. During reading, they suggest using explicit think-alouds to model comprehension strategies and provide scaffolds for students. They also emphasize the need for students to do the heavy lifting during reading and for teachers to support and guide their thinking. The conversation explores the different stages of comprehension instruction: before reading, during reading, and after reading.
Takeaways
- Teaching comprehension strategies should be done in a text-centered approach, where the focus is on using texts as the center of instruction.
- Before reading, it is important to activate or build background knowledge, pre-teach vocabulary, and attend to text structure.
- During reading, teachers should provide explicit think-alouds to model comprehension strategies and provide scaffolds for students.
- Students should be doing the heavy lifting during reading, with teachers supporting and guiding their thinking.
- Engaging students in meaningful reading experiences and connecting comprehension strategies to authentic texts is crucial for effective comprehension instruction. Explicit strategy instruction is crucial for teaching comprehension skills.
- Modeling how to use comprehension strategies helps students understand how to apply them.
- Providing opportunities for students to practice and apply comprehension strategies is essential.
- Engaging students in discussions and writing activities after reading helps consolidate learning and deepen understanding.
No More “Strategy of the Week”: Considerations for Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Book
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
Imagine transforming the way you teach reading. Picture your students not just passively consuming the written word, but actively producing meaning and taking purposeful actions inspired by what they've read. This is the promise of our conversation with Doug Fisher, professor at San Diego State University and renowned author, as he takes us on a journey into the depths of reading comprehension.
We question the effectiveness of common literacy programs and discuss the intricate ties between vocabulary, comprehension, and prior knowledge. How do you feel about the 'letter of the week' approach? Listen as we scrutinize its validity and dig deeper into other foundational reading skills, such as letter recognition and sound blending. We also expose the symbiotic relationship between vocabulary and comprehension, underscoring the pivotal role of knowledge in decoding texts.
We then traverse the landscape of oral language in reading instruction and the implications of isolating reading from writing. Can you guess the impact of these practices on student learning? Doug enlightens us on the significance of comprehension strategy instruction and the importance of developing all elements of reading literacy. To cap it off, our conversation concludes with three practical suggestions that you, as an educator, can apply in your classroom for immediate impact. Prepare to awaken a new perspective on the world of reading.
Resources
- Articles by Natalie Wexler
- Steve Graham: Effective Writing Instruction (video)
- Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students, Harris & Graham (book)
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
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Imagine facing not only the struggles of growing up in a challenging environment, but also battling a learning difference that went undiagnosed for years.
Hear the inspiring story of Ameer Baraka as he discusses his book: Undiagnosed: The Ugly Side of Dyslexia.
Ameer will discuss:
- How he grew up in New Orleans, facing unimaginable obstacles
- His experiences with being misunderstood and how it impacted his life
- How he transformed his life by reclaiming his education while incarcerated
- How he is now dedicated to helping others recognize their potential
By the end of this episode, you'll see how Ameer’s journey not only sheds light on the challenges of dyslexia but also highlights the incredible strength it takes to overcome adversity.
Want to Learn More?
- Undiagnosed: The Ugly Side of Dyslexia by Ameer Baraka
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
From October 7, 2022
In this episode, we talk with former balanced literacy teacher and parent, Missy Purcell. She authored a blog post titled Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher.
Missy writes, “According to Nancy Young’s ladder of reading, roughly 10-15% of kids can figure out reading out with this type of instruction, but my child, who would later be diagnosed with dyslexia, would never be able to become a proficient reader with any version of balanced literacy. He, according to Young, like 85% of students, benefit from or need systematic explicit instruction that follows a scope and sequence with fidelity to become proficient readers and writers.”We want to normalize the idea that most kids CAN learn how to read with structured literacy instruction.
Resources
- Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher
- Looking for Heroes: One Boy, One Year, 100 Letters 2nd Edition
- These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awareness Month!
We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.Grab free resources and episode alerts! Sign up for our email list at literacypodcast.com.Join our community on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)
In this conversation we explore Nancy Young's infographic, "The Ladder of Reading and Writing," unpacking the complexity of learning to read and write in English. This framework helps educators grasp the diverse factors influencing how students learn. Nancy Young and Jan Hasbrouck, editors of the new book Climbing the Ladder of Reading & Writing: Meeting the Needs of All Learners help us navigate through the four color-coded levels—ranging from those facing the most challenges to those who begin reading effortlessly—emphasizing tailored teaching methods and the nuanced nature of literacy instruction. Highlighting the pivotal roles of classroom organization and data-driven grouping, the episode underscores the necessity of flexible teaching approaches. Concluding with insights on assessment tools and collaborative strategies, they share what it takes for effective differentiated instruction.
Takeaways
- Learning to read and write in English is a complex process influenced by internal and external factors.
- Instruction cannot be one size fits all and must be differentiated based on students' needs.
- The Ladder of Reading and Writing infographic provides a visual representation of the continuum of literacy development.
- Dosage of instruction varies for different students, with some needing more guided practice and others needing less.
- Observation and data collection are crucial for effective differentiation and instruction.
- Differentiation should be based on students' skills and needs, not just their reading levels.
- Assessment should include screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring assessments to inform differentiated instruction.
Resources
- The Ladder of Reading & Writing Infographic by Nancy Young
- Climbing the Ladder of Reading & Writing: Meeting the Needs of All Learners Edited by Nancy Young and Jan Hasbrouck
- Differentiated Instruction by Vicki Gibson and Jan Hasbrouck
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
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Jul 7, 2023
Today we talk about fluency and assessment with Jan Hasbrouck. She shares tips and tricks for how to to best assess and teach fluency. She also debunks frequent fluency misunderstandings and explains the scientific evidence that underlies the Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart.
Note: During the podcast, we mentioned we would link Jan’s previous studies on ORF. But… we want to make sure the most recent information (Fluency Norms Chart 2017 Update) is the one that is prioritized for instructional use, so we’ve linked that to avoid confusion.
Resources
- Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart
- Fluency Norms Chart (2017 Update)
- Developing Fluent Readers by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading Rockets
- Understanding and Assessing Fluency by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading Rockets
- Tim Rasinski Multidimensional Fluency Rubric
- NAEP Fluency Scale
- What Does “Below Basic” Mean on NAEP Reading?
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Nancy Hennessy and Julia Salamone discuss the importance of vocabulary and syntax in reading comprehension. They explain how vocabulary connects to reading comprehension and the different levels of word knowledge. They also emphasize the need for explicit instruction in vocabulary and the role of context in understanding word meaning. They also discuss the connection between semantics and syntax and how understanding sentence comprehension is crucial for overall comprehension. They share instructional activities such as anagrams and sentence expansion to support sentence level comprehension. The conversation explores the integration of reading and writing, the importance of language in reading proficiency, and different ways students can express their understanding through oral responses, multimedia, and written responses as tools for comprehension and expression.
- Vocabulary plays a critical role in reading comprehension and is connected to all aspects of language.
- Different levels of word knowledge serve different purposes, and depth of understanding is crucial for overall comprehension.
- Syntax provides the structure for words to convey meaning in sentences, and an understanding of syntax is essential for sentence comprehension.
- Instructional activities such as anagrams and sentence expansion can support sentence level comprehension and foster collaboration and discussion among students. Integration of reading and writing is crucial for student learning.
- Language is the foundation of reading proficiency.
- Students can express their understanding through oral response, multimedia, and written responses.
- The book provides practical strategies and tools for teachers to support reading comprehension.
- The authors wrote the book to bridge the gap between research and practice and provide teachers with additional resources.
Resources
- The Reading Comprehension Blueprint Activity Book by Nancy Hennessy & Julia Salamone
- The Literacy House - Pam Snow Blog Post
We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night
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From Aug 4, 2023
What if the key to unlocking your students' reading comprehension could be found through a deeper understanding of the intricate processes at work in their minds? Prepare to have your teaching world transformed as we journey with reading comprehension expert and acclaimed author, Nancy Hennessy. Together, we’ll map out the cognitive and linguistic processes that underpin comprehension, and navigate the complex interaction between a reader's knowledge, the text itself, and the author's intent.As teachers, we play an integral role in shaping the reading journey of our students. Witness how the Reading Comprehension Blueprint can revolutionize your instructional design as we discuss how to thoughtfully consider the task, text, and context. Learn how to integrate prior background knowledge and foster mental models of understanding. Be part of our examination of comprehension as an essential pillar of reading and join us as we demystify the science behind this crucial skill.
Finally, imagine having a blueprint that offers a flexible framework that aligns seamlessly with the science of comprehension. Listen as we delve into the importance of planning for instruction, pinpointing the key takeaways for your students, and exploring types of texts and text sets. Learn how to identify the contributors to comprehension and teach your students to become masters of their own understanding. Buckle up and get ready to revolutionize your approach to teaching reading comprehension.
Resources
- The Reading Comprehension Blueprint From The Reading Comprehension Blueprint by Nancy Lewis Hennessy. Copyright © 2021 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved
- Expert Minute Video-Thinking about Comprehension: Nancy Hennessy
- Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension, American Federation of Teachers by Hugh Catts
- Ep. 118 Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh Catts, podcast
- AIM FCRR Background Knowledge Research
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Lindsay Kemeny discusses her book 7 Mighty Moves and the importance of teaching literacy effectively. The conversation covers the development of the 7 moves, which focus on phonemic awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Lindsay emphasizes the need for explicit and systematic instruction, the use of decodable texts, and the importance of teaching sight words with phonics skills. She also shares practical strategies for improving fluency, such as partner reading and paragraph shrinking. She explains how this routine helped improve students' reading fluency and comprehension. Lindsay also emphasizes the importance of embracing vocabulary and background knowledge in reading instruction.
Resources
- 7 Mighty Moves (book) by Lindsay Kemeny
- Teaching with Lindsay Kemeny on Facebook
- Literacy Talks podcast
- Lindsay's website
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From Mar 18, 2022
How can regular fluency practice lead to fluent readers? In today’s episode, educators Lorraine Griffith and Lindsay Kemeny discuss the impact of fluency in their classrooms. Fluency is a bridge: It connects word recognition with comprehension. We dive into whole and small group fluency instruction with simple strategies and more.
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Our guests today, authors Tricia Zucker and Sonia Cabell, discuss the concept of Strive-For-Five Conversations, which emphasizes the importance of multi-turn conversations between teachers and students. They explain that the goal is to stretch conversations beyond the typical question-response format and aim for at least five turns. The conversation explores the importance of building relationships with parents and the impact of conversations on brain development. They also provide practical tips for implementing Strive for Five in the classroom and engaging parents in the process.
Resources
- Strive for Five Conversationsby Tricia Zucker and Sonia Cabell
- Using Strive-for-Five Conversations to Strengthen Language Comprehension in Preschool through Grade One
- Asking Questions is Just the First Step: Using Upward and Downward Scaffolds
- Going Nuts for Words: Recommendation for Teaching Young Students Academic Vocabulary
- Article on Teaching Together research: This article shows sending home materials scaffolds parent involvement and that the impact of rewards fades over time.
- Talking is Teaching Family Engagement Resources
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From Jul 15, 2022
Dr. Sonia Cabell, Associate Professor at Florida State University, shares the importance of both oral language and content knowledge instruction. Why? Oral language skills underlie our ability to comprehend text. At the same time, the knowledge we bring to a text is THE key determinant on how much we understand that text. This episode speaks to the entirety of the reading rope!
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Heidi Anne Mesmer discusses her book Big Words for Young Readers. She emphasizes the importance of teaching young readers to decode and understand words with multiple syllables and morphemes. Heidi Anne highlights the need to teach morphemic concepts early on and provides recommendations for teaching different types of morphemes at each grade level. She explains that morphology, the study of word parts, is a crucial component of reading comprehension and vocabulary development. Mesmer provides practical strategies for teaching morphology, such as teaching the morphological principle and using activities like 'Make It Big' to build students' confidence in creating big words. She also emphasizes the need for explicit instruction in morphology from an early age and highlights the benefits of using cognates and word chains to support multilingual learners.
Takeaways
- The book Big Words for Young Readers focuses on teaching young readers to decode and understand words with multiple syllables and morphemes.
- Syllables are sound units, while morphemes are the smallest units of sound that carry meaning in a word.
- Teaching morphemic concepts early on can help students distinguish the meaningful parts of words.
- There is no strict scope and sequence for teaching morphemes, but it is important to consider the frequency and applicability of different types of morphemes at each grade level. Teaching morphology is essential for developing reading comprehension and vocabulary skills in young readers.
- Strategies like teaching the morphological principle and using activities like 'Make It Big' can help students understand and create big words.
- Explicit instruction in morphology should be integrated into phonics instruction from an early age.
- Cognates and word chains can be effective tools for supporting multilingual learners in developing their morphological knowledge.
Resources
- Big Words for Young Readers and the entire Scholastic Science of Reading in Practice book series!
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From Nov 4, 2022
Researcher Heidi Anne Mesmer joins the podcast to discuss the research on decodable text and dos and don'ts for classroom practice. Thinking about decodability as a meter from most to least decodable to the reader is important. A child who reads a text by sounding out and decoding words will experience a milestone of childhood: the feeling of reading. This also supports orthographic mapping.
Resources
- Decodable Text: A Review of What We Know, Heidi Anne Mesmer
- TextProject.org
- Key Knowledge to Support Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instruction, Piasta and Hudson
- Choosing and Using Decodable Texts, Wiley Blevins
Reading Above the Fray, Julia Lindsey
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Anna Geiger, author of "Reach All Readers," joins us on the pod today.
Anna takes us on a historical reading journey, from the early reading wars of the 1800s to debates between whole language and balanced literacy, up to the present Science of Reading movement. She shares her personal transition from balanced literacy to embracing the science of reading, providing critical insights into why a code-emphasis method is indispensable for early reading instruction.
Resources
Connect with Anna Geiger, AKA The Measured Mom
Listen to Anna's podcast, Triple R Teaching
Read Anna's new book, Reach All Readers
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From Sep 21, 2020
The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom **is a must-read before or after listening to this podcast!
Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel share the true intentions of the CCSS vs. the way they are currently interpreted. They also provide observations about how the Standards play out in classrooms and schools - within HQIM and what happens in absence of HQIM!
We ask the gals some tough questions:**
- What does this mean for assessment, especially "data-driven" instruction?
- What are better ways to assess and track student progress?
**They are hilarious and smart, and so very relatable. This one is a MUST listen!
Read the article that prompted this conversation:**Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom
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In this episode, Meredith and David Liben discuss the importance of comprehension instruction, the power of questions, and the practice of close reading. They emphasize the value of curiosity, vocabulary depth, and the features of complex text. The conversation also delves into the debate around teaching comprehension strategies, the overemphasis on reading strategies, the impact of high-pressure assessments on instruction, and the need for a more comprehensive approach to reading comprehension. The speakers reflect on their own mistakes and the challenges in the field of literacy education.
Takeaways
- The power of questions lies in their ability to provide insight into a student's comprehension, encourage precise thinking, and reveal the features of a text that stumped or aided comprehension.
- Close reading serves as a valuable technique for examining the features of complex text, developing vocabulary depth, and understanding the world through text.
- The debate around teaching comprehension strategies highlights the impact of high-pressure assessments and the need to prioritize meaningful instruction over test preparation. Comprehension strategies have limitations and may not be the most effective approach to reading comprehension.
- The overemphasis on reading strategies can be detrimental to students' engagement and understanding of reading.
- Foundational skills and the science of reading play a crucial role in improving reading comprehension.
- Reflecting on mistakes and being open to learning from them is essential for progress in literacy education.
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Unlock the potential of your ELA instruction by shifting to a knowledge-rich curriculum! Join us as we sit down with David Liben, co-author of Know Better, Do Better, to hear stories about knowledge-building goodness. David highlights how incorporating vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and comprehension can bring joy and engagement to your classroom. Discover how diverse topics like polar bears and space can captivate students' imaginations, while a shared quality curriculum fosters a strong sense of community and supports social-emotional learning.
Resources
- Know Better, Do Better: Comprehension by David & Meredith Liben
- Know Better, Do Better by Meredith & David Liben
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Kim Lockhart, Canadian educator, shares her top three book recommendations. The first recommendation is 'Next Steps in Literacy Instruction' by Susan Smart and Deb Glaser, which focuses on the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) model and effective interventions. The second recommendation is 'Why Don't Students Like School?' by Daniel Willingham, which explores the science of learning and how to make instruction more effective. The third recommendation is 'Read Alouds for All Learners' by Molly Ness, which emphasizes the importance of language comprehension and intentional read alouds.
Resources
- Melissa & Lori Love Literacy Episode 193: Systems to Get Better Reading Results with Stephanie Stollar (podcast)
- Next STEPS in Literacy Instruction: Connecting Assessments to Effective Interventions by Susan Smartt and Deborah Glaser (book)
- Melissa & Lori Love Literacy Episode 139: Knowledge Matters with Barbara Davidson and Daniel Willingham (podcast)
- Why Don’t Students Like School? By Daniel Willingham (book)
- Melissa & Lori Love Literacy Episode 170: All About Read Alouds with Molly Ness (podcast)
- Read Alouds for All Learners: A Comprehensive Plan for Every Subject, Every Day, Grades PreK–8 by Molly Ness (book)
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Read Not Guess is a FREE program designed for parents to help their children improve their early reading skills. The lessons are short and simple, taking only 5 to 10 minutes per day. The program is email-based, with parents receiving a daily email with the lesson of the day. There are two levels available, with level one for true beginners and level two for more advanced learners. Additionally, there is a Dailyish Decodable program for kids who need more practice with specific skills. All the programs are free and accessible to parents and caregivers.
Sign up for Read Not Guessnow!
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Melissa & Lori discuss questions about reading comprehension from our new book, The Literacy 50: A Q&A Handbook for Teachers, and provide research-based answers and practical suggestions. We talk about the place of sustained silent reading in the school day and the best ways to assess a student's comprehension. We also discuss the concept of reading volume and how to support students in reading more.
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Melissa & Lori discuss questions about phonemic awareness from our new book, The Literacy 50: A Q&A Handbook for Teachers. We talk about best practices for teaching phonemic awareness and whether to teach it with or without naming and showing letters. Additionally, we address the misconception that introducing letters in phonemic awareness instruction means transitioning to phonics, and they provide guidance on when and how to introduce letters in phonemic awareness instruction.
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The tables are turned on us in today's episode! Anna Geiger interviews us about our new book, The Literacy 50. You might know Anna as The Measured Mom and host of the Triple R Teaching podcast. We loved divulging why we wrote the book, how educators can use it in classrooms and schools, and we even answer some hot topic questions!
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Today's sneak peek episode gives you a behind the scenes look at why we wrote this book, the questions we answer, and resources we crafted just for you!
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Unlock the potential in every multilingual learner as Claude Goldenberg, renowned professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, joins us to dispel myths and share crucial strategies in literacy education. Delve into the complexities of teaching reading to students mastering English, where educational rights meet the science of literacy. We promise a journey through the nuances of vocabulary acquisition and orthographic mapping, with Goldenberg guiding us to make academic content accessible without compromising on language development.
Ever wondered how the science of reading translates to multilingual classrooms? Look no further. We address the probabilistic nature of literacy learning, akin to the varied responses to a COVID-19 vaccine, and examine the relevance of neurolinguistics research for English learners. In a thought-provoking discussion, we challenge the notion that teaching strategies for monolingual and multilingual learners are worlds apart, instead highlighting their fundamental similarities and the necessity for a nuanced approach.
Join us as we navigate the foundations of reading development and learn how to best support emergent bilinguals. From the ARIES study to the pivotal role of phonemic awareness and fluency, we uncover the intricacies of teaching emergent bilingual children to read. Emphasizing the latest research, this episode is a clarion call for educators and advocates to embrace collaborative, well-informed practices in literacy education, ensuring that every learner's path to reading fluency is as effective and enlightened as possible.
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We discuss various models for teaching English learners to read with Magdalena Zavalia, CEO of the PAF Reading Program. We explore different types of models, including monolingual programs, transitional bilingual education, and dual language immersion. Magdalena emphasizes the importance of understanding students' needs and goals when implementing a dual language program. She also discusses the challenges and considerations for teachers and principals, including resources, professional development, curriculum, and scheduling. Magdalena highlights the benefits of dual language instruction for both native English speakers and English learners.
Resources
- Literacy Foundations for English Learners by Elsa Cardenas-Hagan
- Episode 119: How Reading Science Works for English Learners with Elsa Cardenas-Hagan
- Episode 152: Science of Reading for All Learners: Multilingual Learners with Claude Goldenberg
- Multitiered System of Supports for English Learners
- Colorin Colorado! A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners
- Intelexia - Spanish Reading Program
- PAF Reading Program - English Reading Program
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From August 5, 2022
Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan joins the podcast to share that reading science works for English Learners. What does it mean to use evidence-based instruction to teach English Learners? Dr. Cardenas-Hagan asserts that every language has its own history, its own culture, its own use. Language supports literacy, and literacy support language. With this cyclical understanding, she explains how to use effective strategies for ALL learners.
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In this conversation, Stephanie Stollar discusses the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). MTSS is a framework for school improvement that helps to provide support for students with various needs. The MTSS framework focuses on using data to identify barriers to student performance and making plans to eliminate those barriers. Stollar explains that word recognition skills are more discreet and sequential, while language comprehension skills are more unconstrained and complex. Stephanie recommends that special education resources should be blended with general education resources from the beginning, and students should receive intensive support as soon as it is needed, without having to go through a series of interventions and assessments. She also emphasizes the importance of evidence-aligned instruction and the need for team-based decision-making in the MTSS model.
Takeaways
- MTSS is a framework for school improvement that helps teachers provide support for students with various needs
- The tiers in MTSS are prevention of reading failure, with tier one being primary prevention for all students, tier two providing extra support for students at higher risk, and tier three offering intensive and individualized support for struggling readers
- Differentiate tier one instruction and provide targeted instruction based on screening and diagnostic data
- Assessments in MTSS include screening assessments to identify students at risk, diagnostic assessments to determine specific instructional needs, and progress monitoring assessments to track student progress.
- Blend special education resources with general education resources from the beginning and provide intensive support as soon as it is needed.
- Focus on evidence-aligned instruction and team-based decision-making in the MTSS model.
Resources
- Stephanie's Reading Science Academy
- Stephanie's MTSS Course
- Watch Stephanie discuss...
- the importance of using universal screening data to reflect the effectiveness of Tier 1 instruction and design core instruction
- the elements in a coordinated, comprehensive assessment system
- why you should teach word recognition and language comprehension at the same time
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In this episode, Savannah Campbell, a K-5 reading specialist, shares practical spelling tips for teachers. She emphasizes the importance of having students say the sounds or syllables as they spell, as it helps develop sound-symbol correspondence. Savannah also recommends interleaving, which involves practicing both new and old spelling skills to ensure mastery. Savannah also discusses the use of dictation, word chains and sound boxes for spelling instruction. Additionally, she advises keeping the same routine but varying the methods to keep students engaged.
Takeaways
- Have students say the sounds or syllables as they spell to develop sound-symbol correspondence.
- Interleave new and old spelling skills to ensure mastery.
- Provide more spelling practice than you think is necessary.
- Keep the same routine but vary the methods to keep students engaged.
- Use word chains and sound boxes for spelling instruction.
Resources
- Follow Savannah on Instagram
- CampbellCreatesReaders website
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Pam Kastner discusses the connection between spelling and reading. She emphasizes that teaching spelling is teaching reading, as spelling is a higher linguistic skill that requires complete and accurate recall and memory for words. Spelling helps students understand the internal structure of words and improves their reading abilities. She suggests using instructional routines that integrate phonology, orthography, morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics to teach spelling effectively.
Takeaways
- Teaching spelling is teaching reading, as spelling is a higher linguistic skill that requires complete and accurate recall and memory for words.
- Spelling helps students understand the internal structure of words and improves their reading abilities.
- Effective spelling instruction should be explicit, systematic, and teach spelling patterns from least complex to most complex.
- Instructional routines should integrate phonology, orthography, morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics to teach spelling effectively. Direct and systematic spelling instruction is essential for students' language development.
- Spelling inventories are valuable tools for assessing students' understanding of language and identifying areas for targeted instruction.
- Spelling can be used as a teaching tool, allowing students to learn from their errors and improve their spelling skills.
- Spelling instruction should be aligned with the research and evidence-based practices to ensure its effectiveness.
Resources
- Pam Kastner's Padlet with resources (password PT2)
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From 3/4/2022
We’ve been asked about spelling and the connection to reading science more times than we can count. Today, we talk with expert J. Richard Gentry, author of Brain Words and blog contributor to Psychology Today: Raising Readers, Writers, and Spellers (An Expert Guide for Parents).
He tells us all about spelling and how it connects to our speech and language system. Moreover, he supplies teachers with practical, meaningful, science of reading-aligned strategies to teach spelling.
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In this episode, Jessica Farmer shares tips for teaching heart words. She explains the importance of blending and introduces the concept of continuous blending. Jessica defines heart words as high-frequency words with irregular or temporarily irregular spellings. She emphasizes the need to follow a scope and sequence and provides a routine for introducing new heart words. Jessica also discusses the process of orthographic mapping and suggests engaging activities for teaching heart words. She concludes by recommending additional resources for teaching heart words.
Takeaways
- Blending is the process of putting sounds together to form words, and continuous blending is a method that connects phonemes without breaking between the sounds.
- Segmenting is important for spelling, while continuous blending is effective for decoding words.
- Heart words are high-frequency words with irregular or temporarily irregular spellings, often involving vowel sounds.
- Teaching heart words should be done in a systematic and routine-based manner, following a scope and sequence.
- Engaging activities for teaching heart words include coloring by sounds and unscrambling the spelling.
Resources
- Find Jessica at Farmer Loves Phonics on social!
- Connected Phonation Research
- A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words
- Blending Pyramids
- Heart Word Cards
- 30 Early High Frequency Words for Beginning Readers
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Julie VanLier and Dr. Svetlana Cvetkovic discuss their experiences and successes teaching phonics. They both highlight the importance of a speech-to-print approach and the impact it has had on their students' reading and spelling abilities. The conversation also delves into the principles of speech to print and the scope and sequence of instruction. They emphasize the importance of interleaving, where concepts are revisited over time. The integration of phonics into all aspects of reading and writing is key, as well as the use of authentic text. Overall, their approach focuses on engagement, flexibility, and integration to ensure student success in literacy.
Takeaways
- Teaching phonics using a speech-to-print approach can lead to significant improvements in students' reading and spelling abilities.
- The principles of speech to print include the understanding that one, two, three, or four letters can spell a sound.
- A sound can be spelled in many different ways, and the same spelling can represent different sounds.
- The scope and sequence of instruction in a speech-to-print approach involves teaching students the different sound-spelling patterns and helping them understand the logic and patterns of the English language.
Key Tenets of Speech to Print
- Sounds can be represented by 1, 2, 3, or 4 letters.
- Sounds can be spelled different ways.
- Spellings can be pronounced in different ways.
Resources
- Julie's iReady scores infographic
- Kinder spelling phase comparisons using traditional & speech-first phonics approaches infographic
- Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI)
- Li & Wang (2023) self-teaching meta analysis -- self-teaching was enhanced through phonological recoding via spelling
- A step-by-step pdf for k-2 teachers using FREE speech-first resources-- I especially encourage kinder teachers to take the free 1-hour Udemy course by John Walker (founder of Sounds-Write) as it includes a full scope & sequence for teaching the basic code and even into the beginning advanced code
- Ep. 147: Hot Topic Series: What is Speech to Print?
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From August 12, 2022Talking with Dr. Julia Lindsey is like popping into the classroom next door to chat with your best teacher friend after school. On this podcast, Julia shares what evidence says that young readers need to know to help them decode words efficiently. We discuss foundational reading skills, starting with oral language and print concepts through multisyllabic word reading. Instructional swaps take this conversation to the classroom where Julia tells us what to swap to improve instruction. Efficient and effective instruction is critical when teaching decoding.
ResourcesReading Above the Fray by Dr. Julia B. Lindsey
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Yvette Manns discusses the schwa and its importance. She shares insights from her book, The Not So Lazy Schwa, and explains how it helps children understand the schwa sound. Yvette also tells all about National Schwa Day, a holiday she created to celebrate language and literacy in schools. She provides suggestions for celebrating the day and highlights the resources available in the National Schwa Day toolkit.
Takeaways
- The schwa is a neutral unstressed sound that is the most common sound in the English language.
- Teaching the schwa is important for helping students decode and encode multisyllabic words.
- National Schwa Day is a holiday created to celebrate language and literacy in schools.
- The National Schwa Day toolkit provides resources and activities for teachers to implement the holiday.
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Danielle Colenbrander and Katie Pace-Miles discuss orthographic mapping, irregular word instruction, and the different terms used to describe high frequency and irregular words. They translate research about the effectiveness of different approaches to teaching irregular words. They also discuss the role of morphology - how understanding morphemes can help students decode and understand words.
Takeaways
- Irregular words exist on a spectrum, ranging from completely regular to highly irregular.
- Different teaching approaches, such as mispronunciation correction, can be effective for teaching irregular words.
- Meaning and context play a crucial role in word recognition and understanding.
- Teachers should provide students with a toolbox of strategies to decode and understand irregular words.
- Temporary irregularity is a helpful concept for students, emphasizing that irregular words are only temporarily challenging until they learn the necessary grapheme-phoneme correspondences.
Resources
- Hear more from Danielle Colenbrander on Teaching Literacy podcast (Ep. 38) and Thinking Deeply About Primary Education podcast (Ep. 76)
- Assessing the Effectiveness of Structured Word Inquiry for Students in Grades 3 and 5 With Reading and Spelling Difficulties: A Randomized Controlled Trial by Colenbrander et. al.
- Katie's PRINTABLE Word Analysis Manual, a resource to support learning and word analysis activities to use with high frequency words (and any word, really!)
- Treasure trove of additional research articles (Katie Pace-Miles, Devin Kearns, Linnea Ehri, and more!)
- http://reading-ready.com/
Our guests mentioned the work of Lyndall Murray but meant Bruce Murray. The correct article is linked above.
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Denise Eide, author of Uncovering the Logic of English, helps us understand the logic of English! It actually makes a lot of sense... and can help your students learn to read and spell.
Takeaways
- English spelling and decoding can be logical and systematic when taught with complete phonics rules.
- All words in English are decodable when the rules are understood.
- Incomplete knowledge of rules can lead to misconceptions and difficulties in reading and spelling.
- Teaching phonics rules explicitly and fostering curiosity can empower students and improve their reading skills.
- Be open about not having all the answers and learn alongside your students.
Resources
- Phinder.org
- Understanding the Logic of English book
- LogicofEnglish.com Free Resources!
- Sold a Story podcast
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In this episode, teacher Christina Winter, better known as Mrs. Winters Bliss on Instagram, talks about the practical application of sound walls in the classroom. She provides her top 3 tips and shares how sound walls can be used in instruction. She also provides ideas for how students can interact with sound walls, such as through dictation, chants, and games.
Takeaways
- Sound walls can be used during direct instruction to introduce new phonemes and provide a reference for students.
- Students can interact with sound walls through activities like dictation, chants, and games.
- It is important to prioritize the most common sound-spelling patterns.
- Resources and tools, such as phoneme-grapheme dictionaries and frequency lists, can support teachers in implementing sound walls effectively.
Resources
- Mrs. Winters Bliss Website
- FREE DOWNLOADABLE Science of Reading RESOURCES!
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Sound wall expert Mary Dahlgren explains how sound walls differ from word walls, why it's important to teach all 44 speech sounds, and how sound walls can help students make sense of English. She shares evidence to support the use of sound walls in your classroom and gives practical advice for implementation.
Takeaways
* Sound walls are an instructional tool to help students see and understand the 44 speech sounds of the English language.
* Sound walls provide a visual representation of the sounds and their corresponding spellings.
* Sound walls help students make connections between sounds and letters.
* Sound walls support phonological awareness, phonics instruction, and the development of decoding skills.
* Sound walls are beneficial for all students, including English learners, as they provide a structured and visual approach to learning the sounds of the English language. Teachers should be aware of the different phonemes in their students' languages and teach the phonemes in English.
Resources
* Sound Walls: A Tool for Students to Use by Mary Dahlgren
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Spencer Russell, a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher and the founder of Toddlers Can Read, shares his motivation for teaching reading and emphasizes the importance of simplifying the teaching process. He provides practical tips for starting with letter sounds and engaging children in fun learning activities. Spencer also discusses the importance of assessing understanding and offers guidance on where to start when teaching letter sounds. Listeners can find Spencer on social media at ToddlersRead or visit ToddlersRead.com.
Takeaways
- Start with letter sounds that are easier to pronounce and more familiar to children.
- Engage children in learning activities that involve movement and play.
- Assess understanding and retention through quick and frequent assessments.
Resources
- Find Spencer on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or ToddlersRead.com
- Check out these videos on Instagram: Teach a Toddler to Read in 3 Easy Steps, Mispronouncing Sounds, Fourth Graders Reading at K Level Where Do I Start?
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In this conversation, Becky Pallone and Michael Hart discuss how their phonemic awareness instruction has evolved over time. They emphasize the importance of blending and segmenting as key skills in phonemic awareness and highlight the benefits of incorporating letters in phonemic awareness instruction. They will also provide practical tips for you!
Takeaways
- Incorporating letters in phonemic awareness can strengthen letter-sound correspondence.
- Teachers should prioritize blending and segmenting in phonemic awareness instruction.
- Teacher knowledge and curriculum are both important in phonemic awareness instruction.
Resources
- Measured Mom CVC Word List
- Pam Kastner Wakelet Resources: The Literacy Collection
- Explicit Instruction, Anita Archer
- Continuous Phonation Webinar, Selina Gonzales Frye
- University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI)
- Goyen Foundation Twitter/X
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Melissa and Lori just returned from the Plain Talk About Literacy & Learning Conference in New Orleans and they will share their takeaways with YOU! Attendees called in while at the conference to share aha moments and key takeaways. You won't want to miss this one!
2024 Plain Talk Conference Presenters
Podcast Episodes We Mentioned
- Episode 44: Elevating the Education Profession with The Right to Read Project
- Episode 116: Sonia Cabell on the Importance of Content-Rich ELA Instruction
- Episode150: Science of Reading for ALL Students: Intervention for Secondary Students
- Episode158: Science of Reading Beyond Phonics: The Ultimate Goal of Reading with Doug Fisher
- Episode 170: All About Read-Alouds with Molly Ness
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Matt Burns discusses the importance of phonemic awareness in reading instruction. Phonemic awareness is an outcome of skilled reading, not a precursor, and it has a reciprocal relationship with reading. Matt also emphasizes the need to focus on decoding skills in second, third, and fourth grade, rather than solely on phonemic awareness. Matt provides practical takeaways for teachers and recommends additional resources for learning about phonemic awareness.
Takeaways
- Phonemic awareness is an outcome of skilled reading, not a precursor.
- Phonemic awareness and reading have a reciprocal relationship.
- Decoding skills are a strong predictor of reading success.
- Nonsense word fluency assessments can be beneficial for assessing decoding skills.
- Avoid teaching nonsense words and focus on decoding instead.
Resources
- Phonemic Awareness, Research, Misconceptions, and Fads with Dr. Matt Burns
- They Say You Can Do Phonemic Awareness Instruction “In the Dark”, But Should You? A Critical Evaluation of the Trend Toward Advanced Phonemic Awareness Training
- RIP to Advanced Phonemic Awareness | Shanahan on Literacy
- Phonemic Awareness with Letters YouTube video, Matt Burns
- Matt Burns YouTube Channel
- National Reading Panel Report
- Elkonin Boxes, Reading Rockets
- Florida Center for Reading Research
- UFLI Foundations
- Ep. 159: Back to School: Science of Reading or Snake Oil with Holly Lane
- Road to the Code, Book
- IES Practice Guides
- Empirical Analysis of Drill Ratio Research: Refining the Instructional Level for Drill Tasks, Matt Burns (meta-analysis)
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Shayne Piasta discusses best practices for teaching alphabet knowledge. She tells us what the research suggests about teaching letter names and sounds, why teaching a letter of the week may not be the most effective approach, and an order to teach letters. The best part? She shares concrete ideas and strategies for classroom practice.
Takeaways
- Teach both letter names and sounds simultaneously.
- Consider the acrophonic principle, where the letter name gives clues to its sound.
- Avoid teaching letters of the week and consider a faster pacing for letter instruction.
- Be intentional about the order of teaching letters, considering children's names and frequency of letters in text.
- Use differentiated instruction and embedded mnemonics for effective alphabet instruction.
Resources
- Handbook on the Science of Early Literacy
- The Science of Early Alphabet Instruction, chapter 7
- Ohio State University Alphabet Learning and Instruction research and articles
- Ohio State University Early Literacy and Learning Lab
- Episode 164: Misconceptions About Learning to Read with Carolyn Strom
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SummaryIn this episode, the hosts discuss the RAND Model, a heuristic for thinking about reading comprehension. The model was developed in the late 1990s by the RAND Corporation in response to a need for more research on comprehension. The model considers three main components: the reader, the text, and the purpose or activity of reading. It emphasizes the active role of the reader in constructing meaning from the text and highlights the importance of text complexity, coherence, genre, and the context in which reading takes place. The hosts also explore the challenges of measuring reading comprehension and suggest a curriculum-based assessment approach.
Takeaways
- The RAND Model is a heuristic for thinking about reading comprehension that considers the reader, the text, and the purpose or activity of reading.
- Text complexity, coherence, genre, and the context in which reading takes place are important factors in comprehension.
- Measuring reading comprehension with standardized tests can be challenging due to the complexity of the construct.
- A curriculum-based assessment approach that measures comprehension within specific disciplines may provide a more accurate and fair assessment of reading ability.
Resources
- Ep. 177: The Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh Catts
- Ep. 178: The Simple View and Scarborough’s Reading Rope with Researcher Hugh Catts Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh Catts
- Follow researcher Hugh Catts on Twitter (or X)
- A Heuristic for Thinking About Reading Comprehension, or the RAND Model
- ICYMI: Ep. 118: Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh Catts
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SummaryIn this episode, Hugh Catts discusses two popular reading models: the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough's Reading Rope. The Simple View of Reading highlights the importance of word recognition and language comprehension in reading comprehension. It emphasizes that if a child struggles in one area, it will affect their overall reading comprehension. Scarborough's Reading Rope provides a more detailed breakdown of the components involved in reading, including background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, strategies, and literacy knowledge. Both models help educators understand the complexity of reading and the interaction between different components.
Takeaways
- The Simple View of Reading emphasizes the importance of word recognition and language comprehension in reading comprehension.
- Scarborough's Reading Rope provides a more detailed breakdown of the components involved in reading.
- Both models highlight the complexity of reading and the interaction between different components.
- Effective reading instruction should focus on developing both word recognition and language comprehension skills.
Resources
- Ep. 177: The Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh Catts
- Follow researcher Hugh Catts on Twitter (or X)
- The Simple View of Reading
- Scarborough’s Reading Rope
- ICYMI: Ep. 118: Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh Catts
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Summary
In this episode, the hosts discuss the five pillars from the National Reading Panel and their history. They explore the confusion that can arise from viewing these pillars as a model of how reading works. The role of fluency and the importance of differentiating instruction for the five pillars are also discussed. The conversation concludes with a reevaluation of the five pillars and a key takeaway to look beyond them. The next episodes will cover three other reading models.
Takeaways
- The five pillars from the National Reading Panel are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- The five pillars should be viewed as interconnected and treated differently in instruction.
- The actual chapters of the National Reading Panel focus on alphabetics, fluency, and comprehension.
- It is important to look beyond the five pillars and consider other reading models.
Resources
- Follow researcher Hugh Catts on Twitter (or X)
- The National Reading Panel Report
- The Five Pillars of Reading Graphic
- The Narrow View of Reading, Alan Kamhi
- The Narrow View of Reading Promotes a Broad View of Comprehension, Hugh Catts
- ICYMI: Ep. 118: Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh Catts
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FROM MARCH 10, 2023
Today we’ll be talking to a team of authors about a recent article they published on small group instruction, titled Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction. We ask and answer important questions about small group instructional time: What is the appeal of small group reading instruction? Why has it been popular? What does the research say? What do we need to know about effective small-group reading instruction? What are some best practices?
Resources
- Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction (published in The Reading Teacher)
- Dr. Neena Saha’s Reading Research Recap of this research
- What Should Small Group Instruction Look Like? Tim Shanahan
- Reinterpreting the development of reading skills Scott Paris
- Applying New Visions of Reading Development in Today's Classrooms Kay Stahl
- Text Project with Freddy Hiebert
- Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Our Children’s Learning by Peter Johnston
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Why shouldn’t we level students?
Professor and researcher Kristin Conradi-Smith from episode 143 says, “We lack research for differentiation by text levels.There's simply no support for it.” Teaching with a leveled reading, sometimes known as guided reading, approach isn’t the most effective way to teach or learn to read.
Instead, we can
- Support students’ access to complex texts through scaffolds and building knowledge using language comprehension.
- Use students' prior knowledge and match that knowledge to text topic demands.
- Read text sets - a group of texts on the same topic - to build students’ knowledge and vocabulary.
- Practice and model oral reading fluency, rearead, and use comprehension strategies.
Resources
- Episode 143: Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction
- Matt Burns F&P BAS and LLI Research
- Matt Burns Leveling Students: Why we do it, why we shouldn’t, and what we should do instead
- Tim Shanahan Should We Teach at Reading Level?
- Tim Shanahan blogs What does the Easter bunny have in common with the independent reading level?
- Tim Shanahan presentation Science of Reading Levels
- Dr. Kristen Schrauben Science of Reading What I Should Have Learned in College Private Facebook Group Presentation Giving Up F&P
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FROM FEBRUARY 24, 2023In today’s episode, we discuss the structure and content of the literacy block. How can we teach using structured literacy in small groups? Kinder teacher Casey Jergens and author Natalie Wexler join us to connect theory and practice. Casey previously taught using a guided (leveled) reading approach with lots of small group time. In recent years, he’s switched to focus on Tier 1 instruction aligned to structured literacy, which supports access for all students.
Resources
- Elementary Classrooms Are Too Noisy For Kids To Learn by Natalie Wexler
- Casey’s Twitter Handle
- Natalie Wexler’s Twitter Handle
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What does the research say about small group reading instruction?
Resources
- Episode 142: Structured Literacy in Small Group Time
- Episode 143: Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction
- Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction (Conradi-Smith, Amendum, Williams, 2022)
- Differentiated Literacy Instruction: Boondoggle or Best Practice? (Puzio, Colby, Nichols, 2020)
- Meta-Analyses of the Effects of Tier 2 Type Reading Interventions in Grades K-3 (Wanzek, et. al, 2016)
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FROM JULY 7, 2023
Today we talk about fluency and assessment with Jan Hasbrouck. She shares tips and tricks for how to to best assess and teach fluency. She also debunks frequent fluency misunderstandings and explains the scientific evidence that underlies the Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart.
Note: During the podcast, we mentioned we would link Jan’s previous studies on ORF. But… we want to make sure the most recent information (Fluency Norms Chart 2017 Update) is the one that is prioritized for instructional use, so we’ve linked that to avoid confusion.
Resources
- Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart
- Fluency Norms Chart (2017 Update)
- Developing Fluent Readers by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading Rockets
- Understanding and Assessing Fluency by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading Rockets
- Tim Rasinski Multidimensional Fluency Rubric
- NAEP Fluency Scale
- What Does “Below Basic” Mean on NAEP Reading?
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Is your district adopting a new English language arts/literacy curriculum? Have you wondered how to tell if an ELA curriculum is “knowledge-building?” Today we’ll be talking to Barbara Davidson and Sue Pimentel about a new curriculum review tool from Knowledge Matters which can be a helpful guide when navigating the curriculum adoption process.
Resources
- Knowledge Matters Campaign Curriculum Review Tool
- Marilyn Jager Adams Advancing Our Students’ Language and Literacy
- Melissa and Lori Love Literacy podcast Episode 170: All About Read Alouds
- Scaling the "Dinosaur Effect"
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FROM JULY 14, 2023
What if you could unlock the secrets to fluency instruction in literacy, and transform your students into confident and skilled readers? Join us as we delve into this crucial topic with Nathaniel Swain, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University in Australia, who shares his expertise on the three components of fluency: speed, accuracy, and prosody. Let's explore together how balancing speed with comprehension can make all the difference in today's digital age, where skimming and scrolling are the new norm.
We discuss a variety of practical strategies to help students practice fluency in the classroom, such as choral reading and paired reading. Nathaniel also sheds light on the role of technology in simplifying the process of creating engaging materials. Discover how to create an environment that fosters student engagement and understanding, and learn the differences between fluency instruction in primary and intermediate classes.
Finally, we examine the value of fluency in reading instruction and how it can be integrated into the literacy block. Nathaniel explains the self-teaching hypothesis and emphasizes the importance of exposing students to unfamiliar words and challenging texts. Don't miss this insightful episode packed with tips and strategies to help your students become fluent and confident readers!
Resources
- Think Forward Educators
- Five Ways to Focus on Fluency, Think Forward Educators Blog
- Fluency Rubric, Tim Rasinski
- Readers Theater Scripts, Chase Young
- Fluency Resources, Tim Rasinski
- Nathaniel Swain on Writing to Learn, ERRR Podcast
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Funds of Knowledge are the skills and knowledge gained by daily routines and practices, as well as cultural and historical interactions. It’s the social and cultural “stuff” that students know through personal experiences.
Background knowledge is the amount of information or knowledge someone has on a topic. Both funds of knowledge and background knowledge give us connection points for learning, and they’re both considered types of prior knowledge.
So what does this mean for instruction?
We should leverage our students' - and families’ - funds of knowledge when possible. We can use students' funds of knowledge and continue to build background knowledge on topics of study.
Resources
- Episode 170: All About Read-Alouds with Molly Ness
- Funds of Knowledge Toolkit from Washington state
- Funds of Knowledge for Teaching
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FROM AUGUST 4, 2023What if the key to unlocking your students' reading comprehension could be found through a deeper understanding of the intricate processes at work in their minds? Prepare to have your teaching world transformed as we journey with reading comprehension expert and acclaimed author, Nancy Hennessy. Together, we’ll map out the cognitive and linguistic processes that underpin comprehension, and navigate the complex interaction between a reader's knowledge, the text itself, and the author's intent.
As teachers, we play an integral role in shaping the reading journey of our students. Witness how the Reading Comprehension Blueprint can revolutionize your instructional design as we discuss how to thoughtfully consider the task, text, and context. Learn how to integrate prior background knowledge and foster mental models of understanding. Be part of our examination of comprehension as an essential pillar of reading and join us as we demystify the science behind this crucial skill.
Finally, imagine having a blueprint that offers a flexible framework that aligns seamlessly with the science of comprehension. Listen as we delve into the importance of planning for instruction, pinpointing the key takeaways for your students, and exploring types of texts and text sets. Learn how to identify the contributors to comprehension and teach your students to become masters of their own understanding. Buckle up and get ready to revolutionize your approach to teaching reading comprehension.
Resources
- The Reading Comprehension Blueprint From The Reading Comprehension Blueprint by Nancy Lewis Hennessy. Copyright © 2021 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved
- Expert Minute Video-Thinking about Comprehension: Nancy Hennessy
- Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension, American Federation of Teachers by Hugh Catts
- Ep. 118 Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh Catts, podcast
- AIM FCRR Background Knowledge Research
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Are You Adopting a New ELA Curriculum? Where Do You Start?One place to start your curriculum adoption journey is EdReports. It’s not the ONLY place by any means, but it is a helpful jumping off point. EdReports asks educator-led review teams to use specific criteria to tell if a curricula meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations. They review ELA, math, and science curricula and provide public reports with detailed insight into the materials.
Resources
- EdReports.org
- EdReports.org: Science of Reading Snapshots
- A Closer Look at the Five Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction
- National Reading Panel - Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Readin
- The Reading League Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines
- Knowledge Matters Review Tool
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
From October 21, 2021
Kory Jensen is a 4th grade teacher in Colorado, obsessed with learning more about reading science! He read The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler… which set him off to learn more about knowledge building.
On today’s podcast, he talks about how background knowledge impacts his students’ comprehension and engagement (spoiler alert: they love going deep into topics!). He provides real-life examples and ways to supplement knowledge on topics through experiences, experiments, texts, videos, and more. Kory’s optimism shines through and we can’t get enough of his lifelong learner spirit. “When you build knowledge and give students opportunities to learn, you’ll be impressed by what they can do.” Thanks, Kory!
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A curriculum evaluation tool that helps teachers, leaders, and parents, determine if a curriculum meets high quality standards or not.
There are two tools we recommend for curriculum review. These tools feel complementary to each other, so we recommend using both, starting with The Reading League’s Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines, then digging deeper into the knowledge component of a curriculum with the Knowledge Matters Review Tool.
Resources
- The Reading League Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines
- Knowledge Matters Review Tool
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Today we talk to educator and author Molly Ness about intentionally planning for read-alouds. Molly will share an easy to prepare protocol for a read-aloud in any grade level or content area.
Resources
- Molly's Website - purchase her book!
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What is a read aloud?It is very common to see early childhood and elementary school teachers reading aloud to their students. But what exactly is happening during this time?
In episode 170, we talk with author and professor, Molly Ness about read alouds. We share her definition along with what to look for in a read aloud and the benefits of read alouds for all learners!
Check out Molly's book: Read Alouds for All Learners
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From July 30, 2021
To connect with a practitioner lens, Duke (alongside Ward & Pearson) also penned The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction. They ask the question: What have decades of research told us about the nature of comprehension and how to develop students’ comprehension in schools? Listen to find out!
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What is dysgraphia?
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association defines dysgraphia as referring to difficulty with either language or spelling-based aspects of writing. Dysgraphia impairs letter writing by hand, which can affect spelling, learning to spell words, the speed of writing, reading word recognition, comprehension, and writing processes and products.
Resources
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Disorder of Reading and Writing
- International Dyslexia Association Understanding Dysgraphia
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Today talk to researcher Tiffany Hogan about language comprehension. We’ll start with the Simple View of Reading, exploring the relationship between phonics and language comprehension. Then we’ll discuss knowledge as the result of systematic and explicit language comprehension instruction and share approaches that work in the classroom - like read-alouds and discourse.
Tiffany P. Hogan, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, Director of the Speech and Language (SAiL) Literacy Lab and the center for translational research, implementation science, and dissemination for equity in CSD, (cTIDE), Research Associate at Harvard University, and inaugural research affiliate for the Boston University Center for Anti-Racist Research.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode
- ASHA Voices on Apple Podcasts
- On the Importance of Listening Comprehension
- If you don't look, you don't see: Measuring language development to inform literacy instruction
- List of commercially available Developmental Language Disorder (DLDP) Screeners
- DLDandme.org
- RADLD.org
- Understanding Dyslexia in the Context of Developmental Language Disorder
- Increasing Higher Level Language Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension
- Adapting Curricula for Children with Language Comprehension Deficits
- Five ways SLPs (and others) can positively impact children with dyslexia
- A generic implementation framework for school-based research and practice
- 'We test, not teach, comprehension' Jeanne Chall:
- CUBED free assessment and progress monitoring for decoding, language, and reading
- Executive functions and morphological awareness explain the shared variance between word reading and listening comprehension Young-Suk Kim
- “the acquisition of an alphabetic code is like catching a virus… this virus infects all speech processing… Language is never the same again” Uta Frith
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What is Developmental Language Disorder, or DLD?
Developmental Language Disorder is a brain-based neurodevelopmental diversity - such as autism or dyslexia or dysgraphia. Students with DLD are six times more likely to have reading difficulties. DLD is a brain variation that makes it difficult to learn language from the environment.
Resources
- New IDEA Guidance Includes Developmental Language Disorder as a Qualifying Category by Tiffany P. Hogan, Kelly Farquharson, Karla McGregor
- DLD and Me Educator Fact Sheet
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From October 7, 2022
In this episode, we talk with former balanced literacy teacher and parent, Missy Purcell. She authored a blog post titled Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher.
Missy writes, “According to Nancy Young’s ladder of reading, roughly 10-15% of kids can figure out reading out with this type of instruction, but my child, who would later be diagnosed with dyslexia, would never be able to become a proficient reader with any version of balanced literacy. He, according to Young, like 85% of students, benefit from or need systematic explicit instruction that follows a scope and sequence with fidelity to become proficient readers and writers.”We want to normalize the idea that most kids CAN learn how to read with structured literacy instruction.
Resources
- Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher
- Looking for Heroes: One Boy, One Year, 100 Letters 2nd Edition
- These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awareness Month!
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Nadine Gaab, Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, joins us on the podcast to talk about how brains learn to read. Reading development starts in utero because the fundamental milestones for learning to read are sounds and language processing. Brain research shows us the brain of children learning to read is different in struggling readers. Dr. Gaab debunks dyslexia myths and connects the importance of early screening and intervention for dyslexia.
Resources
- Dyslexia Myths GaabLab.com
- The Truth About Reading Documentary Trailer
- How Can We Ensure That Every Child Will Learn to Read? The Need for a Global, Neurodevelopmental Perspective - International Dyslexia Association
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From September 30, 2022
Dr. J. Richard Gentry, Dyslexia Expert and the “Guru of Spelling,” joins us on the podcast today to discuss dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability, neurobiological in origin. It’s the #1 reading disability that manifests itself in a continuum. People with dyslexia have difficulty in accurate fluent reading, spelling, and decoding abilities. Dr. Gentry shares his personal story of overcoming dyslexia, how dyslexia affects people, and how teachers can help students with dyslexia in the classroom.
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Ever wondered why reading isn't as natural as speech? Carolyn Strom, an accomplished early literacy expert, reveals that unlike speech, reading doesn't come naturally. In fact, it requires well-structured, explicit instruction which we'll discuss in this episode.
The importance of a structured approach to teaching reading cannot be understated. We'll be taking a deep look at the role of decodable texts, progress monitoring, phonemic awareness activities, and the necessity of a proper scope and sequence. And for those who believe that word memorization is the ultimate key to learning to read, prepare to have that myth debunked. Carolyn introduces the concept of mapping – associating the visual form of a word with its sounds and meaning, a vital aspect in learning to read.
As we delve further into the episode, we look into how critical practice and spoken language are in the reading process. Discover how word games can transform skill drills into an engaging and exciting experience for kids. We also have valuable insights for those working with bilingual or multilingual learners, as we discuss the significance of building spoken language and conceptual knowledge, which play a major role in comprehension. Finally, we'll discuss creating a conducive environment for students to learn and provide resources for further exploration. Join us for this captivating and educational journey into the world of early literacy.
Resources
- UFLI Foundations
- Letterland
- Spelfabet
- Stay connected with Carolyn!
- Stanislas Dehaene, How the Brain Learns to Read (book)
- Maryanne Wolf, Proust and the Squid (book)
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Resources
- CleverNoodle
- International Dyslexia Association
- Gaab Lab
- Student Achievement Partners
- EdReports.org
- The Reed Charitable Foundation
- LETRS Training
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From May 2022 Kim Lockhart, Canadian French immersion teacher and special educator in Kingston, Ontario, shares how she meets the needs of students in her classroom. As stated in a recent report, Right to Read inquiry report from Ontario Human Rights Commission, Ontario is removing the three cueing system completely from all materials and turning to reading science instead. In this episode, Kim models what an evidence-based phonics lesson might entail. In second language programs, it’s necessary for students to build language comprehension by attaching meaning to decoding.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
- Ep. 59: HQIM for ALL with Educator Sarah Webb
- HQIM as EQUITY for English Language Learners with ELSF Executive Director Crystal Gonzales
Resources
- The Right to Read Inquiry Report from Ontario Human Rights Commission
- The Simple View of Reading (SVR)
We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night
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Listen Again from July 9, 2019: A teacher's perspective on curriculum implementation is invaluable... and today, we have not ONE, but TWO teacher perspectives on Wit & Wisdom year one implementation! Kyair and Katie are funny, smart, and have incredible learner-mindsets. They discuss the engagement of their students in texts and tasks, how Wit & Wisdom provides equity and opportunity, and their thoughts on teaching with an integrated (not isolated) curricula - a shift in mindset from the way "school was done" previously. Look out for some cheesy dad jokes along the way (thanks, Kyair), and so much insight and inspiration from these two incredible educators!
Connect with Kyair on Twitter @Kyairb
Connect with Katie on Twitter @Kstoryscotti
TNTP's The Opportunity Myth
https://opportunitymyth.tntp.org/
The Wrong Way to Teach Grammar - Michelle Navarre Cleary
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/the-wrong-way-to-teach-grammar/284014/
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It's our first CALL IN EPISODE! Teachers voices are so important in this reading science movement. We asked teachers to call in and answer two questions:
- What is the most important thing you've learned so far about the science of reading?
- What is a goal you have this year connected to reading science?
Listen and learn as fellow educators share about what big things are happening in their classrooms aligned to reading science.
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Crystal Lenhart is a literacy coach who developed a resource that clearly and transparently explains to families and caregivers how the school is teaching reading and writing differently with reading science research! As we head Back to School, this practical resource is a helpful tool to communicate big changes happening in classrooms and schools.
Resources
- How we teach reading at big horn elementary resource
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ever wondered how to navigate the complex world of reading research as an educator? Get ready for a great conversation with education researcher Neena Saha, who reveals the role of science in education and the importance of pseudoscience in developing theories. We delve into the significance of meta-analyses and discuss the need for caution when using this method. Neena then shares some current reading research with us!
Resources
- SamePage Reading Facebook Group
- MetaMetrics’ Reading Research Recap
- Join the Reading Research mailing list
- The Reading League Journal
- The Reading League recording on what teachers need to know about “how science works” (skip to 1 hour, 40 min)
- Meta-Analysis Review
- Robert Slavin’s Blogs
- In Meta-Analyses, Weak Inclusion Standards Lead to Misleading Conclusions. Here’s Proof.
- How Can You Tell When The Findings of a Meta-Analysis Are Likely to Be Valid?
- Meta-Analysis and Its Discontents
- Criticisms of Meta-Analysis (but also great rebuttals)
- Morphology Recent Research Studies
- Executive Functions and Morphological Awareness Explain the Shared Variance between Word Reading and Listening Comprehension
- Effects of Target Age and Genre on Morphological Complexity in Children’s Reading Material
- Contrasting Direct Instruction in Morphological Decoding and Morphological Inquiry-Analysis Interventions in Grade 3 Children With Poor Morphological Awareness
- Fluency Recent Research Study
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Readers’ Theatre impact on the development of reading skills
- Comprehension Recent Research Study
- Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives on Teaching Reading Comprehension
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ever wonder how to decipher the Science of Reading or how to evaluate a curriculum that claims to be founded on it? We've got an episode just for you. Today, we're thrilled to welcome Holly Lane, a leading expert in the field, who will help us unlock this complex topic. Holly does an incredible job of breaking down the differences between research and evidence-based approaches, and she reveals what the terms 'explicit' and 'systematic' really mean.
Holly delves into the world of research design, the challenges of conducting these trials, and why correlation isn’t always causation. She shares firsthand experiences from her journey creating UFLI Foundations and the significance of field testing and teacher input in program evaluation.
Holly shares her perspective on the importance of practice in education, providing practical strategies to promote automaticity in foundational skills. She also offers pointers on how to interpret research and reports from publishers without getting swayed by the hype. As we all know, not all that glitters is gold – and this is particularly true in the world of educational research. After listening to this episode, you'll have a deeper understanding of the Science of Reading. Trust us - it's an episode you don't want to miss.
Resources
- Science of Reading or Snake Oil webinar with Holly Lane
- UFLI Foundations
- ESSA’s Review of LLI
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Imagine transforming the way you teach reading. Picture your students not just passively consuming the written word, but actively producing meaning and taking purposeful actions inspired by what they've read. This is the promise of our conversation with Doug Fisher, professor at San Diego State University and renowned author, as he takes us on a journey into the depths of reading comprehension.
We question the effectiveness of common literacy programs and discuss the intricate ties between vocabulary, comprehension, and prior knowledge. How do you feel about the 'letter of the week' approach? Listen as we scrutinize its validity and dig deeper into other foundational reading skills, such as letter recognition and sound blending. We also expose the symbiotic relationship between vocabulary and comprehension, underscoring the pivotal role of knowledge in decoding texts.
We then traverse the landscape of oral language in reading instruction and the implications of isolating reading from writing. Can you guess the impact of these practices on student learning? Doug enlightens us on the significance of comprehension strategy instruction and the importance of developing all elements of reading literacy. To cap it off, our conversation concludes with three practical suggestions that you, as an educator, can apply in your classroom for immediate impact. Prepare to awaken a new perspective on the world of reading.
Resources
- Articles by Natalie Wexler
- Steve Graham: Effective Writing Instruction (video)
- Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students, Harris & Graham (book)
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Stay connected with us!
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- Website
Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
What if the key to unlocking your students' reading comprehension lied in a deeper understanding of the intricate processes at work in their minds? Prepare to have your teaching world transformed as we journey with reading comprehension expert and acclaimed author, Nancy Hennessy. Together, we’ll map out the cognitive and linguistic processes that underpin comprehension, and navigate the complex interaction between a reader's knowledge, the text itself, and the author's intent.
As teachers, we play an integral role in shaping the reading journey of our students. Witness how the Reading Comprehension Blueprint can revolutionize your instructional design, as we discuss how to thoughtfully consider the task, text, and context. Learn how to integrate prior background knowledge and foster mental models of understanding. Be part of our examination of comprehension as an essential pillar of reading and join us as we demystify the science behind this crucial skill.
Finally, imagine having a blueprint that offers more than just a lesson plan, but a flexible framework that aligns seamlessly with the science of comprehension. Listen as we delve into the importance of planning for instruction, pinpointing the key takeaways for your students, and exploring appropriate types of readings. Learn how to identify the contributors to comprehension and teach your students to become masters of their own understanding. So, buckle up and get ready to revolutionize your approach to teaching reading comprehension.
Resources
- The Reading Comprehension Blueprint From The Reading Comprehension Blueprint by Nancy Lewis Hennessy. Copyright © 2021 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved
- Expert Minute Video-Thinking about Comprehension: Nancy Hennessy
- Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension, American Federation of Teachers by Hugh Catts
- Ep. 118 Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh Catts, podcast
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- Facebook and join our Facebook Group
Don't miss an episode! Sign up for our newsletter at LiteracyPodcast.com
Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ever thought about the power of words? Join us as we discuss our most requested topic of all time: vocabulary. We have a special guest, fifth-grade teacher Sean Morrisey. We discuss Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary words and discuss how you can strategically select words to teach using research-based approaches.
We also share the importance of continuously embedding words into language throughout the day and using data to measure improvement. Lastly, we bridge the connection between vocabulary and fluency, demonstrating how it impacts performance. By the end of this episode, you'll feel inspired to transform your vocabulary instructional approach in your classroom, one word at a time.
Resources
- Academic Word Finder Achieve the Core
- Which Words Do I Teach and How? Article by David Liben
- Lifelong Literacy, Lyn Stone
- Explicit Instruction, Anita Archer
- Bringing Words to Life, book
- The Writing Revolution, book
- Text Project Vocabulary Instruction
- Word Generation Serp Institute
- Word Sift
- Coxhead Academic Word List
- Podsie
Stay connected with us!
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- Website
Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ever wondered how the fascinating world of words impacts our lives? Join us as we sit down with linguist and author Lyn Stone, who shares her insights about vocabulary and etymology. Through her expertise, we explore the powerful impact on learning outcomes and literacy development.
In this engaging discussion, we emphasize the joy of teaching language and words, with Lyn encouraging us to tap into our natural hardwiring to play with words. She also highlights the importance of developing teacher knowledge of the subject and shares fantastic resources for teaching etymology and morphology. Discover how knowledge-building can support improved response to intervention and transform literacy with Lyn's guidance.
Finally, we dive into the coolness of grammar and syntax as we reveal how they serve as outward expressions of the inner workings of the mind. Lyn shares her work on a new edition of her book Language for Life and offers valuable tips for literacy instruction. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from the brilliant Lyn Stone and to engage with the magical world of words.
Resources
- Language for Life by Lyn Stone
- LifelongLiteracy.com
- Etymonline
- Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids
- The Writing Revolution Book Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler
- The Writing Revolution Podcast (Melissa and Lori Love Literacy)
- Ox, House, Stick: The History of Our Alphabet
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
What if you could unlock the secrets to fluency instruction in literacy, and transform your students into confident and skilled readers? Join us as we delve into this crucial topic with Nathaniel Swain, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University in Australia, who shares his expertise on the three components of fluency: speed, accuracy, and prosody. Let's explore together how balancing speed with comprehension can make all the difference in today's digital age, where skimming and scrolling are the new norm.
We discuss a variety of practical strategies to help students practice fluency in the classroom, such as choral reading and paired reading. Nathaniel also sheds light on the role of technology in simplifying the process of creating engaging materials. Discover how to create an environment that fosters student engagement and understanding, and learn the differences between fluency instruction in primary and intermediate classes.
Finally, we examine the value of fluency in reading instruction and how it can be integrated into the literacy block. Nathaniel explains the self-teaching hypothesis and emphasizes the importance of exposing students to unfamiliar words and challenging texts. Don't miss this insightful episode packed with tips and strategies to help your students become fluent and confident readers!
Resources
- Think Forward Educators
- Five Ways to Focus on Fluency, Think Forward Educators Blog
- Fluency Rubric, Tim Rasinski
- Readers Theater Scripts, Chase Young
- Fluency Resources, Tim Rasinski
- Nathaniel Swain on Writing to Learn, ERRR Podcast
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Today we talk about fluency and assessment with Jan Hasbrouck. She shares tips and tricks for how to to best assess and teach fluency. She also debunks frequent fluency misunderstandings and explains the scientific evidence that underlies the Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart.
Note: During the podcast, we mentioned we would link Jan’s previous studies on ORF. But… we want to make sure the most recent information (Fluency Norms Chart 2017 Update) is the one that is prioritized for instructional use, so we’ve linked that to avoid confusion.
Resources
- Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart
- Fluency Norms Chart (2017 Update)
- Developing Fluent Readers by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading Rockets
- Understanding and Assessing Fluency by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading Rockets
- Tim Rasinski Multidimensional Fluency Rubric
- NAEP Fluency Scale
- What Does “Below Basic” Mean on NAEP Reading?
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
What if we told you that the science of reading is just as applicable to multilingual learners as it is to monolingual English speakers? Today, we had the pleasure of discussing this topic with Claude Goldenberg, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University. Claude shared his insights on the importance of understanding the nuanced language surrounding multilingual learners.
In our conversation, we explored the essential process of teaching English learners to read by developing a bank of sight words and providing additional support alongside phonology and orthography. Claude also shed light on the research and literature available specifically for English learners, debunking the myth that the science of reading is only applicable to monolingual English speakers. Moreover, we discussed the findings of the Ehri and Vaughn studies, which explored the effectiveness of early interventions for at-risk students.
Claude also shared his advice on implementing a strengths-based approach to teaching and building student knowledge while emphasizing the importance of staying up to date with research and being transparent about what we know and don't know. By doing so, we can be effective advocates for English learners. Don't miss this insightful and informative episode to learn how you can better support multilingual learners in their reading journey!
Resources
- Click here to access the research Claude mentions during this podcast
- Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Ep. 119 How Reading Science Works for English Learners with Elsa Cardenas-Hagan
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In today’s episode, Julie Washington discusses how literacy learning can be supported by language variations. Reading and language are intertwined. Reading influences language and language influences reading. It’s a reciprocal process! How can we, as educators and practitioners, leverage students’ strengths in language variations to learn to read?
What if we told you that understanding language variations could significantly impact the way we approach literacy and education for African American children? Join us in this insightful conversation with Julie Washington, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who specializes in the intersection of language and literacy. Discover how her research on language variations as a strength, rather than a weakness, can reshape our perspectives on cultural dialects, early literacy skills, and language development.
Julie brings her expertise to light by highlighting the importance of African American English in the classroom and the challenges it faces, both from the broader society and within the African American community. We explore the practical consequences of treating this dialect as low-prestige and discuss the need for students to be able to use both systems of language.
We dive into resources for educators to better understand these variations and emphasize the importance of differentiated instruction and high expectations for all students. Tune in and equip yourself with the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of your students, no matter their language background.
Resources
- Teaching Reading to African American Children by Julie Washington and Mark Seidenberg
- Struggling Readers Who Speak African-American English Need Support - And Respect by Natalie Wexler
- Minority Student Achievement Network
- The Opportunity Myth by TNTP
- The Academic English Mastery Program by LAUSD
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Secondary educators have students in their classrooms who weren’t taught to read. Because of these reading deficits, students likely have a difficult time accessing secondary texts and tasks. Our guests today, Supt. Sherry Sousa and Educator Julie Brown, discuss a secondary intervention they developed that WORKS and is totally doable. The best part? Students partake in the intervention in addition to - not instead of - their regular high school English classes.
Resources
- No Time to Waste: Structured Literacy for Young Adults
- Ameer Baraka video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyFiOYCqvyk
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
We talked with the fabulously candid Tim Shanahan about his recent blog post Prior Knowledge, or He Isn't Going to Pick on the Baseball Study that garnered much attention. Should we teach reading strategies? How important is building knowledge? What are reading skills vs. strategies? How frequent should strategy instruction occur in concert with knowledge building? He also weighs in on the current crisis to share his thoughts on how families and educators can best serve students at home.
Our conversation today illuminates a hot topic in reading - skills and strategies. What’s the difference? Peter Afflerbach, researcher and professor, shares in the podcast that he and his colleagues surveyed educators and “ten people would give us ten different answers. They were all kind of related, but all different.”
Peter explains that with practice, strategies require less deliberate attention. When strategies become effortless and automatic, the reading strategy has become a reading skill. This is bound to change based on complexity of text and topic, so we learn that knowledge plays a critical role in strategy use and comprehension, too.
Resources
- Clarifying Differences Between Reading Skills and Reading Strategies, The Reading Teacher
- Teaching Readers (Not Reading): Moving Beyond Skills and Strategies to Reader-Focused Instruction by Peter Afflerbach
- Shedding Light on Reading Skills and Strategies | Shanahan on Literacy
- Comprehension Skills or Strategies | What’s the difference and does it matter?
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
We had the opportunity to talk (again!) with Natalie Wexler about tips for effective remote learning (read her full article located here), the current intersection of students' virtual learning and strategy-focused instruction (due to lack of knowledge-based, high quality curricula) and how parents are noticing! How can we teach strategies in context while building knowledge? Listen to find out!
More recently, Wexler wrote a piece titled How Reading Instruction Oppresses Black and Brown Children, located here. She ends with this quote: "If people truly understood the needless damage being done by our schools every day, they would be out in the streets demanding change." Natalie, we hear you, and WE ARE! We are shouting from the rooftops... or more accurately, shouting from the podcast apps! :)
American Educator magazine released an excerpt of The Knowledge Gap - find it here!
What is Phonemic Awareness? It’s one component of your literacy instruction. Phonemic awareness means understanding that spoken words are made of individual sounds called phonemes. We want students to be able to isolate, blend, segment, and more. Can it be ‘done in the dark’? Or should we teach phonemic awareness with print? Listen and learn as we explore this important question (and more) in today’s episode.
Resources
- They Say You Can Do Phonemic Awareness Instruction “In the Dark”, But Should You? A Critical Evaluation of the Trend Toward Advanced Phonemic Awareness Training
- Ep. 142: Structured Literacy in Small Group Time
- Choosing and Using Decodable Texts by Wiley Blevins
- Phonemic Awareness vs. Phonics Heggerty
- What are Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness? Heggerty
- Free Sample Lessons Heggerty
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Why is teaching reading so important? Melissa and Lori have a conversation with Louisa Moats grounded in this article: Teaching Reading is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do. Moats asserts that 95% of students can learn to read when taught to do so using evidence-based practices. In this episode, listen as we discuss and define the term science of reading, while connecting decades of research and theory to classroom practice.
In this episode, we’ll discuss an approach to teaching foundational skills known as speech to print. The speech to print approach consists of 4 concepts with consistent logic:
- Letters spell sounds (alphabetic principle)
- Sounds can be represented by one or more letters
- Sounds can be spelled different ways
- Spellings can be pronounced in different ways
What is the difference between speech to print and a traditional print to speech approach? What does the speech to print approach look like in practice? What does the research say about this approach?
Resources
- Reading Simplified
- PhonicBooks
- Evidence Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI)
- Phonics: Speech to Print vs Print to Speech Webinar
- The Seidenberg and McClelland (1989) model of visual word recognition
- International Dyslexia Association Fact Sheet on Phoneme Awareness
- The Latest Research (And Debate) on Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Instruction by Susan Brady
- Speech to Print or Print to Speech: What's the difference? blog, by Tami, Phonic Books
- Why Our Children Can't Read and What We Can Do About It, book, Diane McGuinness
- Stanislas Dehaene: Book, How the Brain Learns to Read and YouTube Video, How the Brain Learns to Read, and Twitter Handle
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Dr. Sonia Cabell, Associate Professor at Florida State University, shares the importance of both oral language and content knowledge instruction. Why? Oral language skills underlie our ability to comprehend text. At the same time, the knowledge we bring to a text is THE key determinant on how much we understand that text. This episode speaks to the entirety of the reading rope!
Robert Pondiscio, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), asserts that reading comprehension is NOT a skill. Yes, good readers use reading skills and strategies to make meaning. But good readers also have a robust knowledge base. There is strong evidence to support knowledge building ELA curriculum, but we continue to wonder about what knowledge, whose knowledge, and how much?
Resources
- Recht & Leslie Baseball Study
- Wanted: A Science of Reading Comprehension movement | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
- Reading comprehension is not a “skill” | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
- Why doesn’t increasing knowledge improve reading achievement? Tim Shanahan
- Ep. 124 Innovative Assessment with the Louisiana Assessment Team Melissa and Lori Love Literacy podcast
- Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch
- What Reading Does for the Mind Cunningham and Stanovich
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In this episode, researcher Hugh Catts discusses his pivotal piece titled Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension | American Federation of Teachers. He asserts, “Reading comprehension is thinking with a book in your hand.” There are three factors that impact reading comprehension: the reader, the text, and the activity (task or purpose). He talks with Melissa and Lori about the role knowledge plays in reading comprehension, the interaction of the knowledge the text demands vs. the knowledge a student brings to a task, and the implications of knowledge in instruction and assessment.
Resources
- Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension | American Federation of Teachers
- Language and Reading Research Consortium Study
- Listening strategies in the L2 classroom: more practice, less study
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum
Pamela Snow, professor at Latrobe University in Australia, discusses the arguments that keep surfacing when educators are resistant to move away from balanced literacy. You might have heard a few:
- Systematic phonics teaching is just for Tier 2.
- The goal of balanced literacy is for children to love reading.
- Explicit teaching kills the love of reading.
- Give them time, they’ll catch on or catch up.
- Teacher should choose what they think is best.
Pam’s blog post, Balanced Literacy Bingo, debunks each idea listed above and more.
Resources
- The Snow Report Blog and Balanced Literacy Bingo
- A School Leader’s Sliding Doors Moment by Sue Knight
- Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher Podcast and Blog
- La Trobe University’s Short Courses: Introduction, Intermediate, Secondary and Masters in Linguistics
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In this episode, Melissa and Lori have a candid discussion about change with Kareem Weaver, co-founder of FULCRUM Oakland: Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate. FULCRUM’s goal is to ensure that every Oakland child is an 'on-time' reader provided with full LITERACY: a fundamental civil right, a powerful protection from the school to prison pipeline, and the cornerstone for a life of choice and fulfillment. In this episode, Kareem discusses the change he is fighting for and the elements he believes are necessary to make it happen.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 19: Getting at the Root of the School to Prison Pipeline with NCTQ President, Kate Walsh
- Ep. 82: [CLEAN] Minneapolis Public School Parents: Accepting Nothing Less Than Evidence-Based Reading in Schools
- Ep. 100: Trauma and Reading with Dr. Steven Dykstra
Resources
- FULCRUM Oakland: Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate
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We want the shift to reading science to be permanent, not perceived as another ‘educational pendulum swing.’ To do this, it’s necessary to recognize what worked and didn’t work within balanced literacy. Today’s guests, UnboundEd’s Lacey Robinson and The Right to Read Project’s Margaret Goldberg, both shifted from teaching using balanced literacy (specifically Lucy Calkins’ Workshop Model, also known as Units of Study) to structured literacy and became powerful literacy advocates in the process.
Resources
- Sold a Story podcast and other APM Reports by Emily Hanford
- The Right to Read Project
- UnboundEd
- Seeing the Good in Balanced Literacy... and Moving On by Margaret Goldberg
- The Truth About Reading Film website (and trailer)
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom is a must-read before or after listening to this podcast!
Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel share the true intentions of the CCSS vs. the way they are currently interpreted. They also provide observations about how the Standards play out in classrooms and schools - within HQIM and what happens in absence of HQIM!
We ask the gals some tough questions:
- What does this mean for assessment, especially "data-driven" instruction?
- What are better ways to assess and track student progress?
They are hilarious and smart, and so very relatable. This one is a MUST listen!
Read the article that prompted this conversation:
Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom
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Today we’ll be talking to a team of authors about a recent article they published on small group instruction, titled Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction. We ask and answer important questions about small group instructional time: What is the appeal of small group reading instruction? Why has it been popular? What does the research say? What do we need to know about effective small-group reading instruction? What are some best practices?
Resources
- Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction (published in The Reading Teacher)
- Dr. Neena Saha’s Reading Research Recap of this research
- What Should Small Group Instruction Look Like? Tim Shanahan
- Reinterpreting the development of reading skills Scott Paris
- Applying New Visions of Reading Development in Today's Classrooms Kay Stahl
- Text Project with Freddy Hiebert
- Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Our Children’s Learning by Peter Johnston
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In this episode, Lindsay Kemeny, 2nd grade teacher, gives a deep dive into her evidence-based, small group instruction time. Her journey to the science of reading was necessary and life altering. It led her to clarity on structured, systematic approaches to teaching reading. She discusses informal and formal assessments, how she uses data to determine small groups, and center options for practicing reading and writing. Her best advice? KEEP. IT. SIMPLE!
After reading this recent blog by Tim Shanahan, we couldn’t resist asking her about sound walls and how her students use them in her classroom. She shares, “The sound wall is not the main event in my classroom… structured literacy is the main event. The sound wall is a reflection of what’s happening in the classroom.”
We discussed the following resources:
- Epic Books
- Lindsay’s blog post Sink or Swim: The Appearance of Reading
- Linnea Ehri’s work, such as this research
- The Reading League
In today’s episode, we discuss the structure and content of the literacy block. How can we teach using structured literacy in small groups? Kinder teacher Casey Jergens and author Natalie Wexler join us to connect theory and practice. Casey previously taught using a guided (leveled) reading approach with lots of small group time. In recent years, he’s switched to focus on Tier 1 instruction aligned to structured literacy, which supports access for all students.
Resources
- Elementary Classrooms Are Too Noisy For Kids To Learn by Natalie Wexler
- Casey’s Twitter Handle
- Natalie Wexler’s Twitter Handle
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 22: Dr. Sonja Santelises joined us to discuss why she saw the urgent need for change in Baltimore City Public Schools, how she set and supported a clear literacy focus through the Blueprint for Success and high-quality curricula, and the ongoing next steps that prevail. She is witty and sharp, but most of all, we appreciate her vision and boundless energy in this admittedly difficult work.
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What does it take to disrupt the "way it has always been done"? Dr. Ernie Ortiz, Senior Literacy Engagement Specialist with AIM Institute for Learning and Research, joins us to discuss this important question. As a former teacher, school leader, and current national leader, he realizes that leaders play a critical role in student achievement. The approach leaders take often make or break systems and change within classrooms, schools, and districts. How can a side by side approach with leaders as learners (rather than top down with leaders as managers) be more supportive of schools achieving greatness for students?
Resources
- AIM Institute: https://institute.aimpa.org/
- Dr. Ernesto Ortiz Twitter
- What is the Science of Reading?, The Reading League
- Knowledge Matters Campaign
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
We are honored to talk with two early grade veteran teachers from Vista Peak Exploratory in Aurora, CO. Vista Peak is in Year 4 of Great Minds’ Wit & Wisdom ELA, Geodes, and Wilson Language Fundations… the trifecta! April Evans, grade 1, and Danielle Hunter, grade 3, discuss the transition from piecemeal, low quality curricula materials to high quality materials that focus on building both skills and knowledge. They share how their materials support engagement and excitement in creating a classroom community of learners. What does the literacy block look like in grades 1 and 3? How are knowledge and skills aligned through grade bands? Listen to find out.
Decodable Readers Protocol from Student Achievement Partners
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In today’s episode, we talk with a teacher and interventionist from Blount County, TN, Erin Metz. She provides an in depth walkthrough of her district’s K-2 instructional block time. She’ll share her strategic approach to working with students and teachers during small group instructional time - modeling how to use this time to reinforce accuracy, automaticity, build vocabulary and knowledge in order to solidify comprehension, and more.
Resources
- Erin Metz Small Group Time YouTube Video
- Beverly Tyner’s Lesson Plans
- Great Minds Wit & Wisdom ELA and Geodes
- Wilson Language Fundations
- Heggerty Phonemic Awareness
- ILA Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
LISTEN AGAIN | FROM JULY 31, 2019Today we are live with Natalie Wexler, the author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It (LISTENERS - IT’S AVAILABLE TODAY!). The book focuses on the lack of content in the elementary curriculum and its connection to what is commonly known as the achievement gap.
Natalie provides a snapshot of research on building knowledge, then tangibly deconstructs the why and how behind the research making explicit connections to education classrooms today. She provides clear steps to take to ‘fix’ the knowledge gap: adopting a content-focused curriculum to build knowledge, and providing teachers and leaders with ongoing professional development and coaching grounded in the curriculum.
Pick up her book, The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It. In the meantime, find articles and say hi to Natalie at https://nataliewexler.com/ or on Twitter @natwexler.
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In today’s episode, we discuss knowledge as a critical component of reading comprehension. We hear from author and professor Daniel Willingham, who shares research on the important role knowledge plays in comprehension. We also talk with Executive Director of Knowledge Matters Campaign, Barbara Davidson, who highlights strong curricula and resources related to knowledge-building ELA.
Resources
- Knowledge Matters Campaign website
- Knowledge Matters Campaign Twitter handle
- Books by Daniel Willingham
- Reading Rockets Q&A with Daniel Willingham
- Daniel Willingham Social Media
- TikTok
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 115: Kindergarten TEAM Reaches (nearly) 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
Kristin Poppens IS BACK! In this episode, she shares the power of teacher teamwork and collaboration. Her Kindergarten teammates and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) join her to explain how they use evidence-based practices to reach 100% success for Every Single Student. All means all!
For resources mentioned in this episode: https://greatminds.org/literacy-lovers-newsletter-3
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 113: Reading is Rocket Science with Louisa Moats
Why is teaching reading so important? Melissa and Lori have a conversation with Louisa Moats grounded in this article: Teaching Reading is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do. Moats asserts that 95% of students can learn to read when taught to do so using evidence-based practices. In this episode, listen as we discuss and define the term science of reading, while connecting decades of research and theory to classroom practice.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 108: From 13% to 100% Literacy Proficiency with School Leader Angie Hanlin
Angie Hanlin, current Superintendent in Wisconsin, led her former school from 13% to 100% reading proficiency. How? Angie shifted the focus from TEACHING to LEARNING. She worked alongside her school teams with a relentless, laser-like focus on data, asking questions such as: Who is making progress? Who’s not? What are we going to do about it? Radical acceptance of the data helped educators move forward and put aside blame and shame. Key takeaway: All means ALL!
Related Episodes
- Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice
- Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski
- Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
- Ep. 103: From Workshop Model to Reading Science in Pentucket
Resources
- Instructional strategies for 7 early literacy pillars by Patti Montgomery, Schools Cubed
- Developing Assessment-Capable Visible Learners Grades K-12: Maximizing Skill, Will, and Thrill
- How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research by The Wallace Foundation
- The Reading Brain by the Center for Reading and Language Research, including Maryanne Wolf
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 117: The Writing Revolution with Authors Judith Hochman and Natalie WexlerThe Writing Revolution authors, Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler, share a 'revolutionary' approach to writing. The best part: It begins at the sentence level AND content knowledge drives the rigor. Moreover, there is an overlap in reading, writing, and critical thinking.
What are the principles of The Writing Revolution? There are six:
- Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the early elementary grades.
- Sentences are the building blocks of all writing.
- When embedded in the content of the curriculum, writing instruction is a powerful teaching tool.
- The content of the curriculum drives the rigor of the writing activities.
- Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.
- The two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising.
Resources
- The Writing Revolution, Not for Profit
- The Writing Revolution, The Atlantic, October 2012
- Writing and cognitive load theory, Natalie Wexler
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 120: Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills with Julia Lindsey
Talking with Dr. Julia Lindsey is like popping into the classroom next door to chat with your best teacher friend after school. On this podcast, Julia shares what evidence says that young readers need to know to help them decode words efficiently. We discuss foundational reading skills, starting with oral language and print concepts through multisyllabic word reading. Instructional swaps take this conversation to the classroom where Julia tells us what to swap to improve instruction. Efficient and effective instruction is critical when teaching decoding.
Resources
Reading Above the Fray by Dr. Julia B. Lindsey
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Today we’ll be sharing what you can expect for 2023!
We’re so excited to have created such an incredible community of educators who want to learn more about reading and writing. We really mean this. There are so many of you listening out there… around the world. Thank you for listening and learning with us!
What will stay the same in 2023?
We will continue to keep our podcast discussions about the science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality materials.
What will change in 2023?
During the summer, we will share weekly episodes and bonus content, host a book club, and podcast discussion groups. There will also be opportunities for you to advocate within your education community. During the winter, spring, and fall, you can expect mostly biweekly episodes. Be sure to lookout for bonus content, too!
In today's episode, we share our favorite episodes from 2022, including:
- Ep. 128: Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher with Missy Purcell
- Ep 100: Trauma and Reading with Dr. Steven Dykstra
- Ep. 108: From 13% to 100% Literacy Proficiency with School Leader Angie Hanlin
- Ep. 112: Kareem Weaver on Levers for Literacy Change
- Ep. 113: Reading is Rocket Science with Louisa Moats
- Ep. 116: Sonia Cabell on the Importance of Content-Rich ELA Instruction
We love creating this podcast and learning together with you, our Literacy Lovers community. We can’t wait to keep learning together in 2023.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In today’s Feel Good Friday episode, we talk with Shaheer Mustafa, President and CEO of Hopewell Inc, and Amy Schneider, vice president, program impact and strategy at HopeWell. They will share more about a program called RISE (Readiness, Inquiry, Scholarship, Education) that builds early literacy skills and more for children in foster care.
Resources
- To make a donation to HopeWell, Inc., click here.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In today’s Feel Good Friday episode, we talk with Deidra Mayberry, Executive Director of the nonprofit, Reading to New Heights, which brings attention to adult literacy as a critical issue in our society. Growing up, she was a struggling reader. This led her to establish her nonprofit which supports building literacy skills in adults. Deidra's story is sure to resonate with your literacy loving heart.
Resources
- To make a donation to Reading to New Heights, click here.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In today's Feel Good Friday episode, we talk with Steven Shadel, Director of Great Minds Virtual School. He tells us about effective virtual learning experiences and how those experiences look very much like a typical in-person school experience. In both settings with high quality materials, educators can engage students in active learning. Students are thinking and doing. All teachers take part in knowledge-building professional learning. ALL educators can bring knowledge to life! Knowledge belongs to everyone.
Resources
- +Article and video from teacher voice & admin perspective - Steven to share with us (Steven, Nancy Z.)
- Great Minds Virtual School
- Great Minds Virtual Instagram
- Great Minds Virtual Blog
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In this episode, we talk with a team of educators who made Eureka Math Squared decodable, readable, and accessible for all students. As students access math, their deficits in reading can get in the way. Eureka Math Squared helps students have equity in math to engage in grade level work and feel empowered. All students deserve to be able to do math without limitations.
Resources
- Eureka Math Squared Overview
- Eureka Math Squared Webinar on Math Readability
- Eureka Math Squared Whitepaper Improving Readability in Math Without Compromising Rigor
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In this episode, we talk with a first grade teacher about how she uses Tier 1 foundational skills assessment data to make decisions about small group time, such as how students are grouped, what happens during small group instruction, and why all students have access to readable, knowledge building texts. She discusses structures and routines that support accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Both decodable and readable, knowledge building texts have a purpose and place in her classroom.
Resources
- Geodes readable, knowledge building texts
- Decodable Reader Protocol from Achieve the Core
- To Help Students Read and Write, Shower Some Love on the Sentence by Natalie Wexler
- The Writing Revolution by Dr. Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler
- Vocabulary Strategy: Concept Mapping
- Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Podcast Episode 92
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Pun intended. This episode takes us into the world of Geodes - decodable readers that bridge foundational skills and Wit and Wisdom ELA - through building knowledge and accessible text. Melissa and Lori talk with Lorraine Griffith and Emily Gula, who share the research and insight behind the development of Geodes and how they can be used in classrooms, as well as (and most importantly) why Geodes are market disrupters. We can't wait for Baltimore City students to experience these special texts this year, to connect Wilson Language's Fundations foundational skills to the knowledge-building topics in Wit and Wisdom ELA core instruction. Quite simply, GEODES ROCK!
Primary Teachers: This one’s for YOU! Today we talk with educator, author, and business-owner Elise Lovejoy about decodable texts. What makes texts decodable? What makes quality decodable texts? What’s the purpose of decodable texts? How can we use decodable texts in the classroom? Listen and learn as we discuss all things decodable texts.
Resources
- Express Readers Decodable Books
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Researcher Heidi Anne Mesmer joins the podcast to discuss the research on decodable text and dos and don'ts for classroom practice. Thinking about decodability as a meter from most to least decodable to the reader is important. A child who reads a text by sounding out and decoding words will experience a milestone of childhood: the feeling of reading. This also supports orthographic mapping.
Resources
- Decodable Text: A Review of What We Know, Heidi Anne Mesmer
- TextProject.org
- Key Knowledge to Support Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instruction, Piasta and Hudson
- Choosing and Using Decodable Texts, Wiley Blevins
- Reading Above the Fray, Julia Lindsey
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DJ Bolger, a neuroscientist and associate professor at the University of Maryland College Park, joins the podcast today. DJ helps us understand the dyslexia brain a bit better, shares how dyslexia is so much more than “one” thing, and provides helpful analogies and ideas for application. He defines dyslexia, discussing the brain, and making connections to reading science.
Resources
- International Dyslexia Association Dyslexia Awareness Month social media resources and more
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Trauma impacts every facet of our being. Today we’ll hear from educator and author, Dr. Melissa Sadin. As part of our Dyslexia Awareness month series, Dr. Sadin will share her personal story about how trauma and reading affected her family. Trauma can get in the way of the brain learning to read but we can help our students through intentional instructional practices.
Resources
- These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awareness Month!
- Developmental Trauma Disorder
- ACES STUDY
- The Trauma Foundation
- Carol Dweck Growth Mindset
- Bessel van der Kolk, MD
- The Attachment and Trauma Network
- TNTP’s The Opportunity Myth
In celebration of Emily Hanford's new documentary series, Sold a Story, listen again to Emily Hanford here!
Today Emily Hanford joins Melissa and Lori to define the Science of Reading, addressing the current misinterpretation of the term and what it really means. She shares thoughts on teacher prep programs and where teachers get knowledge about what or how to teach, contemplates why teacher prep programs are not preparing teachers to teach kids how to read, and how curriculum plays a role in helping teachers who do not know the science of reading.
Resources
- Sold a Story by American Public Media
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
As part of our Dyslexia Awareness Month series, listen again to Dr. Steven Dykstra discuss the devastating effects on students who have not received the instruction they need to be successful readers.
April 1, 2022The axis of rating trauma is frequent and repetitive. Over time, the chronic trauma wears down kids who can’t read. This has devastating effects. In our official 100th episode, Dr. Steven Dyskstra discusses Trauma and Reading. He explains the connection between not being taught to read using evidence-based practices and the subsequent, unnecessary trauma this causes in children’s lives. Stepping away from science-based approaches creates issues for kids that don’t need to be there. This is a pervasive problem happening everywhere.
Dr. Steven Dykstra is a psychologist, advocate, and troublemaker in the reading world. He has worked with the most severely traumatized and mentally ill children for more than 25 years. His passion for reading comes from the recognition that the thousands of children he has served often pay the highest price for our failures and mistakes.
In this episode, we talk with Sydney Bassard, a clinical speech language pathologist, also known as The Listening SLP. Inspired by her brother’s experience with dyslexia, she became a speech language pathologist and began advocating within her community so educators and parents can be informed and actualize reading science into practice. Sydney defines the role of the speech language pathologist in the community and in the school to help us better connect language and literacy.
Resources
- The Listening SLP
- Developmental Speech Sound Milestones
- These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awareness Month!
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In this episode, we talk with former balanced literacy teacher and parent, Missy Purcell. She authored a blog post titled Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher.
Missy writes, “According to Nancy Young’s ladder of reading, roughly 10-15% of kids can figure out reading out with this type of instruction, but my child, who would later be diagnosed with dyslexia, would never be able to become a proficient reader with any version of balanced literacy. He, according to Young, like 85% of students, benefit from or need systematic explicit instruction that follows a scope and sequence with fidelity to become proficient readers and writers.”We want to normalize the idea that most kids CAN learn how to read with structured literacy instruction.
Resources
- Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher
- Looking for Heroes: One Boy, One Year, 100 Letters 2nd Edition
- These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awareness Month!
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
As part of our Dyslexia Awareness Month series, listen to a previous episode with parent and advocate Brett Tingley.
March 25, 2022
Brett Tingley shares how to harness parent energy and expertise to address the legal and moral responsibility of school districts to teach children how to read using science. Our Dyslexic Children tells the story of a group of parents who took on the system, and won. The nonprofit group shares a Strategic Roadmap that’s a practical and actionable guide for educators and parents looking to improve reading instruction in their communities.
As part of our Dyslexia Awareness Month series, listen to a previous episode with parent and advocate Katie Hickerson.
September 24, 2021“I just thought kids learned how to read… and my daughter didn’t. She could identify 4 letters by the end of kindergarten .” Katie Hickerson's daughter, Cora, went from a joyous little one to a child with lots of big feelings after starting school, saying she felt stupid.
Katie pulled Cora out of school to be homeschooled - providing structured literacy instruction alongside rigorous tutoring through the International Dyslexia Association. In less than two years, Cora went from meeting a 1% reading benchmark to 92% and was back to herself - full of joy, laughter, and confidence.
How can parents (and educators) support the reading science movement? Listen and learn!
As part of our Dyslexia Awareness Month series, listen to a previous episode with parent and advocate Liz Hembling.
November 24, 2020Liz Hembling's daughter, Mia, attended a public elementary school. Liz noticed early on that she struggled terribly learning to read. In second grade, the school placed Mia in a remedial reading group, without communicating this to Liz. When Liz expressed her concerns, she was repeatedly assured that Mia was “on grade level” and “fine.” But... she wasn’t fine. Liz knew there was something wrong.
This sent Liz on a quest to understand what's happening in the public school system. How could she create change to ensure all kids could access quality reading instruction and services? Liz joined Decoding Dyslexia Maryland and tirelessly advocates for students and families.
Today we have a special episode featuring four parents from all over the United States. One thing they have in common is that they have children with dyslexia. They are courageously sharing their stories as reading science advocates working for systemic change.
Resources
- Dyslexia-specific Resources:
- International Dyslexia Association
- The Dyslexia Initiative
- These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awareness Month!
- Featuring Parents from Today’s Episode:
- COKID Colorado Dyslexia advocacy group
- Both Sides of the Table, Dystinct Magazine featuring Erica Kaufmann, July 2022
- Behaviors Before Dyslexia, The Dyslexia Initiative, Lauren Taylor
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Dr. J. Richard Gentry, Dyslexia Expert and the “Guru of Spelling,” joins us on the podcast today to discuss dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability, neurobiological in origin. It’s the #1 reading disability that manifests itself in a continuum. People with dyslexia have difficulty in accurate fluent reading, spelling, and decoding abilities. Dr. Gentry shares his personal story of overcoming dyslexia, how dyslexia affects people, and how teachers can help students with dyslexia in the classroom.
Resources
- Dr. J. Richard Gentry’s Psychology Today Blog: Raising Readers, Writers, and Spellers
- Dyslexia Resources from Richard’s Psychology Today Blog:
- 7 Ways to Accommodate People with Dyslexia in the Classroom
- Recognizing Dyslexia May Prevent Low Self-Esteem and Anxiety
- Educators Can Help Young Children Diagnosed with Dyslexia
- A Guide to Early Markers of Dyslexia
- These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awareness Month!
- Susan Barton
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In this coming Friday's episode we get to talk to the fabulous Richard Gentry again! This time we talk to him about dyslexia to kick off a series of episodes for Dyslexia Awareness Month. Until then, listen to our first episode with Richard Gentry about the importance of spelling!
March 4, 2022We’ve been asked about spelling and the connection to reading science more times than we can count. Today, we talk with expert J. Richard Gentry, author of Brain Words and blog contributor to Psychology Today: Raising Readers, Writers, and Spellers (An Expert Guide for Parents).
He tells us all about spelling and how it connects to our speech and language system. Moreover, he supplies teachers with practical, meaningful, science of reading-aligned strategies to teach spelling.
Virginia Delegate, Carrie Coyner, and University of Virginia Professor, Emily Solari, championed action for a bill (now a law) that put $70 million towards changing colleges of education, professional learning for educators, and curriculum and materials to align to reading science across the state of Virginia. On this podcast, they will share how they accomplished this with 100% agreement from all state representatives, regardless of political party.
Resources
- Virginia Literacy Act
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Andrew Watson, educator and author of Learning and the Brain Blog and the book The Goldilocks Map, teaches us how to become healthy skeptics. Cognitive science and literacy intersect as we are inundated with information about reading science, curricular materials, motivation strategies and more. As we learn to discern and distill information, we ask the question: Is there research to support that? There are three steps to the process of unpacking the legitimacy of research.
- Determine if you trust the speaker. Ask: What is the best research you know of that supports that idea?
- Review the study. Ask: Is this study a good proxy for my students or scenario?
- Look for more research! Consider: Which direction does most of the research point me?
Resources
- Learning and the Brain Blog by Andrew Watson
- The Goldilocks Map by Andrew Watson
- Isn’t Independent Reading a Research-Based Process? Reading Rockets /Tim Shanahan
- Tools to determine validity of research:
- ConnectedPapers.com
- Scite.ai
- Google Scholar
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This episode with Lior Klirs connects to Ep. 124: Innovative Assessment with the Louisiana Assessment Team. If you haven't heard this one yet, definitely listen!
From original episode (5/6/22)This episode is the first in a series on a really important topic: Assessment. How can we debunk the idea of ‘standards-aligned assessments’? What about ‘standards-aligned report cards’?
Today’s guest teaches us that when we overfocus on the format of an assessment (i.e. the standards), we miss out on what matters most and lose track of the goal (i.e. comprehension). Comprehension is not a single construct.
When we think about assessment data, there are two important questions to ask:
- Are the data useful?
- How are we preparing students for assessments? Are we confusing format with goals?
The assessment data is a pathway back to the content. In case you’re wondering, here’s where the science of reading comes into play… knowledge building is a necessary and (very) important part of assessment!
Related Episodes
- Ep. 35: Reading Assessments NEED an Upgrade!
- Ep. 37: Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel on the Standards, Assessment, and Data
Resources (bulleted list of resources mentioned in the podcast)
- Garbage In Garbage Out
- Beyond Multiple Choice conference agenda Jay McTighe
- Why the Pandemic Experts Failed (The Atlantic)
- What is the Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom (DIKW) Pyramid?
- Researchers blast data analysis for teachers to help students (Hechinger Report)
- Why State Reading Tests Are Poor Benchmarks of Student Success by Hugh Catts
- Educational Redlining (Reading Groups) with Sonja Santelises
- Like most superintendents I cared a lot about test scores. Too much, it turns out. (Chalkbeat)
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Louisiana is a state taking assessment to the next level. In this episode, the assessment team from the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) discusses Innovative Assessments. Reading comprehension is often assessed through cold reads and sometimes familiar topics. The LDOE team tells us how we can change our approach to assessment. We know comprehension is tricky to assess. Why? One word: KNOWLEDGE. Reading science tells us that knowledge is a critical piece of comprehension. Listen as the LDOE team tells how they are innovating to provide equity and respect for teachers and students through assessment.
Resources
- Louisiana Guidebooks
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Diana Leddy of the Vermont Writing Collaborative joins Melisas and Lori to talk about a topic we love: Writing. Specifically, Diana discusses a simple, easy to use tool used to support students with expository writing called The Painted Essay. The Painted Essay works because it helps students understand visually what they are writing and why they are writing it, as well as organize their thinking around a thesis statement. This structure requires students to think about what they want to say and use writing skills to say it.
Resources
- The Vermont Writing Collaborative’s Painted Essay Tool
- The Vermont Writing Collaborative
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Today Melissa and Lori talk with authors Chase Young, David Paige, and Timothy V. Rasinski, authors of the book, Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading. Teaching artfully means teaching authentically, aesthetically, and creatively. This book shares how to teach the five pillars of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) artfully. It’s important to really know what you’re doing in order to be artful in your teaching.
Resources
Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading by Chase Young, David Paige, and Timothy V. Rasinski
* Teaching Reading: A Blend of Art and Science
* “That Sounded Good!”: Using Whole-Class Choral Reading to Improve Fluency by David Paige
* Chase Young’s website: Thebestclass.org
* Ep. 110: Baltimore Secondary Literacy Teachers Talk Fluency
* Ep. 116: Sonia Cabell on the Importance of Content-Rich ELA Instruction
* Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski
* What Works Clearinghouse
* Young, C., Durham, P., Miller, M., Rasinski, T., & Lane, F. (2019). Improving reading comprehension with readers theater. Journal of Educational Research, 112(5), 615-626.
* Young, C., Durham, P., Rasinski, T., Godwin, A., & Miller, M. (2021). Closing the gender gap in reading with readers theater. Journal of Educational Research, 114*(5), 495-511.
* Just for FUN: Dropkick Murphys
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading by Chase Young, David Paige, and Timothy Rasinski is a next step for educators steeped in the science. When we understand reading research and science, we can add art and creativity to the learning space. What does it mean to teach artfully? How can we creatively approach teaching aligned to science? These questions answered (and more) in this book talk.
Resources
- Dr. Becky at Good Inside on Instagram
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Melissa and Lori received a question from a listener about classroom objectives. The listener was grappling with the idea that she has to post objectives in her classroom, but they often don't match what reading science tells us about how we teach reading. This question requires us to rethink about "meeting an objective" at the end of a reading comprehension lesson. It's about SO MUCH MORE than classroom objectives. It's about knowledge building, assessment, and evolving outcomes to align with current practice. Listen and learn as Melissa and Lori unpack this important question together!
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
If you loved our recent episode with Julia Lindsey about her book, Reading Above the Fray, you won't want to miss our first episode with her last year! Check it out!
From Sept 10, 2021What are we aiming to accomplish in early reading instruction? Dr. Julia Lindsey asks this as she tackles topics such as decoding, decodable texts, sound walls, and more.
We discuss the role of instruction and how that pushes a child to be better instead of keeping them at the same place where they might not develop skills as an independent reader. This two-part SoR series is a must-listen for educators!
If you loved our recent episode with Julia Lindsey about her book, Reading Above the Fray, you won't want to miss our first episode with her last year! Check it out!
From Sept 3, 2021What are we aiming to accomplish in early reading instruction? Dr. Julia Lindsey asks this as she tackles topics such as decoding, decodable texts, sound walls, and more.
We discuss the role of instruction and how that pushes a child to be better instead of keeping them at the same place where they might not develop skills as an independent reader. This two-part SoR series is a must-listen for educators!
Talking with Dr. Julia Lindsey is like popping into the classroom next door to chat with your best teacher friend after school. On this podcast, Julia shares what evidence says that young readers need to know to help them decode words efficiently. We discuss foundational reading skills, starting with oral language and print concepts through multisyllabic word reading. Instructional swaps take this conversation to the classroom where Julia tells us what to swap to improve instruction. Efficient and effective instruction is critical when teaching decoding.
Resources
Reading Above the Fray by Dr. Julia B. Lindsey
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Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills is a must read for all ELA educators Pre-K through 12. Dr. Julia Lindsey outlines the essentials of how children learn to read, the principles of high-quality foundational skills instruction, essential instructional "swaps" to improve reading instruction, and more.
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Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan joins the podcast to share that reading science works for English Learners. What does it mean to use evidence-based instruction to teach English Learners? Dr. Cardenas-Hagan asserts that every language has its own history, its own culture, its own use. Language supports literacy, and literacy support language. With this cyclical understanding, she explains how to use effective strategies for ALL learners.
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Literacy Foundations for English Learners prepares educators to enter the classroom with a full understanding of the language and literacy development of English Learners. Remember this: What's good for English Learners is good for ALL students!
In this book talk, Melissa and Lori unpack the elements of an integrated approach to vocabulary learning in content-rich instruction. They consider how word learning strategies help English Learners move toward independence and explore how content-rich vocabulary instruction builds a strong foundation for text comprehension. They bring it together by applying evidence-based vocabulary strategies to practical examples of this approach in the classroom.
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In this episode, researcher Hugh Catts discusses his pivotal piece titled Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension | American Federation of Teachers. He asserts, “Reading comprehension is thinking with a book in your hand.” There are three factors that impact reading comprehension: the reader, the text, and the activity (task or purpose). He talks with Melissa and Lori about the role knowledge plays in reading comprehension, the interaction of the knowledge the text demands vs. the knowledge a student brings to a task, and the implications of knowledge in instruction and assessment.
Resources
* Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension | American Federation of Teachers
* Language and Reading Research Consortium Study
* Listening strategies in the L2 classroom: more practice, less study
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The Writing Revolution authors, Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler, share a 'revolutionary' approach to writing. The best part: It begins at the sentence level AND content knowledge drives the rigor. Moreover, there is an overlap in reading, writing, and critical thinking.
What are the principles of The Writing Revolution? There are six:
- Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the early elementary grades.
- Sentences are the building blocks of all writing.
- When embedded in the content of the curriculum, writing instruction is a powerful teaching tool.
- The content of the curriculum drives the rigor of the writing activities.
- Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.
- The two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising.
Resources
- The Writing Revolution, Not for Profit
- The Writing Revolution, The Atlantic, October 2012
- Writing and cognitive load theory, Natalie Wexler
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Melissa and Lori talk about The Writing Revolution by Dr. Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler. What distinguishes The Writing Revolution and everything else out there? There are two basic principles:
- To modulate the heavy cognitive load by beginning at the sentence level.
- To embed the writing activities into core content of curriculum so students attain knowledge needed (about knowledge building, about reading - and writing - for understanding)
Listen and learn more about knowledge and explicit writing instruction.
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Dr. Sonia Cabell, Associate Professor at Florida State University, shares the importance of both oral language and content knowledge instruction. Why? Oral language skills underlie our ability to comprehend text. At the same time, the knowledge we bring to a text is THE key determinant on how much we understand that text. **This episode speaks to the entirety of the reading rope!
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Kristin Poppens IS BACK! In this episode, she shares the power of teacher teamwork and collaboration. Her Kindergarten teammates and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) join her to explain how they use evidence-based practices to reach 100% success for Every Single Student. All means all!
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Listen Again
Kristin is coming back this Friday, and she is bringing a WHOLE TEAM with her! If you haven't listened to her first episode with us from last summer, listen NOW to hear about all that she learned and implemented before hearing how she worked with others to bring that learning beyond her classroom.
From June 2021
Kristin Poppens teaches kindergarten in Iowa and is just learning about the science of reading! In fact, she's applied evidence-based, self-taught practices for less than six months, and her students reached end of year benchmarks with 100% success rate. Kristin's district uses Lucy Calkins Units of Study Phonics, Reading, & Writing as a core curricula ... but now that Kristin knows better, she's doing better for her students.
Listen in as she shares the shifts she makes to take a science of reading, evidence-based approach to literacy!
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Donna Hejtmanek, teacher and lifelong literacy advocate, joins Melissa and Lori on the podcast. What does Science of Reading really mean? There’s some misinformation and misunderstandings happening recently around the term - some are equating it to phonics. But, Donna asserts, it’s so much more than that! It’s Science of Literacy.
Three years ago, Donna began a Facebook Group titled Science of Reading: What I Should Have Learned in College. It exploded in popularity with almost 160K members (as of this publication). As moderator of the world’s largest literacy professional learning community, Donna’s advocacy work stretches beyond her home state borders to national and international reach.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Why is teaching reading so important? Melissa and Lori have a conversation with Louisa Moats grounded in this article: Teaching Reading is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do. Moats asserts that 95% of students can learn to read when taught to do so using evidence-based practices. In this episode, listen as we discuss and define the term science of reading, while connecting decades of research and theory to classroom practice.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In this episode, Melissa and Lori have a candid discussion about change with Kareem Weaver, co-founder of FULCRUM Oakland: Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate. FULCRUM’s goal is to ensure that every Oakland child is an 'on-time' reader provided with full LITERACY: a fundamental civil right, a powerful protection from the school to prison pipeline, and the cornerstone for a life of choice and fulfillment. In this episode, Kareem discusses the change he is fighting for and the elements he believes are necessary to make it happen.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 19: Getting at the Root of the School to Prison Pipeline with NCTQ President, Kate Walsh
- Ep. 82: [CLEAN] Minneapolis Public School Parents: Accepting Nothing Less Than Evidence-Based Reading in Schools
- Ep. 100: Trauma and Reading with Dr. Steven Dykstra
Resources
- FULCRUM Oakland: Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
From Lori:The Vermont Writing Collaborative authors and educators remind us that kids need to have knowledge deep knowledge of the subject matter that they’re writing about… Science of Writing. This episode also gets me really excited for an episode coming out this summer focused on writing, where we talk about how to extract that knowledge and explicitly teach writing!
Listen again or for the first time!Joey Hawkins & Diana Leddy of The Vermont Writing Collaborative share how educators can support students in creating and communicating their understanding through writing.
The three pillars for writing for understanding are:
Backward design (envision the final goal!)
Build understanding (talking about text, writing about text, acting it out, and more!)
Direct instruction (writing models, structures, organizers)
Writing is a powerful way of working with knowledge - a coherent chunk of knowledge. How do HQIM support and execute this approach to writing for understanding? Listen in to find out, and grab a copy of their book, Writing for Understanding**!
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From Melissa:I love this episode because Nell Duke shares two messages about the Science of Reading that are crucial! 1) That the science is always evolving and will continue to evolve and 2) that the Science of Reading includes comprehension and making meaning of texts!
Listen again or for the first time!Did you know that Scarborough's Rope is 20 years old?! That's why Nell K. Duke unpacks how the science of reading has progressed over the last 20 years, moving beyond the simple view of reading in this piece: The Science of Reading Progresses (co-authored by Kelly B. Cartwright). Check out page 9 for a graphic we discuss throughout the podcast in order to re-think the reading rope.
To connect with a practitioner lens, Duke (alongside Ward & Pearson) also penned The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction. They ask the question: What have decades of research told us about the nature of comprehension and how to develop students’ comprehension in schools? Listen to find out!
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Melissa and Lori share more about themselves... how their undergrad and graduate coursework didn’t prepare them to teach students to read, a bit about their teaching and leadership experiences, and of course, why they started the podcast! Bonus content: They ask and answer Five Things You Love and play Two Truths and a Lie.
To read more about Melissa and Lori, check out this article by Voyage Baltimore Magazine.
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Today middle school educators from Baltimore City Public Schools join us to discuss their focus on fluency through Continuous Improvement work with fluency using HQC. What is Continuous Improvement? Why is this a useful framework? “Possibly wrong, definitely incomplete” is a mantra that resonates. The educators share their approach, impact, and outcomes for students. Secondary teachers… this one’s for you.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice
- Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski
Resources
- Carnegie Foundation Continuous Improvement in Education Resources such as videos, tools, and publications
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Kim Lockhart, Canadian French immersion teacher and special educator in Kingston, Ontario, shares how she meets the needs of students in her classroom. As stated in a recent report, Right to Read inquiry report from Ontario Human Rights Commission, Ontario is removing the three cueing system completely from all materials and turning to reading science instead. In this episode, Kim models what an evidence-based phonics lesson might entail. In second language programs, it’s necessary for students to build language comprehension by attaching meaning to decoding.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
- Ep. 59: HQIM for ALL with Educator Sarah Webb
- HQIM as EQUITY for English Language Learners with ELSF Executive Director Crystal Gonzales
Resources
- The Right to Read Inquiry Report from Ontario Human Rights Commission
- The Simple View of Reading (SVR)
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Angie Hanlin, current Superintendent in Wisconsin, led her former school from 13% to 100% reading proficiency. How? Angie shifted the focus from TEACHING to LEARNING. She worked alongside her school teams with a relentless, laser-like focus on data, asking questions such as: Who is making progress? Who’s not? What are we going to do about it? Radical acceptance of the data helped educators move forward and put aside blame and shame. Key takeaway: All means ALL!
Related Episodes
- Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice
- Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski
- Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
- Ep. 103: From Workshop Model to Reading Science in Pentucket
Resources
- Instructional strategies for 7 early literacy pillars by Patti Montgomery, Schools Cubed
- Developing Assessment-Capable Visible Learners Grades K-12: Maximizing Skill, Will, and Thrill
- How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research by The Wallace Foundation
- The Reading Brain by the Center for Reading and Language Research, including Maryanne Wolf
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
The authors of Thinking Reading: What Every Secondary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading, James and Dianne Murphy, join Melissa and Lori to discuss secondary struggling readers. Where do secondary educators start with struggling students? Put simply, there are two parts to intervention: learning and practice (for automaticity). Keeping those in mind, target what students need to know, explicitly teach and practice, and keep it manageable and motivating.
Related Episodes:
- Ep. 90: Improving Reading for Older Students with David Liben Part 1
- Ep. 91: Improving Reading for Older Students with David Liben Part 2
Resources
- Thinking Reading: What Every Secondary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading by James and Dianne Murphy
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Join Melissa and Lori for their first Book Club episode! In this episode, they discuss the book Thinking Reading: What Every Secondary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading. They focus their discussion on Chapter 4: Helping struggling readers in the secondary classroom, and Chapter 6: What does it take for effective reading intervention at secondary school?
Related Episodes:
- Ep. 90: Improving Reading for Older Students with David Liben Part 1
- Ep. 91: Improving Reading for Older Students with David Liben Part 2
Resources:
- The Opportunity Myth by TNTP
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
This episode is the first in a series on a really important topic: Assessment. How can we debunk the idea of ‘standards-aligned assessments’? What about ‘standards-aligned report cards’?
Today’s guest teaches us that when we overfocus on the format of an assessment (i.e. the standards), we miss out on what matters most and lose track of the goal (i.e. comprehension). Comprehension is not a single construct.
When we think about assessment data, there are two important questions to ask:
- Are the data useful?
- How are we preparing students for assessments? Are we confusing format with goals?
The assessment data is a pathway back to the content. In case you’re wondering, here’s where the science of reading comes into play… knowledge building is a necessary and (very) important part of assessment!
Related Episodes
- Ep. 35: Reading Assessments NEED an Upgrade!
- Ep. 37: Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel on the Standards, Assessment, and Data
Resources (bulleted list of resources mentioned in the podcast)
- Garbage In Garbage Out
- Beyond Multiple Choice conference agenda Jay McTighe
- Why the Pandemic Experts Failed (The Atlantic)
- What is the Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom (DIKW) Pyramid?
- Researchers blast data analysis for teachers to help students (Hechinger Report)
- Why State Reading Tests Are Poor Benchmarks of Student Success by Hugh Catts
- Educational Redlining (Reading Groups) with Sonja Santelises
- Like most superintendents I cared a lot about test scores. Too much, it turns out. (Chalkbeat)
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Helping educators learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In today’s episode we’re joined by two teachers from Skaneateles, NY - Seth and Kelly. Seth is a sixth grade ELA teacher and Kelly is a middle school librarian. They work together to ensure that all students have access to complex texts. With the right support, they believe that all students can engage in grade level tasks. Seth and Kelly share how their collaboration around the knowledge and tasks in Wit & Wisdom ELA enriches students' learning and teachers’ teaching. Together, they make an incredible, knowledge-rich team!
Resources (bulleted list of resources mentioned in the podcast)
- VOR with David Liben Part 1 (Volume of Reading)
- VOR with David Liben Part 2 (Volume of Reading)
- WeVideo.com
Related Episodes
- Ep. 76: Knowledge Building for Reading Success in Skaneateles School District
- Ep. 79: What Does Equitable ELA Instruction Require?
- Ep. 69: Wondering about Wit & Wisdom ELA?
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Helping educators learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Episode DescriptionPentucket Regional School District transitioned from balanced literacy programs to teaching and learning with structured literacy and reading science. Coaches and leaders used data to support educators in understanding the purpose of the transition. They unpacked why the materials were different from what they previously used. Key takeaway: You can’t take your old practices with you and use them with the new materials. Pentucket currently utilizes Wit & Wisdom ELA, Geodes, Fundations, and Heggerty.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 94: “If only I would have known…” Book Talk with Author Faith Borkowsky
- Ep. 10: Noticing the #KnowledgeGap with Natalie Wexler
- Ep. 16: Scaling Literacy Success with Brian Kingsley
- Ep. 69: Wondering about Wit & Wisdom ELA?
Resources
- Grassroots Enthusiasm Powers Adoption of Evidence-Based ELA and Math Curricula
- Data Discussions Drive Progress: Pentucket's Curriculum Journey
- The Shift from Fountas & Pinnell to Research-Aligned Reading Instruction
- Text at the Center (MEredith and Sue)
- Understanding Wit & Wisdom Great Minds Blog, including Preparation Protocol link
- Teaching with Complex Text: It’s a Complex Thing To Do Pentucket Teaching and Learning Blog
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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
In today’s episode, we drop some knowledge with one of our favorite teachers, Heidi Jane. You might recognize her as Droppin Knowledge With Heidi on Instagram or LearningWithHeidi on TikTok! What’s the difference between sight words and heart words? How does knowing letter sounds help students when they begin decoding? Why did Heidi choose the trademark Literacy and Justice for All? Heidi shares her journey from balanced literacy to science of reading with the goal of reaching the everyday classroom teacher. Digressions include This Is Us, Mandy Moore, and TikTok.
Related Episodes
- Ep. 63: Kinder Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
- Ep. 70: Science of Reading Part 1: Decodable Texts, Sound Walls, and the Aim of Early Literacy
- Ep. 71: Science of Reading Part 2: Decodable Texts, Sound Walls, and the Aim of Early Literacy
- Ep. 66: Re-Thinking the Reading Rope with Nell Duke
Resources
- Where to Begin - Check out Heidi’s recommendations for where to begin on your science of reading journey.
- Follow Heidi on TikTok and Instagram, and be sure to check out her website, LiteracyandJusticeforAll.
- Want Science of Reading merch? Heidi has it! Click here for tee shirts, sweatshirts, and more ways to flaunt reading science around your town!
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This is the time when many districts are engaged in the curriculum adoption process, so we wanted to put this extremely information episode out for listeners who may have missed it. Cory Epler, CAO at Nebraska DOE, speaks about how they encourage the use of EdReports in episode 101. Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter that follows up with more information about choosing curricula!
What goes on behind the scenes at EdReports.org? Tricia Parker and Jess Box share the gateways that EdReports uses to reviews curricula: standards alignment, quality, and usability. We ask the questions we all really want to know:
- Who are the curriculum reviewers?
- How do reviewers ensure standards alignment?
- What does it really mean for curricula to meet grade level standards?
- What does 'all green' really mean?
- How do complex texts, tasks, TDQs build over time to shape knowledge and coherence?
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Nebraska Dept of Education CAO, Cory Epler, joins us today to share why and how Nebraska transitioned to reading science with HQM. In the course of eight years, the state formed a partnership with EdReports and The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), built transparency of HQM in Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and provided guidance around high quality materials. These key actions created coherence and agency across the state. This mantra resonates: Make the best choice the easiest choice.
Related Episodes
- Ep.38: Success Amidst a Pandemic in Sioux City, NE
- Ep 77: Setting the Standard for Success with Author Morgan Polikoff
- Ep. 97: Going GLEAM with Lacey Robinson and Andrea Hancock
Resources
- How the Nebraska Department of Education supports LEAs in choosing high quality materials (our favorite resource is the Professional Materials Map for Nebraska)
- Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
- Beyond Standards book by Morgan Polikoff
- EdReports.org
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The axis of rating trauma is frequent and repetitive. Over time, the chronic trauma wears down kids who can’t read. This has devastating effects. In our official 100th episode, Dr. Steven Dyskstra discusses Trauma and Reading. He explains the connection between not being taught to read using evidence-based practices and the subsequent, unnecessary trauma this causes in children’s lives. Stepping away from science-based approaches creates issues for kids that don’t need to be there. This is a pervasive problem happening everywhere.
Dr. Steven Dykstra is a psychologist, advocate, and troublemaker in the reading world. He has worked with the most severely traumatized and mentally ill children for more than 25 years. His passion for reading comes from the recognition that the thousands of children he has served often pay the highest price for our failures and mistakes.
Related Episodes:
- Ep. 74: Dyslexia and Reading Science: A Parent Advocate’s Perspective
- Ep. 67: Learning to Read at 62 Years Old: A Conversation Illuminating Adult Literacy
- Ep. 99: An Important Discussion about Reading with Our Dyslexic Children’s President, Brett Tingley
Resources:
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- NAEP Report Card: Reading
- Teaching Reading is Rocket Science by Louisa Moats
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Brett Tingley shares how to harness parent energy and expertise to address the legal and moral responsibility of school districts to teach children how to read using science. Our Dyslexic Children tells the story of a group of parents who took on the system, and won. The nonprofit group shares a Strategic Roadmap that’s a practical and actionable guide for educators and parents looking to improve reading instruction in their communities.
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Resources
- Our Dyslexic Children Nonprofit Website
- Our Dyslexic Children Documentary
- Our Dyslexic Children Strategic Roadmap
- Our Dyslexic Children Documentary Zoom Panel with Kareem Weaver and Louisa Moats
- Overcoming Dyslexia - Sally Shaywitz
- Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science by Louisa Moats
- Life Before Learning to Read at Age 62 with David Chalk
- University of California Dyslexia Center
- Wilson Language Fundations
Related Episodes
- Ep. 82: [CLEAN] Minneapolis Public School Parents: Accepting Nothing Less Than Evidence-Based Reading in Schools
- Ep. 74: Dyslexia and Reading Science: A Parent Advocate's Perspective
- Ep. 67: Learning to Read at 62 Years Old: A Conversation Illuminating Adult Literacy
- Ep. 39: Discussing Dyslexia with Advocate & Mom Liz Hembling
Last Friday, we talked about FLUENCY with a couple great guests, Lindsay Kemeny and Lorraine Griffith. If you haven't listened to our episode with Tim Rasinski from last summer, give it a listen to add to your knowledge about fluency!
From Original Show Notes:In this episode, reading and fluency expert Tim Rasinski tells us all about effective fluency instruction! How does repeated reading build fluency instruction? Why does text difficulty level impact fluency practice? What do effective accuracy, automaticity, and expression sound like?
Check out research, articles, and helpful materials located on Tim's website and follow Tim on Twitter @TimRasinski1. We also discuss this piece by Nell Duke.
How can regular fluency practice lead to fluent readers? In today’s episode, educators Lorraine Griffith and Lindsay Kemeny discuss the impact of fluency in their classrooms. Fluency is a bridge: It connects word recognition with comprehension. We dive into whole and small group fluency instruction with simple strategies and more.
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Resources
- A Focus on Fluency article
- Matt Burns - Partner Reading Paragraph Shrinking
- PROTOCOL NASP HERE
- Matt Burns Video Youtube
- Lindsay Kemeny Youtube Students error correction for partner reading
- Regular Fluency Practice and Performance Opportunities
- Weekly Poem
- Examples
- Poetry Foundation
- Examples
- Other texts
- Speeches
- Readers Theater
- Books (first person) such as the Dear America series or Because of Winn Dixie
- Weekly Poem
- Pattan Literacy Symposium (June 14)
Related Episodes
- Ep. 9 Geodes Rock!
- Ep. 80 A Primary Teacher’s Perspective on Science of Reading, Small Group Instruction, and Use of Sound Walls
- Ep. 62 Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski
In this episode, we chat with our friends at UnboundEd about Going GLEAM. Lacey Robinson and Andrea Hancock share the GLEAM process - grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful - and ways that educators can feel empowered to lead from their seat.
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- Facebook and join our Facebook Group for resources, community, and Live Chats Fridays at 12pm ET
Related Episodes
- Ep. 51: Shanita Rapatalo: The Science of Reading, An Equity Issue
- Ep. 7: Why Curriculum Matters!
- Ep. 79: What Does Equitable ELA Instruction Require?
- Ep. 54: How can school leaders support teachers in Year 1 HQIM implementation?
We’ve been asked about spelling and the connection to reading science more times than we can count. Today, we talk with expert J. Richard Gentry, author of Brain Words and blog contributor to Psychology Today: Raising Readers, Writers, and Spellers (An Expert Guide for Parents).
He tells us all about spelling and how it connects to our speech and language system. Moreover, he supplies teachers with practical, meaningful, science of reading-aligned strategies to teach spelling.
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Related Episodes
- Ep. 65: Talking with the Literacy Documentary Team: The Truth About Reading
- Ep. 70: Science of Reading Part 1: Decodable Texts, Sound Walls, & the Aim of Early Literacy
- Ep. 23: Emily Hanford Epically Defines the Science of Reading
Is your district in the process of choosing a new literacy curriculum? Or have you recently gone through the process? Adopting new curriculum is a huge change and involves shifting mindsets at all levels.
In today’s episode, we talk with two district leaders and learners doing exciting work with evidence-based, high quality instructional materials (HQIM). Join us in our conversation with Jean Wyche, Elementary Language Arts Specialist at Fairfax County Schools, and Janise Lane, former Executive Director of Teaching and Learning in Baltimore City and current Regional VP for Partner Success at Amplify ELA.
By the end of today’s episode, we hope you will learn concrete steps districts need to take when deciding to move to HQIM. We hope you will enjoy hearing how they keep core values close while building coherence, collaboration, and confidence! We’d love to hear your thoughts on this conversation, so send us an email melissaandlori@literacypodcast.com or send us a message on Twitter or Instagram @literacypodcast.
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RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Ed Reports: https://edreports.org/
- Selecting for Quality: 6 Key Adoption Steps
- Curriculum Matters: https://curriculummatters.org/
- Rivet Education: https://riveteducation.org/
- Book: Shifting the Balance
RELATED EPISODES
- Episode 48: Behind the Scenes at EdReports.org
- Episode 45: RivetED Talks High Quality Professional Learning (HQPL)
- Episode 7: Why Curriculum Matters!
Today we talk with Faith Borkowsky about her book, “If only I would have known… “ What I wish the Pediatrician, the Preschool Teacher, and the Librarian would have told me about Language, Literacy, and Dyslexia. This accessible book explains the science of reading in simple terms. Check out Ifonlybooks.com for free resources such as a book discussion guide.
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Tre Hadrick, father, guidance counselor, reading science advocate, and book club leader, joins us on the pod today. You might know him as Mr. Lit on Twitter or Instagram, where he advocates for literacy and justice for all. Tre’s book club, Lit Champs (Dad’s Literacy Book Club), gained attention when he posted a video discussing this book - If only I had known… by Faith Borkowsky. We connected with Tre to discuss the impact of this book on his son and community. We also consider the big impact of this piece by Dr. Stephen Dykstra, titled Trauma and Reading.
Digressions include Tre’s children’s book, Cheesesteaks and Clippers: The Barbership where you can learn about you, me and we! and recommendations for both cheesesteaks and clippers in the Philly area.
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Hi Literacy Lovers! This week we wanted to offer you all a chance to listen to one of our favorite episodes from when we just started the podcast. The absolutely incredible and inspirational Emily Hanford drops a TON of information in this episode, so it's worth another listen if it's been a while. We hope you get as much from our conversation with her as we did! We will back next Friday with a brand new episode for you all.
[From Feb 10, 2020]Today Emily Hanford joins Melissa and Lori to define the Science of Reading, addressing the current misinterpretation of the term and what it really means. She shares thoughts on teacher prep programs and where teachers get knowledge about what or how to teach, contemplates why teacher prep programs are not preparing teachers to teach kids how to read, and how curriculum plays a role in helping teachers who do not know the science of reading.
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We are honored to talk with two early grade veteran teachers from Vista Peak Exploratory in Aurora, CO. Vista Peak is in Year 4 of Great Minds’ Wit & Wisdom ELA, Geodes, and Wilson Language Fundations… the trifecta! April Evans, grade 1, and Danielle Hunter, grade 3, discuss the transition from piecemeal, low quality curricula materials to high quality materials that focus on building both skills and knowledge. They share how their materials support engagement and excitement in creating a classroom community of learners. What does the literacy block look like in grades 1 and 3? How are knowledge and skills aligned through grade bands? Listen to find out.
Decodable Readers Protocol from Student Achievement Partners
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David Liben joins us again to discuss how to improve reading for older students. How can teachers help older students with unfinished literacy learning? How can teachers address foundational skills and fluency for older readers? Are decodables appropriate for older students? What is the role of independent reading? What is a volume of reading? Where does knowledge building fit? Listen and learn about these topics and more with one of our favorite literacy friends!
David’s Course: Improving Reading for Older Students
David & Meredith Liben’s Graphic Novel for Kids: How we read
David’s blogs on Volume of Reading one and two
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David Liben joins us again to discuss how to improve reading for older students. How can teachers help older students with unfinished literacy learning? How can teachers address foundational skills and fluency for older readers? Are decodables appropriate for older students? What is the role of independent reading? What is a volume of reading? Where does knowledge building fit? Listen and learn about these topics and more with one of our favorite literacy friends!
David’s Course: Improving Reading for Older Students
David & Meredith Liben’s Graphic Novel for Kids: How we read
David’s blogs on Volume of Reading one and two
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In this episode, Melissa and Lori connect with James Dobson, an educator who has been teaching for more than a decade in Australia. He has worked as a classroom teacher, lead teacher, literacy learning specialist, and principal. We discuss his blog post titled Laying the Foundations, One Teacher’s Journey. James illuminates his journey with the science of reading on his blog, Laying the Foundations. His posts are magic! Follow James on Twitter, too.
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One of our listener's questions prompted Melissa & Lori to have a conversation about complex texts and ways students can access them. What does the research say? What are practical ways to apply it? How could this look in the classroom?
The first part of this episode illuminates a conversation with Melissa & Lori in response to Kris’s text complexity Q&A.
The second part is a rerelease of David Liben’s episode, where he discusses why old habits die hard, the impact of knowledge and vocabulary on comprehension, and why we’ve shifted away from leveled text for core instruction.
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In today’s episode, Kate Winn, a teacher, freelance writer and TV guest, and wife and mom to two girls, joins us on the podcast to share how after 20 years of teaching, she learned about the science of reading! She wrote this piece for Today’s Parent, titled I’m a kindergarten teacher and the way I’ve been teaching reading is wrong. How does she implement evidence-based practices in her classroom? Kate shares what she’s doing differently in her classroom to teach using reading science, what she’s learned along the way, and must-read book recommendations for teachers.
Kate launched This Mom Loves in 2010 - find her tv segments, podcast, and more! Connect with Kate on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Resources discussed during this episode:
- Nancy Young’s Ladder of Reading
- Embedded mnemonics - link to Shanahan’s blog
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Today we talk with National Council on Teacher Quality’s Hannah Putman, Managing Director/Research, who penned a piece titled Getting Districts and Teacher Prep on the Same Page on Reading Pays Off. This research from CALDER sparked Hannah’s piece. She shared there is a disconnect in what teachers are learning in preparation programs and evidence-based literacy practices used in schools.
If you’re an educator who has felt slighted by your schooling, you’re not alone! If you’re looking to learn more about what states can do to support a revamp of quality teacher prep programming, check out these accessible Action Guides put forth by NCTQ.
Other resources mentioned:
- Will the Science of Reading Catch On in Teacher Prep?
- North Carolina's new reading mandate makes weary teachers spend long hours learning
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Jenn David-Lang is truly a Mastermind! Her strategic, structured, and supportive virtual Professional Learning Communities help school leaders grapple and tackle lots of difficult topics, ranging from How can leaders support student engagement during a pandemic? to How can leaders create space for teacher wellbeing? Check out her Mastermind PLC paper where she outlines critical structures for leader learning. She begins and ends each session with reflection, because as John Dewey once said, “We don’t learn by doing, we learn by reflecting on doing.”
Jenn also founded THE MAIN IDEA in 2007, because she witnessed too many school leaders who were so busy with the day to day responsibilities of running their schools that they had no time for their own professional development. Through THE MAIN IDEA, educators have access to the most current and powerful ideas in education to serve as strong instructional leaders. Admittedly, we are totally obsessed with this!
Jenn is also a special guest and co-host on the podcast The School Leadership Show!
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It’s GIVING TUESDAY, and if you’re a Literacy Lover like us, then what better way to show your literacy love than to donate to The Truth About Reading documentary? We caught up with the team for a second podcast to react to the teaser and hear about the journey they’ve taken since we last spoke with them. And, be sure to follow The Truth About Reading on Facebook to stay up to date with the latest information on all things documentary-related!
If you’re interested in hearing more about the documentary, register for an update on December 2nd at 2pm EST with Producer/Director Nick Nanton. Note: This session is for Executive Producer level donors.
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Natalie Wexler once said that parents are the sleeping giants in this reading science movement. The parents in Minneapolis Public Schools are awake and ready! They are passionate, informed advocates who developed a coalition of families willing to speak out and say, “Our kids deserve access to structured literacy. Less than 50% of students read at grade level.” Thus, the MPS Academics Advocacy Group was born. Recently, the superintendent of schools, a proponent of balanced literacy approaches, almost lost his job over the state of literacy in Minneapolis. Read more about it and watch it here.
However, the article that caught our attention was posted in The 74, titled A New Kind of Curriculum Night: Armed With Protest Signs and Data, Diverse Group of Minneapolis Parents Demands Better Reading Instruction for Their Kids. Listen to learn about what’s happening in the Minneapolis Public School system for students and families.
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In today’s episode, we talk with special educator Katie Overstreet, who responded to a social media post with unwavering belief in her students and a can-do attitude. Her response stood out to us for so many reasons… such as the tangible ways she removes barriers for her students and her use of scaffolding techniques to support access to rigorous texts and tasks.
Katie’s candid conversation illuminates the transition to high quality instructional materials and why teachers and students can ‘trust the process.’
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Sheeba Jacob’s blog post caught our attention when she wrote, “While I could see myself in some of these books because of universal experiences like grief and love, limiting the reading experience to a few specific voices subconsciously taught me that only certain voices mattered.”
Two things are true: Texts are at the core of literacy instruction with our students, and the world is our school. How can we engage students by helping them see themselves and the world through texts? Sheeba’s Achieve the Core blog post, titled Helping Our Students See Themselves and the World Through the Books They Read in Our Classrooms: The impact of text selection on students, shares tips that educators can consider and implement.
A few tips include “...a) getting to know who they [students] are and what they care about, b) providing them mirrors of who they are and windows into other worlds through the literature they read, and c) engaging them in conversations about the world around them and the events impacting humanity. Ask them what they want to read about, allow them to question injustices occurring throughout the world, have them write autobiographies about their lives, celebrate their stories and larger histories, make their identities come alive in class the way schools should do for students.”
Additional resource mentioned:
- Facing History in Ourselves
Sheeba’s Spotify EP Let the Magic In
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Natalie Wexler once said that parents are the sleeping giants in this reading science movement. The parents in Minneapolis Public Schools are awake and ready! They are passionate, informed advocates who developed a coalition of families willing to speak out and say, “Our kids deserve access to structured literacy. Less than 50% of students read at grade level.” Thus, the MPS Academics Advocacy Group was born. Recently, the superintendent of schools, a proponent of balanced literacy approaches, almost lost his job over the state of literacy in Minneapolis. Read more about it and watch it here.
However, the article that caught our attention was posted in The 74, titled A New Kind of Curriculum Night: Armed With Protest Signs and Data, Diverse Group of Minneapolis Parents Demands Better Reading Instruction for Their Kids. Listen to learn about what’s happening in the Minneapolis Public School system for students and families.
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In this episode, Lindsay Kemeny, 2nd grade teacher, gives a deep dive into her evidence-based, small group instruction time. Her journey to the science of reading was necessary and life altering. It led her to clarity on structured, systematic approaches to teaching reading. She discusses informal and formal assessments, how she uses data to determine small groups, and center options for practicing reading and writing. Her best advice? KEEP. IT. SIMPLE!
After reading this recent blog by Tim Shanahan, we couldn’t resist asking her about sound walls and how her students use them in her classroom. She shares, “The sound wall is not the main event in my classroom… structured literacy is the main event. The sound wall is a reflection of what’s happening in the classroom.”
We discussed the following resources:
- Epic Books
- Lindsay’s blog post Sink or Swim: The Appearance of Reading
- Linnea Ehri’s work, such as this research
- The Reading League
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Kory Jensen is a 4th grade teacher in Colorado, obsessed with learning more about reading science! He read The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler… which set him off to learn more about knowledge building.
On today’s podcast, he talks about how background knowledge impacts his students’ comprehension and engagement (spoiler alert: they love going deep into topics!). He provides real-life examples and ways to supplement knowledge on topics through experiences, experiments, texts, videos, and more. Kory’s optimism shines through and we can’t get enough of his lifelong learner spirit. “When you build knowledge and give students opportunities to learn, you’ll be impressed by what they can do.” Thanks, Kory!
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In this episode we talked with UnboundED’s Brandon White and Alice Wiggins about the Equitable ELA Instruction Concept Paper.
In our conversation, we’ll discuss effective and equitable instruction and the most efficient path to access it. This requires us, as educators, to do three things:
- Adopt an aligned curriculum.
- Provide instructional support that fosters all students' persistence with grade-level reading and thinking.
- Provide targeted intervention in addition to and in service of grade-level learning.
Alice mentions this scaffolding resource - head to our website and click on We Recommend to download it.
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Today we talk with author and professor Dr. Morgan Polikoff. His first book, Beyond Standards: The Fragmentation of Education Governance and the Promise of Curriculum Reform, provides insights along the rocky road of standards in education. The goal of the standards movement is consistency, as page 39 states, “consistency in instruction across classrooms, across grades, across schools and districts. Consistency that ensures that all students receive instruction that is high quality…” Morgan is an advocate for high quality curriculum in every classroom, as a first step in implementing education reform.
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Francine Grannell and John Lawrence, leaders from Skaneateles School District, share how they narrowed their focus to strategically support teachers and students with year one Wit & Wisdom ELA implementation. Educators used NY State Briefs (like this one on Complex Texts) to understand and thoughtfully engage in research-based practices within the curricula.
District and school leaders provided wraparound strategic support for teachers: professional learning communities, horizontal and vertical planning time, and collaboration and resources. In turn, teachers felt more empowered to discuss deeper questions than ever before. They held strong with a “trust the process” mantra, modeled a learner-mindset, and reflected on their successes and challenges to grow stronger heading into year two.
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Mitchell Brookins, education consultant extraordinaire (and one of the moderators of the wildly popular Facebook group Science of Reading - What I Should Have Learned in College) talks with us about this article, titled Teaching Reading to African American Children: When Home and School Language Differ by Julie A. Washington and Mark Seidenberg.
We know that reading depends on spoken language. How do language variants affect how we teach reading to African American students? What are key features of African American English (AAE)? How does AAE differ from General American English (GAE)? How do we utilize this information as practitioners to empower our students? Listen and learn with us!
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“I just thought kids learned how to read… and my daughter didn’t. She could identify 4 letters by the end of kindergarten .” Katie Hickerson's daughter, Cora, went from a joyous little one to a child with lots of big feelings after starting school, saying she felt stupid.
Katie pulled Cora out of school to be homeschooled - providing structured literacy instruction alongside rigorous tutoring through the International Dyslexia Association. In less than two years, Cora went from meeting a 1% reading benchmark to 92% and was back to herself - full of joy, laughter, and confidence.
How can parents (and educators) support the reading science movement? Listen and learn!
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Take time to notice.
Brendan O’Day shares an important message for educators - Start by noticing: Slow down and bring back the joy of schooling. He tells the story of preparing soon-to-be leaders, guiding them skillfully to seek curiosity rather than judgement. We realize this school year is unlike any other. Brendan writes that we should “Focus on bringing back the joy of schooling. Focus on this hard, with immense love and grace and compassion and rigorous expectations for academic achievement.” How? Start by noticing.
Brendan O’Day, Ed.D. is a Founding Partner of the Meristem Group, LLC. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanODay.
Bonus: For our Wit & Wisdom ELA educator listeners, we make explicit connections to the classroom and how this aligns with noticing and wondering about texts and students!
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Matt Hoganson, Assistant Principal in Aurora, CO, is committed to unthinking and thinking again… or in other words, "in a turbulent world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn.” In the book Think Again, author and psychologist Adam Grant discusses the ability to rethink and unlearn.
As literacy leaders (and lovers), how can we unthink what we think we know about literacy and become open, divergent learners to guide this work? Matt models a learning-first approach to leading literacy in his school. If you’re interested in learning more about how Clayton Elementary School made the shift to a content-focused curriculum, check out this blog. And, if you’d like to read about Matt’s Spartan kids foundation, read this.
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What are we aiming to accomplish in early reading instruction? Dr. Julia Lindsey asks this as she tackles topics such as decoding, decodable texts, sound walls, and more.
We discuss the role of instruction and how that pushes a child to be better instead of keeping them at the same place where they might not develop skills as an independent reader. This two-part SoR series is a must-listen for educators!
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What are we aiming to accomplish in early reading instruction? Dr. Julia Lindsey asks this as she tackles topics such as decoding, decodable texts, sound walls, and more.
We discuss the role of instruction and how that pushes a child to be better instead of keeping them at the same place where they might not develop skills as an independent reader. This two-part SoR series is a must-listen for educators!
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In today's episode, Melissa and Lori break down the components of Wit & Wisdom ELA.
Curious about Wit & Wisdom's texts and tasks? Wondering what 'integrated approach' means? Want to learn more about the role of knowledge building in comprehension? Implementing the curricula for the first time?
Then this Wit & Wisdom primer is JUST. FOR. YOU.
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Dr. Alfred Tatum asked the question, "I constantly ask myself of all of the texts in the world, why do I want to put this text in front of my students?" Melissa and Lori explore this question with Quintin in today's episode!
Dr. Quintin Bostic joins us to tell us all about Student Achievement Partner/Achieve the Core's new and improved text complexity toolkit. The updated toolkit helps teachers reflect on their identity of self and their students, analyze texts with multiple lenses, and consider implications for the use of texts. Read this interview with Quintin, where the Text Analysis Toolkit is available for download.
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Melissa and Lori are obsessed with the knowledge building connection to writing in this episode, and thought it deserved another release!
How can educators support students in clearly communicating their understanding through writing? How do HQIM support and execute this approach to writing for understanding? The Vermont Writing Collaborative authors chat with us about this grounded in a knowledge-building approach.
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In this episode we talk with David Chalk, a successful and self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur. As an adult, David was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD and learned to read at the age of 62. He shares 'aha' moments and how learning to read decreased his anxiety and bettered his emotional state. Look forward to watching more of David's story unfold on the upcoming literacy documentary titled The Truth About Reading: The Invisible Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight. His story is incredibly compelling and we hope it will resonate deeply in your heart, mind, and soul.
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
A gigantic THANK YOU to David for being incredibly brave and sharing his story. David, we appreciate you as a new friend and fellow literacy advocate. And, we'd like to also send a big hug to a fellow kindred literacy spirit, Nora Chahbazi, founder of Evidence-based literacy instruction. Thank you for taking time to share your evidence-based work with David.
XO
Melissa & Lori
Did you know that Scarborough's Rope is 20 years old?! That's why Nell K. Duke unpacks how the science of reading has progressed over the last 20 years, moving beyond the simple view of reading in this piece: The Science of Reading Progresses (co-authored by Kelly B. Cartwright). Check out page 9 for a graphic we discuss throughout the podcast in order to re-think the reading rope.
To connect with a practitioner lens, Duke (alongside Ward & Pearson) also penned The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction. They ask the question: What have decades of research told us about the nature of comprehension and how to develop students’ comprehension in schools? Listen to find out!
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Join us as we talk with the talented team passionate about producing a literacy documentary titled The Truth About Reading: The Invisible Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight. You'll hear from Nora Chahbazi, founder of Evidence-based Literacy Instruction, Nick Nanton, Emmy-winning director, and John Corcoran, the teacher who couldn't read.
We can't wait to watch this incredible film highlighting the need for literacy education reform. This spectacular team shares a bit about the documentary and how it transitioned from vision to reality... and what's been most surprising to learn along the way! To donate to the documentary, click here.
Additional note:
John has authored several books: "The Teacher Who Couldn't Read," "The Bridge To Literacy," and "The Reading Gap." His story has been featured on 20/20, the Oprah Winfrey show, Larry King Live, CNN, Fox News, ESPN, Phil Donahue, The Joan Rivers Show, and more. Hear John's story here.
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James Murphy, editor, tells us about the intention behind The ResearchED Guide to Literacy: An Evidence-Informed Guide for Teachers. He talks about why it's important for teachers to engage with
If you'd like to hear more from James, watch this video: The Bridge Over the Reading Gap.
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Melissa & Lori are on vacation this week! We invite you to listen to one of our favorite episodes that we have listened to multiple times ourselves. If you haven't listened to our episode with Meredith Liben & Sue Pimentel - check it out this week!
The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom is a must-read before or after listening to this podcast!
Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel share the true intentions of the CCSS vs. the way they are currently interpreted. They also provide observations about how the Standards play out in classrooms and schools - within HQIM and what happens in absence of HQIM!
We ask the gals some tough questions:
- What does this mean for assessment, especially "data-driven" instruction?
- What are better ways to assess and track student progress?
They are hilarious and smart, and so very relatable. This one is a MUST listen!
Read the article that prompted this conversation:
Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Kristin Poppens teaches kindergarten in Iowa and is just learning about the science of reading! In fact, she's applied evidence-based, self-taught practices for less than six months, and her students reached end of year benchmarks with 100% success rate. Kristin's district uses Lucy Calkins Units of Study Phonics, Reading, & Writing as a core curricula ... but now that Kristin knows better, she's doing better for her students.
Listen in as she shares the shifts she makes to take a science of reading, evidence-based approach to literacy!
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
In this episode, reading and fluency expert Tim Rasinski tells us all about effective fluency instruction! How does repeated reading build fluency instruction? Why does text difficulty level impact fluency practice? What do effective accuracy, automaticity, and expression sound like?
Check out research, articles, and helpful materials located on Tim's website and follow Tim on Twitter @TimRasinski1. We also discuss this piece by Nell Duke.
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
In today's episode, Alex Spurrier, a senior analyst with Bellwether Education Partners in the policy and evaluation practice area, discusses his recent contribution to The 74: Curriculum Isn't Infrastructure - But States Should Treat It as Such and Build a Strong Foundation for Student Learning. How can HQIM be part of the recovery from the pandemic? How can states, districts, and schools work together to create better alignment?
In our conversation, Alex mentions an earlier piece he contributed that may be of interest, titled From Pandemic to Progress, which considers eight education pathways as education systems recover and rebuild post-pandemic.
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Crystal Gonzales is the Executive Director at English Learners Success Forum and believes that HQIM are the first step to provide equity for all learners, especially English Learners! Why? Because HQIM are developed with the idea that what's good for English Learners is good for all kids (but, the reverse is not always true!).
We talk with Crystal about the impact of leveled reading on English Learners, and share excerpts from this resource: Do Leveled Readers Hurt or Help My ELs? Crystal shares the impact of HQIM on English Learners through annotated lessons, such as these lessons from Wit & Wisdom ELA.
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Sarah Webb talks candidly about how high quality instructional materials (HQIM) supported her as a teacher in helping all students reach greatness. Specifically, high quality materials were most helpful for English Learners... who often don't receive access to such materials. Sarah zooms in on how HQIM are supportive of students' vocabulary acquisition through repetition, writing with opportunities for oral rehearsal to process content, and consistency over time builds stamina and knowledge. During our conversation, we refer to this resource - Do Leveled Readers Help or Hurt my ELs? - from English Learners Success Forum.
Read Sarah's blog posts here:
- Inside Implementation of Wit & Wisdom
- Using Curriculum to Send Essential Messages to Students: How Wit & Wisdom Supports English Language Learners
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Tiffany Rehbein, K-12 English Language Arts Coordinator from Laramie County School District in Cheyenne, Wyoming shares why and how the district shifted to HQIM. After seven years of stagnant ELA scores and a focus on balanced literacy, she and her colleagues knew it was time for a big change! They did their homework and investigated HQIM, choosing Wit & Wisdom ELA. Listen in to hear more about Laramie's implementation story and strategy!
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As a new teacher in Sumner County, TN, Natalie Baggett saw the desperate need for high quality instructional materials. In her first semester teaching, she scrambled to create instructional materials - searching Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, even Google! Then, she piloted and implemented Wit & Wisdom ELAand saw a dramatic shift in her students' ability to write and think about complex texts and topics. We asked Natalie to reflect on her experience this past year with questions from the Wit & Wisdom Aha! Blog titled Reflecting on Wit & Wisdom Implementation. Listen in as Natalie shares how HQIM impacted her teaching and her students' learning during her first few years of teaching!
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What are The Elements needed to transform teaching and professional learning? What will accelerate success towards equity and excellence? What are considerations for professional learning across the school year (and beyond)?
These questions are answered by our expert guests, Jim Short and Stephanie Hirsh, authors of The Elements: Transforming Teaching through Curriculum-Based Professional Learning (a challenge paper). Listen and learn as they share how the essential elements undergird the framework of core, functional, and structural design features needed to transform curriculum-based professional learning.
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Kymyona Burk is the Policy Director for Early Education at ExcelinEd, where she supports states pursuing a comprehensive approach to K-3 reading policy through successful policy implementation. She gives context as to what led her to this position - her previous experiences as State Literacy Director for Mississippi and the Executive Director of Teaching & Learning with Jackson Public Schools - and how these roles and her teaching experiences influenced her current policy work (read about her strategy work in Mississippi for improving reading achievement here).
Listen in as she shares what she learned along the way, her method for scaling strategy, and how policy can influence student success.
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Rachel Arnold is an intervention and special education teacher at Clayton, ES in Colorado. Her journey to HQIM began when she asked herself the question: How can we use the science of reading research to help us teach ALL kids to read and write? Listen in as she shares her experience and approach to this work!
To read more about how Rachel and team made the shift to a content focused curriculum, check out this blog post.
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Wondering how school leaders can support teachers in this work? Jovanni Ramos is a former school leader from NOLA and champion for supporting teachers using HQIM!
Jovanni set teachers up for success on their Wit & Wisdom ELA implementation journey by setting clear priorities and communicating to all stakeholders. Most importantly, he articulated an expectation of implementation with fidelity while simultaneously providing direct support as a side-by-side partner in the work.
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UDL is invisible when done well in HQIM! In this episode, Sue Sabella and Vivian Nourse share how HQIM are designed with UDL embedded within. See below for a quick refresher of the three principles of UDL. If you'd like to read more, visit CAST UDL Guidelines.
- Engagement: Why am I learning this? Learners differ in the ways they can be engaged or motivated to learn.
- Representation: What am I learning? Are students able to access the learning?
- Action & Expression: How will students share learning? How do students navigate the learning environment? How do they show what they know?
And... If you'd like to learn what it feels like for kids with a variety of needs, this tool simulates learning and thinking differences.
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Shanita shares how "literacy, liberation, and opportunity go hand in hand" both on the podcast today and in her recent blog post located here. She discusses the mindset shifts needed to make the change to evidence-based practices, what changed once these practices were implemented, and why it's an equity issue.
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Meet Daisy Salazar-Garza, an incredibly thoughtful school leader at KIPP SOCAL, who shares her anti-bias and anti-racist approach to implementing Wit & Wisdom ELA.
- How is Wit & Wisdom aligned to KIPP's anti-bias & anti-racist approach?
- What aspects of curriculum could have missing pieces of marginalized perspectives? How do we address these in teacher planning?
**Daisy shares that it's difficult to locate a rigorous curriculum that affirms students' identities… but there are ways to have both. It’s not either or … it’s AND.
Follow KIPP SOCAL @KIPPPODERPUBLICSCHOOL on Instagram!**
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio considers science of reading research the backbone of their programming at all levels: undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral. On today's episode, we talk with Amy Murdoch, Reading Science Program Director at MSJ.
Amy shares specifics about the courses and programs, details about student teaching experiences with students who are well-versed in the science of reading, thoughts on how we can begin to shift the mindset of higher ed and state agencies.
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
What goes on behind the scenes at EdReports.org? Tricia Parker and Jess Box share the gateways that EdReports uses to reviews curricula: standards alignment, quality, and usability. We ask the questions we all really want to know:
- Who are the curriculum reviewers?
- How do reviewers ensure standards alignment?
- What does it really mean for curricula to meet grade level standards?
- What does 'all green' really mean?
- How do complex texts, tasks, TDQs build over time to shape knowledge and coherence?
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Dr. Errick L. Greene, Superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, shares the district's transformation journey and how he level sets on what excellence looks like:
- HQIM
- Seeing is believing
- Professional learning opportunities (frequent, ongoing)
- Inquiry
Most importantly, he asks and answers crucial questions, such as:
- Why HQIM?
- Where are resources best utilized?
- How do we serve children in the way they need to be served and leave space for professionals to be professionals?
- How do we systematize equity?
Listen in to hear about Jackson's journey to HQIM!
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Laura Stewart from The Reading League discusses evidence-aligned instruction to support universal understanding around the science of reading. She discusses how practice CAN transform belief to help our students live a literate life.
Sharing another fabulous literacy podcast - Teaching, Reading, and Learning with Laura Stewart.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
How is professional learning is different with HQIM? How do we define high quality professional learning (HQPL)? Why should HQPL be content focused? Who is best suited to provide support for implementation of HQIM... and why? Answers to these questions and more with Rivet Education!
Rivet is passionate about all teachers receiving access to HQIM... AND that the professional learning and development supports help them to use materials as intended. One notable resource from Rivet Education is the Professional Learning Partner Guide (PLPG). This guide supports partners by providing information about HQPL, aligned to HQIM. Rivet believes:
- Teachers should provide students with grade-level instruction everyday.
- School and district leaders need to provide teachers with access to HQIM and HQIM-aligned professional learning (PL) in order to provide students with HQ instruction.
- SEAs should incentivize the use of HQIM; Rivet supports SEAs and LEAs in this work.
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Margaret Goldberg & Lani Mednick from The Right to Read Project share why we should give equal importance to the ENTIRE reading rope (Scarborough's Reading Rope)!
We ask some tough questions, including
- Why and how are knowledge-building HQIM the epitome of EQUITY?
- How can we professionalize the teaching profession? How can leaders support teachers?
Listen in to learn from their incredible experiences... Lani is currently an assistant principal, and Margaret is currently a classroom teacher. Both are working to apply the tenants of the science of reading in the field!
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Joey Hawkins & Diana Leddy of The Vermont Writing Collaborative share how educators can support students in creating and communicating their understanding through writing.
The three pillars for writing for understanding are:
- Backward design (envision the final goal!)
- Build understanding (talking about text, writing about text, acting it out, and more!)
- Direct instruction (writing models, structures, organizers)
Writing is a powerful way of working with knowledge - a coherent chunk of knowledge. How do HQIM support and execute this approach to writing for understanding? Listen in to find out, and grab a copy of their book, Writing for Understanding**!
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Adam Tyner, Associate Director of Research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins us to unpack his recent research findings on Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. A snapshot of this study is highlighted in EducationWeek's article, Does Social Studies Build Stronger Readers? A New Study Suggests So. We ask Adam about possible reasons why and how social studies instruction impacts reading comprehension, and make connections to why this research is compelling for HQIM implementers.
If you'd like to hear more from Adam, you can find him moonlighting on The Fordham Institute's The Education Gadfly Show Podcast.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
How do primary teachers take a 'both and' approach to literacy - building foundational skills for word recognition alongside knowledge and vocabulary for language comprehension?
Jen & Sam, two primary teachers from Baltimore, share their experiences with Wit & Wisdom ELA (and the digital component, in Sync) as well as Geodes.
How do high quality instructional materials (HQIM) impact the primary grades? Find out from Jen and Sam. They'll share the impact of HQIM, the struggles, the scaffolds, the successes! Grab a notebook... you'll want to takes notes!
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Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Melissa and Lori reflect on the highs and lows of 2020, and share who they'd like to pod with in 2021! Join us to reflect and reset as we begin the new year.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Liz Hembling's daughter, Mia, attended a public elementary school. Liz noticed early on that she struggled terribly learning to read. In second grade, the school placed Mia in a remedial reading group, without communicating this to Liz. When Liz expressed her concerns, she was repeatedly assured that Mia was “on grade level” and “fine.” But... she wasn’t fine. Liz knew there was something wrong.
This sent Liz on a quest to understand what's happening in the public school system. How could she create change to ensure all kids could access quality reading instruction and services? Liz joined Decoding Dyslexia Maryland and tirelessly advocates for students and families.
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Tracy Heilman, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in Sioux City, NE, shares how her district shifted from a standards-driven, balanced literacy approach to Wit & Wisdom ELA. She's led the charge during COVID to transitioning both materials and mindsets to facilitate access to high quality instruction.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom is a must-read before or after listening to this podcast!
Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel share the true intentions of the CCSS vs. the way they are currently interpreted. They also provide observations about how the Standards play out in classrooms and schools - within HQIM and what happens in absence of HQIM!
We ask the gals some tough questions:
- What does this mean for assessment, especially "data-driven" instruction?
- What are better ways to assess and track student progress?
They are hilarious and smart, and so very relatable. This one is a MUST listen!
Read the article that prompted this conversation:
Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom
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Kyair and Katie are just exceptional humans with the biggest hearts! Two fabulous teachers from Baltimore join us (again!) to chat about virtual school, share tips and tricks for virtual learning, the benefit of having HQIM during this unprecedented time, and how they'll support students' SEL needs.
Connect with them on Twitter:
Kyair - @kyairb
Katie - @kstoryscotti
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Jared Myracle shares the process and focus on curriculum adoption and implementation during his time as CAO of Jackson-Madison County Schools, where he learned that "people want better, but they don't like different." He unpacks his latest post, Reading Assessments Need an Upgrade, to dissect how and why curriculum should drive assessment (not vice versa), what we can all learn from LA DOE, and the power of 'warm' reads. And, be sure to listen for his advice about virtual learning as students return, or transition to, instruction this fall. Jared is currently consulting on high-quality curriculum implementation.
Read Jared's latest post here (Reading Assessments Need an Upgrade)
Connect with Jared on Twitter @JaredMyracle
Listen to Jared's new podcast, Edspective
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Kristen Wynn (MDE State Literacy Director, K-12), Jill Webb Hoda (MDE Assistant State Literacy Coordinator, K-3), & Jessica Crosby-Pitchamootoo (Elementary Curriculum Lead Division 1, Jackson Public Schools), join Melissa & Lori to share the larger context of literacy in Mississippi, as well as why they decided to focus on high quality instructional materials - and HOW they did it!
They outline the path they took to adopt Wit & Wisdom ELA, from the moment they knew they needed a HQC through adoption and implementation in Jackson Public Schools, the state's largest urban district.
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Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Melissa has a conversation with Dr. Molly Ness, an associate professor in childhood education at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education about how to help parents support their students with reading at home, how to instill a love of reading, and the real challenges that face us all as parents right now!
Learn more from Molly on her podcast: End Book Deserts Podcast or on her website: www.drmollyness.com
Resources:
- Read Aloud 15 Minutes
- The Enchanted Hour by Megan Cox Gurdon
- Storyline Online
- Look for Molly's upcoming article in Parents Magazine
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
How is SEL embedded into high quality curricula? Hear from an expert: Chi Kim, CEO at Pure Edge, Inc.
Chi shares what this looks, sounds, and feels like... intentional conversations around information gleaned from texts (have you heard the phrase 'mirrors & windows?'), strategies and resources to support student agency and action, and how we as educators can purposefully embed SEL best practices that build relationships and grow content understanding. Most importantly, she underscores the importance of knowing and understanding your content and your students... because CONTEXT MATTERS. You're going to love this episode!
CASEL Framework
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
We had the opportunity to talk (again!) with Natalie Wexler about tips for effective remote learning (read her full article located here), the current intersection of students' virtual learning and strategy-focused instruction (due to lack of knowledge-based, high quality curricula) and how parents are noticing! How can we teach strategies in context while building knowledge? Listen to find out!
More recently, Wexler wrote a piece titled How Reading Instruction Oppresses Black and Brown Children, located here. She ends with this quote: "If people truly understood the needless damage being done by our schools every day, they would be out in the streets demanding change." Natalie, we hear you, and WE ARE! We are shouting from the rooftops... or more accurately, shouting from the podcast apps! :)
American Educator magazine released an excerpt of The Knowledge Gap - find it here!
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Listen as second grader Presley shares 'knowledge nuggets' about her virtual learning experience with Knowledge on the Go by Great Minds. In only seven short weeks of using a knowledge-based curriculum vs. isolated standards/strategy-based approaches, she is using strategies to access content in context effectively - and speaking and writing to share what she's learned. Her sweet voice shares that she loves learning 'facts' about what she reads while accessing grade level texts and tasks!
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Melissa and Lori chatted with Mark Feiring, the Executive Director of the Maryland Book Bank, to hear how the organization is supporting the community during this time. He shared some fabulous ideas - building partnerships with other community organizations such as The Baltimore Hunger Projects as well as community schools - and thinking outside of the box to get books into kids' and families' hands during this time is critical. So far, the Maryland Book Bank team has sent over 25,600 books to 8,174 children in the first month of quarantine here in Maryland. Kudos, Mark and team!
Check out the Maryland Book Bank here!
Follow Melissa and Lori Love Literacy here!
And, our friend Molly Ness replicates the MD Book Bank on a smaller scale in NY! Check out her podcast, End Book Deserts here!
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Rachel Stack, CAO of Humanities at Great Minds, talks all things Knowledge on the Go, Great Minds' free, virtual, knowledge-building lessons led by teachers to support students, teachers, districts, and families in this time of quarantine. We discuss the role of knowledge-building in our new virtual learning world, and share successes - both big and small - to highlight the power of knowledge.
To access Knowledge on the Go: Greatminds.org --> Knowledge on the Go
7 Tips to Help Make Remote Learning More Effective
Advancing Our Students' Language and Literacy
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
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Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
We talked with the fabulously candid Tim Shanahan about his recent blog post Prior Knowledge, or He Isn't Going to Pick on the Baseball Study that garnered much attention. Should we teach reading strategies? How important is building knowledge? What are reading skills vs. strategies? How frequent should strategy instruction occur in concert with knowledge building? He also weighs in on the current crisis to share his thoughts on how families and educators can best serve students at home.
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Once again, Natalie Wexler has inspired a podcast episode!
Today, Melissa and Lori discuss the new reality of many - schools are closed, and families and caregivers are wondering how to support their kids at home?
Resources:
- How to Engage Kids and Build Their Knowledge When Schools are Closed, Natalie Wexler
- Get FREE Knowledge On The Go with ELA, Math, and Science lessons taught by virtual teachers at Greatminds.org
- Audible by Amazon
- Tumblebooks Book Library
- Foundational Skills: Florida Center for Reading Research Student Center Activities
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Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Robin McClellan, is the Supervisor of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction for Sullivan County Public Schools in Sullivan County, TN, but even more importantly is a cheerleader for high-quality curricula (HQC) and a member of Curriculum Matters PLN. In Sullivan County, she spearheaded the implementation of high quality curricula across eleven elementary schools - in this podcast, she tells us all about it - and how the team she refers to as the "Game Changers" truly changed the trajectory for all students in her district. She shared she is fangirling us, but truly, WE are fangirling HER!
Connect with Robin on Twitter @robin_mcclellan.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Today Emily Hanford joins Melissa and Lori to define the Science of Reading, addressing the current misinterpretation of the term and what it really means. She shares thoughts on teacher prep programs and where teachers get knowledge about what or how to teach, contemplates why teacher prep programs are not preparing teachers to teach kids how to read, and how curriculum plays a role in helping teachers who do not know the science of reading.
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Ep. 22: Dr. Sonja Santelises joined us to discuss why she saw the urgent need for change in Baltimore City Public Schools, how she set and supported a clear literacy focus through the Blueprint for Success and high-quality curricula, and the ongoing next steps that prevail. She is witty and sharp, but most of all, we appreciate her vision and boundless energy in this admittedly difficult work.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
David Liben's 'tell it like it is' style combined with his raw humor and literacy expertise make him an invaluable resource and information source on this podcast! He has worked with Student Achievement Partners (SAP) and synthesized research behind the CCSS. David discusses why old habits die hard, the impact of knowledge and vocabulary on comprehension, and why we've shifted away from leveled text to complex text for core instruction.
Resources:
- Text at the Center by Liben & Pimentel
- Conceptual coherence, comprehension, and vocabulary acquisition: A knowledge effect? by Cervetti, Wright, Hwang
- Vocabulary and the Common Core by David Liben
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
In this episode, Karen Vaites and Janise Lane unpack a recent visit to see Wit & Wisdom's high quality curricula in action Baltimore City Public Schools. After the visit, Karen posted this blog. It's a must-read!
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Kate Walsh, President, of National Council on Teacher Quality, joins us today to discuss her recent article, Getting at the root of the school to prison pipeline. She shares details about her visit to the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, and how that inspired her to write this article.
A focus of NCTQ is whether or not the programs that prepare elementary teachers are making sure those aspiring teachers learn the science of reading. Teacher preparation programs play a key role in ensuring teachers enter the classroom knowing how to best teach children to read. Kate contests that with our current achievement gaps, promoting the science of reading is a clear equity issue.
After her visit to the Legacy Museum, Kate wonders, “Is the reason Americans tolerate unnecessarily high rates of kids who never learn how to read yet another manifestation of institutionalized racism?”Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Join us as we talk with Angelique Jessup, Program Director & Ruth Farfel, Program Associate, at Campaign for Grade Level Reading in Baltimore, MD. Find out how grade level reading has collaborated with City Schools to support high-quality curricula implementation and how they engage and support families with building knowledge on curricular topics.
Follow Grade Level Reading on Instagram @bemorereadmore.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Today Scott Dieter joins us to share the landscape in Lorain, OH pre-high-quality curricula implementation and the steps his district made to prioritize trust and confidence before and during the implementation process. He shares lessons learned from the curriculum pilot as well as pivotal implementation input from teachers involved in the pilot.
Most importantly, the Lorain, OH team take a learner mindset stance as they embark on their Wit & Wisdom ELA journey. Scott's TRY mantra rings true for all Wit & Wisdom leaders & teachers!
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Join us as we hear from Brian Kingsley, CAO of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, NC. Brian shares his thoughts on how effective reading programs should be designed around evidence-based practices, how adopting a high-quality curricula and centering PD on curricula gives teachers a common purpose, resources to learn more about the science of reading, and advice to leaders who are looking to adopt high quality curricula. He is funny and thoughtful, you'll want to listen to this episode more than once!
Contact Brian at: briang.kingsley@cms.k12.nc.us or find him on Twitter @edukings
Read his article, Scaling Literacy Success through Reading Science, at AASA.org.
- Reading Scores on National Exam Decline in Half the States (NAEP scores)
http://my.aasa.org/AASA/Resources/SAMag/2019/Nov19/Kingsley.aspx
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Catlin Goodrow, consultant at Evidently Reading, addresses common assumptions teachers and leaders have about high-quality curricula. Why aren't more districts, schools, and teachers using high-quality curricula? We debunk these assumptions in this episode!
- A central curriculum is boring/irrelevant.
- Providing a curriculum disrespects teacher expertise.
- Common Core-aligned curricula are "too rigorous" for our struggling readers.
Find Catlin on Twitter @EvidentlyR & keep up with her blog posts here! Visit **Tim
Shanahan’s blog**for more information on so many topics related to this!
Follow Karen Vaites on Twitter @karenvaites and www.eduvaites.org.
RAND studies show:
- Only 7% of elementary ELA teachers are regularly using high-quality resources.
- Teachers spend 12 hours a week finding materials, 99% rely on materials they find or create themselves.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
What happens when kids get to high school and are striving readers, struggling to fluently read grade-level text? We discuss the Libens' approach to addressing this issue, as well as share experiences of Baltimore City Schools Secondary Blueprint Literacy Coaches Zachary Jaffe & Tami James.
Read Know Better, Do Better by David & Meredith Liben, Chapter 7, to have a deeper understanding of the springboard for our conversation.
https://www.learningsciences.com/authors/meredith-liben/know-better-do-better
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
TNTP's Kristen McQuillan and Regan Kelly share how important it is to adopt a high-quality curriculum. But... what happens after that? What should be considered as next steps? What's the bridge from adoption to implementation of a new curriculum? What does this mean for teachers? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS!!! LOTS of fabulous answers and ideas, grounded in research and experience.
- EdReports
https://www.edreports.org/
- TNTP's Opportunity Myth:
https://tntp.org/publications/view/student-experiences/the-opportunity-myth
- Summary of Learning by the Book:
https://cepr.harvard.edu/curriculum-press-release
- Learning by the Book itself (conclusion on page 35):
https://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/cepr-curriculum-report_learning-by-the-book.pdf
- Kane and Steiner's reactions:
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/04/02/dont-give-up-on-curriculum-reform-just.html
- Emily Hanford's podcasts:
- Hard Words: https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/09/10/hard-words-why-american-kids-arent-being-taught-to-read
- At a Loss for Words: https://www.apmreports.org/story/2019/08/22/whats-wrong-how-schools-teach-reading
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Learning from Liz Manolis' great mind (see what we did there?) on successful structures for implementation of Wit and Wisdom curriculum including the Spotlight Schools Visit Program to support leadership coaching, trends on implementation successes and challenges, and preparing for mindset shifts to trust the process.
Liz-isms & Quotes:
- "Go slow to go fast."
- "Go back to go forward."
- "The Content Stages framework provides the skeleton, the structure needed for coherency K-8."
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Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Melissa and Lori begin the conversation around equity and access with Bree-L Ukoha, a Blueprint Literacy Coach in Baltimore City Schools. Bree-L shares stories from the field and how adopting Wit and Wisdom curriculum was a step in the right direction of leveling the equity playing field for Baltimore students.
Unbound Ed - 5 charges:
https://blog.unbounded.org/reflecting-on-the-5-charges/
- Adopt aligned curriculum
- Attend to language of standards
- Talk about race systematically
- Examine bias and its role in our work and learning
- Commit to adaptive change within the shifts
Unbound Ed Bias Toolkithttps://blog.unbounded.org/bias-toolkit/
TNTP - Opportunity Myth:https://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP_The-Opportunity-Myth_Web.pdf Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Today we are live with Natalie Wexler, the author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It (LISTENERS - IT’S AVAILABLE TODAY!). The book focuses on the lack of content in the elementary curriculum and its connection to what is commonly known as the achievement gap.
Natalie provides a snapshot of research on building knowledge, then tangibly deconstructs the why and how behind the research making explicit connections to education classrooms today. She provides clear steps to take to ‘fix’ the knowledge gap: adopting a content-focused curriculum to build knowledge, and providing teachers and leaders with ongoing professional development and coaching grounded in the curriculum.
Pick up her book, The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It. In the meantime, find articles and say hi to Natalie at https://nataliewexler.com/ or on Twitter @natwexler.
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Pun intended. This episode takes us into the world of Geodes - decodable readers that bridge foundational skills and Wit and Wisdom ELA - through building knowledge and accessible text. Melissa and Lori talk with Lorraine Griffith and Emily Gula, who share the research and insight behind the development of Geodes and how they can be used in classrooms, as well as (and most importantly) why Geodes are market disrupters. We can't wait for Baltimore City students to experience these special texts this year, to connect Wilson Language's Fundations foundational skills to the knowledge-building topics in Wit and Wisdom ELA core instruction. Quite simply, GEODES ROCK!
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Resources:
- Great Minds
- The Reading League
- NAEP scores
- Why We’re Teaching Reading Comprehension in a Way that Doesn’t Workby Natalie Wexler
- Elementary Education Has Gone Terribly Wrongby Natalie Wexler
A teacher's perspective on curriculum implementation is invaluable... and today, we have not ONE, but TWO teacher perspectives on Wit and Wisdom year one implementation! Kyair and Katie are funny, smart, and have incredible learner-mindsets. They discuss the engagement of their students in texts and tasks, how Wit and Wisdom provides equity and opportunity, and their thoughts on teaching with an integrated (not isolated) curricula - a shift in mindset from the way 'school was done' previously. Lookout for some cheesy dad jokes along the way (thanks, Kyair), and so much insight and inspiration from these two incredible educators!
Connect with Kyair on Twitter @Kyairb
Connect with Katie on Twitter @Kstoryscotti
TNTP's The Opportunity Myth
https://opportunitymyth.tntp.org/
The Wrong Way to Teach Grammar - Michelle Navarre Cleary
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/the-wrong-way-to-teach-grammar/284014/
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
We are thrilled to have Janise Lane, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, share how Baltimore City Schools used research and strategy to drive the high-quality curriculum implementation of Wit and Wisdom for K-8 schools district-wide. City schools drove structures for leaders and teachers by anchoring curriculum focused professional development, led by Wit and Wisdom experts, and taking the approach of learning together. Janise shares replicable strategies, structures, and insider tips... If you are in year one implementation of Wit and Wisdom, this podcast is a must-listen!
Resources referenced:
Strong Materials in the Hands of Great Teachers
https://learningforward.org/journal/december-2018-volume-39-no-6/strong-materials-in-the-hands-of-great-teachers/
Nell Duke - http://www.soe.umich.edu/people/profile/duke_nell/
The Opportunity Myth - https://opportunitymyth.tntp.org/
The Baseball Study
https://www.literacyhow.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Effect-of-Prior-Knowledge-on-Good-and-Poor-Readers-Memory-of-Text.pdf
Why A Structured Phonics Program is Effective
https://achievethecore.org/aligned/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Why-a-Structured-Phonics-Program-is-Effective.pdf
Ed Reports - https://www.edreports.org/
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Melissa was inspired by a quote in Brene Brown's book: Dare to Lead https://daretolead.brenebrown.com/. Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics, who said, “In the past, jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in the future they’ll be about the heart.” Listen to her insightful and relatable take on curriculum with heart.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
We had the extreme pleasure of interviewing Amy Holbrook & Mandy Polen, literacy leads in Mad River, Ohio. The Mad River district adopted Wit and Wisdom's ELA curriculum two years ago district wide, and three years ago for several pilot schools. Since then, their teachers have been immersed in adaptive change and test scores have soared! They provide tangible strategies and tips for side by side implementation support, share what worked for them, and describe the real process. We can't wait for you to listen in!
We reference this article during our podcast: https://ww.greatminds.org/english-madriverschools
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Join us as we fangirl over Natalie Wexler's articles: The Biggest Education News Story You've Never Heard Of & Why American Students Haven't Gotten Better at Reading in 20 Years. We share our thoughts on the explicit connection to Wit & Wisdom curriculum, research, and building knowledge (CCSS Shift 3).
- https://nataliewexler.com/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2019/05/12/the-biggest-education-news-story-youve-never-heard-of/#af16b5b60d48
- https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/-american-students-reading/557915/
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Melissa and Lori dive into K-8 texts to highlight salty summer reads to get set for next school year! We share the why behind our choice for each summer read text choice and make recommendations for field trips and experiences connected to texts to further build background knowledge for students. Join us as you prep for summer - RSVP those books at the library NOW!
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
Common Core Shift 3 is often understood as "a balance of literary and informational text types," but the most important part is misunderstood, the idea of building knowledge. How does the Wit and Wisdom literacy curriculum address building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction? Listen as we interview Sarah Woodard, who shares valuable insight and information on the intentional integration of texts to attend to Shift 3 in this curriculum.
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.
What does fidelity mean in a large, urban school district when implementing Great Mind's Wit and Wisdom ELA curriculum? Melissa and Lori share perspective, research, and resources to support teachers in unpacking the why behind fidelity.
In this episode, we reference:
- Justice is Found in the Details - Kate Gerson - Summer 2018 Standards Institute Keynote Speech
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNzEaBXj2SM
- What Does It Mean to Follow a Program - Tim Shanahan
- http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/what-does-it-mean-to-follow-a-program#sthash.qvXoknhj.dpbs
Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/
Connect with Melissa & Lori:
Today is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.