S03E11 - Know Thy Purpose: Jocelyn Seamer on Transforming 3–6 Literacy

Jun 21, 2025

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In this episode, I’m joined by Jocelyn Seamer—educational consultant, author, and leading voice in structured literacy—to unpack what effective literacy instruction really looks like in the upper primary years. We dive into how to move beyond levelled texts and strategy-heavy comprehension lessons, and instead build a literacy block grounded in rich texts, explicit instruction, and purposeful writing.

Jocelyn shares practical advice on everything from planning with backward design, to teaching spelling through morphology, to managing cognitive load with the “stretchy band” analogy. Whether you’re trying to make sense of guided reading, support struggling readers, or link reading and writing more effectively, this episode is packed with clarity and actionable ideas.

Key topics include:

Replacing levelled texts with rich, age-appropriate reading
Designing integrated, text-based units that link reading and writing
Explicit vocabulary and background knowledge instruction
The role of syntax, spelling, and morphology in building strong writers
Responsive teaching and avoiding the “dress rehearsal” trap in assessments

A must-listen for any Year 3–6 teacher ready to teach literacy with more clarity, purpose, and impact.

Resources mentioned:

Reading Reconsidered – Doug Lemov
Five Plagues of the Developing Reader – from Reading Reconsidered
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
Velveteen Rabbit – Margery Williams
Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten – Bob Graham
The Lost Thing – Shaun Tan
Bringing Words to Life – Beck, McKeown & Kucan
Questioning the Author – Beck, McKeown & Sandora
DIBELS and Acadience – normed reading screeners
Motif – free assessments
Kenn Apel’s morphology assessments
Jared Cooney Horvath

You can connect with Jocelyn:

Facebook: @JocelynSeamerEducation

Youtube: @JocelynSeamerEducation

Podcast: The Structured Literacy Podcast

Website: www.jocelynseamereducation.com/

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

Support the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast:

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

About

Jocelyn Seamer is a former teacher, tutor and school leader who has experienced, first-hand, the transformative power of evidence-based practice in literacy instruction. She has led teams to grow and develop school policy and practice to reflect the vast body of evidence that makes up the Science of Reading.

Through her own classroom practice and leadership roles in schools, Jocelyn has developed a strong understanding of how you can take simple, yet effective action to get every child on the road to literacy proficiency in the first years of school. Jocelyn feels a very personal responsibility to provide opportunities for classroom teachers to have access to the information and training they need to change children's lives and looks forward to helping you achieve great things in your teaching practice.