Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ®

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 ClassroomIntroduction 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.

Doug Lemov, an educator and author of 'Teach Like a Champion', joins forces with Colleen Driggs and Erica Woolway, experts in curriculum design and middle-grade teaching. They discuss the troubling decline of reading whole books in classrooms, emphasizing the benefits of full texts like empathy and stamina. The trio shares practical strategies for making assigned readings engaging, the importance of read-alouds, and the role of close reading analysis. Plus, they reveal their favorite books to teach, highlighting their rich instructional value.

Melissa Orkin, a literacy expert, and Alex Osburn, a literacy specialist, dive deep into the world of morphology and its crucial role in enhancing reading skills for upper elementary students. They share practical strategies for teaching morphemes, connecting vocabulary with content-area texts. Listeners learn about the seven-step integrated morphology routine, effective ways to introduce morphemes, and the benefits of dictation in spelling instruction. This insightful discussion emphasizes the power of morphology in bridging word meaning and comprehension.

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 MentionedWord 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 236Catlin 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.ResourcesReading 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 235Matt 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.ResourcesMatthew 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 screenersdiagnosticsprogress monitoringformative assessmentsMost 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. ResourcesThe ABCs of CBM: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based MeasurementNational Center on Intensive InterventionData 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.ResourcesLearn more about Linsey's Tier 2 Phonemic Awareness Intervention ProgramCheck 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 232We 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 interventionWhy Tier 1 instruction is your most powerful lever for changeWhat it looks like to work within your reality, not around itHow class-wide supports and smart teaming can lead to huge growthWays teachers (even without formal leadership roles) can spark changeRESOURCESMTSS for Reading Improvement by Stephanie Stollar and Sarah Brown Reading Science Academy with Stephanie Stollar  MTSS Data Academy with Sarah Brown Schoolwide Reading MTSS CollaborativeThe 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.

In this episode, Christina Cover, a high school special educator and literacy coordinator, shares her insights into making complex texts accessible for all students. She introduces the Getting the Gist strategy for summarization and discusses the significance of vocabulary and morphology in reading comprehension. Christina also highlights how writing can deepen understanding and examines the balance between deep comprehension and test prep. Her practical tips will inspire educators to transform their literacy instruction and engage students effectively.