We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)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? ResourcesMaximizing 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 JohnstonConnect with usFacebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to stay connected with Melissa and Lori! Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum. 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 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 ReadingLinnea Ehri’s work, such as this research The Reading League  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 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. ResourcesElementary Classrooms Are Too Noisy For Kids To Learn by Natalie Wexler Casey’s Twitter HandleNatalie Wexler’s Twitter Handle Connect with usFacebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to stay connected with Melissa and Lori! Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.  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)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:TwitterInstagramFacebook 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)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? ResourcesAIM Institute: https://institute.aimpa.org/ Dr. Ernesto Ortiz TwitterWhat is the Science of Reading?, The Reading League Knowledge Matters Campaign Connect with usFacebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to stay connected with Melissa and Lori! Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.  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)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 Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us!Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram  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 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. ResourcesErin Metz Small Group Time YouTube VideoBeverly Tyner’s Lesson PlansGreat Minds Wit & Wisdom ELA and GeodesWilson Language FundationsHeggerty Phonemic Awareness ILA Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction Connect with usFacebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to stay connected with Melissa and Lori! Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.  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)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.Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us!Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram  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 today’s episode, we discuss knowledge and vocabulary as critical components 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. ResourcesKnowledge Matters Campaign website Knowledge Matters Campaign Twitter handle Books by Daniel WillinghamReading Rockets Q&A with Daniel WillinghamDaniel Willingham Social Media TwitterFacebookTikTokConnect with usFacebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to stay connected with Melissa and Lori! Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.  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)Ep. 115: Kindergarten TEAM Reaches (nearly) 100% Success Using Evidence-Based PracticesKristin 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 Connect with us!Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.  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.