Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ™

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ep. 113: Reading is Rocket Science with Louisa MoatsWhy 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.  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.

Ep. 108: From 13% to 100% Literacy Proficiency with School Leader Angie HanlinAngie 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 EpisodesEp. 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 CubedDeveloping 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 Connect with Melissa & LoriTwitter 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.

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.  ResourcesThe Writing Revolution, Not for ProfitThe Writing Revolution, The Atlantic, October 2012Writing and cognitive load theory, Natalie Wexler Connect with us!Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to subscribe to our newsletter. 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.

Ep. 120: Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills with Julia LindseyTalking 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. LindseyConnect with us!Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to subscribe to our newsletter. 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.

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 PurcellEp 100: Trauma and Reading with Dr. Steven DykstraEp. 108: From 13% to 100% Literacy Proficiency with School Leader Angie HanlinEp. 112: Kareem Weaver on Levers for Literacy ChangeEp. 113: Reading is Rocket Science with Louisa MoatsEp. 116: Sonia Cabell on the Importance of Content-Rich ELA InstructionWe love creating this podcast and learning together with you, our Literacy Lovers community. We can’t wait to keep learning together in 2023. Connect with us!Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to learn 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.