Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ™

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 Connect with usFacebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website and 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.

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? ResourcesLearning and the Brain Blog by Andrew WatsonThe Goldilocks Map by Andrew WatsonIsn’t Independent Reading a Research-Based Process? Reading Rockets /Tim ShanahanTools to determine validity of research: ConnectedPapers.comScite.aiGoogle Scholar 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.

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 EpisodesEp. 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 CattsEducational Redlining (Reading Groups) with Sonja Santelises Like most superintendents I cared a lot about test scores. Too much, it turns out. (Chalkbeat) Connect w 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.

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. ResourcesLouisiana Guidebooks 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.

Diana Leddy of the Vermont Writing Collaborative joins Melissa 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. ResourcesThe Vermont Writing Collaborative’s Painted Essay Tool The Vermont Writing CollaborativeConnect 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 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. ResourcesArtfully Teaching the Science of Reading by Chase Young, David Paige, and Timothy V. RasinskiTeaching 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 Connect with us!Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our 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.

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 InstagramConnect 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.

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! 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.

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! 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.

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! 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.