In today’s episode, Kate Winn, a teacher, freelance writer and TV guest, and wife and mom to two girls, joins us on the podcast to share how after 20 years of teaching, she learned about the science of reading! She wrote this piece for Today’s Parent, titled I’m a kindergarten teacher and the way I’ve been teaching reading is wrong. How does she implement evidence-based practices in her classroom? Kate shares what she’s doing differently in her classroom to teach using reading science, what she’s learned along the way, and must-read book recommendations for teachers. Kate launched This Mom Loves in 2010 - find her tv segments, podcast, and more! Connect with Kate on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Resources discussed during this episode: Nancy Young’s Ladder of Reading Embedded mnemonics - link to Shanahan’s blog Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! 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.

Today we talk with National Council on Teacher Quality’s Hannah Putman, Managing Director/Research, who penned a piece titled Getting Districts and Teacher Prep on the Same Page on Reading Pays Off. This research from CALDER sparked Hannah’s piece. She shared there is a disconnect in what teachers are learning in preparation programs and evidence-based literacy practices used in schools. If you’re an educator who has felt slighted by your schooling, you’re not alone! If you’re looking to learn more about what states can do to support a revamp of quality teacher prep programming, check out these accessible Action Guides put forth by NCTQ.  Other resources mentioned: Will the Science of Reading Catch On in Teacher Prep? North Carolina's new reading mandate makes weary teachers spend long hours learningVisit 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.

Jenn David-Lang is truly a Mastermind! Her strategic, structured, and supportive virtual Professional Learning Communities help school leaders grapple and tackle lots of difficult topics, ranging from How can leaders support student engagement during a pandemic? to How can leaders create space for teacher wellbeing? Check out her Mastermind PLC paper where she outlines critical structures for leader learning. She begins and ends each session with reflection, because as John Dewey once said, “We don’t learn by doing, we learn by reflecting on doing.”Jenn also founded THE MAIN IDEA in 2007, because she witnessed too many school leaders who were so busy with the day to day responsibilities of running their schools that they had no time for their own professional development. Through THE MAIN IDEA, educators have access to the most current and powerful ideas in education to serve as strong instructional leaders. Admittedly, we are totally obsessed with this! Jenn is also a special guest and co-host on the podcast The School Leadership Show! 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.

It’s GIVING TUESDAY, and if you’re a Literacy Lover like us, then what better way to show your literacy love than to donate to The Truth About Reading documentary? We caught up with the team for a second podcast to react to the teaser and hear about the journey they’ve taken since we last spoke with them. And, be sure to follow The Truth About Reading on Facebook to stay up to date with the latest information on all things documentary-related! If you’re interested in hearing more about the documentary, register for an update on December 2nd at 2pm EST with Producer/Director Nick Nanton. Note: This session is for Executive Producer level donors. 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.

Natalie Wexler once said that parents are the sleeping giants in this reading science movement. The parents in Minneapolis Public Schools are awake and ready! They are passionate, informed advocates who developed a coalition of families willing to speak out and say, “Our kids deserve access to structured literacy. Less than 50% of students read at grade level.” Thus, the MPS Academics Advocacy Group was born. Recently, the superintendent of schools, a proponent of balanced literacy approaches, almost lost his job over the state of literacy in Minneapolis. Read more about it and watch it here. However, the article that caught our attention was posted in The 74, titled A New Kind of Curriculum Night: Armed With Protest Signs and Data, Diverse Group of Minneapolis Parents Demands Better Reading Instruction for Their Kids. Listen to learn about what’s happening in the Minneapolis Public School system for students and families. 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 special educator Katie Overstreet, who responded to a social media post with unwavering belief in her students and a can-do attitude. Her response stood out to us for so many reasons… such as the tangible ways she removes barriers for her students and her use of scaffolding techniques to support access to rigorous texts and tasks. Katie’s candid conversation illuminates the transition to high quality instructional materials and why teachers and students can ‘trust the process.’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.

Natalie Wexler once said that parents are the sleeping giants in this reading science movement. The parents in Minneapolis Public Schools are awake and ready! They are passionate, informed advocates who developed a coalition of families willing to speak out and say, “Our kids deserve access to structured literacy. Less than 50% of students read at grade level.” Thus, the MPS Academics Advocacy Group was born. Recently, the superintendent of schools, a proponent of balanced literacy approaches, almost lost his job over the state of literacy in Minneapolis. Read more about it and watch it here. However, the article that caught our attention was posted in The 74, titled A New Kind of Curriculum Night: Armed With Protest Signs and Data, Diverse Group of Minneapolis Parents Demands Better Reading Instruction for Their Kids. Listen to learn about what’s happening in the Minneapolis Public School system for students and families. 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.

Sheeba Jacob’s blog post caught our attention when she wrote, “While I could see myself in some of these books because of universal experiences like grief and love, limiting the reading experience to a few specific voices subconsciously taught me that only certain voices mattered.” Two things are true: Texts are at the core of literacy instruction with our students, and the world is our school. How can we engage students by helping them see themselves and the world through texts? Sheeba’s Achieve the Core blog post, titled Helping Our Students See Themselves and the World Through the Books They Read in Our Classrooms: The impact of text selection on students, shares tips that educators can consider and implement. A few tips include  “...a) getting to know who they [students] are and what they care about, b) providing them mirrors of who they are and windows into other worlds through the literature they read, and c) engaging them in conversations about the world around them and the events impacting humanity. Ask them what they want to read about, allow them to question injustices occurring throughout the world, have them write autobiographies about their lives, celebrate their stories and larger histories, make their identities come alive in class the way schools should do for students.” Additional resource mentioned: Facing History in OurselvesSheeba’s Spotify EP Let the Magic In 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.

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 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 this episode we talked with UnboundED’s Brandon White and Alice Wiggins about the Equitable ELA Instruction Concept Paper.  In our conversation, we’ll discuss effective and equitable instruction and the most efficient path to access it. This requires us, as educators, to do three things: Adopt an aligned curriculum. Provide instructional support that fosters all students' persistence with grade-level reading and thinking. Provide targeted intervention in addition to and in service of grade-level learning.Alice mentions this  scaffolding resource - head to our website and click on We Recommend to download it. 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.