Dr. Alfred Tatum asked the question, "I constantly ask myself of all of the texts in the world, why do I want to put this text in front of my students?"  Melissa and Lori explore this question with Quintin in today's episode!  Dr. Quintin Bostic joins us to tell us all about Student Achievement Partner/Achieve the Core's new and improved text complexity toolkit. The updated toolkit helps teachers reflect on their identity of self and their students, analyze texts with multiple lenses, and consider implications for the use of texts.  Read this interview with Quintin, where the Text Analysis Toolkit is available for download. 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.

Melissa and Lori are obsessed with the knowledge building connection to writing in this episode, and thought it deserved another release! How can educators support students in clearly communicating their understanding through writing? How do HQIM support and execute this approach to writing for understanding? The Vermont Writing Collaborative authors chat with us about this grounded in a knowledge-building approach. Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card. 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 talk with David Chalk, a successful and self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur. As an adult, David was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD and learned to read at the age of 62. He shares 'aha' moments and how learning to read decreased his anxiety and bettered his emotional state. Look forward to watching more of David's story unfold on the upcoming literacy documentary titled The Truth About Reading: The Invisible Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight. His story is incredibly compelling and we hope it will resonate deeply in your heart, mind, and soul. Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card. A gigantic THANK YOU to David for being incredibly brave and sharing his story. David, we appreciate you as a new friend and fellow literacy advocate. And, we'd like to also send a big hug to a fellow kindred literacy spirit, Nora Chahbazi, founder of Evidence-based literacy instruction. Thank you for taking time to share  your evidence-based work with David. XOMelissa & Lori 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.

Did you know that Scarborough's Rope is 20 years old?! That's why Nell K. Duke unpacks how the science of reading has progressed over the last 20 years, moving beyond the simple view of reading in this piece: The Science of Reading Progresses (co-authored by Kelly B. Cartwright). Check out page 9 for a graphic we discuss throughout the podcast in order to re-think the reading rope. To connect with a practitioner lens, Duke (alongside Ward & Pearson) also penned The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction. They ask the question: What have decades of research told us about the nature of comprehension and how to develop students’ comprehension in schools? Listen to find out!Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.  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.

Join us as we talk with the talented team passionate about producing a literacy documentary titled The Truth About Reading: The Invisible Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight. You'll hear from Nora Chahbazi, founder of Evidence-based Literacy Instruction, Nick Nanton, Emmy-winning director, and John Corcoran, the teacher who couldn't read. We can't wait to watch this incredible film highlighting the need for literacy education reform. This spectacular team shares a bit about the documentary and how it transitioned from vision to reality... and what's been most surprising to learn along the way! To donate to the documentary, click here. Additional note: John has authored several books: "The Teacher Who Couldn't Read," "The Bridge To Literacy," and "The Reading Gap."  His story has been featured on 20/20, the Oprah Winfrey show, Larry King Live, CNN, Fox News, ESPN, Phil Donahue, The Joan Rivers Show, and more. Hear John's story here. 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.

James Murphy, editor,  tells us about the intention behind The ResearchED Guide to Literacy: An Evidence-Informed Guide for Teachers. He talks about why it's important for teachers to engage with <accurate, valid> research because "we don't know what we don't know" ... and how it's important to be able to determine what is truth vs. truth-y. James also mentions this article by Keith Stanovich titled Using Science and Reason in Education.  If you'd like to hear more from James, watch this video: The Bridge Over the Reading Gap. Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.  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 & Lori are on vacation this week! We invite you to listen to one of our favorite episodes that we have listened to multiple times ourselves. If you haven't listened to our episode with Meredith Liben & Sue Pimentel - check it out this week! The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom is a must-read before or after listening to this podcast!  Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel share the true intentions of the CCSS vs. the way they are currently interpreted. They also provide observations about how the Standards play out in classrooms and schools - within HQIM and what happens in absence of HQIM! We ask the gals some tough questions: What does this mean for assessment, especially "data-driven" instruction?What are better ways to assess and track student progress? They are hilarious and smart, and so very relatable. This one is a MUST listen!Read the article that prompted this conversation:Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA ClassroomVisit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.  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.

Kristin Poppens teaches kindergarten in Iowa and is just learning about the science of reading! In fact, she's applied evidence-based, self-taught practices for less than six months, and her students reached end of year benchmarks with 100% success rate. Kristin's district uses Lucy Calkins Units of Study Phonics, Reading, & Writing as a core curricula ... but now that Kristin knows better, she's doing better for her students. Listen in as she shares the shifts she makes to take a science of reading, evidence-based approach to literacy! Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.  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, reading and fluency expert Tim Rasinski tells us all about effective fluency instruction! How does repeated reading build fluency instruction? Why does text difficulty level impact fluency practice? What do effective accuracy, automaticity, and expression sound like? Check out research, articles, and helpful materials located on Tim's website and follow Tim on Twitter @TimRasinski1. We also discuss this piece by Nell Duke. Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.  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, Alex Spurrier, a senior analyst with Bellwether Education Partners in the policy and evaluation practice area, discusses his recent contribution to The 74:  Curriculum Isn't Infrastructure - But States Should Treat It as Such and Build a Strong Foundation for Student Learning. How can HQIM be part of the recovery from the pandemic? How can states, districts, and schools work together to create better alignment? In our conversation, Alex mentions an earlier piece he contributed that may be of interest, titled From Pandemic to Progress, which considers eight education pathways as education systems recover and rebuild post-pandemic. Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https://www.literacypodcast.com/Connect with Melissa & Lori:TwitterInstagramFacebookToday is a great day to start your own podcast... If you’re thinking about it, we say GO FOR IT! We love Buzzsprout for so many reasons, but especially because it’s easy to use and their customer service rocks! Use our Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift card.  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.