
Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ™
Melissa & Lori Love Literacy™ is a podcast for teachers. The hosts are your classroom-next-door teacher friends turned podcasters learning with you. Episodes feature top literacy experts and teachers who are putting the science of reading into practice. Melissa & Lori bridge the gap between the latest research and your day-to-day teaching.
Latest episodes

Jul 18, 2020 • 35min
Ep. 32: How to Get Kids Reading at Home with Dr. Molly Ness
Melissa has a conversation with Dr. Molly Ness, an associate professor in childhood education at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education about how to help parents support their students with reading at home, how to instill a love of reading, and the real challenges that face us all as parents right now! Learn more from Molly on her podcast: End Book Deserts Podcast or on her website: www.drmollyness.comResources: Read Aloud 15 Minutes The Enchanted Hour by Megan Cox Gurdon Storyline Online Look for Molly's upcoming article in Parents MagazineVisit 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.

Jul 6, 2020 • 46min
Ep. 31: HQC + SEL with CEO Chi Kim
How is SEL embedded into high quality curricula? Hear from an expert: Chi Kim, CEO at Pure Edge, Inc. Chi shares what this looks, sounds, and feels like... intentional conversations around information gleaned from texts (have you heard the phrase 'mirrors & windows?'), strategies and resources to support student agency and action, and how we as educators can purposefully embed SEL best practices that build relationships and grow content understanding. Most importantly, she underscores the importance of knowing and understanding your content and your students... because CONTEXT MATTERS. You're going to love this episode! CASEL FrameworkVisit 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.

Jun 8, 2020 • 59min
Ep. 30: Wild about Wexler: Take 2!
We had the opportunity to talk (again!) with Natalie Wexler about tips for effective remote learning (read her full article located here), the current intersection of students' virtual learning and strategy-focused instruction (due to lack of knowledge-based, high quality curricula) and how parents are noticing! How can we teach strategies in context while building knowledge? Listen to find out! More recently, Wexler wrote a piece titled How Reading Instruction Oppresses Black and Brown Children, located here. She ends with this quote: "If people truly understood the needless damage being done by our schools every day, they would be out in the streets demanding change." Natalie, we hear you, and WE ARE! We are shouting from the rooftops... or more accurately, shouting from the podcast apps! :) American Educator magazine released an excerpt of The Knowledge Gap - find it here! 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.

May 21, 2020 • 14min
Ep. 29: Podding with Presley: Why Knowledge Travels Well!
Listen as second grader Presley shares 'knowledge nuggets' about her virtual learning experience with Knowledge on the Go by Great Minds. In only seven short weeks of using a knowledge-based curriculum vs. isolated standards/strategy-based approaches, she is using strategies to access content in context effectively - and speaking and writing to share what she's learned. Her sweet voice shares that she loves learning 'facts' about what she reads while accessing grade level texts and tasks! 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.

May 11, 2020 • 23min
Ep. 28: Bring on the Books! A Conversation with The Maryland Book Bank
Melissa and Lori chatted with Mark Feiring, the Executive Director of the Maryland Book Bank, to hear how the organization is supporting the community during this time. He shared some fabulous ideas - building partnerships with other community organizations such as The Baltimore Hunger Projects as well as community schools - and thinking outside of the box to get books into kids' and families' hands during this time is critical. So far, the Maryland Book Bank team has sent over 25,600 books to 8,174 children in the first month of quarantine here in Maryland. Kudos, Mark and team! Check out the Maryland Book Bank here! Follow Melissa and Lori Love Literacy here! And, our friend Molly Ness replicates the MD Book Bank on a smaller scale in NY! Check out her podcast, End Book Deserts here! 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.

Apr 27, 2020 • 1h 5min
Ep. 27: Knowledge Nuggets with Great Minds CAO Rachel Stack
Rachel Stack, CAO of Humanities at Great Minds, talks all things Knowledge on the Go, Great Minds' free, virtual, knowledge-building lessons led by teachers to support students, teachers, districts, and families in this time of quarantine. We discuss the role of knowledge-building in our new virtual learning world, and share successes - both big and small - to highlight the power of knowledge. To access Knowledge on the Go: Greatminds.org --> Knowledge on the Go7 Tips to Help Make Remote Learning More EffectiveAdvancing Our Students' Language and 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.

Apr 19, 2020 • 1h 3min
Ep. 26: Tim Shanahan Shares about Strategies & Knowledge Building
We talked with the fabulously candid Tim Shanahan about his recent blog post Prior Knowledge, or He Isn't Going to Pick on the Baseball Study that garnered much attention. Should we teach reading strategies? How important is building knowledge? What are reading skills vs. strategies? How frequent should strategy instruction occur in concert with knowledge building? He also weighs in on the current crisis to share his thoughts on how families and educators can best serve students at home. 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.

Mar 21, 2020 • 20min
Ep. 25: Our New Reality: Schools are Closed!
Once again, Natalie Wexler has inspired a podcast episode! Today, Melissa and Lori discuss the new reality of many - schools are closed, and families and caregivers are wondering how to support their kids at home? Resources: How to Engage Kids and Build Their Knowledge When Schools are Closed, Natalie WexlerGet FREE Knowledge On The Go with ELA, Math, and Science lessons taught by virtual teachers at Greatminds.orgAudible by AmazonTumblebooks Book LibraryFoundational Skills: Florida Center for Reading Research Student Center ActivitiesFollow us!Twitter: @literacypodcastFacebook: Melissa and Lori Love LiteracyInstagram: Melissa and Lori Love 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.

Mar 20, 2020 • 47min
Ep. 24: Rockin' Robin McClellan, HQC Cheerleader!
Robin McClellan, is the Supervisor of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction for Sullivan County Public Schools in Sullivan County, TN, but even more importantly is a cheerleader for high-quality curricula (HQC) and a member of Curriculum Matters PLN. In Sullivan County, she spearheaded the implementation of high quality curricula across eleven elementary schools - in this podcast, she tells us all about it - and how the team she refers to as the "Game Changers" truly changed the trajectory for all students in her district. She shared she is fangirling us, but truly, WE are fangirling HER! Connect with Robin on Twitter @robin_mcclellan.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.

Feb 10, 2020 • 1h 4min
Ep. 23: Emily Hanford Epically Defines the Science of Reading
Today Emily Hanford joins Melissa and Lori to define the Science of Reading, addressing the current misinterpretation of the term and what it really means. She shares thoughts on teacher prep programs and where teachers get knowledge about what or how to teach, contemplates why teacher prep programs are not preparing teachers to teach kids how to read, and how curriculum plays a role in helping teachers who do not know the science of reading.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.