Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ™

Shayne Piasta discusses best practices for teaching alphabet knowledge. She tells us what the research suggests about teaching  letter names and sounds, why teaching a letter of the week may not be the most effective approach, and an order to teach letters. The best part? She shares concrete ideas and strategies for classroom practice. TakeawaysTeach both letter names and sounds simultaneously.Consider the acrophonic principle, where the letter name gives clues to its sound.Avoid teaching letters of the week and consider a faster pacing for letter instruction.Be intentional about the order of teaching letters, considering children's names and frequency of letters in text.Use differentiated instruction and embedded mnemonics for effective alphabet instruction.ResourcesHandbook on the Science of Early LiteracyThe Science of Early Alphabet Instruction, chapter 7Ohio State University Alphabet Learning and Instruction research and articlesOhio State University Early Literacy and Learning LabEpisode 164: Misconceptions About Learning to Read with Carolyn Strom  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.

Hugh Catts, an expert in reading comprehension, dives into the RAND Reading Model, which revolutionizes how we think about reading. He emphasizes the active role of the reader and the interplay of text complexity and context. The discussion highlights the challenges of measuring comprehension through standardized tests and advocates for curriculum-based assessments. Listeners will enjoy insights on the evolving nature of reading practices and how cultural influences shape comprehension skills, making this a must-listen for educators and literacy enthusiasts.

Hugh Catts, a leading expert in reading models, dives into the intricacies of the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough’s Reading Rope. He explains how word recognition and language comprehension are crucial for understanding text. Listeners learn about the interconnected components of reading, including background knowledge and vocabulary, and their impact on literacy. Catts emphasizes the importance of effective teaching strategies to enhance these skills and the need for educators to grasp the complexity of reading challenges to better support students.

Hugh Catts, an esteemed expert in literacy education, discusses the five pillars of reading established by the National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. He clarifies how these components interconnect and the challenges they present in instruction. The conversation also emphasizes the need for a broader view of reading that encompasses other models beyond the pillars. Catts highlights the significance of fluency and advocates for differentiated approaches to enhance literacy education.

Authors of a recent article on small group instruction discuss the appeal of small group reading instruction, the challenges of text leveling and small group instruction, creating fake readers, and effective small group instructional practices.

Why shouldn’t we level students? Professor and researcher Kristin Conradi-Smith from episode 143 says, “We lack research for differentiation by text levels.There's simply no support for it.”  Teaching with a leveled reading, sometimes known as guided reading, approach isn’t the most effective way to teach or learn to read. Instead, we can Support students’ access to complex texts through scaffolds and building knowledge using language comprehension. Use students' prior knowledge and match that knowledge to text topic demands.Read text sets - a group of texts on the same topic - to build students’ knowledge and vocabulary. Practice and model oral reading fluency, rearead, and use comprehension strategies.ResourcesEpisode 143: Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction Matt Burns F&P BAS and LLI ResearchMatt Burns Leveling Students: Why we do it, why we shouldn’t, and what we should do insteadTim Shanahan Should We Teach at Reading Level? Tim Shanahan blogs What does the Easter bunny have in common with the independent reading level?Tim Shanahan presentation Science of Reading LevelsDr. Kristen Schrauben Science of Reading What I Should Have Learned in College Private Facebook Group Presentation Giving Up F&P 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.

FROM FEBRUARY 24, 2023In today’s episode, we discuss the structure and content of the literacy block. How can we teach using structured literacy in small groups? Kinder teacher Casey Jergens and author Natalie Wexler join us to connect theory and practice. Casey previously taught using a guided (leveled) reading approach with lots of small group time. In recent years, he’s switched to focus on Tier 1 instruction aligned to structured literacy, which supports access for all students. ResourcesElementary Classrooms Are Too Noisy For Kids To Learn by Natalie Wexler Casey’s Twitter HandleNatalie Wexler’s Twitter Handle  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.

What does the research say about small group reading instruction?ResourcesEpisode 142: Structured Literacy in Small Group TimeEpisode 143: Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction (Conradi-Smith, Amendum, Williams, 2022)Differentiated Literacy Instruction: Boondoggle or Best Practice? (Puzio, Colby, Nichols, 2020)Meta-Analyses of the Effects of Tier 2 Type Reading Interventions in Grades K-3 (Wanzek, et. al, 2016)   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.

FROM JULY 7, 2023Today we talk about fluency and assessment with Jan Hasbrouck. She shares tips and tricks for how to to best assess and teach fluency. She also debunks frequent fluency misunderstandings and explains the scientific evidence that underlies the Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart.  Note: During the podcast, we mentioned we would link Jan’s previous studies on ORF. But… we want to make sure the most recent information (Fluency Norms Chart 2017 Update) is the one that is prioritized for instructional use, so we’ve linked that to avoid confusion.  ResourcesHasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency ChartFluency Norms Chart (2017 Update) Developing Fluent Readers by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading RocketsUnderstanding and Assessing Fluency by Jan Hasbrouck, Reading RocketsTim Rasinski Multidimensional Fluency Rubric NAEP Fluency Scale What Does “Below Basic” Mean on NAEP Reading?  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.

Is your district adopting a new English language arts/literacy curriculum? Have you wondered how to tell if an ELA curriculum is “knowledge-building?” Today we’ll be talking to Barbara Davidson and Sue Pimentel about a new curriculum review tool from Knowledge Matters which can be a helpful guide when navigating the curriculum adoption process. ResourcesKnowledge Matters Campaign Curriculum Review Tool Marilyn Jager Adams Advancing Our Students’ Language and Literacy Melissa and Lori Love Literacy podcast Episode 170: All About Read AloudsScaling the "Dinosaur Effect"  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.