

Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers
Sara Marye, Literacy Teacher, Elementary Teacher
Welcome to the Stellar Teacher Podcast! We believe teaching literacy is a skill. It takes a lot of time, practice, and effort to be good at it. This podcast will show you how to level up your literacy instruction and make a massive impact with your students, all while having a little fun!
Your host, Sara Marye, is a literacy specialist passionate about helping elementary teachers around the world pass on their love of reading to their students. She has over a decade of experience working as a classroom teacher and school administrator. Sara has made it her mission to create high quality no-fluff resources and lesson ideas that are both meaningful and engaging for young readers.
Each week, Sara and her guests will share their knowledge, tips, and tricks so that you can feel confident in your ability to transform your students into life-long readers.
For printable and digital resources, head to stellarteacher.com. Connect with Sara on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany
Your host, Sara Marye, is a literacy specialist passionate about helping elementary teachers around the world pass on their love of reading to their students. She has over a decade of experience working as a classroom teacher and school administrator. Sara has made it her mission to create high quality no-fluff resources and lesson ideas that are both meaningful and engaging for young readers.
Each week, Sara and her guests will share their knowledge, tips, and tricks so that you can feel confident in your ability to transform your students into life-long readers.
For printable and digital resources, head to stellarteacher.com. Connect with Sara on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany
Episodes
Mentioned books

4 snips
Jan 8, 2024 • 29min
175. Secrets to Success for New and Veteran Teachers With Ashleigh Smith
Ashleigh Smith, an Aussie teacher, shares five secrets to success for new and veteran teachers. They discuss the importance of work-life balance, prioritizing tasks, and working smarter. Practical tips include turning off school notifications and utilizing existing resources. Join the Stellar Literacy Collective for more support.

Jan 1, 2024 • 24min
174. Grammar Game-Changers: 3 Simple Swaps for Improving Your Instruction
Happy New Year, everyone! As we start the beginning of a new year, I want to help you feel successful in areas that you have identified as challenging or struggling concepts to teach. In a teacher survey, there was an overwhelming response to grammar and the many questions surrounding this concept. So, I wanted to start the year by giving you three grammar swaps that change your grammar instruction for the better.Join me for my free event Read, Write, & Rejuvenate here!Get my Weekly Sentence Writing Routine free sample here! And get your Sentence Writing Reference Sheets here.Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode174

Dec 25, 2023 • 24min
173. Classroom Routines Reset: 5 Ways to Ensure a Smooth Transition Back to School After Winter Break
When coming back from break, we always prepare our lessons and activities and set goals for the semester ahead. However, something we don’t anticipate happens when students return to school: they often forget how to do school. This means they struggle with executing procedures and routines they once mastered before the break. So, instead of letting these misbehaviors slide, there’s something you can do about it. In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to do a classroom routine reset with five creative tips.Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode173

Dec 18, 2023 • 24min
172. If You Want to Get Your Students Hooked on Reading, Teach This!
Explore the significance of teaching genre to students and the impact it has on their reading choices. Learn five tips for being more intentional about teaching genre. Discover the importance of anchor charts, reference materials, and engaging activities in genre instruction. Find out how to make reading fun through genre studies, challenges, and tournaments. Plus, learn strategies for validating students' reading preferences and allowing them to explore their own interests.

Dec 11, 2023 • 19min
171. Spice Up Student Assessment: Engaging Ways to Check for Understanding
While the weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break can be full of fun holiday-themed activities, this can also be a great time to review and assess student learning of the content you covered in the first semester of school. As you gear up with the state assessments to come in the next few months, finding creative and fun ways to assess your students gets them in the mindset while also helping you gauge where they’re at. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing 10 creative student assessment ideas you can easily use in your classroom this week!Grab the Exit Ticket Templates here!Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode171

Dec 4, 2023 • 24min
170. Losing Steam Before Winter Break? Try These Fun Activities to Keep Your Class Excited About Reading
In this podcast, they discuss strategies for keeping students excited about reading before winter break. They share ideas for reading challenges, holiday-themed book talks, and author studies. They also emphasize the benefits of allowing students to choose their own books and assignments and suggest implementing free choice book clubs.

Nov 27, 2023 • 30min
169. How to Best Support Your Students With Dyslexia With Heather O’Donnell
Heather O'Donnell, an expert on dyslexia, shares best practices for supporting students with dyslexia in the elementary classroom. Topics covered include misconceptions about dyslexia, the importance of early intervention, supporting students with dyslexia in the classroom through strategies like differentiation and audiobooks, and collaboration between teachers and parents.

Nov 20, 2023 • 34min
168. Are You Building a Culture of Reading in Your Classroom? With Ciera Harris
Ciera Harris, an expert on building a culture of reading in the classroom, discusses the importance of establishing a culture of reading, acknowledging different forms of reading, and fostering engagement and excitement. They provide practical tips for teachers to teach students that readers are thinkers and allow students to choose their own reading materials for better engagement and enjoyment.

Nov 13, 2023 • 24min
167. Elevate Student Writing With These 4 Revision Strategies
Learn about 4 revision strategies to elevate student writing. Focus on improving word choice, using varied vocabulary, and incorporating sentence details. Emphasize the importance of modeling, feedback, and practice. Use transition words to enhance clarity and coherence in writing.

Nov 6, 2023 • 22min
166. How Can I Help My Students Become Stronger Paragraph Writers?
In upper elementary, the goal of all literacy teachers is for their students to be able to write a well-developed and constructed essay. But as you all know, that task is a lot harder and takes a lot of work and practice to happen. Nevertheless, with the help of building foundational skills, such as sentence writing and support, that end-of-year goal will be achieved. In today’s episode, I’m sharing ways you can help your students become stronger paragraph writers.Grab my Paragraph Writing Freebie here!Get my Weekly Sentence Writing Routine free sample here! And get the paid TPT resource here.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode166