In Episode 219 , Blythe Anderson discusses the importance of vocabulary instruction, specifically through the use of vocabulary talk moves. These "talk moves" are designed to promote word learning and help teachers effectively teach new vocabulary. Blythe covers various types of vocabulary moves, their research backing, and practical examples of how teachers can implement them in the classroom - emphasizing the complexity of vocabulary learning as well as the need for repeated exposure...
Mar 07, 2025•47 min•Ep. 219
Episode 203 (from August 16, 2024) Our guests today, authors Tricia Zucker and Sonia Cabell, discuss the concept of Strive-For-Five Conversations, which emphasizes the importance of multi-turn conversations between teachers and students. They explain that the goal is to stretch conversations beyond the typical question-response format and aim for at least five turns. The conversation explores the impact of conversations on brain development. They also provide practical tips for implementing Stri...
Feb 28, 2025•47 min•Ep. 203
Episode 218 is chock-full of super practical ways to implement academic talk in your classroom tomorrow! Elementary science teacher Jami Witherell shares her insights on fostering academic discourse in the classroom, emphasizing the importance of giving students time to think before they speak. She discusses practical strategies for engaging students in conversation, including the 'read a little, think a little, chat a little' approach, and the implementation of Socratic seminars and f...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 218
Episode 167: Researcher Tiffany Hogan explores the relationship between phonics and language comprehension in this episode. She shares practical ways to make these connections in the classrooms - including read-alouds, discourse, and writing. Resources Mentioned in this Episode On the Importance of Listening Comprehension If you don't look, you don't see: Measuring language development to inform literacy instruction List of commercially available Developmental Language Disorder (DLDP) ...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 167
Episode 217 Have you ever wondered how to get your students talking in a way that builds deeper understanding? In this episode, we chat with Jeff Zwiers , author of Academic Conversations and Next Steps with Academic Conversations , about the power of authentic discussions in the classroom. Here’s what you’ll learn: 3 Key Features of Authentic Conversations: Building on ideas, clarifying and supporting, and using information gaps to spark curiosity. Practical Strategies: How to use routines like...
Feb 07, 2025•57 min•Ep. 217
Struggling to make writing click for your students? In this episode, 5th-grade teacher Elise Frank shares practical strategies to tackle the challenges of teaching writing, inspired by "A Path to Better Writing" by Steve Graham and Karen Harris . Key takeaways: Simplify the hidden processes of writing for your students. Boost ownership and feedback. Integrate writing across all subjects. Packed with actionable ideas, this episode is a must-listen for every teacher! Tune in now and tran...
Jan 31, 2025•37 min•Ep. 216
Steve Graham discusses the significance of writing in education, the challenges teachers face in teaching writing, and effective strategies to enhance students' writing skills. In this episode, you'll hear about: the interconnectedness of writing and reading the importance of feedback the role of handwriting and typing in writing fluency the necessity of integrating writing instruction into the curriculum the role of interactive writing as a bridge for early and progressing writers Ste...
Jan 24, 2025•54 min•Ep. 215
From July 22, 2022 The Writing Revolution authors, Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler, share a 'revolutionary' approach to writing. The best part: It begins at the sentence level AND content knowledge drives the rigor. Moreover, there is an overlap in reading, writing, and critical thinking. What are the principles of The Writing Revolution? There are six: Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the early elementary grades. Sentences are the building blocks of all wr...
Jan 17, 2025•45 min•Ep. 117
What if young students could transform writing from a daunting task into an exciting journey of self-expression? In this episode, Laura Stam , a second-grade teacher from Wyoming, discusses her transformative journey in writing instruction. Struggling initially with an unstructured writing curriculum, Laura discovered innovative methods to support her students. You will hear how Laura has incorporated strategies from The Writing Revolution and self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) to empowe...
Jan 10, 2025•28 min
This episode highlights the close connection between reading and writing and the importance of teaching them together. Young-Suk Kim uses a structural house analogy to explain their interdependence. Karen Harris introduces the SRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development) model, focusing on evidence-based practices that build self-regulation and explicit instruction for writing. We discuss the researchers brand new study with 1st and 2nd graders, including the SRSD Plus approach, which adds instruc...
Jan 03, 2025•1 hr 5 min
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. 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...
Dec 31, 2024•1 min
From 5/10/24 In this conversation, Stephanie Stollar discusses the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). MTSS is a framework for school improvement that helps to provide support for students with various needs. The MTSS framework focuses on using data to identify barriers to student performance and making plans to eliminate those barriers. Stollar explains that word recognition skills are more discreet and sequential, while language comprehension skills are more unconstrained...
Dec 27, 2024•55 min
Phonics alone won’t solve the literacy crisis. Natalie Wexler's new book: Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning advocates, which connects the science of reading to the broader science of learning. Key Points: The current reading crisis is fundamentally a learning crisis. Cognitive science principles, such as retrieval practice, should apply to all learning. Advocating for a knowledge-building curriculum supports all students, particularly ...
Dec 20, 2024•42 min
From June 22, 2021 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. We answer your questions about t...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Fluency is a crucial aspect of reading. It involves automaticity and the ability to connect different aspects of word knowledge. In this episode, Maryanne Wolf and Melissa Orkin discuss: the importance of fluency in reading the factors that contribute to fluent reading the need for an integrative approach to fluency instruction the POSSUM approach to building word knowledge Big Takeaway: Fluency is essential for comprehension and has social-emotional implications for struggling readers. The POSS...
Dec 06, 2024•50 min
Secondary educators have students in their classrooms who weren’t taught to read. Because of these reading deficits, students likely have a difficult time accessing secondary texts and tasks. Our guests today, Supt. Sherry Sousa and Educator Julie Brown, discuss a secondary intervention they developed that WORKS and is totally doable. The best part? Students partake in the intervention in addition to - not instead of - their regular high school English classes. Resources No Time to Waste: Struct...
Nov 29, 2024•58 min
Fluency is complex, especially for older students. In this episode, Janee' Butler shares: how fluency instruction looks from early grades to secondary about challenges students and teachers face, practical strategies for improving fluency, a reminder not to forget about student motivation, especially for older students struggling with reading fluently. The Big Takeway : Reading fluency is essential for older students to be able to comprehend what they read. Teachers need the knowledge of ho...
Nov 22, 2024•50 min
From June 3, 2022 Today middle school educators from Baltimore City Public Schools join us to discuss their focus on fluency through Continuous Improvement work with fluency using HQC. What is Continuous Improvement? Why is this a useful framework? “Possibly wrong, definitely incomplete” is a mantra that resonates. The educators share their approach, impact, and outcomes for students. Secondary teachers… this one’s for you. Related Episodes Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Chase Young discusses the implementation of Reader's Theater in the classroom, providing a detailed framework for the process. He emphasizes the importance of structured practice, fluency, and expression, as well as the benefits of engaging students in dramatic reading. Reader's Theater can be implemented in ELA and other subject areas with grade-level texts. Reader's Theatre improves reading skills and transfers skills to other texts. Takeaways Structured practice is essential fo...
Nov 08, 2024•51 min
The science of learning is what research says about how our brains learn. In this episode, Nathaniel Swain discusses the science of learning, emphasizing its connection with the science of reading. He shares: key mindset shifts for teachers the significance of coherent curriculum planning practical strategies like using mini whiteboards and advanced organizers to enhance student engagement and understanding He also highlights the need for responsive whole-class instruction and the importance of ...
Nov 05, 2024•35 min
From July 14, 2023 What if you could unlock the secrets to fluency instruction in literacy, and transform your students into confident and skilled readers? Join us as we delve into this crucial topic with Nathaniel Swain, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University in Australia, who shares his expertise on the three components of fluency: speed, accuracy, and prosody. Let's explore together how balancing speed with comprehension can make all the difference in today's digital age, where skim...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 5 min
The authors of No More “Strategy of the Week”: Considerations for Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Book discuss the importance of teaching comprehension strategies in a text-centered approach. They emphasize the need to move away from isolated strategy instruction and instead focus on using texts as the center of instruction. They highlight the importance of background knowledge, vocabulary, and text structure in preparing students for reading. During reading, they suggest using ...
Oct 25, 2024•53 min
Imagine transforming the way you teach reading. Picture your students not just passively consuming the written word, but actively producing meaning and taking purposeful actions inspired by what they've read. This is the promise of our conversation with Doug Fisher, professor at San Diego State University and renowned author, as he takes us on a journey into the depths of reading comprehension. We question the effectiveness of common literacy programs and discuss the intricate ties between ...
Oct 18, 2024•46 min
Imagine facing not only the struggles of growing up in a challenging environment, but also battling a learning difference that went undiagnosed for years. Hear the inspiring story of Ameer Baraka as he discusses his book: Undiagnosed: The Ugly Side of Dyslexi a. Ameer will discuss: How he grew up in New Orleans, facing unimaginable obstacles His experiences with being misunderstood and how it impacted his life How he transformed his life by reclaiming his education while incarcerated How he is n...
Oct 11, 2024•33 min
From October 7, 2022 In this episode, we talk with former balanced literacy teacher and parent, Missy Purcell. She authored a blog post titled Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher . Missy writes, “ According to Nancy Young’s ladder of reading, roughly 10-15% of kids can figure out reading out with this type of instruction, but my child, who would later be diagnosed with dyslexia, would never be able to become a proficient reader with any version of balanced literacy. He, according to Young, like 85% o...
Oct 04, 2024•56 min
In this conversation we explore Nancy Young's infographic, "The Ladder of Reading and Writing," unpacking the complexity of learning to read and write in English. This framework helps educators grasp the diverse factors influencing how students learn. Nancy Young and Jan Hasbrouck, editors of the new book Climbing the Ladder of Reading & Writing: Meeting the Needs of All Learners help us navigate through the four color-coded levels—ranging from those facing the most challenges...
Sep 27, 2024•55 min
Jul 7, 2023 Today 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 prioriti...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Nancy Hennessy and Julia Salamone discuss the importance of vocabulary and syntax in reading comprehension. They explain how vocabulary connects to reading comprehension and the different levels of word knowledge. They also emphasize the need for explicit instruction in vocabulary and the role of context in understanding word meaning. They also discuss the connection between semantics and syntax and how understanding sentence comprehension is crucial for overall comprehension. They share instruc...
Sep 13, 2024•46 min
From Aug 4, 2023 What if the key to unlocking your students' reading comprehension could be found through a deeper understanding of the intricate processes at work in their minds? Prepare to have your teaching world transformed as we journey with reading comprehension expert and acclaimed author, Nancy Hennessy. Together, we’ll map out the cognitive and linguistic processes that underpin comprehension, and navigate the complex interaction between a reader's knowledge, the text itself, ...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Lindsay Kemeny discusses her book 7 Mighty Moves and the importance of teaching literacy effectively. The conversation covers the development of the 7 moves, which focus on phonemic awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Lindsay emphasizes the need for explicit and systematic instruction, the use of decodable texts, and the importance of teaching sight words with phonics skills. She also shares practical strategies for improving fluency, such as partner reading and ...
Aug 30, 2024•44 min
