With only a few weeks of school left, we tend to be in summer mode or close to it. While we all love the break that summer brings, it can sometimes interfere with maintaining students’ literacy skills. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 8 preventative ideas to help prevent the “summer slide”. Although it’s always fun to receive gifts on your birthday, this year, I wanted to give YOU, my audience, a gift! To win, complete the BINGO card that has clickable links with various tasks that you will need ...
Apr 25, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 80
I am beyond excited about this episode because in celebration of my birthday week, I am doing something a little different on the podcast today. Instead of the regular strategies to use in the classroom and providing an entire episode on literacy content, I decided to do something fun and answer some listener questions! This is an episode full of fun, relaxation, stress-free, some teacher-related recommendations, and knowing a little bit about the voice behind the podcast - me! Throughout the ep...
Apr 18, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Test prep is so much fun, said no teacher ever! Well friends, it’s that time of year again - test prep season right before state assessments. There’s always a negative connotation with test prep, but I’m here to tell you that it can be engaging, informative, enjoyable, and collaborative amongst your students. In today’s episode I’ll be sharing 6 ways to keep your students highly interested throughout your test prep season. SHOW NOTES: https://theliteracydive.com/engage-your-students/ Resources M...
Apr 11, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 78
The stress and overwhelm felt during test season is not only felt by students, but also by teachers as well. Every year during testing season the days seemed longer and tougher. Looking back now I can only imagine that my students were impacted by my feelings during those times, and not for the better. I knew that testing season was inevitable every year, but I also knew I had to figure out ways to make testing season more manageable for myself and my students. By teaching and reinforcing strate...
Apr 04, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Last week I spoke about National Poetry Month and ideas to spark reading in your classroom. I want to continue the conversation about poetry because it is such an interesting genre that students really enjoy learning about! In this week’s episode we are diving into ideas that will engage your students in writing with a big connection to poetry. SHOW NOTES: https://theliteracydive.com/favorite-writing-unit/ Resources Mentioned: Join the Waitlist Figurative Language Anchor Charts and Posters Poetr...
Mar 28, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? This is a genre that your students will love to explore! This week, we are going to dive into ways that you can incorporate poetry into your school day that promotes reading. These ideas can be embedded into your daily schedule or you can give Poetry Month its own special block. If you’re anything like me you love any and everything that promotes reading! National Poetry Month truly comes at the perfect time of the year. Routines are established,...
Mar 21, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 75
We may be approaching the spring season, but it is truly never too late to try new classroom management strategies. Bringing structures and systems into your classroom will not only bring you less stress, but it's going to bring success to your students. On today’s episode, I am chatting with Dr. Lori Friesen from the podcast Beginning Teacher Talk. She will be sharing seven classroom management hacks every teacher should try! Dr. Lori Friesen is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to education....
Mar 14, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 74
This episode is brought to you by test prep! Whether we like it or not, it is among us and likely the exhaustion has set in. Let’s be honest, the exhaustion has set in for both teachers and the students. Spring is right around the corner and it’s time to take all the lessons from the year and put them to practice. Our students are such good sports during this time of the year and so I want to focus this episode on ideas to give them the break they deserve. Break ideas involving movement, directi...
Mar 07, 2022•23 min•Ep. 73
I am so excited about today’s episode because I’m sitting down with my good friend Sara Marye. We’re having a collaborative conversation talking about all things teams: team dynamics, team planning, and how to get the most out of working with your teacher team. Sara Marye is a great friend of mine, who is the voice behind The Stellar Teacher Podcast. We have a long history starting when we were on the same team, two different times, teaching both 2nd and 4th grade. Plus, we started our Teachers ...
Feb 28, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 72
I am super excited about today’s podcast episode to continue this month’s theme of biographies! Aylin Claahsen is a good friend of mine and no stranger to those of you who have been listening for a while. If you’re new here, head over to episode 57 to learn more about the importance of fluency and how to incorporate it into your busy day. On today’s episode she will be talking about all things related to nonfiction texts. Aylin Claahsen is a certified reading specialist, literacy consultant, and...
Feb 21, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 71
I hope you’ve been enjoying this month’s biography theme. The last two episodes I gave tips for introducing biographies to your students and tips for using mentor texts. At this point your students should be familiar with the genre, which leads me to today’s episode. I will be sharing how to use biographies to focus on key reading skills that go hand in hand with this genre. These reading skills really lend themselves beautifully to this genre and I’m going to tell you why. Although I could thin...
Feb 14, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Welcome to another episode to highlight February’s topic of biographies! If you listened to last week’s episode then your students should know what biographies are now that you’ve introduced them. Biographies may not seem like the most interesting genre, so today I’ll be sharing nine mini-lesson ideas that are going to be engaging and interesting for your students. These ideas should leave you inspired and focused on this nonfiction genre. In this episode, I share: 9 exciting mini-lesson ideas t...
Feb 07, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Black History is celebrated this month, but I have been one to celebrate Black and diverse history all year long. This episode will support teachers who are wanting to implement African American history into their classrooms whether it's their first year or tenth year. You will gain helpful reminders when navigating your conversations about Black influential individuals with students, as well as activities that can be easily implemented throughout this month and beyond. Episode Highlights: Black...
Feb 03, 2022•22 min
As we enter the month of February it is time that we discuss and celebrate what Black History Month really stands for with our students. My favorite way to do this is by acknowledging iconic Black and African American figures. This is truly a great opportunity to teach biography and I have so many creative ways to do this that I’m going to share with you today. In this episode I will share how to teach this nonfiction genre so your students get the most out of their reading experience. In this e...
Jan 31, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 68
I don’t know about you, but I have really been enjoying this Resetting Series to start off this new 2022 year! We’ve talked about topics such as routines and writing blocks, but this episode will be focused on something more pragmatic: parents. It is never too late to reset your relationship with parents, or as I like to call them,”your student’s grown ups!” This episode is important for so many reasons, and I’m going to share those with you today. In this episode I share: Why building relations...
Jan 24, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 67
This time of the year is perfect for resetting, and I personally find it to be such a powerful opportunity. In my previous episode I provided tips for resetting your writing block and in this episode we’re going to speak about the other part of literacy, which is reading. We all know that reading is a complex skill and you may be surprised to learn that the reason your students are having difficulty is solely due to needing a reset. This episode will follow a similar format as my previous episod...
Jan 17, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 66
In today's episode I’m going to address the elephant in the room, which is the fact that teaching literacy is hard. There, I said it! In my personal experience, I found that compared to all other subjects, reading and writing were without a doubt the most difficult for my students. If you’re anything like me and refuse to let your students fail because something is difficult, this episode is for you! Last week I recommended that you start the new year off by asking your students questions to get...
Jan 10, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Happy New Year! After all the reflection that you did in December, it’s now time to decide which processes you should continue and what needs to be changed in your classroom. A lot of people think that it’s a necessity to reset or restart their procedures when they return from break. This isn’t always the best strategy, so I’m going to make sure you are prepared to make the best decision on what stays and goes in 2022. In order to get a better idea on what is working, you will first need to spea...
Jan 03, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 64
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is my last episode of 2021! I’m going to take this opportunity to continue my conversation from my last episode when I shared my personal reflections from 2021. In my opinion, January is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and set goals for moving forward and this episode I’m going to share how to do that with your students. By looking at the positive and negative parts of the previous year you can learn and grow in the future. This is an import...
Dec 27, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 63
It seems like just yesterday we were ringing in 2021 and yet I can’t believe it’s almost 2022! I always like to think back on the good times and the challenging times as the new year approaches. In this episode, I reflect on the priorities I will be carrying over to 2022. These routines and practices have been important to me and I think you’ll find they can be important to you as well! Every year I find myself thinking back on those moments of insight that I want to focus on for the future. Tho...
Dec 20, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 62
If you’ve been following along the last two weeks you know that this is the last episode of the three-part holiday series. I’ve provided you with six strategies thus far and today I’ll be giving you four more! The purpose of these strategies is not to add more onto your plate, but rather incorporate small changes into your current schedule. You’ll be working smarter, not harder! There are multiple ways to increase student engagement, it just takes a little creativity. I’ve got you covered! We’re...
Dec 13, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Last week I started my three-part series about how to keep your students engaged during the holiday season. I decided to expand on those holiday literacy ideas by giving you three more ways to keep your students on task. As always, these ideas are simple and can be put into practice the very day you listen to this episode. We all know one way to keep students interested in our lessons is to avoid standing in the front of the class and expecting them to listen. These ideas are far from that! My s...
Dec 06, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 60
While the holiday season is exciting, it is also notoriously a time that students are distracted and energetic. There are so many extra activities that need to be added to the schedule which means ditching those daily academic lessons. In this episode, I will discuss how to get through the holiday season without abandoning teaching your literacy components. This holiday season seems to be even more exhausting than usual with all the challenges we have been facing this year. It is more important ...
Nov 29, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 59
I have to admit that my episode last week with my guest and good friend, Aylin Claahsen, got me thinking more deeply about reading fluency. I realized that we can grow our student’s reading fluency with something that we’re already doing, which is read alouds. I’m not talking about those days when you pick a book off the shelf and decide to share an enjoyable literacy-driven experience with your students. I’m referring to lessons that are focused on specific skills and standards. When you think ...
Nov 22, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 58
I can not wait for you to listen to this episode with a special guest and friend of mine, Aylin Claahsen. Aylin is a certified reading specialist, literacy consultant, and curriculum designer who loves sharing literacy tips for teaching readers. Specializing in Kindergarten-5th Grade, she can be found sharing literacy tips on her blog, social media, or in her newsletter. She is sharing all kinds of incredible tips and tricks that will help you to engage your students while improving their fluenc...
Nov 15, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Last week I talked about writing prompts and this week I will continue the conversation by giving you tips to implement writing prompts. If you haven’t been using writing prompts regularly, I can imagine it may be intimidating to put it on your schedule every day of the week. What I can also tell you is that if writing prompts stress you out, then I’m about to change your mind. Writing prompts are meant to be fun for both you and your students. By keeping this time of day positive and encouragin...
Nov 08, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Guess what?! Today’s episode is my one year anniversary of The Literacy Dive Podcast. How exciting is that? Whether you’ve listened to one episode, every single one, or somewhere in between…thank you! To add to the excitement, this episode is airing on November 1, 2021. The beginning of a new month is always a fun and refreshing time. I remember my students coming in at the beginning of a month eager to see what special days were planned and what the new writing prompts would be! You may already...
Nov 01, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Last week I talked about context clues strategies, but I’m sure many of you are wondering how to apply them and when. I got you! This episode is going to cover how to use the different strategies I shared and really give you a framework for implementing them. Just like all the great activities in literacy, you can start teaching context clues by using highlighters and anchor charts. As you listen you’ll realize that the strategies I’ve provided can seamlessly be woven into your current lessons. ...
Oct 25, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 54
There’s a good chance that your students have heard the term “context clues” before. But do they actually know what it means? Are they really able to apply strategies to figure out the meaning of unknown words? In my experience, using context clues is one of those skills that students are aware of, but struggle to implement independently. Today I’m sharing several different types of context clues strategies that you can intentionally teach to your students. My best advice is to not only teach th...
Oct 18, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 53
How do your students become successful and descriptive writers? I get this question all the time. Do you want to know my secret? The one thing that plays the greatest role in helping young learners improve their writing skills is the art of storytelling. The power of storytelling became clear to me when I was teaching kindergarten. Telling personal stories is how my kindergartners learned how to write a story. I continued to practice storytelling with all of my students, even in upper elementary...
Oct 11, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 52
