As part of our Dyslexia Awareness Month series, listen to a previous episode with parent and advocate Liz Hembling. November 24, 2020 Liz Hembling's daughter, Mia, attended a public elementary school. Liz noticed early on that she struggled terribly learning to read. In second grade, the school placed Mia in a remedial reading group, without communicating this to Liz. When Liz expressed her concerns, she was repeatedly assured that Mia was “on grade level” and “fine.” But... she wasn’t fine...
Oct 04, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today we have a special episode featuring four parents from all over the United States. One thing they have in common is that they have children with dyslexia. They are courageously sharing their stories as reading science advocates working for systemic change. Resources Dyslexia-specific Resources: International Dyslexia Association The Dyslexia Initiative These resources from the International Dyslexia Association are helpful to spread the word on social media about October as Dyslexia Awarene...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. J. Richard Gentry , Dyslexia Expert and the “Guru of Spelling,” joins us on the podcast today to discuss dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability, neurobiological in origin. It’s the #1 reading disability that manifests itself in a continuum. People with dyslexia have difficulty in accurate fluent reading, spelling, and decoding abilities. Dr. Gentry shares his personal story of overcoming dyslexia, how dyslexia affects people, and how teachers can help students with dyslexia in ...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast In this coming Friday's episode we get to talk to the fabulous Richard Gentry again! This time we talk to him about dyslexia to kick off a series of episodes for Dyslexia Awareness Month. Until then, listen to our first episode with Richard Gentry about the importance of spelling! March 4, 2022 We’ve been asked about spelling and the connection to reading science more times than we can count. Today, we talk with expert J. Richard Gentry , author of Brain Words and blog contributor to Psycho...
Sep 27, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Virginia Delegate, Carrie Coyner, and University of Virginia Professor, Emily Solari, championed action for a bill (now a law ) that put $70 million towards changing colleges of education, professional learning for educators, and curriculum and materials to align to reading science across the state of Virginia. On this podcast, they will share how they accomplished this with 100% agreement from all state representatives, regardless of political party. Resources Virginia Literacy Act Connect with...
Sep 23, 2022•56 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Watson, educator and author of Learning and the Brain Blog and the book The Goldilocks Map , teaches us how to become healthy skeptics. Cognitive science and literacy intersect as we are inundated with information about reading science, curricular materials, motivation strategies and more. As we learn to discern and distill information, we ask the question: Is there research to support that? There are three steps to the process of unpacking the legitimacy of research. Determine if you tru...
Sep 16, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast This episode with Lior Klirs connects to Ep. 124: Innovative Assessment with the Louisiana Assessment Team. If you haven't heard this one yet, definitely listen! From original episode (5/6/22) This episode is the first in a series on a really important topic: Assessment. How can we debunk the idea of ‘standards-aligned assessments’? What about ‘standards-aligned report cards’? Today’s guest teaches us that when we overfocus on the format of an assessment (i.e. the standards), we miss out on...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Louisiana is a state taking assessment to the next level. In this episode, the assessment team from the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) discusses Innovative Assessments. Reading comprehension is often assessed through cold reads and sometimes familiar topics. The LDOE team tells us how we can change our approach to assessment. We know comprehension is tricky to assess. Why? One word: KNOWLEDGE. Reading science tells us that knowledge is a critical piece of comprehension. Listen as the L...
Sep 09, 2022•1 hr•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast Diana Leddy of the Vermont Writing Collaborative joins Melissa and Lori to talk about a topic we love: Writing. Specifically, Diana discusses a simple, easy to use tool used to support students with expository writing called The Painted Essay . The Painted Essay works because it helps students understand visually what they are writing and why they are writing it, as well as organize their thinking around a thesis statement. This structure requires students to think about what they want to say an...
Sep 02, 2022•43 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast Today Melissa and Lori talk with authors Chase Young, David Paige, and Timothy V. Rasinski, authors of the book, Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading . Teaching artfully means teaching authentically, aesthetically, and creatively. This book shares how to teach the five pillars of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) artfully. It’s important to really know what you’re doing in order to be artful in your teaching. Resources Artfully Teaching the Science...
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 122•Transcript available on Metacast Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading by Chase Young, David Paige, and Timothy Rasinski is a next step for educators steeped in the science. When we understand reading research and science, we can add art and creativity to the learning space. What does it mean to teach artfully? How can we creatively approach teaching aligned to science? These questions answered (and more) in this book talk. Resources Dr. Becky at Good Inside on Instagram Connect with us! Facebook and join our Facebook Group ...
Aug 23, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Melissa and Lori received a question from a listener about classroom objectives. The listener was grappling with the idea that she has to post objectives in her classroom, but they often don't match what reading science tells us about how we teach reading. This question requires us to rethink about "meeting an objective" at the end of a reading comprehension lesson. It's about SO MUCH MORE than classroom objectives. It's about knowledge building, assessment, and evolving...
Aug 19, 2022•46 min•Ep 121•Transcript available on Metacast If you loved our recent episode with Julia Lindsey about her book, Reading Above the Fray, you won't want to miss our first episode with her last year! Check it out! From Sept 10, 2021 What are we aiming to accomplish in early reading instruction? Dr. Julia Lindsey asks this as she tackles topics such as decoding, decodable texts , sound walls, and more. We discuss the role of instruction and how that pushes a child to be better instead of keeping them at the same place where they might not...
Aug 17, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you loved our recent episode with Julia Lindsey about her book, Reading Above the Fray, you won't want to miss our first episode with her last year! Check it out! From Sept 3, 2021 What are we aiming to accomplish in early reading instruction? Dr. Julia Lindsey asks this as she tackles topics such as decoding, decodable texts , sound walls, and more. We discuss the role of instruction and how that pushes a child to be better instead of keeping them at the same place where they might not ...
Aug 16, 2022•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Talking with Dr. Julia Lindsey is like popping into the classroom next door to chat with your best teacher friend after school. On this podcast, Julia shares what evidence says that young readers need to know to help them decode words efficiently. We discuss foundational reading skills, starting with oral language and print concepts through multisyllabic word reading. Instructional swaps take this conversation to the classroom where Julia tells us what to swap to improve instruction. Efficient a...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills is a must read for all ELA educators Pre-K through 12. Dr. Julia Lindsey outlines the essentials of how children learn to read, the principles of high-quality foundational skills instruction, essential instructional "swaps" to improve reading instruction, and more. Connect with us! Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to subscribe to our newsletter. Helping teach...
Aug 09, 2022•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan joins the podcast to share that reading science works for English Learners. What does it mean to use evidence-based instruction to teach English Learners? Dr. Cardenas-Hagan asserts that every language has its own history, its own culture, its own use. Language supports literacy, and literacy support language. With this cyclical understanding, she explains how to use effective strategies for ALL learners. Connect with us! Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Insta...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast Literacy Foundations for English Learners prepares educators to enter the classroom with a full understanding of the language and literacy development of English Learners. Remember this: What's good for English Learners is good for ALL students! In this book talk, Melissa and Lori unpack the elements of an integrated approach to vocabulary learning in content-rich instruction. They consider how word learning strategies help English Learners move toward independence and explore how content-r...
Aug 02, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, researcher Hugh Catts discusses his pivotal piece titled Rethinking How to Promote Reading Comprehension | American Federation of Teachers . He asserts, “Reading comprehension is thinking with a book in your hand.” There are three factors that impact reading comprehension: the reader, the text, and the activity (task or purpose). He talks with Melissa and Lori about the role knowledge plays in reading comprehension, the interaction of the knowledge the text demands vs. the knowl...
Jul 29, 2022•56 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast 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 writing. When embedde...
Jul 22, 2022•57 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast Melissa and Lori talk about The Writing Revolution by Dr. Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler. What distinguishes The Writing Revolution and everything else out there? There are two basic principles: To modulate the heavy cognitive load by beginning at the sentence level. To embed the writing activities into core content of curriculum so students attain knowledge needed (about knowledge building, about reading - and writing - for understanding) Listen and learn more about knowledge and explicit wr...
Jul 19, 2022•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Sonia Cabell, Associate Professor at Florida State University , shares the importance of both oral language and content knowledge instruction. Why? Oral language skills underlie our ability to comprehend text. At the same time, the knowledge we bring to a text is THE key determinant on how much we understand that text. This episode speaks to the entirety of the reading rope! Connect with us! Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our website to subscribe to our newslett...
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast Kristin Poppens IS BACK! In this episode, she shares the power of teacher teamwork and collaboration. Her Kindergarten teammates and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) join her to explain how they use evidence-based practices to reach 100% success for Every Single Student. All means all! For resources mentioned in this episode, sign up for our weekly newsletter at literacypodcast.com . Connect with us! Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Helping teachers learn about science of ...
Jul 08, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast Listen Again Kristin is coming back this Friday, and she is bringing a WHOLE TEAM with her! If you haven't listened to her first episode with us from last summer, listen NOW to hear about all that she learned and implemented before hearing how she worked with others to bring that learning beyond her classroom. From June 2021 Kristin Poppens teaches kindergarten in Iowa and is just learning about the science of reading! In fact, she's applied evidence-based, self-taught practices for le...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Donna Hejtmanek, teacher and lifelong literacy advocate, joins Melissa and Lori on the podcast. What does Science of Reading really mean? There’s some misinformation and misunderstandings happening recently around the term - some are equating it to phonics. But, Donna asserts, it’s so much more than that! It’s Science of Literacy. Three years ago, Donna began a Facebook Group titled Science of Reading: What I Should Have Learned in College. It exploded in popularity with almost 160K members (as ...
Jul 01, 2022•57 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Why is teaching reading so important? Melissa and Lori have a conversation with Louisa Moats grounded in this article: Teaching Reading is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do. Moats asserts that 95% of students can learn to read when taught to do so using evidence-based practices. In this episode, listen as we discuss and define the term science of reading, while connecting decades of research and theory to classroom practice. Connect with us Facebook an...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Melissa and Lori have a candid discussion about change with Kareem Weaver, co-founder of FULCRUM Oakland : Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate. FULCRUM’s goal is to ensure that every Oakland child is an 'on-time' reader provided with full LITERACY: a fundamental civil right, a powerful protection from the school to prison pipeline, and the cornerstone for a life of choice and fulfillment. In this episode, Kareem discusses the change he is fighting for and ...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast From Lori: The Vermont Writing Collaborative authors and educators remind us that kids need to have deep knowledge of the subject matter that they’re writing about… Science of Writing. This episode also gets me really excited for an episode coming out this summer focused on writing, where we talk about how to extract that knowledge and explicitly teach writing! Listen again or for the first time! Joey Hawkins & Diana Leddy of The Vermont Writing Collaborative share how educators can support ...
Jun 14, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast From Melissa: I love this episode because Nell Duke shares two messages about the Science of Reading that are crucial! 1) That the science is always evolving and will continue to evolve and 2) that the Science of Reading includes comprehension and making meaning of texts! Listen again or for the first time! Did you know that Scarborough's Rope is 20 years old?! That's why Nell K. Duke unpacks how the science of reading has progressed over the last 20 years, moving beyond the simple vie...
Jun 14, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Melissa and Lori share more about themselves... how their undergrad and graduate coursework didn’t prepare them to teach students to read, a bit about their teaching and leadership experiences, and of course, why they started the podcast! Bonus content: They ask and answer Five Things You Love and play Two Truths and a Lie. To read more about Melissa and Lori, check out this article by Voyage Baltimore Magazine . Connect with us! Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Visit our w...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast 
