• What does this mean for assessment, especially "data-driven" instruction?
• What are better ways to assess and track student progress? 

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Today we’ll be talking to a team of authors about a recent article they published on small group instruction, titled Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction. We ask and answer important questions about small group instructional time: What is the appeal of small group reading instruction? Why has it been popular? What does the research say? What do we need to know about effective small-group reading instruction? What are some best practices? 

Resources

• Maximizing Small-Group Reading Instruction (published in The Reading Teacher)  
• Dr. Neena Saha’s Reading Research Recap of this research 
• What Should Small Group Instruction Look Like? Tim Shanahan 
• Reinterpreting the development of reading skills Scott Paris 
• Applying New Visions of Reading Development in Today's Classrooms Kay Stahl 
• Text Project with Freddy Hiebert 
• Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Our Children’s Learning by Peter Johnston

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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.

In this episode, Lindsay Kemeny, 2nd grade teacher, gives a deep dive into her evidence-based, small group instruction time. Her journey to the science of reading was necessary and life altering. It led her to clarity on structured, systematic approaches to teaching reading. She discusses informal and formal assessments, how she uses data to determine small groups, and center options for practicing reading and writing. Her best advice? KEEP. IT. SIMPLE! 

After reading this recent blog by Tim Shanahan, we couldn’t resist asking her about sound walls and how her students use them in her classroom. She shares, “The sound wall is not the main event in my classroom… structured literacy is the main event. The sound wall is a reflection of what’s happening in the classroom.” 

We discussed the following resources: 

• Epic Books 
• Lindsay’s blog post Sink or Swim: The Appearance of Reading
• Linnea Ehri’s work, such as this research 
• The Reading League 

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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.

In 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. 

Resources

• Elementary Classrooms Are Too Noisy For Kids To Learn by Natalie Wexler 
• Casey’s Twitter Handle
• Natalie Wexler’s Twitter Handle 

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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.

Ep. 22: Dr. Sonja Santelises joined us to discuss why she saw the urgent need for change in Baltimore City Public Schools, how she set and supported a clear literacy focus through the Blueprint for Success and high-quality curricula, and the ongoing next steps that prevail. She is witty and sharp, but most of all, we appreciate her vision and boundless energy in this admittedly difficult work.

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What does it take to disrupt the "way it has always been done"? Dr. Ernie Ortiz, Senior Literacy Engagement Specialist with AIM Institute for Learning and Research, joins us to discuss this important question. As a former teacher, school leader, and current national leader, he realizes that leaders play a critical role in student achievement. The approach leaders take often make or break systems and change within classrooms, schools, and districts. How can a side by side approach with leaders as learners (rather than top down with leaders as managers) be more supportive of schools achieving greatness for students? 

Resources

• AIM Institute: https://institute.aimpa.org/ 
• Dr. Ernesto Ortiz Twitter
• What is the Science of Reading?, The Reading League 
• Knowledge Matters Campaign 

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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.

We are honored to talk with two early grade veteran teachers from Vista Peak Exploratory in Aurora, CO. Vista Peak is in Year 4 of Great Minds’ Wit & Wisdom ELA, Geodes, and Wilson Language Fundations… the trifecta! April Evans, grade 1, and Danielle Hunter, grade 3, discuss the transition from piecemeal, low quality curricula materials to high quality materials that focus on building both skills and knowledge. They share how their materials support engagement and excitement in creating a classroom community of learners. What does the literacy block look like in grades 1 and 3? How are knowledge and skills aligned through grade bands? Listen to find out. 

Decodable Readers Protocol from Student Achievement Partners 

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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.

In today’s episode, we talk with a teacher and interventionist from Blount County, TN, Erin Metz. She provides an in depth walkthrough of her district’s K-2 instructional block time. She’ll share her strategic approach to working with students and teachers during small group instructional time - modeling how to use this time to reinforce accuracy, automaticity, build vocabulary and knowledge in order to solidify comprehension, and more. 

Resources

• Erin Metz Small Group Time YouTube Video
• Beverly Tyner’s Lesson Plans
• Great Minds Wit & Wisdom ELA and Geodes
• Wilson Language Fundations
• Heggerty Phonemic Awareness 
• ILA Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction 

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LISTEN AGAIN | FROM JULY 31, 2019
Today we are live with Natalie Wexler, the author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It (LISTENERS - IT’S AVAILABLE TODAY!). The book focuses on the lack of content in the elementary curriculum and its connection to what is commonly known as the achievement gap.

Natalie provides a snapshot of research on building knowledge, then tangibly deconstructs the why and how behind the research making explicit connections to education classrooms today. She provides clear steps to take to ‘fix’ the knowledge gap: adopting a content-focused curriculum to build knowledge, and providing teachers and leaders with ongoing professional development and coaching grounded in the curriculum. 

Pick up her book, The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It. In the meantime, find articles and say hi to Natalie at https://nataliewexler.com/ or on Twitter @natwexler.

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In today’s episode, we discuss knowledge and vocabulary as critical components of reading comprehension. We hear from author and professor Daniel Willingham, who shares research on the important role knowledge plays in comprehension. We also talk with Executive Director of Knowledge Matters Campaign, Barbara Davidson, who highlights strong curricula and resources related to knowledge-building ELA. 

Resources

• Knowledge Matters Campaign website 
• Knowledge Matters Campaign Twitter handle 
• Books by Daniel Willingham
• Reading Rockets Q&A with Daniel Willingham
• Daniel Willingham Social Media 
  • Twitter
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  • TikTok

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Ep. 115: Kindergarten TEAM Reaches (nearly) 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices

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: https://greatminds.org/literacy-lovers-newsletter-3 

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Ep. 113: Reading is Rocket Science with Louisa Moats

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.  

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Ep. 108: From 13% to 100% Literacy Proficiency with School Leader Angie Hanlin

Angie Hanlin, current Superintendent in Wisconsin, led her former school from 13% to 100% reading proficiency. How? Angie shifted the focus from TEACHING to LEARNING.  She worked alongside her school teams with a relentless, laser-like focus on data, asking questions such as: Who is making progress? Who’s not? What are we going to do about it? Radical acceptance of the data helped educators move forward and put aside blame and shame. Key takeaway: All means ALL! 

Related Episodes

• Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice 
• Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski 
• Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices 
• Ep. 103: From Workshop Model to Reading Science in Pentucket 

Resources 

• Instructional strategies for 7 early literacy pillars by Patti Montgomery, Schools Cubed
• Developing Assessment-Capable Visible Learners Grades K-12: Maximizing Skill, Will, and Thrill 
• How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research by The Wallace Foundation 
• The Reading Brain by the Center for Reading and Language Research, including Maryanne Wolf 

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Ep. 117: The Writing Revolution with Authors Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler

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: 

1. Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the early elementary grades.
2. Sentences are the building blocks of all writing.
3. When embedded in the content of the curriculum, writing instruction is a powerful teaching tool.
4. The content of the curriculum drives the rigor of the writing activities.
5. Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.
6. The two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising.  

Resources

• The Writing Revolution, Not for Profit
• The Writing Revolution, The Atlantic, October 2012
• Writing and cognitive load theory, Natalie Wexler 

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Ep. 120: Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills with Julia Lindsey

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 and effective instruction is critical when teaching decoding. 

Resources
Reading Above the Fray by Dr. Julia B. Lindsey

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Today we’ll be sharing what you can expect for 2023! 

We’re so excited to have created such an incredible community of educators who want to learn more about reading and writing. We really mean this. There are so many of you listening out there… around the world. Thank you for listening and learning with us! 

What will stay the same in 2023? 
We will continue to keep our podcast discussions about the science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality materials.

What will change in 2023? 
During the summer, we will share weekly episodes and bonus content, host a book club, and podcast discussion groups. There will also be opportunities for you to advocate within your education community. During the winter, spring, and fall, you can expect mostly biweekly episodes. Be sure to lookout for bonus content, too!
 
In today's episode, we share our favorite episodes from 2022, including: 

• Ep. 128: Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher with Missy Purcell
• Ep 100: Trauma and Reading with Dr. Steven Dykstra
• Ep. 108: From 13% to 100% Literacy Proficiency with School Leader Angie Hanlin
• Ep. 112: Kareem Weaver on Levers for Literacy Change
• Ep. 113: Reading is Rocket Science with Louisa Moats
• Ep. 116: Sonia Cabell on the Importance of Content-Rich ELA Instruction

We love creating this podcast and learning together with you, our Literacy Lovers community. We can’t wait to keep learning together in 2023.

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In today’s Feel Good Friday episode, we talk with Shaheer Mustafa, President and CEO of Hopewell Inc, and Amy Schneider, vice president, program impact and strategy at HopeWell. They will share more about a program called RISE (Readiness, Inquiry, Scholarship, Education) that builds early literacy skills and more for children in foster care.

Resources

• To make a donation to HopeWell, Inc., click here. 

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Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.

In today’s Feel Good Friday episode, we talk with Deidra Mayberry, Executive Director of the nonprofit, Reading to New Heights, which brings attention to adult literacy as a critical issue in our society. Growing up, she was a struggling reader. This led her to establish her nonprofit which supports building literacy skills in adults.  Deidra's story is sure to resonate with your literacy loving heart. 

Resources

• To make a donation to Reading to New Heights, click here. 

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In today's Feel Good Friday episode, we talk with Steven Shadel, Director of Great Minds Virtual School. He tells us about effective virtual learning experiences and how those experiences look very much like a typical in-person school experience. In both settings with high quality materials, educators can engage students in active learning. Students are thinking and doing. All teachers take part in knowledge-building professional learning. ALL educators can bring knowledge to life! Knowledge belongs to everyone. 

Resources

• +Article and video from teacher voice & admin perspective - Steven to share with us (Steven, Nancy Z.) 
• Great Minds Virtual School
• Great Minds Virtual Instagram
• Great Minds Virtual Blog 

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In this episode, we talk with a team of educators who made Eureka Math Squared decodable, readable, and accessible for all students. As students access math, their deficits in reading can get in the way. Eureka Math Squared helps students have equity in math to engage in grade level work and feel empowered. All students deserve to be able to do math without limitations. 

Resources

• Eureka Math Squared Overview 
• Eureka Math Squared Webinar on Math Readability
• Eureka Math Squared Whitepaper Improving Readability in Math Without Compromising Rigor 

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