Episodes

In this episode: Listen in as we talk about promoting self leadership through growing critical thinkers and readers in the literacy classroom. We talk about: The what, the why and the how of building independence by promoting self leadership through growing critical thinkers and readers in your upper elementary literacy classroom. Quotables: -Growing critical thinkers and readers means that we create an environment where upper elementary students read a text, think about the text and respond to...

In this episode: Listen in as we talk about promoting self leadership through nurtutring a big word mindset. We talk about: The what, the why and the how of building independence by promoting self leadership through nurturing a big word mindset in your upper elementary literacy classroom. Quotables: -A big word mindset is one in which a student has developed confidence in their ability to attempt and successfully decode a multisyllabic word. - If students don’t have a strategy and a track reco...

In this episode: Listen in as we talk about promoting self leadership through goal setting as a way to foster independence in your literacy classroom. We talk about: The what, the why and the how of building independence by promoting self leadership through goal setting in your upper elementary literacy classroom. Quotables: -Self leadership in the literacy classroom is a student's ability to define a goal they are working towards based on their knowledge of themselves and the areas that they w...

In this episode: Listen in as we talk about helping students develop a growth mindset in order to foster independence during your upper elementary literacy block. We talk about: The what, the why and the how of building independence by cultivating a growth mindset in your upper elementary literacy classroom. Quotables: -Independence is the ability of a student to do something that we have taught them to do without relying on us and being capable of acting for oneself. -In order to cultivate in...

In this episode: Listen in as we continue our summer book study of the book “Big Words For Young Readers” by Heidi Anne Mesmer. We talk about: Chapters 7 and 8 of the book which covers the skills that students working on 2nd-5th grade skills should be taught and how to teach them. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: Sign Up for summer podcast book study Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional development Grab my free guide for keeping your mini lesson mini ...

In this episode: Listen in as we continue our summer book study of the book “Big Words For Young Readers” by Heidi Anne Mesmer. We talk about: Chapters 5 and 6 of the book which covers the skills that students working on K-2nd grade skills should be taught and how to teach them. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: Sign Up for summer podcast book study Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional development Grab my free guide for keeping your mini lesson mini Su...

In this episode: Listen in as we continue our summer book study of the book “Big Words For Young Readers” by Heidi Anne Mesmer. We talk about: Chapters 3 and 4 of the book which cover which assessments we should giving students, what ingredients are needed for students to learn big words and how to provide research based big word instruction. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: Sign Up for summer podcast book study Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional de...

In this episode: Listen in as we continue our summer book study of the book “Big Words For Young Readers” by Heidi Anne Mesmer. We talk about: Chapters 1 and 2 of the book which cover what word parts our language is composed of and the importance of a scope and sequence. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: Sign Up for summer podcast book study Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional development Grab my free guide for keeping your mini lesson mini Summer Buc...

In this episode: Hey Upper Elementary Teacher! Listen in as we launch our summer book study of the book “Big Words For Young Readers” by Heidi Anne Mesmer. We talk about: Why the 4 reasons the author wrote the book. Why I chose this particular text. Why I think you should join us in this book study. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: Sign Up for summer podcast book study Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional development Grab my free guide for keeping you...

In this episode: Listen in as I give you tangible steps for crafting a bucket list that helps you come back in the fall rested, and ready to start back in the fall. We talk about: How to craft a realist summer bucket list for yourself and a plan to make it happen. We also talk about how to help your students do the same. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional development Sign Up for summer podcast book study Grab my free...

In this episode: Listen in as I wrap up season 7 of the podcast. We talk about: The top 5 most listened to episodes of the podcast this season and the main takeaways. I also mentioned how we can hang out this summer. Give the episode a listen and jot down the episodes that you need to binge right now. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional development Grab my free guide for keeping your mini lesson mini Get on the mini l...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of reflecting your career goals as a teacher and using that reflection time to decide if it’s time to make a career shift. We talk about: 1.What it means to reflect on our career goals as a teacher. 2. Why taking time to reflect on your career goals is an important part of longevity in education. 3.How to reflect on your career goals in a way that helps you choose next steps. Quotables: - You have permission to dream without guilt. To envisi...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of reflecting on our past school experiences and the positive and/or negative impact they have on your teaching. We talk about: 1.What it means to reflect on our school experiences. 2. Why taking time to reflect on past school experiences is a necessary step in growing our practice as teachers. 3.How to reflect on both the positive experiences and think about the impact they have on your teaching. Quotables: - Our school experiences whether ...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of making learning front and center in our post testing era We talk about: 1.What it means to cultivate community. 2. Why cultivating community during our post testing era matters. 3.How to cultivate community after the state testing in upper elementary. Quotables: -Cultivating community means to foster the growth and closeness of a group of students and/or staff members so that they feel a sense of belonging. -Teachers are an invaluable resour...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of making learning front and center in our post testing era We talk about: 1.What does it mean to keep learning front and center. 2. Why keeping learning front and center during our post testing era matters. 3.How to infuse your literacy block with purposeful learning after the state testing in upper elementary. Quotables: -Oftentimes the end of the school year will have us chunking the progress students have made right out the window a mont...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of leveraging the behind the scenes of being an upper elementary reading teacher to help you end the year strong-ish. We talk about: 1.What is the behind the scenes of teaching. 2. Why setting intention around the behind the scenes of teaching matters when planning to end the year strong-ish. 3.How to leverage the behind the scenes of teaching to help you end the year strong-ish. Quotables: -When I refer to the term back end I’m referring to th...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of casting a vision that will help you finish the year strong-ish in your upper elementary classroom. We talk about: 1.What it means to cast a realistic vision for the end of the school year in your upper elementary literacy classroom. 2. Why casting a vision is a form of self care that your future self will thank you for. 3.How asking yourself 4 simple questions will help you cast a vision for ending the year strong-ish. Quotables: -There i...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how to leverage your small group time as part of your test prep strategy. We talk about: 1.What test prep should look like during your upper elementary literacy block. 2. Why leveraging small group instruction should be a part of your test prep strategy. 3.How to incorporate small group instruction into your test prep strategy using 3 simple steps. Quotables: -Upper elementary students are just like us, if they think they already know how to do ...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how using independent reading time as part of your test prep strategy. We talk about: 1.What a test prep framework is. 2. Why independent reading should be a part of your test prep strategy. 3.How to incorporate independent reading into your test prep strategy using 4 simple steps. Quotables: -We said that test prep should be incorporated into your already established reading block and that it should be used to review already taught skills in a ...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of using read aloud with accountable talk as part of your test prep strategy. We talk about: 1.What test prep is and what it isn't. 2. Why read aloud should be a part of your test prep strategy. 3.How to leverage your read aloud time within your test prep framework. Quotables: -Test prep should feel like a time of review for students. It should feel like an opportunity to apply the skills that they have already learned in a different format....

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of helping students write constructed responses in the upper elementary classroom. We talk about: 1.What reading response is and how it relates to constructed responses. 2. Why constructed responses should have a place in your upper elementary literacy classroom. 3.How you can help your upper elementary students write constructed responses independently. Quotables: -Reading response opportunities help upper elementary students deepen their comp...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of using the mini lesson framework to teach vocabulary and word study skills in your upper elementary classroom. We talk about: 1.What is vocabulary and word study instruction? 2. Why does vocabulary and word study instruction matter in the classroom? 3.How can I use the mini lesson to vocabulary and word study skills? Quotables: -Students need access to word study and vocabulary instruction in the upper elementary classroom in order to help ...

In this episode: I talk about the what, why and how of SOR or Science of Reading in the upper elementary classroom. We talk about: 1.What is the science of teaching reading? 2. Why does this research matter to upper elementary teachers? 3.How can I implement it into my literacy block? Quotables: -SOR centers explicit and systematic instruction in the skills that teach students how to decode and understand what they read. -Science of Reading matters, because ensuring that all students have access...

In this episode: I talk about why this is a great time to embrace that new year energy and hit the refresh button on the evidence based tier one literacy practices. We talk about: 1.What does it mean to hit the refresh button on evidence based tier one literacy practices. 2. Why you may need to hit the refresh button on evidence based tier one literacy practices in the first place. 3.How to go about hitting that refresh button in a doable way. Quotables: -The term refresh means to come back t...