Episodes

In this episode: Listen in as I wrap up season 5 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 face to face 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: Read and Respond: An Upper Elementary Teacher Summer Series Grab my free guide for keeping your mini lesson mini Get on the mini lesso...

In this episode: Listen in as I talk about the third question you need to ask yourself as you reflect on this past school year in your classroom. We talk about: 1.What- What does it mean to take care of yourself? 2. Why- Why is it important to take care of yourself? 3. How- How do you embark on the ever elusive self care journey? Quotables: -You need to define what self care means for you. -Part of taking care of yourself is paying attention to the season that you are in and acting accordin...

In this episode: Listen in as I talk about the second question you need to ask yourself as you reflect on this past school year in your classroom. We talk about: 1.What- What does it mean to reflect on the challenges that you have encountered in your literacy classroom this year? 2. Why- Why should you take time to reflect and choose just one challenge to focus on? 3. How- How do you go about reflecting on one challenge and what you have already tried to resolve it? Quotables: -As much as...

In this episode: Listen in as I talk about the first question you need to ask yourself as you reflect on this past school year in your classroom. We talk about: 1.What- What does it mean to reflect on what is going well in your classroom this year? 2. Why- Why should you take time to reflect on the good things going on in your classroom this year? 3. How- How do you go about reflecting on what went well in your classroom this year? Quotables: -Not making a habit of reflecting on what is g...

In this episode: Listen in as I interview Stacey Riedmiller of Literacy for Big Kids. We talk about the what, the why and the how of reading what your students are reading. We talk about: 1.What- What does it mean to read what your upper elementary students are reading? 2. Why- Why is reading what your upper elementary students are reading important? 3. How- How do we make reading what our upper elementary students are reading happen? Quotables: - Reading what students are reading means tha...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave with clarity around the what, the why and the how of supporting struggling students in the upper elementary classroom. I talk about: 1.What- What does it mean to support struggling students in our upper elementary classrooms? 2. Why- Why do we want to provide support for our struggling students? 3. How-How do we support struggling students in our upper elementary classrooms? Quotables: - When we are talking about how to support stri...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave with clarity around the what, the why and the how of differentiated instruction in the upper elementary classroom. I talk about: 1.What- What is differentiated instruction anyway? 2. Why- Why does differentiated instruction matter? 3. How-How do I differentiate instruction in my upper elementary literacy classroom? Quotables: - Differentiation is the ability of the teacher to ensure that content, process, product or accountab...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave with clarity around the what, the why and the how of tier 1 instruction in the literacy classroom. I talk about: 1.What- What is high quality tier 1 instruction anyway? 2. Why- Why is tier 1 instruction important and why is it important to make it available to everyone? 3. How- How do I deliver high quality tier 1 instruction? Quotables: - Tier 1 instruction is what every single student in your classroom is entitled to. It consists ...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave equipped with tangible steps to help students be able to independently execute the skills you teach them. I talk about: 1.What exactly do we mean when we say we want students to work independently? 2. Why do we want students to be more independent members of the literacy classroom? 3. How do we help students cross the bridge to independence? Quotables: - We want students to be able to use the strategies we teach them in order to...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave equipped to choose or create a resource that is appropriately rigorous for your students. I talk about: 1.What rigor is and what it isn’t. 2. Why we want to find or create appropriately rigorous resources for our students. 3. How to find an appropriately rigorous resource or just make one ourselves. Quotables: - You build in rigor through your knowledge of your standards and your ability to hold students accountable -The main ...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave equipped to choose resources that help you teach your students. I talk about: 1.What your most undervalued resource is….hint it’s not your pal google. 2. Why you need to know your standards before you try to look for your next resource. 3. How to go about deciding when to look for a resource and decide if it’s going to work for you and your students. Quotables: - Your most undervalued resource is you and your knowledge of your st...

In this episode: Krystal Smith aka The Renewed Teacher and I continue our conversation about writing instruction in the upper elementary classroom. Listen in as Krystal and I continue to discuss the what, why and how of writing across content areas. We talk about: 1.What-Incorporating writing across content areas means creating authentic opportunities to write in each subject. 2.Why- It’s not about writing to pass a test. 3.How- It won’t just happen, you have to plan for it. Quotables: - Teac...

In this episode: Krystal aka The renewed teacher breaks down the what, the why and the how of incorporating writing across content areas. We talk about: What- Incorporating writing across content areas means creating authentic opportunities to write in each subject. Why- Studies show that reading and writing proficiency are linked. How- You do not need to try and cram writing into every subject everyday. Quotables: - I saw that our students were struggling with reading and that my coworkers ...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave equipped with the what, the why and the how of using one text for multiple mini lessons. I talk about: What a mentor text is and its purpose in the RLA classroom. Why using a mentor text for your RLA instruction will: save you time, save students processing time, save you instructional time How to make using mentor texts for multiple mini lessons a reality in your classroom. Quotables: - Mentor texts can be used for several less...

In this episode: After listening to this episode you will leave with the what, the why and the how of teaching students how to determine the main idea. I even include a couple of bonus tips, that includes how to put it all together with identifying key details and turning all of this into a summary. I talk about: What Main Idea is. Why teaching students how to identify the main idea is an important skill. How to teach students how to identify the main idea and use that information along with ke...

In this episode: I lay the foundation of what needs to be in place before we reach for the extras that we think of when we think of supporting high readers. I talk about: What support for on and above level readers should look like. Why our on and above level readers need our support even though they may look fine. How to make supporting your on and above level readers work with your current literacy block. Quotables: - Supporting on or above level readers means remembering that they deserve...