Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ® | Science of Reading for Teachers

In this episode we talk with David Chalk, a successful and self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur. As an adult, David was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD and learned to read at the age of 62. He shares 'aha' moments and how learning to read decreased his anxiety and bettered his emotional state. Look forward to watching more of David's story unfold on the upcoming literacy documentary...

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 view of reading in this piece: The Science of Reading Progresses (co-authored by Kelly B. Cartwright). Check out page 9 for a graphic we discuss throughout the podcast in order to re-think the reading rope. To co...

Join us as we talk with the talented team passionate about producing a literacy documentary titled The Truth About Reading: The Invisible Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight. You'll hear from Nora Chahbazi, founder of Evidence-based Literacy Instruction , Nick Nanton , Emmy-winning director, and John Corcoran , the teacher who couldn't read. We can't wait to watch this incredible film high...

James Murphy, editor,  tells us about the intention behind The ResearchED Guide to Literacy : An Evidence-Informed Guide for Teachers. He talks about why it's important for teachers to engage with <accurate, valid> research because "we don't know what we don't know" ... and how it's important to be able to determine what is truth vs. truth-y. James also mentions...

Episode 37  The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom is a must-read — before or after you listen to this episode! Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel join us to unpack the true intentions behind the Common Core State Standards and how they’ve sometimes been misinterpreted in practice. They share what they’ve observed in classrooms and schools — both when high-quali...

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 less than six months, and her students reached end of year benchmarks with 100% success rate. Kristin's district uses Lucy Calkins Units of Study Phonics, Reading, & Writing as a core curricula ... but now that Kristin knows...

In this episode, reading and fluency expert Tim Rasinski tells us all about effective fluency instruction! How does repeated reading build fluency instruction? Why does text difficulty level impact fluency practice? What do effective accuracy, automaticity, and expression sound like? Check out research, articles, and helpful materials located on Tim's website and follow Tim on Twitter @TimRas...

In today's episode, Alex Spurrier, a senior analyst with Bellwether Education Partners in the policy and evaluation practice area, discusses his recent contribution to The 74:  Curriculum Isn't Infrastructure - But States Should Treat It as Such and Build a Strong Foundation for Student Learning . How can HQIM be part of the recovery from the pandemic? How can states, districts, and scho...

Crystal Gonzales is the  Executive Director at English Learners Success Forum and believes that HQIM are the first step to provide equity for all learners, especially English Learners! Why? Because HQIM are developed with the idea that what's good for English Learners is good for all kids (but, the reverse is not always true!).  We talk with Crystal about the impact of leveled reading on Engl...

Sarah Webb talks candidly about how high quality instructional materials (HQIM) supported her as a teacher in helping all students reach greatness. Specifically, high quality materials were most helpful for English Learners... who often don't receive access to such materials. Sarah zooms in on how HQIM are supportive of students' vocabulary acquisition through repetition, writing with op...

Tiffany Rehbein, K-12 English Language Arts Coordinator from Laramie County School District in Cheyenne, Wyoming shares why and how the district shifted to HQIM. After seven years of stagnant ELA scores and a focus on balanced literacy, she and her colleagues knew it was time for a big change! They did their homework and investigated HQIM, choosing Wit & Wisdom ELA. Listen in to hear more abou...

As a new teacher in Sumner County, TN, Natalie Baggett saw the desperate need for high quality instructional materials. In her first semester teaching, she scrambled to create instructional materials - searching Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, even Google! Then, she piloted and implemented Wit & Wisdom ELA and saw a dramatic shift in her students' ability to write and think about comple...

What are The Elements needed to transform teaching and professional learning? What will accelerate success towards equity and excellence? What are considerations for professional learning across the school year (and beyond)?  These questions are answered by our expert guests, Jim Short and Stephanie Hirsh, authors of The Elements: Transforming Teaching through Curriculum-Based Professional Learnin...

Kymyona Burk is the Policy Director for Early Education at ExcelinEd , where she supports states pursuing a comprehensive approach to K-3 reading policy through successful policy implementation. She gives context as to what led her to this position - her previous experiences as State Literacy Director for Mississippi and the Executive Director of Teaching & Learning with Jackson Public Schools...

Rachel Arnold is an intervention and special education teacher at Clayton, ES in Colorado. Her journey to HQIM began when she asked herself the question:  How can we use the science of reading research to help us teach ALL kids to read and write?  Listen in as she shares her experience and approach to this work!  To read more about how Rachel and team made the shift to a content focused curriculum...

Wondering how school leaders can support teachers in this work? Jovanni Ramos is a former school leader from NOLA and champion for supporting teachers using HQIM!  Jovanni set teachers up for success on their Wit & Wisdom ELA implementation journey by setting clear priorities and communicating to all stakeholders. Most importantly, he articulated an expectation of implementation with fidelity...

UDL is invisible when done well in HQIM! In this episode, Sue Sabella and Vivian Nourse share how HQIM are designed with UDL embedded within.  See below for a quick refresher of the three principles of UDL. If you'd like to read more, visit CAST UDL Guidelines .  Engagement: Why am I learning this? Learners differ in the ways they can be engaged or motivated to learn.   Representation: What a...

Educator Shanita Rapatalo shares how "literacy, liberation, and opportunity go hand in hand" both on the podcast and in her recent blog post located here .  She discusses the mindset shifts needed to make the change to evidence-based practices, what changed once these practices were implemented, and why it's an equity issue.  Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podc...

Meet Daisy Salazar-Garza, an incredibly thoughtful school leader at KIPP SOCAL, who shares her anti-bias and anti-racist approach to implementing Wit & Wisdom ELA.  How is Wit & Wisdom aligned to KIPP's anti-bias & anti-racist approach?   What aspects of curriculum  could have missing pieces of marginalized perspectives? How do we address these in teacher planning?  Daisy shares t...

Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio considers science of reading research the backbone of their programming at all levels: undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral. On today's episode, we talk with Amy Murdoch, Reading Science Program Director at MSJ. Amy shares specifics about the courses and programs, details about student teaching experiences with students who are well-versed in the science...

What goes on behind the scenes at EdReports.org ? Tricia Parker and Jess Box share the gateways that EdReports uses to reviews curricula: standards alignment, quality, and usability. We ask the questions we all really want to know:  Who are the curriculum reviewers?  How do reviewers ensure standards alignment?  What does it really mean for curricula to meet grade level standards?  What does &apos...

Dr. Errick L. Greene, Superintendent of Jackson Public Schools , shares the district's transformation journey and how he level sets on what excellence looks like:  HQIM Seeing is believing Professional learning opportunities (frequent, ongoing) Inquiry Most importantly, he asks and answers crucial questions, such as: Why HQIM?  Where are resources best utilized? How do we serve children in th...

Laura Stewart from The Reading League discusses evidence-aligned instruction to support universal understanding around the science of reading. She discusses how practice CAN transform belief to help our students live a literate life.  Sharing another fabulous literacy podcast - Teaching, Reading, and Learning with Laura Stewart.  Visit OUR WEBSITE to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast! https:...

How is professional learning is different with HQIM?  How do we define high quality professional learning (HQPL)?  Why should HQPL be content focused? Who is best suited to provide support for implementation of HQIM... and why? Answers to these questions and more with Rivet Education! Rivet is passionate about all teachers receiving access to HQIM... AND that the professional learning and developm...

Margaret Goldberg & Lani Mednick from The Right to Read Project share why we should give equal importance to the ENTIRE reading rope ( Scarborough's Reading Rope )! We ask some tough questions, including  Why and how are knowledge-building HQIM the epitome of EQUITY? How can we professionalize the teaching profession? How can leaders support teachers? Listen in to learn from their incredi...