Reach All Readers

181: Should we teach students to write upper or lowercase letters first?  What's the best routine for practicing handwriting? How much time should students practice handwriting each day? Dr. Shawn Datchuk shares what the research says (and doesn't say) about these questions and more! Get the show notes here: http://themeasuredmom.com/episode181 Get the free Editable Name Tracing Workshee...

180: Sean Morrisey, former school psychologist turned fifth grade teacher, walks us through the many different literacy assessments teachers administer. Which are useful, and which are a waste of time? You'll love this practical episode! Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Loo...

179: In this episode, the tables are turned - Melissa Loftus and Lori Sappington, of Melissa & Lori Love Literacy, interview ME! We discuss the three important steps to reach all readers ... and I get pretty candid about my science of reading journey. Click here for the show notes from this episode.  Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach Al...

178: As a classroom teacher, I had heard of dyslexia - and that's about it. In this episode I share what I wish I'd known about this common learning disability. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading? Cli...

177: Research tells us that students comprehend text better when they write about it. Here's how to use a simple sentence expansion activity to improve comprehension. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading? Cl...

176: Use this simple routine to teach any of the expository text structures: sequence, description, cause and effect, compare and contrast, or problem and solution. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading? Click her...

175: We know it's important to teach particular vocabulary words in depth - but how do we choose from the many thousands of words that students might encounter? These six questions will help you choose words for vocabulary instruction. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looki...

174: These are simple and powerful fluency routines that you can use throughout the day! Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading? Click here to learn more about our popular and affordable membership for PreK through...

173: We know that it's important to practice applying the phonics skills they've been taught, but what does research really say about using decodable text? What are questions do we still have? Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align...

172: Melissa Loftus and Lori Sappington, hosts of the popular Melissa & Lori Love Literacy, have written a fabulous new book! In this episode we discuss "The Literacy 50: A Q & A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions about Reading that Keep You Up at Night." Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Rea...

171: Phonemic awareness can feel like an overwhelming topic ... but I've condensed all the information into four important points. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading? Click here to learn more about our pop...

170: The Big 5 (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) get a lot of attention - but what about oral language? Oral language deserves attention because it is the foundation of both word recognition and language comprehension. In this episode I share a short summary of what research tells us about oral language and reading. Click here for the show notes from this episod...

169: The science of reading tells us WHAT to teach - but we also need the science of learning. The science of learning tells us HOW to teach - so that our teaching is more effective and efficient. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with t...

168: Alison Ryan, author of The Phonics Playbook , explains how to differentiate phonics instruction during whole class lessons and/or during small group lessons. I highly recommend her new book, which breaks this down for busy teachers! Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking...

167: Sally Bergquist is an experienced teacher who has written an explicit, structured writing program for K-2. Listen to learn her tips for getting kids started in kindergarten, gradually building their writing skills throughout the primary grades, and finding the right balance between explicit instruction and practice with feedback. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my...

Nate Hansford, author of The Scientific Principles of Teaching , equips teachers to discern whether or not a study is high-quality, and whether or not to apply its results to their teaching. We follow that by discussing particular pedagogies that research does not support. I highly recommend his book, which takes the mystery out of education research for busy teachers. Click here for the show note...

165: Dr. Devin Kearns explains why popular syllable division methods may not be the most efficient way to teach students to read longer words - and what to consider instead. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading?...

164: Dr. Lorraine Hammond describes a whole-school approach to teaching vocabulary and explains how teachers can teach writing at the same time. What a powerful and efficient way to build vocabulary and writing skills! Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resou...

163: When our students struggle with comprehension, it may be that we need to go all the way back to the sentence level. In this episode, Nancy Hennessy discusses many different ways that teachers can help improve students' sentence comprehension. You may want to take notes! Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Reader...

162: When you understand the stages of early writing, you're better able to support beginning writers. In this episode, Dr. Sonia Cabell reviews a framework for teachers to evaluate, support, and extend the writing that young children produce. This is a must-listen for preschool and kindergarten teachers! Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Esse...

161: Deedee Wills was once a kindergarten teacher who trained other teachers to implement guided reading. In today's episode she shares information from her recent Plain Talk presentation, explaining why we need to move away from guided reading and how to give intentional, effective small group instruction to beginning readers. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my f...

In this replay of a popular episode, we discuss exactly what's happening when children learn to recognize words - teaching tips included! Click here for this episode's show notes. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading? Click here to learn more about ou...

160: Unless all your students are at the same skill level (highly unlikely!), you will need to meet with small groups during the school day - even in a structured literacy classroom. But what are the rest of the students doing? Christina Winter walks us through how to choose literacy centers, how to teach students to do them independently, and answers pretty much every question you might have abou...

159: Dr. Jodi Nickel shares her journey from balanced to structured literacy, and describes how her university pairs teacher candidates with struggling readers in a successful tutoring program. Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the...

158: Kindergarten teacher Casey Jergens shares how and why he teaches a whole group phonics lesson before offering small group instruction. Lots of food for thought! Click here for the show notes from this episode. Sign up for my free masterclass, 5 Essential Steps to Reach All Readers. Get my book, Reach All Readers! Looking for printable resources that align with the science of reading? Click he...