Reaching Struggling Learners

Send a text A few months ago, this student was unable to sound out words. He was completely reliant on a word bank to communicate through writing anything other than basic sight words he had memorized. But not now! We’ve been working on segmenting phonemes in words, and it has made a world of difference for him and his ability to write!  It really is the little things that make teaching fun, isn’t...

Send a text Two years ago, I sat in an MTSS meeting with a wonderful kindergarten teacher who was working her tail off to teach her students how to read. Her class overall was pretty low coming into kindergarten, and a small group of these students, even after months of work, just could not seem to blend the letter sounds to make words. This poor teacher was in tears trying to figure out what else...

Send a text Do you think of phonemic awareness as baby skills? Or skills that are too easy for your students, who REALLY need to focus on real reading skills like phonics?  So many schools put their main focus on phonics and completely ignore phonemic awareness skills...but what if I told you that these skills really DO make a big impact on student learning? What if I told you a shocking number of...

Send a text There are so many students struggling in schools now. According to the NAEP only about 40% of students are reading on grade level in 4th or 8th grade. That means that students are overwhelmingly working below where they should be, which impacts their success both in school and after. Today we are going to talk about why it is so important that we drill down to the most basic skill defi...

Send a text All students learn differently….every teacher knows this...even if sometimes teachers struggle to figure out how to account for all of these differences in the classroom on a daily basis. Today, let’s talk about some ways that we can account for learning differences in the classroom, and help all of our students succeed. I'm going to share some stories, and some ideas to make your...

Send a text Trauma is a very real issue in classrooms today. It affects behavior management, classroom community, and the academics of students experiencing trauma. While teachers are NOT qualified (nor do they have the time) to provide the counseling supports that students need, there are some simple, yet effective things that we can do in the classroom to support our students. Subscribe & Re...

Send a text We all know that building strong relationships with our students is an important part of helping them progress throughout the school year, but sometimes that understanding gets lost in the piles of papers on our desks, or the massive pressure to make academic gains…. Today, let’s talk about some strategies you can use today to start building relationships in your classroom….which won’t...

Send a text How many times have we worked with a student and wondered if the program or intervention was what was finally going to work for a student? There are so many programs for so many different learning differences out there. Every single one says that they have the answer to learning difficulties, and know what to do to get students back on track in record time. Teachers hear these claims f...

Send a text Social emotional learning is a big deal right now, and will continue to be an issue for teachers and schools for a long time….so what are some ways that we can support the social emotional learning of our students, while keeping up with grade level standards? Today, let’s talk about how social emotional learning can be an integral part of the day in the general and special education cl...

Send a text If you are a special education teacher, or for that matter, an interventionist, you know how much work it is to keep track of all of the information including goals, benchmarks, important dates, paperwork, and progress monitoring for your caseload. But what if there was an easier way to keep it all organized and under control? Today we are going to talk about setting up your caseload m...

Send a text IEPs, and paperwork, goals, and present levels, evaluations, and reports….special education teachers are buried in all the things they have to do….today, let’s talk about how to progress monitor IEP goals to make life easier when progress report time comes around. One very time-consuming activity that we all have to deal with is finding ways to collect data on those goals that we have...

Send a text When I went to college, and was preparing to become a teacher, I learned all sorts of things about teaching strategies and classroom management, and even the basic philosophy behind writing IEPs...but what they didn’t go into depth on was when I had students in my classroom, how was I supposed to teach the skills which were outlined in the IEPs...especially if they were years below the...

Send a text Welcome to 2021! It is January, and it is really the season of resolutions….but everyone knows that resolutions are made to be broken….How about we change that this year? Welcome to Reaching Struggling Learners Season 2, Episode 31. Today, we are going to get excited about all the things we’ve done well, and identify little things that we can do to make our lives easier this year….beca...

Send a text So many people have used the words unprecedented and history-making to describe this year… And those words just make me want to scream at this point! While they may be accurate, for me….this year has been surprising, overwhelming, and a blessing. Welcome to Reaching Struggling Learners, Episode 30. Today, let’s look back on this year and start thinking about what we want next year to l...

Send a text Your students have made a lot of progress this semester, and that is really something to celebrate! But, when students still aren’t at grade level, even after making big gains...talking to parents can be awkward...and difficult…. Welcome to Reaching Struggling Learners, Episode 29. Today we are going to talk about how to discuss progress with parents so that they understand that their...

Send a text This has been a long, difficult semester….one I am glad to see is on it's way out! But for those of us knee deep in RTI, what do we need to do to wrap up this semester and prepare for next? Welcome to Reaching Struggling Learners, Episode 28. Today we are going to talk about some end of the semester habits to get into to have you prepared for next semester….before you go on break!...

Send a text I like concrete examples. Having abstract concepts thrown at me is great and all, but I have a hard time visualizing what that concept could look like in my classroom. Welcome to Reaching Struggling Learners, Episode 27. Today, let’s talk about how one skill, which many students struggle with, could be addressed in RTI in your classroom tomorrow. Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are yo...

Send a text We have spent so much time talking about RTI...but honestly, is it really as effective as the “powers that be” believe it is? Welcome to Reaching Struggling Learners, Episode 26. Today we are going to talk about real life examples of how RTI can be effective in the classroom. Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do...

Send a text RtI is a lot of work...for everyone involved. And with all of the extra work we all have to do because of COVID and distance or face to face learning, a lot of teachers are wondering why schools have to do RtI in the first place.  Welcome to Reaching Struggling Learners, Episode 25. Today we are going to discuss why schools started and continue to use RtI. Subscribe & Review in iTu...

Send a text Teachers, all of them have so much on their plates right now...and let’s face it, if it isn’t a task they are directly responsible for, things are being back-burnered...just for survival if nothing else. Not that helping out a coworker isn't important, or that data collection isn't either....but when it comes to providing feedback on student performance...if it isn't som...

Send a text If you’re a special education teacher, you know that some parents are going to come to every IEP meeting and give good input...and other parents are going to be incredibly difficult to reach and getting them to attend, even over the phone, can be like pulling teeth. What can we do to get more involvement from that second group of parents? Today, let’s talk about how we can get more par...

Send a text Have you ever sat with your coworkers and discussed how awesome it would be if parents could or would work with children at home? I know I have many times.  Today we are going to talk about some ways that teachers can help parents understand the interventions they are providing to students, and how they can support the students at home. If we can get more buy-in from parents, we can ma...

Send a text Obviously we have been talking...a lot...about staying healthy and basically not getting COVID...and now that cold and flu season is also upon us, what can we do to keep healthy with all the stresses and extra work we have because of all the things that have happened in 2020? Today we are going to take a tiny break, in this bonus episode, to just talk about we can do to stay healthy du...

Send a text Does the thought of calling parents and discussing your concerns about academics or behavior make you feel queasy? Do you feel uncomfortable talking to parents about your concerns? Hey, we have all been there….let’s talk about what we can do about it! Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want...

Send a text How incredibly frustrating is it when you’ve been working with a student for a long time, and you have come to understand that the student needs more supports than you’re able to give...but no one will listen when you talk about this issue???? I know it absolutely drove me up the wall when that happened to me! Today, I would like to talk a little bit about what you can do with all of t...