The Literacy Dive Podcast: Reading and Writing Strategies for Upper Elementary Teachers and Parents

On this podcast I’ve discussed various components of descriptive writing, several techniques, and the importance of instilling the writing process in your students. Today’s episode is essential to student writing, as it is the key to engaging the reader right away and wrapping it up in a conclusive way. I’m sharing strategies for writing leads and conclusions so they can begin incorporating them i...

I focus a lot of episodes on strategies pertaining to writing and today is no different. Having students write descriptively is what engages the reader and makes them part of the story, not just reading about plot events. The best way to accomplish this goal as a writer is through show vs. tell. In today’s episode, I’m sharing eight strategies to consider when teaching show don’t tell to your stud...

How many of your students still struggle with writing complete sentences? I know I have experienced this in my classroom year after year. So what can you do to support your students? In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 tips for writing a complete sentence.  When our students enter our classrooms, they all come with different academic levels and prior knowledge. Although you might teach upper element...

Paragraph writing can be hard, but it can be easier! A major part of the battle is that our students just don’t understand how a paragraph works. If you are ready to make that a thing of the past, this episode is for you! In today’s episode, I’m sharing the 4 elements of strong paragraph writing. Like all things, this process of paragraph writing does not happen overnight. But also like all things...

In this podcast, we talk a lot about how to best incorporate literacy into your classroom that will benefit all of your students. But as teachers, we know that every student is not on the same academic level and some of our students have learning disabilities that we need to take into consideration when giving our instruction. One of the learning disabilities impacting students is dyslexia. In tod...

Just like I hope you’re celebrating our country’s independence, today’s episode is all about a different kind of celebration in the classroom. Over the past several episodes, I’ve been discussing the writing process and sharing ways to make it smooth and effectives for your students. Today I’m sharing 8 ways to celebrate published writing with your students. If you’ve been listening to these recen...

The past couple of episodes have been focused on student writing and the writing process. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode, Episode 88 , make sure you go back and listen to it now. I discuss in detail the steps of the writing process, which is a prelude to today’s topic. In today’s episode, I’m continuing to talk about the writing process with 6 best practice tips to keep in mind whe...

Hey literacy friends! As you all know, I’m very passionate about literacy…especially writing. In last week’s episode , I shared 4 ways to enhance how you teach descriptive writing, so take a listen to that episode to further strengthen your students’ writing. In today's episode, I’m walking you through different steps of the writing process and focusing on the overall goal of each step.  It is sai...

The ability to write and use descriptive language is a skill that doesn’t come easy to most, especially our young learners in our classrooms. So what can you do as a teacher to help your students? In today's episode, I’m sharing 4 ways to teach descriptive writing and ideas that you can put into practice in the fall. Last week, I had a special guest, Anna Brekken, a 16 year old high school student...

You all know that I love writing and enjoy sharing tips when it comes to teaching writing. But I have a treat for you today! On today’s episode, I have guest Anna Brekken, who is a very accomplished 15 year old student! Anna is sharing three things teachers should avoid when teaching writing.  Anna is a high school student and creative writer. She believes everyone has an incredibly important stor...

Let’s celebrate YOU! You’ve finished, or almost finished, the school year! While it’s a time for celebration, it’s also a time to think about how the year went and find changes or positives throughout the year. In today’s episode, I’m sharing why implementing an end of the school year 5W reflection is so powerful and beneficial.  If you know me and have been following me for awhile, you know how m...

While the majority of teachers have summer on their minds, other teachers are extending their time in school to teach summer school. Whether you’re required or volunteering, please know you are doing a great thing! In order to make your time more enjoyable, on today’s episode I’m sharing 6 tips for summer school success.  Teaching summer school is an important job. You are the reason they’re not p...

With summer approaching, it’s important for teachers to take some time to take a break and relax because you deserve it! I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been good at taking the  whole  summer off. So in today’s episode I’m sharing 8 tasks that you can add to your summer to-do list that will help you ease yourself back into school! Like I mentioned, I tend to get antsy or feel overwhelmed wh...

I’m so excited because today’s topic is something I’ve never discussed on the podcast, but it’s such an important conversation to have. On today’s episode, guest Kelsey Sorenson and I are having an open dialogue about providing tools and strategies to use towards a better mental health. Kelsey Sorenson is a former teacher and sub turned homeschool mom and owner of Wife Teacher Mommy. She has helpe...

We can feel it - it’s getting closer and closer each week. I’m talking about summer! While we’re all excited for the break, it has a lot of us teachers asking the magic question: What am I supposed to do the last few weeks of school? This is one of my favorite times of the year, so I’m sharing engaging literacy-based end of year activities you can easily do with your students! SHOW NOTES: https://...

With only a few weeks of school left, we tend to be in summer mode or close to it. While we all love the break that summer brings, it can sometimes interfere with maintaining students’ literacy skills. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 8 preventative ideas to help prevent the “summer slide”.  Although it’s always fun to receive gifts on your birthday, this year, I wanted to give YOU, my audience, a...

I am beyond excited about this episode because in celebration of my birthday week, I am doing something a little different on the podcast today. Instead of the regular strategies to use in the classroom and providing an entire episode on literacy content, I decided to do something fun and answer some listener questions! This is an episode full of fun, relaxation, stress-free, some teacher-related...

Test prep is so much fun, said no teacher ever! Well friends, it’s that time of year again - test prep season right before state assessments.  There’s always a negative connotation with test prep, but I’m here to tell you that it can be engaging, informative, enjoyable, and collaborative amongst your students. In today’s episode I’ll be sharing 6 ways to keep your students highly interested throug...

The stress and overwhelm felt during test season is not only felt by students, but also by teachers as well. Every year during testing season the days seemed longer and tougher. Looking back now I can only imagine that my students were impacted by my feelings during those times, and not for the better.  I knew that testing season was inevitable every year, but I also knew I had to figure out ways...

Last week I spoke about National Poetry Month and ideas to spark reading in your classroom. I want to continue the conversation about poetry because it is such an interesting genre that students really enjoy learning about! In this week’s episode we are diving into ideas that will engage your students in writing with a big connection to poetry.  SHOW NOTES: https://theliteracydive.com/favorite-wri...

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? This is a genre that your students will love to explore! This week, we are going to dive into ways that you can incorporate poetry into your school day that promotes reading. These ideas can be embedded into your daily schedule or you can give Poetry Month its own special block. If you’re anything like me you love any and everything that promotes r...

We may be approaching the spring season, but it is truly never too late to try new classroom management strategies. Bringing structures and systems into your classroom will not only bring you less stress, but it's going to bring success to your students.  On today’s episode, I am chatting with Dr. Lori Friesen from the podcast Beginning Teacher Talk. She will be sharing seven classroom management...

This episode is brought to you by test prep! Whether we like it or not, it is among us and likely the exhaustion has set in. Let’s be honest, the exhaustion has set in for both teachers and the students. Spring is right around the corner and it’s time to take all the lessons from the year and put them to practice. Our students are such good sports during this time of the year and so I want to focu...

I am so excited about today’s episode because I’m sitting down with my good friend Sara Marye. We’re having a collaborative conversation talking about all things teams: team dynamics, team planning, and how to get the most out of working with your teacher team.  Sara Marye is a great friend of mine, who is the voice behind The Stellar Teacher Podcast. We have a long history starting when we were o...

I am super excited about today’s podcast episode to continue this month’s theme of biographies! Aylin Claahsen is a good friend of mine and no stranger to those of you who have been listening for a while. If you’re new here, head over to episode 57 to learn more about the importance of fluency and how to incorporate it into your busy day. On today’s episode she will be talking about all things rel...