Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers (Sara Marye, Literacy Teacher, Elementary Teacher)

EPISODE 38

Alright ya'll, are you ready for my most requested episode to date?! I've received so many messages this summer asking if I can share the specifics of how I launch reading workshop. Your wish has been granted in today's jam-packed episode! 

I'm sharing all the details of the first three weeks of reading workshop! During the first 15 days, the goal is to set your students up for success. This means you don't jump straight into content. Instead, focus on introducing, modeling, and practicing the habits and behaviors that you want your students to display all year long. When we take the time to build positive habits and behaviors, we gain an effective reading block (no “fake reading” going on here!). 

In this episode I share:

-Examples of habits and behaviors you need to practice with your students

-How to create energy and enthusiasm around independent reading

-Tips to build up student stamina

-Introducing “just right” books

-How to manage your time during the first 15 days of reading workshop

Resources Mentioned:

-Reading Workshop Launch Guide FREEBIE

-Anchor Chart FREEBIE

-Reading Inventory FREEBIE

-Reading Workshop Anchor Charts

-Come join us in my NEW Facebook group, Upper Elementary Reading Teachers

-SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode38. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

This is the fourth and final episode in our mini series about the science of reading. We’ve covered and learned a lot this past month about the science of reading that you can now utilize in your classroom. Since there’s a lot of information to take in, today’s episode I’m answering any questions you still have about the science of reading.

Grab your FREE Science of Reading Teacher Reference Guide here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode88

When working with kids, part of the job is dealing with their behaviors. Just like adults, kids have good and bad days, experience emotions, get excited, and would rather partake in activities that interest them than do their school work. Learning to understand their behaviors and how to manage them in a productive way is the key to supporting them. To help with this, in today’s episode, I have guest Sara Cottrill-Carlo on to discuss understanding student behaviors and proactive intervention strategies to put in place.

Grab Sara's Behavior Intervention Handouts here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode189

After talking with teachers and sending out surveys to the Stellar Teacher community, it’s clear that everyone is struggling with the same thing: how to teach writing. If I’m being honest, this was definitely a struggle for me when I was in the classroom. I wasn’t confident in my skills, therefore I didn’t know how to teach my students. But I don’t want that for you! So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing the essential writing skills for the start of school that will set your students up for writing success.

Grab a free sample of the Sentence Writing Routine here and the Paragraph Writing Routine here!

Get on the waitlist to join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode194

Aligning your instruction to the science of reading can be easier than you think. With these small steps I’m sharing with you each week, you’ll have strategies and activities to use when you return to school in the fall. This week’s step is usually associated from a writing standpoint, but is so important from a reading standpoint, which is practicing sentence deconstruction.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here.

Download my Sentence Writing Routine Free Sample here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode139

Hello my friends! I know the Monday after Thanksgiving can be difficult, so thank you for joining me whether you’re driving to work or winding down afterwards. I hope you all had an opportunity to rest after a school year that has likely already proven to be challenging, a theme I’ve seen over and over again lately. With just about three more weeks until the next holiday, I’m here to help you keep your students on track and engaged!

I always found that the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were the most difficult to keep students focused, especially during reading. Not to mention the pressure to have projects or activities to send home during the long break. Luckily I have created multiple resources and compiled ideas that will not only keep students interested at school but you’ll also have the option to continue these activities during their time off, without putting extra work on you.

In this episode I share: -5 Ideas for keeping students engaged during the holiday season -Activities you can start now that last through the new year -How to incorporate different topics and genres into the winter season -Ways to make learning fun with activities you already have in place

Join out the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/join

Grab your FREE Book Talk Anchor Charts: stellarteacher.com/blog/boost-reading-engagement-with-book-talks/

To check out the other resources from this episode, head to the show notes: stellarteacher.com/stc_podcast/winter-break

EPISODE 34

For the last Summer Series Quick Tip Thursday, I will be telling you how to set effective reading goals. This may be an unpopular opinion, but none of my suggestions will include the student's reading level. Sounds scary, right? Believe me when I say there are better and more motivating ways to measure your student’s growth in reading.

I know this won’t be a surprise to you, but I’m going to recommend that you allow your students to set their goals. If you’ve been listening for a while you know how important it is for our students to maintain ownership of their reading. Once you guide them with these tips, they’re bound to be inspired to become better readers!

In this episode I share:

-Different purposes of setting reading goals

-The 3 levels of goals students should be setting

-Ways to keep students motivated to reach their goals

Sign up for my FREE webinar, 3 Proven Steps to Create a Class Community That LOVES Reading: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/freeworkshop

The doors to The Stellar Teacher Membership are now open! Head to stellarteacher.com/joinnow to sign up!

Resources:

-Come join us in my NEW Facebook group, Upper Elementary Reading Teachers

-For full show notes and more resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode34. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

January can be the perfect opportunity to refocus and remind yourself to create a balance between your teacher life and your personal life. But as we all know, that's easier said than done! My first international guest on the podcast, Ashleigh Smith, is one half of the Aussie duo dedicated to helping teachers with the ups and downs of teacher life. In today's episode, she's sharing five secrets to success that will help both new and veteran teachers experience success in the classroom.

Grab Ashleigh's freebie for new teachers here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode175

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and being grateful and thankful, I first, am so grateful for each of my listeners on this podcast. Y’all are amazing and the reason why I get to do what I’m doing. And secondly, this time of year provides a great opportunity to reflect and evaluate your professional and personal happiness. So we’re going to take a short break from our regular literacy discussions, and focus on how to take control of your professional and personal happiness during stressful seasons of life.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode109

Happy 2023, friends! As this podcast celebrates 2 years, I like to reflect on the journey of this milestone, while also thinking about the goals and plans for the upcoming year. I have to admit that I’m not into making resolutions, for I tend to make them specific, which then ultimately, I end up not following through. Instead, I make a ‘more and less list’. So in the spirit of resolutions, in today’s episode, I’m sharing my ‘more and less list’ for literacy teachers.

Download my Free Word of the Day: Context Clue Routine here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode115

In this episode, we shift our focus from instructional strategies to an often overlooked yet crucial aspect of literacy instruction: the classroom environment, specifically the classroom library. While effective teaching practices are essential, how we organize our learning spaces can significantly impact our students' reading experiences and development. As the new school year approaches, I want to share ideas for organizing your classroom library in ways that align with the science of reading.

I used to organize my library by reading levels, but now I understand that this limits students' reading choices and does not support their growth or love for reading. Instead of doing this in your classroom this year, try organizing it by genre, or topic/theme, or author/series, or a mix of these. These approaches not only help foster a love for reading but also align with how books are organized in real-world settings.

No single organizational method fits all classrooms. However, avoiding reading levels and using a mix of genre, topic, and author organization can create a more engaging and effective classroom library. Tune in to learn the benefits and limitations of each method.

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!

Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany.

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode205

EPISODE 40

I can’t believe this is the podcast’s 40th episode! I always love to celebrate the podcast milestones so I want to say thank you to all my listeners for tuning in each week! To supplement last week's episode on word walls, I’m going to continue the conversation on vocabulary. More specifically, I will be sharing ten tips for teaching vocabulary in upper elementary.

It is so important to focus on vocabulary in the upper grades as student’s reading skills continue to develop. What I have found, though, is that providing students with a vocabulary list each week is not the most effective way to teach new words. These tips I provide you will result in your students learning and most importantly using the new vocabulary words you’ve exposed them to.

In this episode I share:

-Reasons to say goodbye to weekly vocabulary quizzes -10 tips for teaching vocabulary in upper elementary -Ways you can use genres to increase vocabulary -3 goals to focus on when teaching vocabulary -How to assess student growth without using tests

Resources Mentioned:

-Vocabulary Routines and Activities Bundle

-Greek and Latin Roots Bundle

-Reading Word Wall Bundle

-Prefixes and Suffixes Posters, Word Wall, and Activities Bundle

-Freebie Greek and Latin Roots Student Reference Sheets

-SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode40. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

Welcome to August, my friends! Well this summer was all about the mini series, and this month is no different. In order to get you prepared for the upcoming school year, our mini series in August is going to focus on word study instruction. So in today’s episode, I’m providing a foundation of word study and the 3 things you need to consider to have effective word study instruction this school year.

Head to https://stellarteacher.com/tpt to shop the sitewide Back to School sale! Use code BTS22 at checkout to get 25% off!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode93

If you’ve been teaching literacy for a while, you know all about the balanced literacy approach to teaching reading. However, you also know that the approach is outdated and not effective in teaching students how to read. And no one knows this more than my guest, Anna Geiger. A former balanced literacy teacher herself, Anna eventually found her way to the science of reading. In today’s episode, she is sharing her journey and why she believes in a structured literacy approach to reading.

Pre-order Anna's book, Reach All Readers, here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode187

Today's topic is something that most teachers struggle with, whether you’re a beginner or veteran, which is classroom management. We have one of my favorite guests today, Dr. Lori Friesen, whose mission is to support new teachers. On today’s episode, Dr. Lori is sharing 7 classroom management hacks that are so simple!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode80

EPISODE 25

During my first few years of teaching, I was handed a basal reading program. I was told this was the way to teach reading. Well, it didn’t take me too long to realize that it was extremely repetitive and NOT engaging for me or my students. I found myself constantly trying to supplement with other resources. I finally came across the reading workshop model and never looked back. Today I’m filling you in on why I love this model so much!

In this episode I share:

-What reading workshop is and why it’s so effective

-Details on each part of reading workshop

-How to be intentional about providing closure to your lesson

-Why teachers sometimes over-teach during mini-lessons

Resources mentioned:

-Come join us in my NEW Facebook group, Upper Elementary Reading Teachers

-Download the Stellar Teacher Summer Series Calendar

-Head to stellarteacher.com/waitlist to get on the waitlist for the Stellar Teacher Membership!

For full show notes and more resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode25. 

Connect with me:

• Join my newsletter
• My TPT store
• stellarteachercompany.com
• Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany
• Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

I’m so happy you’ve joined me for the second episode of Our Best Year Ever series airing every Thursday in the month of January. On this guest episode I got to chat with Jeremy Schneider, creator of Personal Finance Club, about personal finance. Jeremy sold his business and retired at the age of 36 and has since dedicated his life to sharing practical money and investing tips to give people financial freedom. He uses simplified language to teach people how to have options in retirement, and that is what I want for all of you!

Those of you that have been around for a while know that this isn’t a typical episode for my show, but once I heard Jeremy’s goals I knew I had to have him on the show to share them with you. His goals are to help people gain financial independence, understand the world of money and investing, and to create wealth for retirement. It may seem impossible to come up with the money to invest on a teacher’s salary, but Jeremy shares some enlightening facts that may change that mindset. I hope this episode guides you towards financial freedom and wealth!

Use coupon code STELLAR for $20 off Jeremy’s course: How to Build Wealth By Investing in Index Funds: stellarteacher.com/investing

To check out the other resources from this episode, head to the show notes: stellarteacher.com/episode62

Join the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

One major goal in upper elementary education is to help students become fluent readers. But what does that really mean? Fluency goes beyond speed; it encompasses the ability to read words, phrases, and entire sections of text quickly, accurately, and with understanding.

Reading fluency serves as the bridge between decoding and comprehension. Strong fluency skills improve both decoding and comprehension because they introduce a level of automaticity. Fluent readers don't need to think about how to read or sound out individual words; they read smoothly and quickly, allowing them to focus more mental energy on comprehension, meaning, purpose, and building knowledge.

So, how can we incorporate this knowledge into our classrooms? In this episode, I will share five strategies to build reading fluency with your students. These strategies are practical, fun, and easy to implement. I hope you'll choose one or two of them to implement in your classroom next year.

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!

Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany.

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode203

I’ve received a lot of questions regarding scheduling and how to fit everything in and make it work. So in today’s episode, I’m going to replay a previous episode, Episode 27 Create a Schedule for Your Reading Block - Even with Limited Time! This is definitely a listener favorite and all the tips are still relevant today.

Grab your FREE Literacy Block Sample Schedules here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode84

EPISODE 51

I am SO excited to share this episode with you all because my friend, Megan Polk, joined me for a guest interview. Megan is the content creator behind The Literacy Dive Podcast and a fellow lover of reading and writing. She is my go-to resource when it comes to writing and I learned so much from her during this episode focused on keeping students engaged.

One of the most popular questions I get asked is how to keep kids excited during writing activities. I can’t say I was surprised to hear that avoiding daily writing activities is not the way to go! Luckily, Megan shares some simple modifications that can be made as soon as tomorrow. No matter if you enjoy teaching writing or not, this episode will encourage you to prioritize writing and ways to make teaching writing fun!

In this episode we discuss: -Tips for making writing exciting -How to use your classroom materials to motivate your students -Strategies that are easy to implement during writing block -Advice for teachers who don’t enjoy teaching writing -Ways to utilize your colleagues to enhance your teaching

Connect with Megan:

-Instagram: @theliteracydive

-Podcast: The Literacy Dive

-Website: theliteracydive.com

Check out Some of Megan's Writing Resources:

-Writing Process Charts and Checklists

-Upper Elementary Writing Office

-Primary Writing Office

-Monthly Writing Prompts & Journal Bundle

SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/episode51

We’re getting closer to the part of the school year that all teachers dread: standardized test season. Since giving the test is inevitable, test prep becomes part of our lessons and activities that prepare our students for success. 

Recently, state tests have added a written portion, which adds another stressful element for students. In this first episode of the three part series, I’m sharing how to master a constructed response, which boosts students’ confidence.

Check out my Sentence Writing Routine Free Sample here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode124

We’re over halfway through the school year, and the procedures and routines you established at the beginning of the year might look a little different. Students might not be pushing in their chairs, putting the art supplies away, or turning in their homework in the correct location. If this sounds like your classroom, it’s time for a revamp.

Heidi and Emily from Second Story Window specialize in research based and teacher approved strategies that are guaranteed to help you be a more efficient and effective teacher. We’re taking a break from literacy and they’re here to talk about how to troubleshoot your classroom management with 5 guiding questions.

Check out Heidi and Emily's Procedures & Routines Planning Guide Freebie here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode123

I value teaching nonfiction text structure so much that I couldn’t fit all of the information in just one episode. Last week, in Episode 116, I explained that there are five things to consider when teaching nonfiction text structure.

But since it was part 1, I only shared two of the five elements, which were the use of exemplar or mentor texts and how to use graphic organizations or visualizations. In today’s episode, I’m sharing my final three elements when it comes to explicitly teaching nonfiction text structure.

Check out my text structure resources on TPT here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode117

The topic of teacher burnout has been front and center in conversations for the last several years. And while you’ve probably heard other podcast episodes or read articles on the topic, I can guarantee you, this conversation is different. My guest Brittany Blackwell, who is a burnout and resilience coach, shares a new perspective on teacher burnout.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode127

Connect with Brittany on Instagram @teachingmindbodyandsoul

EPISODE 48

Have you ever gone to Google for insight on how to teach a certain topic? You’re not the only one! Although it is convenient, I started to consider why I wasn’t going straight to the source and asking other colleagues how they tackled those topics that are difficult to teach. I hope this reading comprehension mini-series provides quick, actionable steps you can incorporate immediately!

This week’s reading skill that we will be focusing on is identifying the theme of a story. I’ve come to realize that there are many ways that “theme” can be interpreted. Since everyone has different backgrounds, teaching the abstract concept of theme can be increasingly more difficult especially as you get into higher grades. I hope these strategies I share are helpful and that you’ll join me next week for the last episode of the reading comprehension mini-series!

In this episode I share:

-What I consider as the definition of theme -The difference between topic and theme -4 strategies to teach theme to your students -2 ways to define what a strategy is

Related Resources:

-Join the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership

-Theme Reading Comprehension Task Cards

-Identifying Theme Reading Response Activities

-Identifying Theme - Small Group Plans

-SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/episode48

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

We are starting off the new year with one of my favorite reading topics: nonfiction text structure. As literacy teachers, we put a lot of focus on students’ reading comprehension, but we don’t always think about how understanding text structure is beneficial for that skill as well. When teaching nonfiction text structure, there are five things you should consider during your instruction. 

Since there’s so much to unpack with this topic, I’m breaking this up into two episodes so we can fully dive into all the different aspects. We’re starting this series off with the use of exemplar or mentor texts and graphic organizers or visual representations.

Check out my text structure resources on TPT here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode116

Being an upper elementary teacher means that we put a bigger focus on getting students to write a five-paragraph essay by the end of the year. And as we’ve talked about recently on the podcast, students need to have a foundation of good sentence writing first. Once students have that solid foundation, they then learn how to write strong paragraphs. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing five tips that will help students write better paragraphs in upper elementary.

Grab our Sentence Writing Routine Free Sample here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode208

In elementary school, having a solid foundation of word knowledge skills is essential as students move throughout the grades. But one word study topic that’s on a lot of lower elementary teachers’ minds, but not so much for upper elementary teachers, is syllabication. With what seems like a simple concept, it actually correlates to bigger literacy skills. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing 3 reasons why you should prioritize teaching syllabication in elementary classrooms this school year.

Download my Syllable Types: Lesson Plans document here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode158

An important aspect of being a literacy teacher is cultivating a classroom full of students who love reading. And one way to do that is by having engaging books for your students to read. While that sounds simple, having a robust classroom library, especially as a beginning teacher, can be overwhelming and can cost a lot. To help you build your classroom library without breaking the bank, my guest, Dr. Lori Friesen, is sharing tips and resources for you.

Join Dr. Lori Friesen's Free Masterclass Workshop here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode138

Being a first year teacher, there are so many things on your mind and your to-do list before entering your classroom in the fall. But like most first year teachers, they don’t want to wait to get started on all things teaching and are so eager to get started now. Well, if you’re a first-year teacher, you’re in luck! In today’s episode, I have guest Dr. Lori Friesen, who is sharing five things teachers can do now before their first year of teaching.

Grab a copy of Dr. Lori Friesen's book here!

Get on the waitlist to join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode193

Providing you with strategies, tips, and routines you can easily implement in your classrooms that help improve your students’ writing skills has been a priority of mine over the last month. I’ve given you specific tools to use during your literacy block and beyond, but one way to elevate a student’s writing is already embedded in the writing process: revising. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 4 revision strategies that help students improve their overall writing skills.

Get my Weekly Sentence Writing Routine free sample here! And get the paid TPT resource here.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode167

Last week I provided an overview of the science of reading and why it’s important. On today’s episode, I have my good friend Michelle from the Colorful Classroom here to talk about all things phonological awareness and what that looks like in upper elementary classrooms.

Grab your FREE Science of Reading Teacher Reference Guide here!

Other free resources from the episode:

• Key Phonics Terms + Basic Scope + Sequence
• Phonemic Awareness Practice Drills
• Small Group Phonics Lesson Plan Template
• David Kilpatrick's FREE Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST)

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode86

Congratulations for surviving the first semester of the year! Most of you are either off this whole week or at least part of the week, so I’ve decided to refrain from talking about reading strategies. That means if you are already on vacation, come back and listen to this episode next week! You deserve this time to relax and recharge, and that’s exactly what I’ll be talking about today.

This year in particular seems to be considerably more challenging than years passed. That’s why you need to reflect on your accomplishments rather than using this time to catch up on paperwork. I know it’s not easy to leave your work at school, I can totally relate, I used to do that too. What I realized, though, was that I was doing more harm than good. So unplug, spend time with your family, and do all the things that bring you joy because you deserve it!

Join the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/join

To check out the other resources from this episode, head to the show notes: stellarteacher.com/stc_podcast/how-to-recharge-over-the-holidays

We all know incorporating reading and making it a priority in the classroom is important, but it takes more than that to really change how a student feels about reading. In order for a student to identify as a reader, they need to be immersed in a culture of reading in which they find personal connections to the text. My guest on today’s episode, Ciera Harris, is sharing how to build a culture of reading in your classroom with practical tips and ideas.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode168

In the spirit of Halloween, I’ve got a treat for you today! If you’re like me, you think the same thing at the beginning of every single school year: I’m going to rock my classroom management this year! And while you might start with good intentions, it never seems to go the way you thought it would. Not to mention, holidays and other exciting events are starting to take place, which can disrupt the flow and management of your classroom. 

If this sounds like you, or you just need to tweak a few management techniques in your classroom, this episode is for you! On today’s episode, Dr. Lori Friesen is sharing her top smart and simple classroom management hacks for these ever changing seasons. 

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

Don't forget to download Dr. Lori's Ultimate Classroom Management Checklist Freebie here!

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode106

Now, we are continuing our two part mini series about lesson planning. Last week, I discussed the mindset shift that needs to take place in order to tackle writing lessons, which is the first step before moving on to practical tips regarding your lesson planning system. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 tips for creating a personalized lesson planning system.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode100

Being literacy teachers, we know the importance of having good literacy skills and how they can positively impact our student’s learning and communication. And those teachers who don’t teach literacy tend not to make writing a focus in their classroom. However, according to my guest, Katie Novak, that’s the wrong attitude to have. In today’s episode, she shares her philosophy on literacy and how incorporating a Universal Design for Learning approach in your classroom helps create authentic writing experiences for your students.

Buy Katie's Book, Shift Writing Into the Classroom

Want to learn more about Universal Design for Learning? Enjoy 20% off Katie's course, UDL Now!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode184

EPISODE 35

If you missed my free workshop on 3 proven steps to get your students to love reading and master the standards, this episode is created especially for you! In this episode, I’m going to go over some of the key points I covered in that training. You’ll hear my most favorite ways to create a reading block that is centered on your students, with an emphasis on independent reading time!

As you are getting ready to go back to school, I want you to take some time to consider what you are going to do to help increase the student involvement in your reading block. If you closed your eyes and envisioned your reading block going as smoothly as possible, what does that look like for you? Does it involve the majority of your block being independent reading time? I believe this is the key to giving our students the time they need to practice and master the skills we teach during our mini-lessons! Tune in to hear how you can work your student’s up to reading independently for 40-45 minutes per day. Yes, it’s possible!

The doors to The Stellar Teacher Membership close TONIGHT, July 19, 2021! Head to stellarteacher.com/joinnow to sign up!

In this episode I share:

-3 things to consider when creating a student-centered reading block

-Habits and behaviors that students need to have in order to work independently

-Letting ourselves experience failure with our instruction  and using it as a chance to grow

-Repetition and practice is the key to mastery

Resources:

-Come join us in my NEW Facebook group, Upper Elementary Reading Teachers

-For full show notes and more resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode35. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

Welcome to another episode from my Best Year Ever series! These episodes will ideally help you all create and meet your goals related to self care, because let’s face it you deserve it! Last week we spoke about getting your finances in order, and this week we’re going to talk about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. There is no better expert to have this conversation with than Bre Baildon! 

Bre is a Registered Dietician who specializes in helping overwhelmed teachers create simple nutritional plans that fit into their crazy schedules. She discovered quickly in her career that teachers need easy, repeatable habits to achieve their goals. She found great joy in hearing that teachers, including her husband, found more energy and excitement in their day when following her nutritional plans. There is no doubt that her suggestions will help create healthy habits for 2022!

To check out the other resources from this episode, head to the show notes: stellarteacher.com/episode64

Join the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

As students move up into upper elementary, reading can sometimes turn into a struggle with the exposure to more multisyllabic words in texts that they’re reading. Coming across big words can be intimidating for students and overwhelming to try and decode. That's why I’ve come up with a simple strategy that you can start using with your students immediately. In today’s episode, I’m sharing this strategy, my 5-step process for decoding big words.

Check out my Reading Big Words Poster Freebie here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode122

Today marks the first episode in our new series of the month that’s all about small group instruction. Throughout this month, I’m going to provide you ways to help you be more successful during small group lessons, ranging from the structure to activities. Let’s start the series with today’s episode on setting up your classroom for small group success.

Grab your 4T Framework for Small Group Reading Lessons here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode89

A big reason being a reading teacher is so challenging is because you’re responsible for effectively teaching a variety of students who all have different reading skills they struggle with! 

However, by incorporating small group instruction during your literacy block allows you to focus on fewer students, while providing guidance and support in their targeted reading objectives. Today I'm sharing 6 easy steps to make your small group reading instruction a success! 

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode70

I recently hosted a workshop on how to create a literacy block that fits everything you need in it because that’s a common challenge for most literacy teachers. But the one recurring question throughout the workshop was, what does effective literacy look like? Effective literacy is directly related to the 5 pillars of reading instruction, which is what this upcoming series is all about.

Over the next month, I am going to focus on each of the 5 pillars of reading instruction, including experts in certain areas, practical strategies, and ideas on how to incorporate them in your literacy upper elementary classroom. Before we can dive deep into each pillar, it’s important to have a general understanding. Therefore, in today’s episode, I’m providing an overview of the 5 pillars of reading instruction in order to provide you with some confidence in your instruction and how to help your students.

Read the National Reading Panel here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode177

EPISODE 46

It feels like the school year just started, and yet it’s October already! I find that this is the time of the year that your routines and procedures are established and you can really dive deep into your content. For that reason, I’ve decided that the month of October I will be focusing on reading comprehension skills!

There are so many reasons I decided to focus on reading comprehension this month, the number one being that these are difficult skills to teach. One of those higher level, more abstract concepts that I get asked about most is making inferences. Although it may seem like there’s a simple equation to mastering this skill, there are so many factors that can influence your student’s success. After you hear my experience teaching inferences, head over to my Instagram and share what you’ve found to be effective!

In this episode I share: -Why reading comprehension can be difficult to teach -Reasons making inferences is challenging -4 Tips for teaching how to make inferences -Effective reading comprehension supports and tools

Resources Mentioned:

-Picture of the Day Reading Routine Bundle

-The Invisible Boy

-Each Kindness

-SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/episode46

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

By now you know that the science of reading relates heavily to Scarborough’s reading rope and its two strands are word recognition and language comprehension. Well, this week’s step aligns with both strands in creating a skilled and confident reader, which is teaching common prefixes and suffixes. In the third episode of this series, I’m going to share why explicitly teaching common prefixes and suffixes helps your students with their reading skills.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here.

Download my Word Lists for Common Prefixes and Suffixes here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode141

Class discussions are a major part of our classrooms. We want our students engaged, talking, sharing, and interacting with their peers. In an ideal world, all of our students would willingly participate, they’d know exactly what they want to say, and conversations would be flowing throughout the day. However, we know that’s not the case. Many students are reluctant to share, are worried they’re going to have the wrong answer, and so many other worries. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing five quick and easy ways for you to enhance class discussions and create more meaningful and productive conversations.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode188

As teachers, we look for ways to support all of our students and their academic needs through resources and strategies. And we all have students who are diagnosed, or most likely flying under the radar, who have dyslexia. If you’re anything like I was, I was unsure as to what I could do to support them. So, in today’s episode, I have guest Heather O’Donnell, who is sharing best practices to support students with dyslexia in your elementary classroom.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode169

EPISODE 28

On episode 27, I talked all about how to create an effective literacy block even if you are limited on time. Today is a continuation of that conversation as I discuss how to get creative in finding pockets of time throughout your day to squeeze in more read alouds!

If you are even slightly as obsessed with picture books as I am, then you probably are dying to get to as many as possible throughout the year. We have to find ways to read to our kids just for fun, not because it’s in the standards or because we need to practice a skill for an upcoming test, but actually for pure enjoyment. While it’s true that you can’t actually create more time in the day, as the teacher you CAN control how you use the time in your classroom. Ready to learn how you can make read alouds happen more often?

In this episode I share:

-Six possible pockets of time for read alouds -Why finding extra time to read aloud to your students will pay off

-The best advice I received from a college professor 

Resources mentioned:

-Head to stellarteacher.com/waitlist to get on the waitlist for the Stellar Teacher Membership!

-FREE Literacy Block Sample Schedules + Planning Guide

-Come join us in my NEW Facebook group, Upper Elementary Reading Teachers

-Download the Stellar Teacher Summer Series Calendar

For full show notes and more resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode28. 

Connect with me:

• Join my newsletter
• My TPT store
• stellarteachercompany.com
• Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany
• Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

As we start the new year, I want to focus on ways that I can help you with anything your students might be struggling with and provide you with support, resources, and strategies. And today’s topic is something that I think all literacy elementary teachers will resonate with, which is how to help struggling readers in your classroom. While this can be an overwhelming idea because there are so many elements to it, I’m going to make it more manageable for you. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing 7 things you need to consider when trying to figure out how to help struggling readers.

Grab the FREE Successful Reader Cheat Sheet here!

Download my FREE Reading Interest Inventory here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode176

This is the second episode in our series about word study instruction. If you missed out on last week’s episode, make sure you take a listen so you understand the background information on word study before moving forward. Our next step is the application piece and how to implement it in our classrooms. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing 4 word study concepts every upper elementary teacher should teach.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode94

While I love everything related to literacy, the topic on today’s episode is one of my favorites, which is the science of reading. Not only do I enjoy this topic, but it’s extra special because you, my listeners, shared that you’d like to learn more about it, specifically as it pertains to upper elementary teachers. Well I’ve heard you and I’m answering your questions! I’m sharing 4 key things to know about the science of reading in upper elementary.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode136

EPISODE 24

Head to stellarteacher.com/waitlist to get on the waitlist for the Stellar Teacher Membership!

On today’s episode I am so excited to have Jamie Sears, from Not So Wimpy Teacher, join me! If you know Jamie you know that she is a writing guru and she will be sharing easy ways to make writing easier for teachers that is also exciting for students. Even the most reluctant students will want to participate once you incorporate these ideas!

Writing is often one of the most dreaded subjects for teachers to teach. With all the emphasis on reading levels and math scores, it’s no wonder we don’t feel as prepared to teach writing. It wasn’t until I was out of the classroom and came across these resources that it didn’t seem so overwhelming. After you make these shifts in your classroom, I know you’ll feel the same way!

In this episode we discuss:

-Small changes that cause a big impact in student growth -3 Reasons students can be reluctant writers -Where to start when teaching writing -Easy ways to make writing FUN! -The best way to measure growth

Resources mentioned:

-Get on the waitlist for the Stellar Teacher Membership at stellarteacher.com/waitlist! 

-Free Writing Pacing Guide for Grades 2-5

-Jamie's Instagram: @notsowimpyteacher

-notsowimpyteacher.com 

Connect with me:

• Join my newsletter
• My TPT store
• stellarteachercompany.com
• Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany
• Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

For full show notes and more resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode24.

Let’s face it, standardized tests can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for our students. Therefore, in this episode, I’ll be covering 7 test prep strategies that will give your students success!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

Check out this Test Prep Strategy Freebie!

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode75

Since we’re in the fourth week of the small steps to S.O.R. series, you know by now that reading comprehension is the result of having strong word recognition skills and language comprehension skills. Additionally, an important element of the language comprehension strand is vocabulary. But what’s the best way to teach and have students learn new words? Today’s small step is going to show you how to use a semantic map when introducing new words in isolation.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode143

How many times have you woken up sick or wanted to take a day off work, but thought it’s easier to go in than make sub plans. I’m raising my hand really high! Unfortunately, this is a common thought and action amongst teachers that needs to be changed. Here to help me give you solutions and better opportunities to take a day off is Kelsey Sorenson. On today’s episode, we’re discussing how to feel empowered and prepared when taking a sick day.

Download Kelsey's Sub Planning Starter Kit Freebie here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode98

Being an elementary teacher, you know the importance that is put on read alouds in your classroom. Read alouds have so many benefits, such as fostering a love of literacy and a connection to real-life events and situations. However, getting the most out of them can be difficult. So before you jump into them this school year, I’m sharing 3 tips you can use to maximize your read alouds.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode156

It’s our job to provide instruction to students on a variety of skills and strategies to use outside of the classroom. But it’s something special when we can do something inside the classroom that translates to an authentic experience in real life. One way to do that is through the implementation of book clubs. I’m known as a “serial book club starter”, which explains why I’m sharing tips on how to establish student independence with book clubs.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode113

EPISODE 50

How did we get to episode 50 already?! I just want to say thank you so much to my listener’s that have listened to all my episodes, half my episodes, or even if this is your first! To celebrate this milestone I put a lot of thought into today’s topic in order to make it special, and after a lot of brainstorming I kept coming back to the idea of power questioning.

Let’s be honest, if students aren’t interested in the text they aren’t going to participate in a discussion. If we take a step back and reflect on what we’re prompting our students with after they read, you’ll probably notice that all the questions are directly related to the text. “Who is the main character?” and “Where does the story take place?” are not the types of questions I am going to be sharing with you today, but I promise that you will not be disappointed with your student’s responses!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win one of five $50 TpT gift cards! To enter, simply share your favorite Stellar Teacher Podcast episodes somewhere on Instagram! It can be on your stories or your feed and tag us @stellarteachercompany! The giveaway ends Friday, November 5th.

In this episode I share: -Why it’s important to ask your students power questions -3 power questions that will have a big impact on students' reading -How power questions can help you assess your students' understanding -Ways to avoid getting “I don’t know” as an answer

SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/episode50

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

I’m always reminded how much teachers struggle with this certain writing concept every time I do a workshop or talk with teachers about the struggles they’re facing in their classrooms. I shouldn’t be surprised, for I, too, never felt confident in my ability to teach this concept and, after doing my own research, realized I didn’t teach this to my students in the most effective way. If you haven’t caught on by now, I’m talking about grammar instruction. 

I used to spend way too much time teaching grammar in all the wrong ways, but thinking if students knew grammar knowledge, it was going to create strong independent writers. Instead, it did the exact opposite. I finally learned the most effective ways to teach grammar and want to share them with you. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing a few grammar mindset shifts and a simple strategy to help you embed more intentional grammar instruction into your writing block.

Grab my Sentence Writing Reference Sheets here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode186

When I was in the classroom, grammar was not something that I particularly enjoyed teaching, or even thought I taught well for that matter. Then, after a few years, I realized I was making some major mistakes with my grammar instruction, student practice, and application. Once I made a few key changes, it not only improved my students’ grammar skills, but their writing as well. In today’s episode, I’m sharing what you need to avoid doing and what to do instead regarding grammar with student writing. 

Get my Weekly Sentence Writing Routine free sample here! And get the paid TPT resource here.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode159

After a long break, there’s bound to be some challenges that arise when students return. Before break, your students were in a routine and had good stamina for independent reading. But now, it’s almost like starting from the beginning all over again. To help your students regain their momentum towards independent reading, I’m sharing 5 tips to implement during your reading block.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode114

EPISODE 23

>>Head to stellarteacher.com/waitlist to get on the waitlist for the Stellar Teacher Membership

This summer I’m doing my best to answer your questions on your biggest challenges as teachers. While I could do four individual episodes on these four questions, each of them can actually be answered with the same common response: creating a strong whole group lesson routine. In this episode, I’m sharing a sample routine you can use in your classroom and 7 reasons why routines should be a significant part of your school day.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode146

We've talked before about how as upper elementary teachers, we sometimes think the foundational aspects of the science of reading aren’t as pertinent to us. However, by now you have learned that explicitly teaching word recognition and language comprehension skills helps your struggling readers. That's why incorporating phonological awareness activities into your instruction is a small step toward the science of reading.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode145

Welcome back to another episode of the podcast! We’re in the middle of a three part series about test prep and ways to make students feel more confident, particularly when writing a constructed response paragraph. We know that this portion of the test can be challenging for students, which is why I’ve come up with a 5-step process that will increase their confidence when writing a constructed response paragraph on test day.

Check out my Constructed Response Framework Checklist here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode125

I’ve always been fascinated with how students learn to read, so when I first heard about the science of reading, I couldn’t get enough. I read all the books and did countless hours of research, all to learn this knowledge and share it with my listeners. Starting this Thursday, we’re kicking off our Stellar Teacher Science of Reading Summer Series, where I address one aspect of the science of reading with practical tips and strategies. So, in order to prepare for this upcoming series, in this episode, I’m sharing a brief overview and explaining what the science of reading is and insight into the science of reading in upper elementary.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Get on the waitlist to join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode196

EPISODE 39

I can’t believe it’s already half-way through August and I'm sure some of you are already back at school getting your classrooms ready or even meeting your students. My teacher brain always considers August as the start of a “new year,” am I the only one that thinks this way? I love the way a new year welcomes new routines and a clean slate and this year I am going to convince you upper elementary teachers to try something new.

You may be surprised to hear this but I want you upper elementary teachers to display a word wall. You may wonder why fourth graders need reminders on how to spell, but that’s actually not the purpose. There are so many advantages to exposing students to new vocabulary words on a daily basis so that they can solidify the meaning of these words and use them during discussions. Once you listen to all the benefits, you’ll have to let me know if you give it a try!

In this episode I share:

-The different purposes of a word wall

-Benefits of using word walls in upper elementary

-Intentional ways to display word walls in your classroom

-3 necessary components for each vocabulary word

-What you can do to help your students utilize the word wall independently

Resources Mentioned:

-Reading Word Wall Bundle

-Science Poster and Word Wall Bundle

-SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode39. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

Struggling readers. Unfortunately, this is a reality that all teachers face, yet many don’t know how to fix. Whether teachers weren’t taught how to teach the proper foundational skills, their district doesn’t have a reading program, or a combination of both, helping struggling readers can be a tall task. 

Although I enjoy talking about all things literacy, I love bringing on experts in the field to help fill your teaching toolbox. So in today’s episode, I’m talking with literacy expert Dr. Marnie Ginsberg on her reading program Reading Simplified, to help struggling readers get back on track. 

Download your FREE Reading Simplified Switch It game here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode120

I’ve talked on this podcast before about the science of reading, the major components of it, and why it’s such a major topic in the field of education right now. And while I’ve researched and surrounded myself with all the information I can on it, there’s still so much to unpack and learn. Thankfully, my guest on today’s episode, Katie Egan Cunningham, is an expert on the topic. So, in this episode, Katie is sharing insights into the science of reading, the importance of evidence-based instruction, the idea of the science of happiness, and her new book, Shifting the Balance.

Buy Katie's book, Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom, here!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Get on the waitlist to join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode198

One of my favorite things about hosting this podcast is the conversations I have with my listeners who love literacy as much as I do! I was excited to see that my most popular episode yet was my 47th episode that focused on nonfiction. Whether you really love nonfiction or really need help with it, I decided to tackle one of the most challenging nonfiction reading skills in this episode, which is summarizing.

It is so important to take each student’s reading skills into account while teaching those higher level skills. That’s why I’ve developed strategies that can help build confidence in all students no matter their comprehension abilities. Teaching literacy skills really requires a toolbox of strategies and skills for your students to be able to utilize independently. I’ve been loving the discussions that began following the last nonfiction episode, so let me know which of these nonfiction summarizing strategies were useful to you!

In this episode I share: -Why summarizing nonfiction is so challenging -6 important reminders to teach to your students when writing summaries -3 strategies to make your students more confident -How to use wh-question stems when summarizing

Download your FREE Nonfiction Summary Checklist!

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For more resources, head to the show notes: stellarteacher.com

We’ve made it to that time of year again when we begin to trickle in test prep throughout our instructional day in order to prepare our students for the end-of-year standardized test. Even though this test is inevitable, it doesn't mean the way we structure preparing for it has to be boring or monotonous. Instead, we want to provide our students with high energy and excitement revolving around test prep. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing four ways you can make test prep more engaging and fun for your students.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode185

When tackling a new approach to your instruction, it takes a lot of research, dedication, and implementation to find success with your students. After hearing about the science of reading, my guest, Meghan Hein, dove head first into learning all she could about it and has since made small changes to her literacy block to align with its practices just this past school year. So, in this episode, Meghan’s here to talk about her work with the science of reading practices, how she worked to align them with her curriculum, and the impacts they’ve had.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Get on the waitlist to join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode202

The end of the year is just about over, you’ve finished state assessments, and have covered all of the academic content you needed for this school year. So what do you do next? In today’s episode, I’m sharing 10 ideas for you to incorporate regarding writing and literacy skills that are quick, fun, and engaging!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode82

Everything that a literacy teacher does is to try and help their students be successful readers and writers, which is why, over the last month, we've been focusing on the five pillars of reading. And one of the big factors that contributes to reading is a strong vocabulary. It's no surprise that the way most of us were taught vocabulary when we were younger is not the most effective vocabulary instruction anymore. Instead, there is a new way. So, in today's episode, my guest, Michelle Sullivan, is sharing some evidence-based strategies for building student vocabulary.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode181

EPISODE 45

This episode will be the third and last episode in the mini-lesson mini series, although I’ll definitely be talking about them again soon! At this point you have probably thought about what you are doing during your mini-lessons and have hopefully tried some of my tips and tricks. You may want to try one more after I tell you about the mini lessons you should be teaching that aren’t related to comprehension.

Many of us have heard at length how important it is for students to read at a young age. We eat, sleep, and breathe topics such as main idea, inferences, and sequencing even though these aren’t the skills that will lead to lifelong readers. Once we look beyond what the novels are about and also focus on motivating our students to enjoy reading then we’ve done our job. I’d love to hear which types of mini lessons you are already using or planning on using, so head over to my Instagram @thestellarteachercompany and let me know!

In this episode I share:

-4 different types of reading mini lessons you should be teaching -Reading topics to teach that aren’t related to comprehension -Specific objectives related to genre -How you can use mini lessons can improve student responses

Resources Mentioned:

-Grab your FREE mini-lesson planning pack: stellarteacher.com/minilessons

-SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode45. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

The end of the year can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming for both students and teachers, so try incorporating classroom routines that replace the chaos with productivity. In today’s episode, I'm discussing literacy routines for an engaging end of the year. 

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

Grab your FREE Word of the Day Routine: https://www.stellarteacher.com/stc_optin/context-clues-word-of-the-day/

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode78

EPISODE 41

Today’s episode continues the conversation we’ve been having on a topic related to reading comprehension, which is vocabulary. As I’m sure you know, if a student isn’t understanding what they’re reading they will likely not be motivated or interested in the text. This is why it is so important to teach students how to figure out what unknown words mean, bringing us to today’s topic: context clues.

This means no more explicit teaching of a vocabulary list or those weekly vocabulary tests. Crazy, right? What I found when teaching context clues correctly is that students were able to determine the meaning of words and would be able to use them independently, which is of course the goal! Once you put these strategies in place your students will be fully equipped with the tools to decipher the meaning of unknown words they come across while reading.

In this episode I share:

-Things to avoid when teaching vocabulary -How to teach vocabulary without using vocabulary lists -The 5 different types of context clues to teach your students -The importance of word parts and parts of speech for unknown words

Resources Mentioned:

-Context Clues Activities

-FREEBIE: Context Clue "Word of the Day" Activity 

-SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode41. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

As most of you know, April is National Poetry Month, so this is the first of a two-part series that’s all about poetry! Each episode I’ll be breaking down how I incorporate a poem of the week routine into my literacy block and how the skills associated with literacy have a connection to poetry. 

In this episode, I provide a layout of my daily poem of the week routine with an emphasis on comprehension.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode73

EPISODE 33

I can’t believe this is the final week of the Stellar Teach Summer Series! I’ve decided to end the series with one of the hot topics in education, which is reading engagement. Contrary to what many people think, you don’t have to jump through hoops to increase engagement. You must, however, make sure that you are intentional with how you’re keeping your students motivated.

At the end of the day, it is our job to make sure our students are engaged as much as possible. We must inspire them so that they will be the ones doing the work. After all, that is what engagement really means!

In this episode I share:

-3 secrets to creating a highly engaging reading block

-Strategies to ramp up your read alouds

-How giving students choices increases their engagement

-Different ways to record reading responses

Sign up for my FREE webinar, 3 Proven Steps to Create a Class Community That LOVES Reading: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/freeworkshop

The doors to The Stellar Teacher Membership are now open! Head to stellarteacher.com/joinnow to sign up!

Resources:

-Come join us in my NEW Facebook group, Upper Elementary Reading Teachers

-For full show notes and more resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode33. 

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-stellarteachercompany.com

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

If you’ve been with us these last few weeks, I’ve been diving into ways to make students confident on testing day, particularly with the constructed response portion of the test. However, we know that there’s more to the test than writing an essay, so students should feel empowered about the whole test when the day comes. In the last episode of the series, I’m sharing 5 strategies that will make your students confident on testing day.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode126

I’m excited to start my summer bonus episodes that happen every Thursday where I’m sharing one small step you can take to align your instruction to the science of reading. My goal is to help you feel confident in your instruction and have the tools and knowledge to provide effective lessons for your students. The first step towards the science of reading I’m sharing is how to build and activate background knowledge.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode137

As I’ve talked about many times before, my journey to get to my current job came with a lot of twists and turns, so I thought I’d share some advice and my experiences about when it’s time to make that career change.

Making a career change isn’t a simple, straightforward decision. In fact, it takes a lot of thought, planning, and work. In today’s episode I’m sharing 4 things to consider if you’re thinking about making a career change!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode72

EPISODE 17

What was your opinion of studying poetry in elementary school? How about in college? Some of our experiences with our own education shapes how we feel about topics that we teach our own students. For the longest time, I thought that because I had a difficult time with poetry in college that I would never be a good poetry teacher.

As the years went by, I learned several ways to make poetry fun, and I finally found my love for it again. While April is poetry month, we really should be teaching poetry all year long! There are so many simple and creative ways that we can build poetry into our days within reading, writing, and even behavior management!

In this episode I share:

• My memories of experiencing poetry as a child
• Ways to create an experience around poetry that leaves your students feeling empowered and excited about writing
• The benefits of reading and writing different types of poetry often
• Connecting poetry to art

Resources:

• Poetry Writing Bundle
• Poetry Posters and Anchor Charts
• Poetry Word Wall Cards
• The Best Part of Me

Connect with me:

• Join my newsletter
• My TPT store
• stellarteachercompany.com
• Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany
• Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

For full show notes and more resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode17.

We often think of poetry as something we just teach during April for National Poetry Month or in preparation for the state test at the end of the year. But in reality, poetry can be taught all year long, for poetry has all of the literary elements we teach our kids through other reading genres. In order to help you connect the two, I’m sharing how to teach the Big 5 reading skills using poetry.

Grab my Poem of the Week Routine freebie here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode128

Here’s a question for you. Do you know how much time it takes for you to do all of your lesson planning for the week? And then, if you know how much time you’re spending, how do you feel about that number? For most of us, we’re either spending too much time or more time than we’d like to be spending. Therefore, I’m doing a two part mini series all about lesson planning. Particularly in this episode, I’m sharing 3 mindset shifts teachers should make regarding lesson planning.

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode99

The Simple View of Reading highlights that reading comprehension requires proficiency in both decoding and language comprehension. If a student struggles with decoding, effective comprehension instruction won't help them understand the text because decoding is a crucial part of reading. In this episode, I share a straightforward process to help your students read and decode multisyllabic words.

To decode multisyllabic words, students should circle any prefixes, put a box around any suffixes, look at the remaining part of the word, underline the vowels, and break the word into syllables. Then, they should say the word parts slowly, and then say the word, and see if it sounds like any words they already know. As a bonus step, they can read the word again more quickly and then read it in a sentence.

To help students master decoding multisyllabic words, it's crucial to practice this routine until it becomes automatic. When students can read big words effortlessly, they can focus their mental energy on comprehension. In this episode, I share strategies to make this routine more second nature for your students.

How to Read Big Words Strategy Poster: stellarteacher.com/bigwords.

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!

Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany.

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode207.

The school day can feel long for kids, especially being expected to focus and pay attention while sitting at their desks. One way to get students refocused while also incorporating learning is through movement. Getting students engaged and moving amongst your classroom benefits students in so many ways while also providing an aspect of fun. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 4 specific movement routines for you to incorporate in your upper elementary classrooms.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode160

For today’s episode, I will be talking about teaching nonfiction text features. You’re probably thinking that this is a topic you’ve already taught in the beginning of the year, but stick with me for this episode and hear me out.

Now that you’re halfway through the school year and starting to think about test prep, you’re probably reflecting on which areas you may need to go back to and reteach. Your students likely know how to articulate the different text features, but we’re going to take it one step further. The tips I’m referring to will actually help students use their knowledge of text features to improve their understanding of nonfiction texts. 

By using my four-step process, students will learn how to utilize those text features as tools for comprehension. Reading comprehension is so important for all subjects, and these strategies I speak about in this episode will be beneficial no matter what subject you are teaching. An added bonus to this process is that it will also help your students understand what parts of the text are helpful or not helpful for them. Like all my recommendations before, these tips are easy to implement as soon as today! I can’t wait to hear if you’ve put this process into practice in your classroom!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode65

My dear friend, Dr. Lori Friesen recently recorded an incredible episode that I knew I needed to share with you, and she generously agreed. Dr. Lori Friesen talks about how easy it is to get caught up in the rush of the day to day. I'm sure you can relate to this. We often feel totally overwhelmed and trapped by our schedule and can even feel like it controls us. The answer lies in making the choice to build more white space into your schedule.

At the end of the day when you look at your to-do list and realize that you didn’t even get through half of what you anticipated doing, it’s a terrible feeling. It often leads to negative self-talk and a wave of overwhelm. Every time you plan something and you don’t follow through with it, you break trust with yourself. If you break trust with yourself everyday, it affects your confidence and makes you question whether or not you can handle all that's being thrown at you.

Thankfully, there are things that we can do when we get caught up in the hustle and overwhelm of teaching. Dr. Friesen is going to share these ideas with you. By the end of the episode, I hope that you will feel inspired to focus on what really matters, rather than making everything on your to-do list of equal importance.

Show Notes: stellarteacher.com/stc_podcast/dr-lori-friesen-white-space

Connect with Dr. Lori Friesen:

• Podcast: Beginning Teacher Talk
• Instagram: @beginningteachertalk
• Website: drlorifriesen.com

Join the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/join

I often describe text structure as a roadmap for reading. Understanding how texts are organized is crucial for enhancing language comprehension, which plays a significant role in reading. Deciphering text structure aids in identifying key concepts and understanding the relationships among ideas, people, and events in a text. It also prepares students for what to expect and how information will unfold as they read.

Grab a copy of our free sentence writing routine: stellarteacher.com/sentences.

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!

Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany.

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode199

One of the ways for students to be successful readers and have excellent reading comprehension is if they have a good understanding of words and their meanings. This is why vocabulary instruction is an important aspect of your literacy block, or really during any content area. However, vocabulary instruction is more than just introducing new words to your students. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing four ways to enhance vocabulary instruction and why you should focus on a variety of vocabulary concepts.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Get on the waitlist to join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode204

There are so many benefits from working on a team, so in today’s episode I’m teaming up with my good friend Megan Polk! 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. 

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode71

Talking about literacy is a passion of mine and is what the content of this podcast is based on. However, in today's episode, I'm talking about something different but directly related to how your students learn and improve their literacy skills.

There's a phrase that says, "Students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I've found this quote to be incredibly true, and it all starts with a strong classroom community and culture. In order to develop your classroom community, I'm sharing why establishing core values helps you accomplish that in your classroom.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode154

To continue the celebration of my 50th episode airing this week, I have a BONUS episode for you today! This is my all-time favorite episode I've recorded so far, and it's all about inspired action! This one is jam-packed with so much goodness and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $50 TpT gift card! To enter, simply share your favorite Stellar Teacher Podcast episodes somewhere on Instagram! It can be on your stories or your feed and tag us @stellarteachercompany! The giveaway ends Friday, November 5th.

SHOW NOTES: stellarteacher.com/episode20

Connect with me:

-Join my newsletter

-My TPT store

-Instagram: @thestellarteachercompany

-Facebook: The Stellar Teacher Company

I'm thrilled to launch our Science of Reading Summer Series by discussing how activating prior knowledge and building background knowledge enhances reading comprehension. Effective comprehension extends beyond decoding words to deeply understanding text through language comprehension. Our aim is not to teach a long list of standards, but to empower students to deeply understand the topic of the texts that they are reading.

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!

Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany.

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode197.

We’ve talked about this idea of trying to fit all these different skills into your literacy block, but with what time? It’s so difficult to designate time specifically for certain skills when you have so much to cover. So what if I told you focusing on the skill of fluency doesn’t have to take up extra time and it can be organically streamlined throughout all parts of your day? Game changer! In today’s episode, my special guest, Aylin Claahsen, is sharing powerful and practical tips to increase student reading fluency.

Check out Aylin's Fluency Course here!

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode108

Look no further for your sweet indulgence this Valentine's Day, because we have a treat for you! I sat down with Andrea Burns to discuss how to bring more focus to SEL (social emotional learning) during your literacy block. We discuss practical and easy-to-implement ideas that don't require finding extra time throughout the day! 

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode69

With so much being thrown at teachers these days, it’s no wonder your days are filled with stress, overwhelm, fear, and thoughts of burnout. The joy that you once had when starting your teaching career may be depleting, but there’s a way to get it back! My guest on today’s episode, Jamie Sears, wrote a book, How to Love Teaching Again, that will help you implement strategies and systems to break the cycle of burnout. 

Join us in the Stellar Teacher Reading Membership: stellarteacher.com/membership

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode129

Sometimes, in order to understand something, you have to break it down to its core. The same is true when reading texts. In order to understand the meaning of a sentence, you need to practice sentence deconstruction. But what is this, and how does it help your students? In the third episode of this four-part series, I’m sharing how sentence deconstruction improves student literacy skills, how to fit it into your schedule, and more!

Get my Weekly Sentence Writing Routine free sample here! And get the paid TPT resource here.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode163

As you prepare for back to school and the beginning of the year, it’s possible that you might have some ELL (English Language Learners) students in your classroom. Having multiple different groups of students in your class can be overwhelming and stressful to prepare for. However, my guest on today’s episode, Beth Vaucher, is here to tell you how to simplify it. Beth is discussing how to strengthen the language domains for your ELL students with simple and effective strategies.

Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here.

Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!

Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join

To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode153