Podcast appearances and mentions of Kelly Gallagher

Listen to my conversation with Penny Kittle, author of Micro Mentor Texts: Using Short Passages From Great Books to Teach Writer's Craft (Scholastic, 2022). This will be our book club selection for January - March 2026. Join the chat below.Full subscribers can also access the video recording of our conversation here. See a preview below.Brief Bio* Penny is a long time teacher at every level of education. She writes about her practice at https://substack.com/@pennykittle. * She is the author of several books, including Write Beside Them and 180 Days (with Kelly Gallagher, with whom she also co-hosts digital discussions). * Penny is also the chairman of the board for the Book Love Foundation, dedicated to providing “classroom libraries comprised of hundreds of books carefully chosen by the teachers to meet students where they are and lead them to the deep rewards of reading”. Check out the Book Love Foundation Podcast to learn more. * When not in the classroom, Penny enjoys spending time with her grandchildren in New Hampshire. SummaryIn this conversation, Penny talk about a variety of topics, including:* the importance of teachers being knowledgeable and able to problem solve,* how to build students' confidence as writers by showing them the process of writing that you as a teacher use, and* simple strategies, such as prompt writing, that can lead to students engaged in deep conversations during book clubs.Educators will walk away with a renewed sense of hope and agency in their own work with readers and writers.What part of this conversation resonated the most with you? Share your thoughts in the comments.Enjoyed this conversation? Restack and share this post to let others know!Full TranscriptMatt Renwick: Hi, this is Matt Renwick, and welcome to Read by Example, where teachers are leaders and leaders know literacy. And I'm joined today by someone I've met, I think a year ago in Wisconsin, when she was here doing a training around micro-mentor texts, Penny Kittle, long-time teacher, professor, all things education, literacy. So welcome, Penny.Penny Kittle: Thanks, Matt. It's good to be on your podcast. I enjoyed meeting you that day, that was a lovely day.Matt Renwick: Yeah, it was fun. I don't think it was on my schedule, but I'm like, I'm gonna make this on my schedule, like, I wanna hear Penny talk. Just all the good things I've heard from Reggie Routman, and just what I read about you, so I was not disappointed. It was a great experience, and I know the teachers walked away that I was working with, like, this is good, like, we want... and I'm still working with those teachers, actually.Penny Kittle: Oh, that's cool.Matt Renwick: Yeah, we still talk about the micro-mentor text, and just giving them that foundation, that knowledge that I think they were craving. They were looking for just a resource, and you really give them some nice ideas to build their practice, so...Penny Kittle: That's good.Matt Renwick: So I have been reading, as this year before, Micro Mentor Text through Heinemann, Using Short Passages from Great Books to Teach Writer's Craft.Penny Kittle: From Scholastic, just so they would want to know that.Matt Renwick: Oh, I'm sorry. I told you I'd mess something up, Penny.Penny Kittle: We all do.Matt Renwick: Yeah, I'm not gonna edit it out, though, so... Thank you for correcting me. Yeah, Scholastic. And, yeah, terrific book, very practical, very wise. I'm like, I think I'm highlighting the footnotes as much as the content.Penny Kittle: Oh, that's so funny. I had so much fun writing that with footnotes.Matt Renwick: Just the asides were just really cool, some of the cool stories from, like, Don Graves and Don Murray. But your subtitle says it pretty well, but what is your definition of a mentor text? Because I hear that tossed around a lot. What makes a mentor text micro?Penny Kittle: Yeah, I mean, I think that I always talk to students about, we're mentors to the authors and their craft, right? The text is just that particular vehicle, and we're using it to say, what kind of decisions do writers make? Are they things that I want to try? Are things that I want to imitate, or are these things that will make my writing stronger? So anytime we're studying anything, we're looking at pieces of work in that genre. You know, it's the idea of authenticity in a writing classroom. We're making things that exist in the world, and here are some people who make those things, and then what do our essays or poems or whatever we're writing look like next to them. And so, micro-mentor texts came about because I do quick writing with kids day after day, and I realized how much of the time, if I used a passage from a book, and said, what do you think of this? What do you... and used it instead of the whole, that I could get them interested in reading a book, but I could also, in a few minutes, look at craft. It was almost... I think we put a magnifying glass on the cover of the book, because I said it's like, a micro-mentor text is small enough that you can just look at it carefully. And you can't do that with a whole book. So, that is the idea, is that we look at a passage, we think about how does it work, and we imitate it.Matt Renwick: I used to teach 5th and 6th grade, and I would do, like, book blurbs, and I would read a small passage from it to promote it, to recommend it, but what you're saying here is you almost got, like, a two-for-one, like you're sharing great literature, but you're also honing in on those specific craft moves that writers do.Penny Kittle: It is definitely the way to combine a book talk with a little bit of writing. And I, you know, I honestly feel like I've taught more grammar through Micro Mentor texts than anything else. Because I'm often, when I ask them, what do you notice? Talk to each other, and I wander the room, they'll bring things up. You know, what is that? Is that the colon or the semicolon? What's it, you know, if it doesn't come up naturally, I often don't have to say anything, but I like that oftentimes this organic... Okay, do you see how this sentence is structured? Why is this such a long sentence, kind of thing. A really natural way to make grammar a decision, not a right or wrong.Matt Renwick: Yeah, you're pulling the lines away from the craft of it, you know, you're giving kids access to a writer, to the author's intentions.Penny Kittle: Right. And their choices.Matt Renwick: Yeah. So, let me frame it this way. I think with the science of reading, a lot of folks are concerned with decoding, and how kids learn to read, and I see less about actually helping kids comprehend text. I mean, it's there, but it's not as prevalent. And there's like this double-edged sword where I think literacy leaders, teachers want to get away from the 3-cueing system, we want to support kids with being good decoders. But I think what happens is we're not teaching kids to like read text for real, like once kids know to decode a word, what's the purpose of actually reading the text? And so what I like about your book is, you're using real text, you know, kids are reading it for real reasons, and so I'm wondering what are the connections between micro-mentor texts and the science of reading that you've been thinking about.Penny Kittle: I mean, I think for me, in the idea of what I do with a micro-mentor text, I'm not decoding it, right? Unless they're stopping and asking me. But I usually read it to them. And so I'm a fluent model, or another student in the room is a fluent model. And then we're diving into this idea of the pattern, the rhythm, what makes it interesting? And so to me, when you're looking at written text and thinking about writing text, you need fluency. And fluency is one of the pieces of the science of reading. So sometimes I'll have kids with me that are reading two and three years below grade level. And fluency was something that we never worked on. They're still word callers in high school. And so getting them to read with more automaticity and faster is gonna help comprehension because they're gonna have more energy and, you know, more focus to spend that effort on it, rather than in word by word. So my, you know, in the idea of the science of reading, I think that we have to first realize in secondary there are a lot of skills and strategies that I teach on a daily basis and a lot of kids lack. And so we have to keep teaching them and letting kids know it's okay to ask. You know, what does that word say? What is it? What does it mean? And when they hear us talk about it, then they learn, right? So I just think that there's a great emphasis on that 20 to 30 minutes of core instruction that, of course, is gonna support skills and strategies. But that then have a whole child, right? We can't just do 20 minutes of skills and strategies and think we've taught the whole learner. We need to get to comprehension, which is the whole point. And we also need to write, because when we're composing and creating text, we're adding to that power. The science of reading includes writing. It's not just about decoding. And I think sometimes that's where people come to rest. But of course, as you know, Scarborough's Reading Rope has both sides. And word recognition isn't any good without language comprehension. We need both of those things.Matt Renwick: So you do have like a routine in your book that you talk about. So you read text to kids. I've seen that example of you reading The Outsiders for example. But then what do you do after reading that text? What's the typical steps that you recommend?Penny Kittle: Well, I mean, the steps that I do are pretty simple. And I think that almost at any level, from elementary through college, you can do these steps. So I read a passage, or a student reads a passage. Then I say, turn and talk. What do you notice? And I give them time. And I try not to be the one that tells them. I want them to point out things. So they're gonna point out things. And then I might say, so what do you notice about this sentence? Or what do you notice about this? So I might do a little nudging in that conversation. And then we imitate it. So after they've talked about it and noticed it, I say, so take that idea. Let me show you an example of how I did it. Here's how I imitated it. Now you do your own. So they do a quick write. Sometimes that's five minutes or ten minutes. Sometimes they write for the rest of the class. And then many of those quick writes could stay in their journal forever. But often what I'll say to kids is, this might be the kind of craft technique that you want to save and try in your next piece, or that you might wanna use in your revision of your piece. So I'm teaching them to think about these tools as transferable to other times we write. Or I might, in that week or the next week, say, so I want you to take one from this list and put it in the piece you're working on. And then come talk to me, and I'll tell you whether I think it's working. So that's the steps. Read it, talk about it, imitate it, try it out.Matt Renwick: Yeah, I think you have Reggie Routman's steps there. And you also have that conversation in there around, like, self-assessment for kids. How did that work? What made that successful? What are you gonna do going forward? That agency piece, which I think is crucial for kids to take it on themselves, that responsibility for learning and being better.Penny Kittle: Yeah, I think for secondary especially. You know, what I like about Reggie is that shared demonstration step is so essential, and I think it's what's missed most of the time. So in secondary education, my professors would give me an assignment, like, you're gonna write a 15-page paper on this, and they wouldn't tell me how. They would just tell me to go do it. And that is completely lacking in what I think is good instruction. So when I'm writing with kids, I show them what I'm doing. I think aloud, I share my rough drafts. I show them, I think this is where I'm stuck, and I'm gonna try this. And that modeling and talking about our thinking is essential. And then we get kids writing, but we gotta talk about what we're doing. We've gotta show. That's the idea of a mentor text. We're gonna show you how someone else did it.Matt Renwick: Yeah, I can't think back to any instance in high school or college where I had a professor or teacher actually write with me or in front of me, and I had papers. So, yeah, it's a blind spot.Penny Kittle: Huge. And it is one that, you know, you and I have probably spent hundreds of hours doing this. Right? Because you write, and you know the challenges, and you think about kids, and you go, I need to help with this.Matt Renwick: Right. So those examples in the book, are those your writing or student writing, or both?Penny Kittle: They're both.Matt Renwick: Okay. So I think that's a good way to kind of mix it up. You give kids that authentic example from someone who's actually learning, and then yours. Did kids ever give you a hard time? Like, you're a published author, like, of course you're gonna write well. Like, this is easy for you. Or did you share your struggles as a writer?Penny Kittle: I shared my struggles all the time. And, you know, my quickwrites are way messier than the kids'. You know, I often would have scratch-outs and things where they would have done it on a computer and deleted. But I would just start with paper so that I could show them, and so, no. I mean, the kids, you know, it was funny. When I started writing Write Beside Them, I didn't have a publisher yet. I'd been working on it for a couple of years. And I, one day in class, I had a girl who said, do you even write? I said, I've been writing a book for two years. She said, well, when's it coming out? I said, I don't have a publisher. And she said, so you're just like us. And I said, yeah, I'm just like you. I'm trying to figure out how to get my work published just like you are. And I was in NCTE, and I went to Heinemann and pitched them the idea. And I came back and said, I have a publisher. And so it was, you know, it's not like I was sitting on this huge legacy of, like, I'm a published author. I was just somebody trying to figure it out, you know? And I think kids respond to that. They respond to our humanity.Matt Renwick: Yeah, and just the vulnerability of sharing, like, I don't have this down either, like, I'm still trying to figure this out.Penny Kittle: Yeah.Matt Renwick: So, you talked about teaching 180. Are you still teaching? 'Cause I know in the book you mentioned...Penny Kittle: No, I'm not.Matt Renwick: Okay, so what, about seven years ago or so?Penny Kittle: I retired in 2018, and then I taught another couple of years, so probably six years ago. Yeah.Matt Renwick: Okay. So I remember you telling, like, a story, I think it was your first year teaching, where, like, you handed out a paper, and kids were, like, upset about the directions, or something like that. Do you remember that story?Penny Kittle: I probably told that story, but I don't remember exactly. Tell me more.Matt Renwick: I think it was just like, you had made some assumptions about, like, what kids would understand, and they didn't understand it, and they got frustrated, and you're like, okay, I need to be more clear about what I'm asking kids to do.Penny Kittle: Yeah, I mean, I think that's, you know, that happens all the time, right? We make assumptions about what kids know, and they don't. And so we have to be really clear. And I think that's one of the things that I learned early on was, I need to show them what I want. I can't just tell them. I have to show them. And that's, again, that idea of shared demonstration.Matt Renwick: So, circling back to your book, I know you have a chapter on nonfiction, which I appreciated because I think a lot of times when we talk about writing, we're talking about narrative or fiction. But you have a whole chapter on that. What are some key things you want teachers to know about teaching nonfiction writing?Penny Kittle: Well, I think that, you know, we read so much nonfiction now. We read articles, we read blogs, we read all kinds of things online. And so kids need to be able to write that way. And I think that one of the things that I tried to do in that chapter was to say, here are some patterns that nonfiction writers use. Here are some ways to organize your thinking. And I think that's really helpful for kids. Because sometimes they sit down to write an essay, and they don't know where to start. And if we can give them some structures, some patterns, then they have something to lean on. And that's what mentor texts do. They give us something to lean on. So, you know, I think that nonfiction is really important. And I think that we need to teach it more explicitly. Because it's not as intuitive as narrative for a lot of kids.Matt Renwick: Yeah, and I think, too, like, the connection to content areas. Like, if you're a science teacher or social studies teacher, like, you're writing nonfiction all the time. So having those examples, those mentor texts, I think is really helpful.Penny Kittle: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's where, you know, in secondary, we have this huge advantage. We have kids for different content areas. And if we could coordinate and say, okay, in science, you're gonna write a lab report. Let me show you some mentor texts for lab reports. In social studies, you're gonna write an argument. Let me show you some mentor texts for arguments. Like, if we could do that, we would be so much more effective. But we don't often do that. We don't often coordinate across content areas.Matt Renwick: Right. So, I have a question about, like, the role of technology in writing. Because I know, you know, we have AI now, and we have all these tools. And I'm curious, like, what's your take on that? Like, how do we teach kids to write in a world where AI can write for them?Penny Kittle: Yeah, I think that's a huge question. And I think that, you know, we have to be honest with kids about the fact that AI exists. And we have to be honest with them about the fact that it can write. But we also have to help them understand that AI can't think for them. AI can't have their ideas. AI can't have their experiences. And so, you know, I think that what we need to do is we need to help kids understand that their voice matters. Their ideas matter. And that's what we're trying to develop. We're trying to develop their voice. We're trying to develop their thinking. And AI can't do that. AI can generate text, but it can't generate their ideas. And so I think that's where we need to focus. We need to focus on helping kids find their voice, find their ideas, and then we can use AI as a tool. But it shouldn't be a replacement for thinking.Matt Renwick: Yeah, I like that distinction. Like, AI can help with the mechanics, but it can't help with the meaning-making.Penny Kittle: Right. Exactly. And I think that's where we need to be. We need to help kids understand that. And we need to help them understand that, you know, the best writing comes from thinking. And AI doesn't think. It generates. And there's a big difference.Matt Renwick: So, thinking about your work, you know, you've been doing this for a long time. You've written several books. You have the Book Love Foundation. What's next for you? Like, what are you working on now?Penny Kittle: Well, I'm working on a few different things. I'm working on a book about leadership with a colleague. And I'm also working on some online courses for teachers. And I'm doing a lot of speaking. So I'm traveling a lot and talking to teachers. And I'm also working on my Substack. So I'm writing there. And I'm just trying to stay connected to teachers and stay connected to the work. Because I think that's really important. I don't want to lose touch with what's happening in classrooms. And so I'm trying to stay as connected as I can.Matt Renwick: That's great. And I think, you know, your Substack has been really helpful. I've been reading it. And I think it's a great way to stay connected to teachers and to share ideas. So, I appreciate that.Penny Kittle: Thanks. Yeah, I think it's been fun. I think it's a good way to just keep the conversation going.Matt Renwick: So, one more question about mentor texts. How do you find them? Like, where do you look for good mentor texts? Because I think sometimes teachers are like, I don't know where to start. Like, how do I find good examples?Penny Kittle: Well, I mean, I think that the first place you look is in what you're reading. So if you're reading, and you come across something that you think is really well-written, you save it. And I have, you know, I have a Google Doc that I've been adding to for years. And it's just a collection of passages that I think are really interesting. And I don't even know if I'll ever use all of them. But I save them. And then when I'm teaching, I go back and I look at that document. And I say, okay, what fits what I'm trying to teach right now? And so I think that's the first place. Just read a lot. And when you come across something that you think is really well-written, save it. And then the other place is just to look at books that are popular with kids. So, you know, what are kids reading? What are they excited about? And then you can pull passages from those books. And that's a great way to get kids interested in reading more. Because you're using books that they're already interested in.Matt Renwick: Yeah, I think that's a great strategy. And I think, too, like, you can also look at, like, articles and essays and things like that. Like, it doesn't have to just be fiction. It can be nonfiction, too.Penny Kittle: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's where, you know, I use a lot of articles. I use a lot of essays. I use a lot of different kinds of texts. Because I want kids to see that there are lots of different ways to write. And there are lots of different purposes for writing. And so, yeah, I think that's really important.Matt Renwick: So, in your Google Doc, do you organize it in any particular way? Or is it just kind of a running list?Penny Kittle: It's just a running list. I mean, I should probably organize it better. But it's just a running list. And I copied a bunch of those, because they're very interesting. They're often patterns of language and interesting phrasing that I'm looking for, and I don't even know how many of those I would use if I were teaching right now, but that's where I collect them.Matt Renwick: Yeah, I'm sure they get in your brain, and then they show up somewhere else when you're writing and thinking.Penny Kittle: Right.Matt Renwick: I noticed your awesome library in the background. I was supposed to ask you about your wavy bookshelf, but I don't see it. That must be somewhere else.Penny Kittle: Oh yeah, that's in a different room, and honestly, it's because it was on this wall. My desk was turned this way, and I kept banging it with the back of my head, because it sticks out from the wall like a foot. I was like, I can't do this anymore. So it's gone.Matt Renwick: Oh, darn it.Penny Kittle: Yeah.Matt Renwick: But you had an interesting metaphor, I think in that same post I mentioned before, or just a visual, a library without books. So, to the point you're making was, we don't have writers, we don't have readers, and so making that connection for kids, and stressing the importance of building writers. So, just to kind of close things out, what classroom conditions are essential to help kids write for real, you know, write without rules, Matt De La Pena said in the forward to your book, and then writing for life. What are some essential classroom conditions? So you mentioned before, shared demonstration, that's a Heli-Dion.Penny Kittle: Yeah, yeah, and I think so much about teachers that are in classrooms right now, where they have a scripted curriculum, and I'm really connected to that idea that it demonstrates a lack of trust of teachers, and the idea that I was thinking today, because I was gonna be late to a doctor's appointment, and I was super annoyed with my husband that we were gonna be late, and I was watching every minute to be sure I could get there, and then I thought about the crowd that would be at the front door to the school that was always late. And I thought, what are the conditions that would make kids be like, I can't be late, I gotta get to first period? So, I think that it goes back to those pillars of engagement, right? We talk about this. So there's a science to engagement. We talked about the science of reading, but the science of engagement says that kids will use the skills and strategies we teach with greater persistence and effort when they're engaged. And then they learn more, right? Greater persistence and effort. So for me, it has to be that. So they need to write for real purposes and real audiences, and they need the conditions that say what they have to say matter, right? They need to be in writing groups so that they get more feedback than just mine. They're writing for, you know, and they'll, in a group of 3 or 4 other kids, often they may not want to at the start, but they become kids who share their writing. And when you have to read your writing to someone, or a part of your writing, and ask for help, you hear it differently. Those are essential conditions. We need lots of books, because the more you read, the better you write. That's just a simple formula. Wait, I wrote them down, what else did I put up here? Oh, relationships. So, it's not just the teacher, but the teacher has to have a relationship with reading and writing that is positive, and that knows its power, as well as its challenges, because I think when I first got my secondary credential, what was demonstrated in all my coursework was that I need to become an expert on texts. And that isn't what we need to be expert in. We need to be expert in kids and motivation, and learning how to talk to a kid that doesn't want to talk to you about what they're working on in a way that you can help them. We need to be really superb listeners, and so the conditions are, we have to be able to set up a flow within a class period so that I have time to meet with as many kids as I can, both as readers and as writers, and I need to have us write every day. I'm really into volume, right? We read every day, we write every day, we work on revision almost every day. So that the conditions are a kind of a mutual agreement that we're here to work. They have a playlist for every class, they choose it. Like, the cowboy one was always killing me off, but the boys in this one class, Outdoor Writing, all wanted this, you know, very cowboy-centered playlist, but that stuff helps them feel like it's their space, too. And I think that the teachers who, you know, there are teachers that I worked with every year who volunteered for everything, who were at every dance, and you know, they're just giving 110% to the school and the culture of the school. I love that, but they also have to be that in their classroom, so that their content comes alive and feels meaningful.Matt Renwick: Yeah. Trust the kids, trust themselves, yeah.Penny Kittle: It's so much about trust.Matt Renwick: Yeah. Well, this has been great, Penny. You've got your substack. What is the URL again? Is it...Penny Kittle: You mean my on Substack, I'm just Penny Kittle.Matt Renwick: Penny Kittle, okay.Penny Kittle: Yeah.Matt Renwick: And then you have the Book Love Foundation. Yep. Several resources, which I'll link in the notes.Penny Kittle: I have a YouTube channel that has all my interviews with Kelly Gallagher, and the different authors, and we're putting up... we just released a podcast today called The Moves Leaders Make. It's all about leaders we're interviewing, and those are on Apple, and we actually have about 4 or 5 seasons of Book Love podcasts on there, and there's a lot of places that you can find out more.Matt Renwick: Cool. Well, thanks, Penny, for being here, and good luck with your time, and your time to yourself. So, thank you for being here.Penny Kittle: Thanks so much, Matt. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readbyexample.substack.com/subscribe

From Paralympic Gold to Financial Planning: The Mindset of Charlotte Evans MBE This week, we are joined by history-maker Charlotte Evans MBE. A former elite skier and Paralympian, Charlotte made headlines as the sighted guide for Kelly Gallagher, securing Great Britain's first-ever Winter Paralympic Gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Games. Today, Charlotte has traded the slopes for the world of finance. As a qualified Financial Planner, she explains how the discipline, focus, and resilience of elite sport translate into professional success and long-term career planning. In this episode, you will discover: The Power of Self-Belief: How sport serves as the ultimate tool for building belief & confidence. Mastering Your Mindset: Practical ways to use self-talk to overcome challenges. A Historic Moment: A behind-the-scenes look at winning that iconic Gold Medal in Sochi. The Art of the Pivot: Charlotte's unique career transition from elite skiing to the Police, and finally into Financial Services. Strategic Career Tips: Advice on how to take control of your professional journey and future planning. Connect with Charlotte: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charevans1/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotteevansmbe/  

Hello everyone and happy Thanksgiving break! We will be back to our regular scheduled programming next week, but for our off week, let's revisit one of the top minds in education to look at reading and writing practices that actually work in secondary classrooms.  NOTE: This episode featured a giveaway that has already been honored.  If you're in ELA, you probably know who Penny Kittle is. If you don't know who she is, you're in for a treat, regardless if you teach ELA or another subject. In this episode, Penny and I discuss her new book (co-written with Kelly Gallagher), 180 Days, and how we can better our literacy practices and deepen the learning of our students. We hit on: Beliefs that drive teaching decisions Why teaching a LOVE for reading and writing is paramount The power of modeling The need for conferencing with students  …and much much more. Enjoy the show. Don't forget to subscribe and review the show on iTunes! 

In this third episode of our three-part series, hosted by author and educator Kelly Gallagher, we press further into the concept of using AI as a writing partner, not a replacement. Kristina Peterson and Dennis Magliozzi are co-authors of the brand new book, AI in the Writing Workshop. And today alongside Kelly, they explore how their own students have used AI to grow their voices in poetry and personal narrative. Their approach empowers students to gain independence in their writing voice and autonomy in their learning. By sharing real examples from their classroom, Kristina and Dennis demonstrate how to train AI on their rubrics and guide students to prompt for multiple choices with AI feedback. They also encourage students to push back against AI, a strategy that has proven effective as students often feel more comfortable challenging AI feedback than teacher feedback. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In part two of our special three-part series on AI in the writing workshop, hosted by author and longtime educator Kelly Gallagher, we focus on the rules of using AI in the writing process and how to use it as a student feedback partner. Kelly continues his conversation with Dennis Magliozzi and Kristina Peterson, co-authors of the brand new book AI in the Writing Workshop. Dennis and Kristina have both been teaching high school English since 2008, and they share real-world classroom stories, challenges, and best practices for integrating AI in ways that enhance, not replace, the writing process.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you an English teacher wondering how AI can enhance your classroom? In this episode, we explore the role of AI as a writing partner for students.Join author and educator Kelly Gallagher as he interviews Dennis Magliozzi and Kristina Peterson, authors of the new book AI in the Writing Workshop: Finding the Write Balance. Dennis and Kristina, seasoned high school English teachers since 2008, share their framework of best practices, exercises, and activities to ethically use AI tools in the high school English classroom.Kelly Gallagher, author of To Read Stuff You Have to Know Stuff and co-author of 180 Day and 4 Essential Studies, brings his 35 years of teaching experience at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, California to the conversation.Learn how AI can be ethically integrated into your teaching practices to enhance student engagement and writing skills.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with longtime Kent ISD mentor & author, Kelly Gallagher.  Kelly's latest book:  “To Read Stuff, You Have to Know Stuff:  Helping Students Build and Use Prior Knowldge” is the topic of today's podcast.  "To Read Stuff, You Have to Know Stuff" is not merely a catchy title but a fundamental principle of literacy education. Educators must prioritize building students' prior knowledge, fostering critical thinking skills, and creating a curriculum that reflects multiple, various perspectives and prepares students to engage with the world around them.  In this episode, Kelly Gallagher addresses how his book came about and why “knowing stuff” in a digital world is still important. Here are some highlights from our conversation:Kelly's book emphasizes that reading is as much knowing as decoding.  He suggests that students may struggle with texts not because they can't decode the words, but because they lack the necessary background knowledge to understand the content.To Read Stuff, You Have to Know Stuff addresses prior knowledge, word and sentence level understanding, article level comprehension, and book level comprehension.  Interdisciplinary connections are emphasized.  Gallagher emphasizes the reciprocal relationships of reading and writing."Click and go" reading has created new neurological pathways in the brain, yet it's crucial to develop the ability to sustain attention and thought over longer periods, especially during critical developmental stages."If you don't learn how to think critically while you're in that stage, you lose the ability to think critically the rest of your life."The discussion centers on the crucial role of prior knowledge in adolescent literacy, comprehension, and critical thinking, as well as practical strategies for educators to build this knowledge in their classrooms.Concluding with our normal podcast protocol, we ask for resources for educators to learn more about To Read Stuff, You Have to Know Stuff.  Check out our podcast resource page for all the links!We wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters!  Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.  All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at:  bit.ly/LLCNresources2425  Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform.Please note the audio used as an introduction and in transitions in this podcast is under the Creative Common License and attribution is given as follows:Medicine by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6256-medicineLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Today we are revisiting part of a conversation between Heinemann authors Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. They share their insights on overcoming student disengagement through authentic book clubs and intentional classroom practices. They explore the effects of educational pressures on both teachers and students and uncover why many high schoolers claim they "don't like reading." If you are looking for inspiration and ideas on balancing academic demands with meaningful connection-driven teaching, this compact episode is for you.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Heinemann Podcast, Kelly Gallagher, author of To Read Stuff You Have to Know Stuff, explores the challenges of fake reading, the effects of distraction addiction, and practical ways to rebuild students' deep reading skills, learn strategies to promote genuine literacy, engage students with books, and think critically about the issues of curriculum choices. Kelly begins with the importance of reading volume.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A vote of non-confidence has been the topic on the tongues of federal political leaders in recent weeks. What would a non-confidence vote in the Prime Minister's abilities mean for each party and what is the political strategy happening behind the scenes? Kelly Gallagher, vice president of government relations with Martin Carleton Communications, joins Evan to break down the positioning work happening in Canadian politics.

In today's episode, we hear from educator and author Kelly Gallagher, whose new book To Read Stuff You Have to Know Stuff is out now. Discover why background knowledge isn't just about being well-read. It's about being prepared to navigate a world brimming with information, and misinformation.Kelly shares the inspiration behind his Article of the Week work and explores how background knowledge is critical in every phase of literacy development, from the individual word level all the way through to full-length books. Tune in as we explore his transformative journey from teaching literature to fostering literacy in an age where critical thinking is more important than ever.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the commute this morning, Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher explore how personalized and student-driven reading experiences can cultivate a deep appreciation for literature. In this excerpt from their audiobook, 4 Essential Studies, we'll hear about research-backed strategies for integrating book clubs into your curriculum and practical methods to prepare for meaningful book club discussions that will deeply engage students and push their critical thinking skills.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do we maintain our lighting control systems? We've said it before and Kelly says it again. Education! - and interoperability, but we're not there yet - so, education! The facilities manager who leaves that job 5 years down the road is then replaced by a new facilities manager who doesn't know the system and doesn't know who to contact. Now the lighting doesn't perform as it should and the company that installed it receives complaints. Nobody wins. Listen to this episode and learn how sales reps can help your projects from the very beginning to long after the building is occupied. Kelly is in the DC metro area, living 45 minutes south of DC in a rural town on the Patuxent River with his wife and 2 toddlers. His career started as an IBEW Local 26 Electrician, where he spent a few years installing lighting controls. The draw for him was seeing the end-product of a project and seeing everything go from inoperable to working. He followed this over to Lutron as a field service tech performing startups and servicing systems for their commercial division. He was pulled by his best friend over to Chesapeake Lighting, when they needed an outside specification salesperson for lighting controls. He primarily calls on engineers and lighting designers, but sways in the balance of supporting the inside team, distributors, contractors, and end-users. 

Utah Avalanche Center forecast, Mountain town leaders talk post-COVID era, deed-restricted burgers, Artists William Kranstover, Kimberley Gray, and Bob Peek have details about the return of "Who's Art?," Park City Mountain extends ski season (15:54), Sundance Film Festival unveils 2025 dates (16:47), The first in the PC Board of Realtors Speaker Series Tim Weisheyer discussing "Dealing with Difficult People while Communicating with Tact and Professionalism," Neighbors appeal approval of Park City billionaire's home, People's Health Clinic gifted $1 million grant to extend hours, Park City Artists Association member Karen Kendall and Kelly Gallagher have details about this weekend's art gathering, Alf Engen Ski Museum Foundation names new executive director, No ‘immediate threat' Park City will lose theaters, bankruptcy attorney says, Train, controlled burn each spark brush fires in north Summit County, New hotel and luxury lodge approved for Deer Valley East Village base and Summit County receives two awards for waterway conservation.

Welcome to The Dispatch, a Heinemann podcast series. Over the next several weeks we'll hear from Heinemann thought leaders as they reflect on the work they do in schools across the country and discuss, from their perspective, the most pressing issues in education today. Today we'll hear from longtime collaborators Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Penny and Kelly are co-authors of 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents and 4 Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this podcast from 2021 Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher discuss their deep dive into the four essential studies of essay, poetry, book clubs and digital composition. Their aim is to move beyond compliance and formula, and to develop students' agency, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly write that these four practices, have the power to transform students' relationship with literacy—and truly prepare them for the more demanding work of college.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're as passionate about reading and teaching as I am, you won't want to miss this podcast. Join me as we explore seven incredible professional development books to elevate your middle school ELA classroom.In this episode, we'll discuss gems like Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner, a fantastic guide to setting up and maintaining writer's notebooks. Discover actionable strategies adaptable to middle school settings and effective methods for notebook assessment.We'll also dive into Ralph Fletcher's Boy Writers Reclaiming Their Voices, a timeless resource for engaging all students in the writing process. Unearth the secrets of making writing enjoyable and finding every student's unique voice.Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and Joann Portalupi offers a practical outline for an effective writing workshop, with valuable takeaways that apply to the middle school classroom.But that's not all! We're massive fans of Kelly Gallagher, and we'll share why his books are essential for your professional growth. From Deeper Reading and Reading Reasons to Write Like This and Teaching Adolescent Writers, these resources cover everything from reading comprehension to real-world writing skills.Don't forget to share your favorite professional development books with me on Instagram @annotatedela. Mentioned in the episode:Episode 18 Seven of My Favorite Professional Development Books for ELA TeachersBooks:Notebook Know How Strategies for the Writer's Notebook by Aimee BucknerBoy Writers Reclaiming Their Voices by Ralph FletcherWriting Workshop The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and Joann PortalupiDeeper Reading Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12 by Kelly GallagherReading Reasons Motivational Mini Lessons for Middle and High School by Kelly GallagherWrite Like This Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor Texts by Kelly GallagherTeaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly GallagherShow notes: annotatedela.com/episode29Follow along on Instagram @annotatedela**Links are affiliate links. By clicking on the links to the books I will receive credit for the purchase at no extra cost to you.

In this conversation with Regie Routman, we explore her writing process that led to her new book The Heart-Centered Teacher: Restoring Hope, Joy, and Possibility in Uncertain Times (Routledge, 2023).I was interested in learning more about her purpose and intentions around this important book. Below are three questions I asked Regie.* The cracked plate, beautifully depicted on your book cover in a painting by Toby Gordon, is a powerful metaphor for navigating uncertain times. What felt true to you as you connected this item to our lives?* In the conversation you had with Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle, they shared that your book is unlike any other professional learning resource they read. You appreciated that comment. Was it your intention from the start to make this book at least part memoir? * Another concept that you speak to often is the power of story. In schools, teachers and leaders are often having their stories told for them only through test scores and media reports, often incorrectly. What are some of your favorite, practical ways for educators and students to better control their narratives?Listeners will walk away with a greater understanding of the “why” behind this book. The ideas Regie shares with us can help any educator reclaim hope and joy in teaching and leading in uncertain times.In addition to this audio, full subscribers have access to the video recording archive, along with a downloadable three question reflection protocol Regie and I workshopped to help students “restory” their lives. This episode is also available on Apple and wherever else you listen to your podcasts. Let people know what you think with a rating and review. Get full access to Read by Example at readbyexample.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of AUHSD Future Talks, Superintendent Matsuda interviews author and former AUHSD English teacher, Kelly Gallagher. During the talk, Kelly discusses his latest book (Four Essential Studies), rethinking the essay in the classroom, "writing small" narratives, poetry, digital composition, curriculum that is "tuned in" to students, artificial intelligence in education, book clubs, book banning, a new diverse books/revolutionary characters book club project, and empathy and democracy.Since 1985, Kelly Gallagher has devoted himself to the teaching of reading, writing, listening and speaking—first and foremost, as a high school ELA teacher in the Anaheim Union High School District at Magnolia High School, and also as an author/consultant who works with educators around the world.  Today, he is considered one of the leading voices in literacy education.Always in search of a better way, Kelly honed his craft by taking on leadership positions in several key literacy programs, including the California Reading and Literature Project, the South Basin Writing Project at California State University, Long Beach, and the Puente Project, a University of California outreach program that prepares under-represented high school students for transition into universities.  For several years, he taught secondary literacy courses as an adjunct professor at California State University, Fullerton, and, most recently, he served as the president of the Secondary Reading Group of the International Reading Association (IRA). In 2005, Kelly received the Award for Classroom Excellence from the California Association of Teachers of English, the state's highest honor for English teachers. In 2018, the California Association of Teachers of English presented Kelly with their Distinguished Service Award. Inspired by his classroom and professional development experiences, Kelly has written numerous books for teachers, many of which are used in education schools around the world. 

Welcome to Teach Me, Teacher – the premier podcast for educators! We're thrilled to be an award-winning show that's dedicated to bringing you insightful conversations with some of the brightest minds in the world of education. Our roster of distinguished guests includes luminaries such as Eric Weinstein, Kelly Gallagher, Donalyn Miller, Secretary Miguel Cardona, and Alfie Kohn. At Teach Me, Teacher, we're passionate about preserving the integrity of education. We believe that it should be shaped by educators and learners, not corporate interests. That's why we've launched our Patreon page – to empower our dedicated listeners and supporters to help sustain the show without resorting to advertising deals with companies that don't belong in the education space. By becoming a patron, you'll not only support our mission but also gain exclusive benefits. You'll enjoy early access to full episodes before anyone else, access to video interviews, and a host of exciting perks we have in store for you. Join us in our journey to celebrate and enhance the world of education. Together, we can keep the conversation focused on what truly matters – quality learning experiences for all. Thank you for being a part of the Teach Me, Teacher community! Click here to support the show and get early and exclusive access to our Season 8 opener with Jennifer Serravallo on Reading Strategies 2.0 and Educational Research. 

Episode Highlights:[00:00:00] The role of coaching and introduction of Kelly Gallagher-Cory introduces Kelly Gallagher as his professional coach and discusses their working relationship for four and a half years.[00:01:25] Kelly's background in business development and coaching training- Kelly shares her background in business development and her coaching journey, including her training and pursuit of a master's degree.[00:07:38] The difference between coaching and therapy, and the value of coaching for high achievers-Cory and Kelly discuss the definition of coaching, the distinction between coaching and therapy, and the importance of coaching for high achievers.[00:11:39] The distinction between therapy and coaching-Discussion on the differences between therapy and coaching and how they complement each other.[00:12:41] The value of having a coach for high achievers-Exploration of the benefits of coaching for high achievers and the importance of self-awareness.[00:13:55] Times when people seek coaching-Identification of common situations that lead individuals to actively seek coaching, such as career conflicts, the desire for personal growth, and the need for support during organizational changes.[00:23:31] The role of coaching and the importance of ICF certification-Discussion on the role of coaching, the significance of ICF certification, and the difference between coaching and therapy.[00:28:34] The value of having a coach for high achievers-Exploration of the benefits of coaching for high performers and the potential negative stigma associated with coaching as a remedial tool.[00:31:58] Coaching for entrepreneurs-The essentiality of coaching for entrepreneurs, particularly in navigating change, making big decisions, and improving performance.[00:34:24] The role of coaching and seizing opportunities-Cory reflects on the importance of having a coach and making the most of opportunities in business.[00:35:18] The importance of personal happiness and joy in work-Kelly discusses the significance of finding joy and personal happiness in one's work and how it affects performance.[00:37:09] The passion for helping others and personal growth-Kelly shares her passion for helping others find personal growth in coaching and how it is more rewarding than pure sales.

“What is the goal of independent reading, and why does this goal so often get lost in instruction?”We asked this and other questions of Hannah Schneewind. She is the author along with Jennifer Scoggin of Trusting Readers: Powerful Practices for Independent Reading (Heinemann, 2021). We explored how to best use our limited classroom time, as well as how leaders can support this critical element of the literacy block.You can purchase Hannah's book here. For a full transcript of this conversation, see below or click here. Full subscribers also have access to the video recording of this conversation, as well as the professional discussion guide for this conversation.Read by Example is a reader-supported publication. Thank you to our full subscribers for making transcripts and other benefits available to everyone. Full TranscriptMatt Renwick (00:03):Welcome to Read by Example, where teachers are leaders and leaders know literacy. That tagline is from Regie Routman's book, Read, Write, Lead, and I find that line especially appropriate for our conversation today. Our special guest is Hannah Schneewind, and she is the co-author, along with Jennifer Scoggin, of Trusting Readers: Powerful Practices for Independent Reading through Heinemann. Reading the bio in the back of the book, which is right here: Hannah Schneewind has been a teacher, staff developer, curriculum writer, keynote speaker, and national literacy consultant. Hannah's interest in student and teacher agency, and her belief in the power of books informs her work with schools. Together, Jen and Hannah are the co-creators of Trusting Readers, a group dedicated to collaborating with teachers to design literacy opportunities that invite all students to be engaged and thrive as readers and writers. Welcome, Hannah.Hannah Schneewind (01:07):Great. Thank you so much for having me. And I know that Jen is sorry that she's not here. She's traveling at the moment, so you'll have just me, I'm afraid.Matt Renwick (01:17):We are delighted to have you. And we have another guest with us, Mary Beth Nicholas, a Wisconsinite now living in Minnesota, working at an alternative school secondary level. She had been working with intervention students at the secondary level and brings a neat perspective as well to trusting readers, especially after that elementary experience. So, with that I have three questions I was going to pose to Hannah, but take the direction wherever you want it to go. And again, our intentions for this conversation are just to build knowledge and awareness around this topic, and to practice coaching skills while engaging in conversation around professional topics. So, really trying to serve as a model for any leader of any position, how you might, co-create knowledge together instead of living in sometimes these echo chambers we see in education. My first question is for Hannah: what is the goal of independent reading and why does this goal so often get lost in instruction?Hannah Schneewind (02:26):So the first thing I would say is that the goal of independent reading is for students to become really skilled and proficient readers. And being proficient includes being skillful with decoding, fluency, and comprehension. So the reason I think it's really important to start with that is that too often independent reading is seen as this kind of fluffy thing, or it's an add-on, or it's a thing that you do for 10 minutes at the end of the day if you have time. And so I just want to start by saying, no, this is a serious teaching and learning time. So I would say that's the big goal. And then within that goal, of course, we have lots of other things, right? We want kids to find joy in reading. We want them to have books that they connect with. We want them to find books where they can make meaning and then really are motivated to take some kind of action after they're reading.(03:28):I'll tell you though, I won't say that the goal of independent reading is to make students love reading, because I think when we say that, number one, we do ourselves a disservice as professionals because that seems kind of fluffy. And number two, I actually can't do that. That is to say, I can set up the condition, you know, I can give you lots of choice and I can give you the right feedback at the right time, and I can give you lots of time to read. I can set up the conditions for you to love reading, but I can't actually make you love reading. So I think, that's something I have thought a lot about. So I no longer say, the goal is for all them to love reading. They might or they might not. So, then in terms of why does it get lost?(04:16):I think it gets lost for a few reasons. I think it gets lost, number one, when it is not in fact the focus of reading instruction. When it becomes something to do at the end of the day or it sometimes gets lost because the teacher is trying to also work with small groups, let's say, and independent reading is something that the students can in fact do independently that she knows it's going to be really impactful. And so she ends up doing small group instruction during that time and does not confer with kids. And independent reading without conferring is not actually independent reading, such as giving kids books and letting them read. So I think those are two very different things.Matt Renwick (05:03):That's very helpful for me. Especially the comment about you cannot make kids love reading. It almost seems kind of refreshing that I can kind of take that part off of my responsibility, and not that I'm not responsible for the conditions, but puts more of the onus on that part of a reading right on the kids. And I think kids would rise to that trust, which comes back to your book title, Trusting Readers.Hannah Schneewind (05:38):Yeah, absolutely. I mean, for example, in high school, I became skillful at biology, right? I had a very good teacher. I did all my homework. I never loved biology. I did not decide to become a scientist. You know, so much as we hope that kids will love reading, I do think that we can separate,  being skilled at reading from necessarily the love of it. With one important caveat, which is, and Mary Beth, maybe you've seen this with older students, I have talked to older readers who are very proficient readers and actively hate reading. You know, there are kids who think reading is boring, I have to do it, my teacher makes me write a certain number of post-its, or I have to write in this reading log. So when I say we can't make kids love it, that's true. However, , we don't want to be setting them up to hate it either, which sometimes people inadvertently do.Matt Renwick (06:46):Well, that comes into the next question I had. You noted on page one, Hannah, that the number one obstacle for teachers trying to increase independent reading time to be able to confer with students to support them in being independent is the demands of the literacy curriculum. But then at the same time, you do share ways to prioritize independent reading that can exist alongside a curriculum resource. So, I guess the connection here is I've heard teachers say, I just don't have time to meet with all my kids, you know? And because of the resource, because of this, or because I can't meet with small groups, there's just too many things to do. What have you found that teachers have done to make better use of their time to increase independent reading? Because I do think there are opportunities that teachers don't always see, to be able to support kids at that level of independence.Hannah Schneewind (07:50):Absolutely. So I think there are two different scenarios. So I think one scenario is that I have a program that I have to follow and I'm not sure how to follow this program and still make time for independent reading. And then there's a second scenario, which is I have independent reading up and going, I have devoted time for it. My administrator's completely behind it. I have the books, I'm just not sure how to make it incredibly impactful. So I think those are two different scenarios. So I am actually currently working with some schools in Connecticut who, because of state legislation, will be using a reading program next year. And the district actually asked me to come in specifically to make sure that they can hold on to independent reading. It will be interesting, so I'll be able to tell you more about it in a few months.(08:50):We're just at the beginning of it. But one thing that we have thought is, even if you're within a reading program, right? Kids are reading, and once they are done doing whatever that kind of whole class basal type text is for the day, you're always going to have kids who are finishing at different times, and what better time for them to then go do that independent reading, and then you segue from that kind of whatever the whole class activity is into independent reading, and then you do your conferring. So that's one way that we're thinking about it is just kind of tucking it in to that. Another thing you can do, if you have to do this program for "x" number of minutes a day, I also go back to what Kelly Gallagher says in high school.(09:45):He teaches high school, he has kids for 50 minutes, and so the first 10 minutes of every single day is independent reading, and he can do two conferences in 10 minutes. So that means as an elementary teacher, my kids have gotten 50 minutes of independent reading over the week, and I've conferred over the course of two weeks, I've conferred with almost everyone in my class. So I think it's that when you talk about finding time, when you talk about finding time, the time is there. It's tricky. So as I said, that's kind of one scenario. The other scenario though is that I have independent reading up and running, but I don't feel as if it's going really well and I'm not sure what to do. So that's the work that Jen and I do a lot.(10:38):I will say the question that I get asked the most is, what do I confer about? Like, how's the conference supposed to go? You know? So I think that number one, just don't be afraid to confer, because people will often say, "Well, I walk around, I kind of check in with the kids." and I'll say, "You're already conferring, right?" And now what you have to do is take that kind of checking in and make it really intentional, because if you're already checking in, you could take that five minutes of a check-in and make it five really, really impactful minutes if you kind of follow this structure. And then that's life changing. You know, when teachers realize the importance of being really intentional in that how they spend their time during independent reading.Matt Renwick (11:31):So it sounds like just look for pockets and opportunities within your current schedule. Try not to fight it too much, but start really small, make it easy, make it really hard to not do it. Like the example of Kelly Gallagher and just, "Guys, we get 10 minutes to read when you come in." What a neat way to start the class. Just a nice soft landing to whatever chaos is happen in the hallways. You always know you have a quiet, safe spot, coming into Kelly's class.Hannah Schneewind (12:03):Yeah, absolutely. So I work with some teachers who also as a way of increasing the number of minute students are reading, we'll do that for like 10 minutes in the morning and then 10 minutes after lunch, because we all know, the beginning of kindergarten, first grade, five minutes is really all you might get, but if you do five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the afternoon and that turns to 10 and 10, then you have 20 minutes. So I also have learned myself to be really flexible in thinking about time. That is to say, ideally, yes, we have this beautiful hour block where we are all sitting there and kids are hunched over their books and working with partners. I mean, that's what I had the liberty to do in my own classroom. And that's the vision. However, you know, as I said, 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon adds up to 20 minutes every day. So yeah, whatever ways you can work it in, I think it's really important.Matt Renwick (13:06):And I have a third question. This kind of transitions to more of a leadership perspective, and you did say in there in one example, you had leaders have you come in to preserve independent reading as they transition to a more commercialized resource. So that's one way as leaders is to make decisions about how resources are spent. But you make the point that teachers need to be trusted as well.Hannah Schneewind (13:37):Mm-hmm.Matt Renwick (13:39):What specific actions can leaders take to convey their trust, as well as to ensure every kid, every student's being trusted as readers in every classroom? Because not every teacher believes independent reading is important, even though that's the ultimate goal is we want them to transfer, we want them to pick up those identities as readers. So as leaders like myself - we're all leaders here- what can we do to trust teachers so they can trust students and ensure full school accountability?Hannah Schneewind (14:10):Absolutely. So I am not a principal and I've never been a principal, so, I would never say, "Well, let me give you some advice." But what I can tell you is what I have noticed or what has worked in the buildings where I work. So I think the first thing is that leaders do need to trust teachers to make their own schedules. And I know that might sound small, but that's actually pretty huge, because if teachers feel as if I must be doing reading from 10:02 to 10:31, and then I'm somehow going to be reprimanded if I'm not doing reading at 10:31, you know. That is not really setting up really great conditions for the teacher. Now, I understand that there have to be parameters, right? Everyone in first grade pretty much has to be doing reading at essentially the same time because we have pullout and we have all these other things.(15:07):So I totally get that. It doesn't need to be down to, you know, the minute. So I think that where you can, giving teachers some wiggle room in their schedules is really important. The other thing I would say that goes along with that is giving them flexibility to switch things around. That is to say, sometimes people will have a schedule where they always do reading in the morning and they always do writing in the afternoon, right? And what happens in the afternoon, we all know, right? Especially with the young kids. Afternoon, may not be so great at time. And then I'll have teachers say, "Oh, but I can't switch it. You know, the schedule is that way. I have to follow that." "Well, why?" you know, "why can't you switch it? You're getting to everything." So why not have writing in the morning some days and reading in the afternoon some days?(16:01):So I think that if leaders give teachers that kind of flexibility, I think that goes a long way. Then the other thing that I think is very difficult about being a principal, and even in my role, is that I think it's very tricky to balance curricular consistency with teacher autonomy. That is to say, yes, we need to have a consistent curriculum, right? We, our school has to have consistent values. We all think that kids need a long time to read. That has to be consistent. And at the same time, you can recognize that some teachers are going to do it differently, and it's not going to look exactly the same. So this is a silly example, but I love to sing. And so in first grade, independent reading was always preceded by shared singing of songs that were shared reading. That was me. My colleague next door is like, "I am not singing." She did lots of shared reading of big books, but we were both doing the same thing. We were both getting to all those skills and strategies. So I think that balance as yes, we need to be consistent and yes, where are places where we can give teachers autonomy.Matt Renwick (17:22):Yeah. I think you nailed it, Hannah, that's one of the biggest challenges of leadership, is balancing the curriculum coherence and teacher autonomy. And I'm glad you brought that up. I would hand the mic over, so to speak, to Mary Beth or Debra, if you have any thoughts on what Hannah shared here. I've been taking notes. This has been great.Mary Beth Nicklaus (18:01):I was thinking about what you were saying about teacher autonomy and letting teachers create their own schedules. Because when you're dealing, like with middle school, high school, and you have that 50 minute or 40 minute block or regular class period, skinny class period, depending on the chemistry of your class, this whole working with reading is not linear. You have your routine and you have your stations where I work on this, then I work on this, then I work on this. But when you're dealing with a certain chemistry of those older kids, especially if you're dealing with students who are maybe not your regular mainstream students, nothing is linear.(19:07):You plug them into those routines, but then you might suddenly break off into somebody has an idea that they want to write, like say a story based on...I had a student who really got into Gary Paulson and he was actually a foster student and he said, "You know, Gary Paulson writes about his life, and I have interesting life stories, so I would like to..." (He had already completed two or three books.) "I would like to write about some of my life stories." So he'd read some of the time, then he'd go off and start writing a story, and then other students started joining. Well, I have something I can write too. And you know what's really interesting? That year I got a grant through Encourage Foundation, and we put all our stories together in a book that's towards the end of the year.(20:04):And that really meant something to these kids, to the point that years later, I had gone into Lulu Publishing, and they each got a spiral bound last story book. I had a student come up to me and I didn't even recognize him at first because he was grown up now. And I think he was a senior in high school, and he said, "I still have my book on my dresser, and I look at it every day." So you find things, you know, the stuff that you're doing in elementary creates a foundation, especially if it's as strong as the kind of ideas that you have and what I'm seeing so far in your book. And then I get them, someone like me gets them, and you just keep that going. If there's anything I can stress, and you're talking about teacher autonomy is, realize that they're a professional, they know what to do with the chemistry of their students. And then within that framework you can usually end up getting something pretty interesting, I think.Matt Renwick (21:16):Thanks Mary Beth, I think that's a cool story. I know if I was walking through your classroom, I would think, "Hey, that's awesome. Keep doing that." I am wondering why some leaders don't do that. And I suspect it comes back to the initial line from Regie's Rotman's book: teachers need to be leaders and leaders need to know literacy. And I suspect that some leaders just don't know literacy. And that's why teacher autonomy falls apart. They don't know how to see different pathways to the same outcome. I would open up to Debra or Hannah because you work with different schools. Any words of wisdom, experiences here, where how a leader might build their literacy knowledge or practice, especially if they don't have a literacy background?Debra Crouch (22:11):Well, hopefully they're joining in any professional learning opportunities. I know that's made a huge difference in the schools I've worked with is, if principals believe enough in what the conversations are that you're having with teachers when you come in that they make the time to come in and be part of that conversation. I think a really just a critical piece, so that they're asking the questions and they're hearing the kinds of conversations that their teachers are engaged in. Within all of this, I was just thinking about as you were talking about teachers and principals, if they value and make sure that this is part of their day, that it's not the add-on, independent reading is not the extra thing that you're doing.(23:20):It's the thing that you're doing, right? It builds around it, sort of the same thing with writing. I'm in that same conversation with writing. It's like, this isn't an extra, you know, independent reading, independent writing is not the extra stuff. It's the reason you're doing what you do. I think that was just such a powerful message. As principals you don't want to require, but at the same time, how do you balance that conversation out of just making sure that that it is something that we recognize it has to be part of our day. So in the autonomy, part of me goes, as long as they understand it's so important that you have to have independent reading and writing every day. But that again, expectations and consistency and the ongoing conversations.Hannah Schneewind (24:17):Yeah, I agree with everything you said, and specifically having principals be part of the work with teachers, I think is key. When they do that, I treat the principal just the way I would treat another teacher. So if everyone is gonna go off and trying a conference, the principal's going to go off and try a conference. And if everyone is conferring with a partner and the partner's going to practice coaching in, then the principal is part of that. Because if they're not really doing it, how on earth are they actually going to be able to evaluate it? So another thing that I encourage principals to do is, if you are doing an evaluation - and again, I'm not a principal, I know nothing about evaluations - but when you are evaluating, please do not just watch the mini lesson and leave because then you only looking at 10 minutes of whole class instruction, and that actually is not the most impactful part.(25:23):Please sit down next to the teacher as she's doing a small group. Sit down next to her as she's doing a one-on-one conference. That's the time. Write down everything she says. That's actually what I think you could then evaluate and give really helpful feedback about. But so often, and I don't know if this happens to you, but often when I do come into a school for the first time, they just want to talk about mini lessons. And I actually have learned to say, "Actually, no, let's start with matching kids and books. Let's start with getting your classroom library together. Let's start with how do you say to a child, 'Hey, how's it going with your reading today?'" And then we can think about the mini lesson, because too often we just focus on, as I said, that whole class part. But really that's not where the magic happens. And so if you can get principals to confer and then to do their evaluations or observations while the teacher is doing that, I think those can be really helpful for leadership.Matt Renwick (26:30):That reminds me of beginning with the end in mind: we'll start with where we want to be, at the end. I know you're not a principal, Hannah, but I think you ideas are spot on. I've been guilty of that too, of just watching teaching, and I forget that teaching happens all day long, and it doesn't mean the teachers, you know, verbally giving instructions or are writing on the board. So much of good teaching happens in those quiet spaces. One thing I've tried to do to is to confer with readers myself, when I do visits in classrooms. I just did this with fifth grade group talking with a student about what he was reading: a baseball book. He had just tons of knowledge.(27:17):Peter Afflerback calls it "epistemic beliefs" or "epistemiology", right? Just a wide range of knowledge about baseball, about legends. He was able to say, "Aaron Judge wouldn't be in this book because he's a current player. In this book, it talks just about legends from like 1990 or previous." You know, just things I wouldn't know. But later on, I said to his teacher, "I don't know if the student would do so well on a typical assessment." She's like, "I know." I've had kind of a shared frustration there was not a solution, right? But at least we could talk about that at a very collegial level. And it did not feel like an evaluation. And I think that's what teachers really crave, is just conversation and not always solutions. But I appreciate this advice. We're already at 30 minutes and this has so far been a great conversation. I think what we could do is just kind of go around and, especially with Debra and Mary Beth, if you have any closing thoughts or questions for Hannah, I'll start with you, Mary Beth, if you have anything you'd like to close with.Mary Beth Nicklaus (28:51):As a teacher, I've seen it because I've been teaching long enough where I've had very supportive principals who I just feel they were kind of almost the backbone of what was going on in my classroom. Because as a teacher, you feel like the principal is good with what you're doing, it like gives you this exhilaration and this feeling like you can take chances and be happy taking chances and look at it as a challenge instead of a fear that you're going to get slapped down. So I agree with you that the principal is a very important part of that.Matt Renwick (29:43):Debra, any closing thoughts for you?Debra Crouch (29:46):Yeah, I was just so enjoying reading this, and I had actually pulled it out earlier. I was doing some work with some teachers on their classroom libraries, now thinking with a little bit of a future in mind and for the fall. So in Chapter 2, the thing that I thought was so just beautiful about the parts that we read for this notion of trust, I think is just so powerful. It speaks to the way that we view kids and the way that we view teachers,  as capable and of course they can do this, this kind of thinking work.(30:45):It's just such a critical part of relationships, as a condition of learning, and that principle of engagement that you have to have that trusting relationship. Without that nothing else goes. Mary Beth, the way you said that, if your principal's with you, you don't fear trying things out. You don't fear, you know, trying something and it's not going to work the way that we want it this time. And I think that's just such a critical piece that's sometimes missing in classrooms today. If teachers come to us and say, "How do you want it? What's the district want? What's the principal want?" How's it supposed to be that that's really a base of fear. Doesn't matter how good you are as a teacher, it's a base of fear that you're coming from. It doesn't have that sense of trust that you need to be the learner that you can be. So I'm just absolutely loving your book.Hannah Schneewind (31:49):Thank you. I'm glad it's really useful. I'd love to know what the teachers do with their classroom libraries.Debra Crouch (31:56):Oh my goodness, kindergarten, they were so adorable. So we were trying to put the books into understanding the notion that their books are categorized, right. You know, putting the books together. And I took your question. They're about, "Are the books together, you know, putting the books that are together, right. And this one little five year old who's next to me, he goes, "Wait, it's like garbage." And I'm thinking, "Huh?". And he goes, "You put the plastic together, and you put the paper together, and you put the..."Hannah Schneewind (32:28):Right?Matt Renwick (32:32):Yeah.Hannah Schneewind (32:33):Yeah. That's a perfect way of understanding it. Right? And that's such a great example of, it makes sense to kids and then however you set up that library will make sense to them.Matt Renwick (32:45):It's a classic student example too.Hannah Schneewind (32:50):Yeah. I might have to use that one.Matt Renwick (32:59):Hannah, any closing thoughts for you? I'll just say, I've used and read Chapter 2. I've read that chapter twice and even have recommended it to teachers in my building, especially if they've not been part of the culture very long. I'll say, "Read this chapter and this really gets to the heart of what we're trying to get to in our school." But terrific book. I agree with everyone. Any closing thoughts, Hannah?Hannah Schneewind (33:27):First of all, thank you for having me. And it just makes me so happy to hear that people are using it because really what more could you ask, right? It's like what, when we say to kids, you know, what action do you want to take after reading this book? The action might be, I wanna go find another book by this author. Or the action might be, I need to write a letter to my senator about greenhouse gases. But I'm so happy that our book can actually help people take some actions. I guess my closing thought would be about reading identity, which we did not have a chance to discuss. So one of the things that I find frustrating about some of the current narrative around the teaching of reading is that the role of engagement and motivation and the research on engagement and motivation is being completely ignored.(34:20):Students are at the center of this. That is as much a science of reading as is the science of decoding and what we need to know about phonics and phonemic awareness and phonological awareness. If you want to talk more about just that piece at some point, it's just so important. And if teachers don't yet feel comfortable conferring, everyone can sit down and do what we call a discovery conference, which is basically saying to the child, "Hey, tell me about yourself as a reader." That one question just gives you so much insight and also really shows that you are trusting the student. I really want to get to know you. So that's just something that I feel very passionately about is that student kind of being at the center of it and that reading identity and engagement motivation are a huge part of that. Thanks so much for hosting.Matt Renwick (35:30):Thank you, Hannah. Thank you Mary Beth. Thank you, Debra. Thank you. Great conversation. Please read Trusting Readers: Powerful Practices for Independent Reading by Jennifer Scoggin and Hannah Schneewind through Heinemann. Terrific book and terrific conversation. Thank you. Get full access to Read by Example at readbyexample.substack.com/subscribe

Back to SEC country! We have two guests today. First up is Tampa women's head coach Kelly Gallagher. She recapped their 18-3 2023 season, which just ended in the D2 quarterfinals. We also touched on recruiting the portal and exit meetings. In our second interview, we spoke with Lucy Beckham head coach Parker Ferrigan. Coach just guided the Bengals to their second South Carolina state title in three years. In addition to stunning team success, the Bengals also have eight college commits heading to D1 and D2 schools. The Lacrosse Playground Podcast Network is presented by Epoch Lacrosse.  Website: https://lacrosseplayground.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaxPlayground Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lacrosseplayground/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LacrossePlayground/ Discount code: PLAYGROUND15 to save 15% on your first order from Rhoback

Danny Brassell is America's leading reading ambassador. He is helping parents and educators inspire kids to love reading and achieve more. Danny has a number of programs to support you across all age groups and he has a FREE gift for you below.Danny has taught students ranging from preschoolers to rocket scientists, and he has worked with some of the world's leading literacy experts, including: Stephen Krashen, Jim Trelease, Tim Rasinski, Lori Oczkus, Ruth Culham, Richard Gentry, Diane Lapp, Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, Jim Flood, Alan Sitomer, MaryEllen Vogt, Steve Layne, Valerie Ellery, Kelly Gallagher, Smokey Daniels, Frank Serafini and Donalyn Miller.During his time as a classroom teacher, reading tutor, non-profit leader, professor and educational administrator, Danny has incorporated his “reading secret” philosophy to great avail, including:• Training over 10,000 parents, volunteers and community leaders in a one-on-one approach to assist struggling and reluctant readers.• Consulting with top school districts on ways to boost student achievement and community morale.• Delivering presentations to promote reading to audiences, companies and business professionals from all over the world.Today, Danny is "America's Leading Reading Ambassador" and shares his incredible 20+ years of education experiences and success model to empower leaders, teams and audiences to achieve extraordinary results. Danny's keynotes and presentations have earned a reputation for being high energy, (sometimes theatrical) enthusiastic, creative, applicable and highly motivating. A highly-sought after speaker, trainer and coach known as “Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.,” Dr. Danny Brassell has spoken to over 3,500 audiences worldwide and authored 16 books, including his latest, Leadership Begins with Motivation. He helps entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners boost their business and impact by improving their communication skills.Websitewww.dannybrassell.comSocial Media InformationYouTube.com/DannyBrasselltwitter.com/DannyBrassellFaceBook.com/DannyBrassellLinkedIn.com/in/DannyBrassellinstagram.com/realdannybrassellResources Mentionedwww.freegiftfromdanny.comShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Get a FREE e-copy of their professional journal at nape.org.uk/journal

Keeping students engaged in learning is one of the most important and difficult tasks a teacher faces. In the past few years, school districts have seen a major uptick in students being more distracted, disengaged, and avoiding work. We recently got a chance to talk with literacy expert/author Kelly Gallagher to discuss why students aren't engaged, the implications and impact that has on students and teachers, and what sort of things we can do to keep students engaged in learning. 

The founder of The Superhero Project, Kelly Gallagher talks about the cameras she has donated to neonatal units in hospitals that allows new parents to see their babies 24 hours a day.  Plus, she discusses the non-profit's fundraising efforts at the Women's Philadelphia Triathlon.  Her Story is hosted by Kathy Romano and airs Sunday mornings on 95.7 BEN-FM! 

This week we welcome Kelly Gallagher, President at EverLights. Growing up, Kelly had a firsthand look into the world of business and entrepreneurship via her mom's electrical supply company. It was never her intention, however, to start a family business .We chat about how Kelly shifted from aspirations of becoming an English professor to starting an electrical supply, design, and recycling company with her mother. Tune in as we explore family business dynamics and how Kelly blazed her own trail in the electrical distribution space.

Today we are joined by Dustin Hensley. Dustin is the library media specialist at Elizabethton High School in Tennessee. He is an advocate for creating spaces that cultivate a student's love of learning. He was one of the co-founders of the Bartleby Program, which centers community improvement and entrepreneurship with students, and is one of the winners of the XQ Super School competition, remaining active in the XQ Community of Practice. He currently teaches courses on Community Improvement and Academic Research.In this podcast, Dustin and I talk about the state of libraries today: the purpose of a libraryhow libraries interact with studentspolitical forces attacking books and librarianshiptransitions from libraries to Makerspaces and Fablabsand how libraries provide a pedagogy that transforms learning.GUESTSDustin Hensley, library media specialist, project lead, and grant-writer for Elizabethton High School, part-time professor, co-founder of the Bartleby Program, and active member of the XQ Community of PracticeRESOURCESA Library Transformed by Dustin Hensley (Getting Smart)#FReadom movement in TexasMirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors by Dr. Rudine Sims BishopReadicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher and Richard L. Allington See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hello everyone! Over twenty years ago, the students in first-year teacher Erin Gruwell's high school class in Long Beach, California, were labeled “unteachable”—but she saw past that. Instead of treating them as scores on a test, she understood that each of them had a unique story to tell. Inspired by books like Anne Frank's diary, her students began writing their own diaries, eventually dubbing themselves the Freedom Writers. Together, they co-authored The Freedom Writers Diary. In Dear Freedom Writer, the next generation of Freedom Writers shares its struggles with abuse, racism, discrimination, poverty, mental health, imposed borders, LGBTQIA+ identity, and police violence. Each story is answered with a letter of advice from an original Freedom Writer. With empathy and honesty, they address these young people not with the platitudes of a politician or a celebrity, but with the pragmatic advice of people who have dealt with these same issues and come out on the other side. In this episode, we discuss the power of writing, stories, and teaching honestly. We discuss legacy. We discuss purpose. You do NOT want to miss this one.   Want to support the podcast and learn how to empower writers? Check out: WRITEFULLY EMPOWERED   Tap into the Transformative Potential of the Writing Workshop The time has come to shift how we think about writing in our schools. In Writefully Empowered, Jacob Chastain calls on educators to embrace the deeply personal, powerful, and transformative potential of the writing workshop by pivoting toward a classroom that honors each student's individual voice. As Chastain argues: "When we let-no, push-for students to use their voices for their own purposes, we give them what is rightfully theirs as human beings: the tools to shape the world in their image." Writing through this lens is an exercise in agency, empowerment, and self-determination. Chastain outlines key considerations for creating a writing workshop that centers freedom, equity, and equality of opportunity. He begins with what writers need, classroom routines, and how to catalyze creativity through mini-lessons, independent work time, and conferencing. He also addresses how to track growth, advocate for equitable practices, and navigate the trauma that sometimes emerges in student work. A clear-eyed call to action informed by Chastain's years of classroom experience, Writefully Empowered will equip educators with all the tools they need to facilitate dynamic practices in their own spaces.       This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.

On this episode, Jack Kensil discusses his journey from live television to the formation of 2 Wolves performance and coaching girls lacrosse at Byram Hills in Westchester New York. Coach's dog Hugo also popped by to say hello. In our second interview, Tampa women's coach Kelly Gallagher breaks down the differences between year 1 as a start up to year 9 as top 20 D2 program. Website: https://lacrosseplayground.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaxPlayground Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lacrosseplayground/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LacrossePlayground/

Hello everyone! It's no secret that the trust people have about schools, rightfully and wrongfully, has been harmed. Many of the relationships involved with well functioning schools are struggling. Some of this is caused by media hype, while others are rooted deeply in the culture wars occurring right now in and around education. In part one with Dr. Zac Bauermaster, we discussed how Zac leads with people in mind first. Even when things are hectic or struggling, he goes back to the people he serves. In this episode, we go deeper and discuss the complexities Covid, school board meetings, teacher burnout, and other factors have played into the damaging of trust in schools (from the inside out). Zac speaks honestly about the struggles schools face, and without blame, puts forth an outlook aimed at a better tomorrow. I really enjoyed this talk. I think you will too.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.

Hello everyone! Over the years we have featured some of the top leaders in education, such as Todd Whitaker, Hamish Brewer, and Adam Dovico. Even though Teach Me, Teacher is a teacher centered show, I love talking with administrators from all over because I feel like it brings a lot of light into the teams we work with. By understanding one another's jobs and hardships, we can better serve one another. In this episode, we are talking with Dr. Zac Bauermaster, the principal of Kissel Hill Elementary. Together, we discuss: Why he got into administration His experiences from going from secondary to elementary Choosing what to focus on as a leader Putting people first, always ...and so much more! I really enjoyed this talk. I think you will too.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.

Kelly Gallagher, a visually-impaired skier from Northern Ireland, won Team GB's first Winter Paralympic gold at the 2014 games in Sochi. She talks to Nick Holland about her career in one of the most thrilling alpine sports, and her bond with her guide, Charlotte Evans. PHOTO: Kelly Gallagher competing at Sochi (Getty Images)

Hello everyone! Writefully Empowered is HERE! It's my second book, all about creating a writing workshop that empowers young people to be their best and write pieces they care about. In this episode, I talk with my co-host of Craft & Draft (my second podcast) about her experience with reading the book, what her takeaways are, and what other educators might find useful in it too. You can get the book here — or if you want a signed copy by all of the students, message me here!     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.

YOU GUYS. This was our SECOND attempt at recording an episode, due to lots of technical issues with the original audio.Kelly Gallagher-Friend is a brand developer, graphic designer, and the owner of Your Friendly Kreative - but most importantly someone that loves and lives to create. Her work aims to empower others by showing up authentically as they are, ultimately creating from a place of true connection. Not just a name, Friend is the lens through which she approaches each client, as she truly believes in the people behind small businesses. Kelly helped me design and create leadinglikeher.com! In this episode, Kelly and I talk about being a small business owner during the pandemic, the importance of BOUNDARIES, and finding your JOY. Find Kelly on Instagram! -->@your_friendly_kreativeYour Friendly Kreative website: https://www.yourfriendlykreative.com   If you LOVE Leading Like Her, SHARE it with a friend! Tag me in an Instagram story! Personal account --->@leadinglikeerin Podcast account --->@leadinglikeher www.leadinglikeher.com is LIVE!! Find guest bios, links to episodes, great books and links, and more!

In this episode of AUHSD Future Talks, Superintendent Matsuda interviews AUHSD's English Curriculum Specialist, Mike Switzer. During the interview, Mr. Switzer discusses his and his family's history in the Anaheim Union High School District, the development of the Capstone Project at Savanna High School and beyond, the potential of technology in education, author/former AUHSD teacher Kelly Gallagher, Street Data, framing ideas, and the importance of the writing journey and the 5Cs.

Hello everyone! Kelly Gallagher returns in part two of our discussion about engagement, the writing life, and his newest book with Penny Kittle (see our talk here), 4 Essential Studies. Last week, we talked about moving students beyond compliance and into actual engagement with content—reading and writing. If you missed it, check it out here. In this half of our talk, we touch on: Allowing students to enter the writing life Living the writing life as a teacher Giving yourself time in the workshop for students to latch on to it Writing with students to learn how to teach it better Assessing who is doing the decision making in the classroom...the teacher or the student? ...and so much more!     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices by Lorena Escoto Germán. With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice.  Lorena Germán shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven and community-centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible.  The actionable strategies Lorena uses to bring Textured Teaching values to life illuminate what is possible when we welcome all types of texts, all types of voices, and all forms of expression into the classroom. Learn more about how to become a culturally sustaining educator. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Textured Teaching.    

Hello everyone! When it comes to getting students to engage with content, we often focus on compliance. We want to see students doing the work as we say to do it and during the timeframes we determine are correct. This over emphasis on compliance, however, can actually work against us. Students may be "doing the work," but is it registering meaningfully in their minds? Is it enriching their lives for the better, or is it simply getting them a grade in a class? Or... more importantly, who is doing the work in a class where compliance is the primary goal? In this episode, Kelly Gallagher returns to the show to take us on a deep dive into these ideas and more. We discuss not only why we should focus on engagement, but why engagement will benefit students for far longer than simply "getting work done." Kelly explains the thinking behind his latest book, 4 Essential Studies, and how this has led to truly opening up genre studies to empower readers and writers. If you missed out on his first time on the show, you can check that out here.      This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices by Lorena Escoto Germán. With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice.  Lorena Germán shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven and community-centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible.  The actionable strategies Lorena uses to bring Textured Teaching values to life illuminate what is possible when we welcome all types of texts, all types of voices, and all forms of expression into the classroom. Learn more about how to become a culturally sustaining educator. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Textured Teaching.    

Hello everyone! We have talked a lot about the power of making learning relevant for students. It gets kids engaged and excited to be in class. But what happens when we look at ourselves? Are we staying relevant with the kids? Do we know that they like? Do we attempt to know their world and connect our lessons to what they are already engaged with? Billy Allen, founder of 3kingvisions, is here to help guide us to discover, not only why we should try to be relevant to the kids we serve, but also understand that you don't have to be something you're not to do this. You just need to be AUTHENTIC. In this chat we discuss: Why Billy became a librarian  How his career has changed over time Being a male teacher/librarian can be a difference maker The power of relevancy with young people  ...and so much more!     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.

Hello everyone! Today, there is a special focus on schools. Across America, people are examining curriculum, going to board meetings and making their voices heard, and posting online about their worries about where schools are going. Many people dismiss these events by saying they are spurred by special interest groups (driven by money). They say the parents railing against Critical Race Theory or what they call inappropriate sex and race education, is all either a misunderstanding or ignorance. While this show has featured many educators who have outlined why race should be addressed in schools, how identity is a part of the real world, and how the cry from parents is misguided, I wanted to bring on the other side, so to speak. I wanted to speak to a parent about her concerns, and the concerns of others, in hopes of at minimum, coming to an understanding, and at best, bridging gaps between schools of thought. To do so, I have brought on Jill Simonian. Jill is the Director of Outreach for PragerU Kids, is the on-camera personality and 'spokesmom' for PragerU's new digital children's edu-tainment for Kindergarten through 12th grade. Jill is a former television host & media contributor, founder of TheFABMom blog and published author. Previously, Jill was best known for her straight-talking parenting segments on Los Angeles' KCBS, KCAL, KTLA, KTTV as well as HLN/CNN, The Doctors, Access LIVE, TODAY Show, E! News, Hallmark Channel and more (totaling over 500 family lifestyle segments and articles between 2011-2020). Connect with Jill via PragerU.com/kids and Instagram/Twitter @jillsimonian. As I say in the intro of this episode... you may not agree with everything said in this episode. I certainly do not. However, I believe that listening to one another, even when we disagree, is our best way to proceed forward.       This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.

Hello everyone! Several months ago, I gave a virtual keynote for a workshop the wonderful Jen Jones was conducting. I talked all about empowering young writers, and how I began this work—struggles and all. I discussed the philosophy and big ideas of what an empowered workshop is, but I also talked about the nuts and bolts and growth I saw in my students over time. And now this keynote is available here! Whether you are new to workshop, thriving in your own workshop, or are wondering how to move it to the next level, this is my effort to bring the energy I feel every day to where you are. Enjoy, and remember WHY we do this work day in and day out. The kids deserve it! PS: If you'd like to be entered in to win a review copy (digital at first, then a physical copy once it is released), click here and fill out the form.      This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.

Hello everyone! It seems like every single day there is another controversy about public schools. Whether it's about banning books or the curriculum being taught, the media and pundits alike cannot get enough of the discussion. But why? Is it really a fear of what is happening in schools, or is there a different reason? Jessica Piper, a previous middle and high school English teacher and now candidate for Missouri state representative, believes there's a far bigger agenda behind the outrage we are currently hearing about. In part one of our talk, we talk about her experience as an educator, how this has formed her beliefs around politics, and how privatization is a potential devastation for rural communities—a topic that is increasingly marginalized among more controversial issues. In this episode, we dive into the common claim that "everything should be taught from both sides." Is there two sides to every issue that should be taught in schools? Let's discuss!      This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.  

A live audience interviews Tufts Fletcher School Academic Dean, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, and Climate Policy Lab Director Kelly Gallagher on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), international agreements, and what we can expect to see. Find more (including how to join us live) at PM101.live

Hello everyone! It seems like every single day there is another controversy about public schools. Whether it's about banning books or the curriculum being taught, the media and pundits alike cannot get enough of the discussion. But why? Is it really a fear of what is happening in schools, or is there a different reason? Jessica Piper, a previous middle and high school English teacher and now candidate for Missouri state representative, believes there's a far bigger agenda behind the outrage we are currently hearing about. In this episode, we talk about her experience as an educator, how this has formed her beliefs around politics, and why she believes the cries around Critical Race Theory are much more about profit than the theory itself. We also touch on how privatization is a potential devastation for rural communities—a topic that is increasingly marginalized among more controversial issues.      This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. Four Essential Studies is based on the belief that secondary students can only be prepared for life after high school when we purposefully shift the decision-making in our classrooms over to them. By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, digital composition, and sustain talk in book clubs, we can ignite student curiosity, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly share the strategies and activities they use in their own classrooms over the course of each unit, and show us what is possible when we expect more than compliance from our students. Learn more about how to transform students' relationship with literacy.  Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Four Essential Studies.    

How do you approach essay, poetry, book clubs, and digital composition? If we reimagine our approach to these four areas we can open the door to more engaged, connected, and challenging learning. I'm Brett from Heinemann and that is the focus of authors Penny Kittle and Kelly's Gallagher's newest book 4 Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency.Penny and Kelly extend their work in 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents by taking a deep dive into these four essential studies: Essay, Poetry, Book Clubs and Digital Composition. Their aim is to move beyond compliance and formula, and to develop students' agency, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly write that these four practices, have the power to transform students' relationship with literacy—and truly prepare them for the more demanding work of college.Hosting today's conversation with Penny and Kelly is their editor and colleague, Tom Newkirk. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Vito and Chris sit down with the amazing Kelly Gallagher to discuss authentic literacy experiences but along the way learned a whole lot more! Make sure to pick up Kelly's books including his newest 'Four Essential Studies' available October 2022.

Back at it for the now-annual new years resolutions round table special, we do a bit of a check-in then discuss provincial exams, successes this year, the transactional nature of public school, Kelly Gallagher, and next steps. Recorded over a lunch break, it's a whirlwind episode with lots more I wish we could have gotten into.

Welcome to Episode 10 of The Book Love Foundation Podcast! And thank you for joining us in this celebration of teaching and the joy of learning. Subscribe in iTunes Donate to the Book Love Foundation Episode 10 Show notes This episode is Part 2 of a two-part conversation Penny had recently with Kelly Gallagher. Part 1 appeared in Episode 9. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Book Love Foundation podcast. The Book Love Foundation is a non-profit 501 3(c) dedicated to putting books in the hands of teachers dedicated to nurturing the individual reading lives of their middle and high school students. We have given away $100,000 in three years and are currently reviewing 140 applications for 2016. We wish we had money to give to every one of these deserving teachers. If you can help us in that mission, visit booklovefoundation.org and make a donation. 100% of what you give goes to books. – Penny RESOURCES REFERENCED Kelly's web site is where you can find his Article of the Week and many other resources. Kelly is the author of In the Best Interest of Students (Stenhouse, 2015), Write Like This (Stenhouse, 2011), Readicide (Stenhouse, 2009), Teaching Adolescent Writers (Stenhouse, 2006), Deeper Reading (Stenhouse, 2004), and Reading Reasons (Stenhouse, 2003).  Details and links are available on his website. SOME FAVORITES FROM KELLY'S CLASSROOM LIBRARY The Martian, by Andy Weir Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher Everything Everything, by Nicola Yoon The Rose That Grew from Concrete, by Tupac Shakur If I Stay, by Gayle Forman Alabama Moon, by Watt Key Every Day, by David Levithan Another Day, by David Levithan The post A Conversation with Kelly Gallagher, Part 2. Ep. 10 of the Book Love Foundation Podcast appeared first on Teacher Learning Sessions. ★ Support this podcast ★

Welcome to Episode 9 of The Book Love Foundation Podcast! And thank you for joining us in this celebration of teaching and the joy of learning. Subscribe in iTunes Donate to the Book Love Foundation Episode 9 Show notes This episode is Part 1 of a two-part conversation Penny had recently with Kelly Gallagher. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Book Love Foundation podcast. The Book Love Foundation is a non-profit 501 3(c) dedicated to putting books in the hands of teachers dedicated to nurturing the individual reading lives of their middle and high school students. We have given away $100,000 in three years and are currently reviewing 140 applications for 2016. We wish we had money to give to every one of these deserving teachers. If you can help us in that mission, visit booklovefoundation.org and make a donation. 100% of what you give goes to books. – Penny RESOURCES REFERENCED Kelly's web site is where you can find his Article of the Week and many other resources. Kelly is the author of In the Best Interest of Students (Stenhouse, 2015), Write Like This (Stenhouse, 2011), Readicide (Stenhouse, 2009), Teaching Adolescent Writers (Stenhouse, 2006), Deeper Reading (Stenhouse, 2004), and Reading Reasons (Stenhouse, 2003).  Details and links are available on his website. The books referenced in our podcasts are available at the new Teacher Learning Sessions Book Store.  Browse by Category to find titles sorted by the podcast and episode where they appear.  We receive a small commission from Amazon on the sales, so your purchases show your support of our work and help us continue to produce podcasts like this one. Thank you for listening to the The Book Love Foundation Podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please share it with a colleague or two. The post A Conversation with Kelly Gallagher, Part 1. Ep. 9 of the Book Love Foundation Podcast appeared first on Teacher Learning Sessions. ★ Support this podcast ★