Podcasts about literacy strategies

Struggling to foster effective collaboration in your ELL classroom? In this episode of Equipping ELLs, host Beth Vaucher sits down with renowned expert Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld to explore the transformative power of collaboration among teachers. Discover practical strategies for co-teaching, building professional learning communities, and differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of your English language learners. Tune in for actionable tips and inspiring insights that will help you create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for your ELL students.Resources: ⁠⁠⁠Join the Equipping ELLs Membership (We have everything you need for the school year!)Shop our TpT StoreFind more from Dr. Andrea HonigsfeldGet your copy of Growing Language & Literacy: Strategies for English LearnersGet your copy of Collaborating for English Learners: A Foundational Guide to Integrated Practices

Send us a textArtificial Intelligence, Real Literacy – Evidence-Based Practices in ActionDescription: Join me on this engaging episode of My EdTech Life as I sit down with Paul Matthews and Jason Gulya to dive into their Artificial Intelligence, Real Literacy: A Practical guide to Using AI For Evidence-Based Literacy Practices in Education and explore how AI is transforming literacy instruction through evidence-based practices. We discuss everything from integrating AI in the classroom to verifying its output, and how teachers can harness technology without losing the human touch. Plus, hear personal stories, practical tips, and a rapid-fire round of fun questions!Timestamps: 00:00: Welcome & Introduction 00:01: Meet Our Guests – Paul Matthews (Australia) & Jason Gulya (US) 00:03: Book Overview & The Need for Evidence-Based Practices 00:04: AI in Literacy – Strategies & Philosophies (Options, Not Answers) 00:10: Principles in Practice – Tailoring AI for Better Teaching 00:21: Doing the Basics Better – From Text Differentiation to Classroom Impact 00:32: Verifying AI Output – Organic Intelligence & Fact-Checking Tips 00:49: Rapid-Fire Round – Quick Advice and Fun Insights 00:56: Closing Remarks & Sponsor Shout-OutsSponsors & Call-to-Action: A big thank you to our sponsors – Book Creator, Yellow Dig, and EduAide.AI for supporting our mission. Don't forget to follow Paul and Jason on LinkedIn for more insights and join our community at My EdTech Life for additional high-quality content.Stay Techie!Authentic engagement, inclusion, and learning across the curriculum for ALL your students. Teachers love Book Creator. Yellowdig is transforming higher education by building online communities that drive engagement and collaboration. My EdTech Life is proud to partner with Yellowdig to amplify its mission.See how Yellowdig can revolutionize your campus—visit Yellowdig.co today!Support the show

Send us a textThe Digigals, Jennifer and Theresa, have written a combined 120 novels for world language classes. Listen with us as the Digilangua creators, known as the Digigals in their dynamic duo, answer real community questions from the Practical Proficiency Network teachers about how to better use novels in the target language to promote literacy and acquisition in world language. Check out Digilangua - an ereader platform for comprehensible novels: https://www.digilangua.net/Digilangua is the official novel partner of the Practical Proficiency Network! Get exclusive discounts on your Digilangua readers when you join the Practical Proficiency Network here: lalibrelanguagelearning.com/joinLet's connect: Get the Free World Language Teacher ToolkitGet the Free Roadmap to ProficiencyWebsiteTPTInstagramYoutubeFacebook

Visual literacy practices can help our students in all subject areas. Join us in conversation with Anne Aurand, an art educator for North Paulding High School to learn more!

Struggling to foster effective collaboration in your ELL classroom? In this episode of Equipping ELLs, host Beth Vaucher sits down with renowned expert Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld to explore the transformative power of collaboration among teachers. Discover practical strategies for co-teaching, building professional learning communities, and differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of your English language learners. Tune in for actionable tips and inspiring insights that will help you create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for your ELL students.Resources: ⁠⁠⁠Join the Equipping ELLs Membership (We have everything you need for the school year!)Shop our TpT StoreFind more from Dr. Andrea HonigsfeldGet your copy of Growing Language & Literacy: Strategies for English LearnersGet your copy of Collaborating for English Learners: A Foundational Guide to Integrated Practices

Today, educator Alicia Owens and Heinemann author Andrea Honigsfeld, discuss the great importance of Andrea's newly released Growing Language and Literacy: Strategies for Secondary Multilingual Learners. This book takes the same framework from Andrea's K-8 book and applies it specifically to the secondary setting. Together, they delve into the importance of addressing every level of proficiency through meaningful experiences, creating supportive learning environments, and incorporating visual representation to enhance language development.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, we'll hear author Andrea Honigsfeld in conversation with Pam Schwallier, the director of EL and Bilingual Programs at West Ottawa Public Schools in Michigan. Andrea is the author of Growing Language and Literacy: Strategies for English Learners. The deep respect they have for their profession and for the population of students who bring rich linguistic heritages to the classroom is powerful. Listen in as they delve into this asset-based approach that focuses on integrated language services and crosscutting strategies.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 of the Profit Producers podcast, financial education expert Gwen Calhoun joins as a special guest, bringing valuable insights into the realm of financial literacy and protection. Gwen shares her journey of recognizing the importance of financial education, emphasizing the need for individuals, especially entrepreneurs, to safeguard their income and assets. As the founder of Por Fin Literacy, Gwen discusses her agency's focus on educating people about life insurance, retirement planning, and income protection. The conversation delves into insurance strategies for entrepreneurs and the tax benefits associated with incorporating policies into their businesses. Gwen also reveals her introverted nature and shares her recent reads, offering a personal touch to the discussion. Listeners are encouraged to connect with Gwen through the Por Fin Literacy website for more information and guidance on securing their financial well-being.To join our Facebook page and learn more about monetizing your webinar click this link >>https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfitProducers

We're excited to share a special episode from our friends at the Science Connections podcast! Literacy learning doesn't end when a student leaves their English class; it continues to develop, grow and be challenged across all subject domains. In this episode, host Eric Cross sits down with Susan Gomez Zwiep, former middle school science teacher and senior science educator at BSCC Science Learning. She shares research that shows the benefits of integrating science and literacy, strategies for applying these ideas in the classroom, and what she's learned through her own experiences.Show notes:Listen to more Science Connections episodesDr. Susan Gomez Zwiep's BSCS profile, link: bit.ly/SC-zwiep-profile  Inquiry Science: The Gateway to English Language Proficiency, link: bit.ly/SC-zwiep-researchTwitter: @SusanGomezZwiep Study guide (episode 2)Quotes:"If we wait until students develop English proficiency to allow them access to quality learning, we've lost a tremendous number of students that could not only benefit from science, we could benefit from their entering this science conversation." —Susan Gomez Zwiep"When kids were excited about this thing in a Ziploc bag, they didn't care. They communicated however they could—sometimes in their primary language or in their home language, sometimes in imperfect English ...but you and large, they just communicated." —Susan Gomez Zwiep"This expansion of language including non standard dialects and even home language, is really important for letting students bring their whole selves into the classroom.""...The kids were coming into the office and had transitioned to communicating in English, especially when they wanted to talk about science, and they really wanted to talk about science, 'cause they were super excited about the stuff that they were learning." —Susan Gomez Zwiep

In a time when students are inundated with media and technology all around them, it can be difficult for teachers to engage students in reading a book that takes place almost 80 years ago. Teachers are often looking for the best approaches to spark students' interest and their understanding of the importance of storytelling about world events and the human experience. In this episode, we're talking with our colleague Courtney Brown and Mike Epperson, an ELA teacher at AECI-2 charter school in the Bronx, about the innovative annotation strategy he's been using to help students connect to texts in his 10th grade classroom.

Mental Health in sport is a topic which over the last decade has become more significant and a big talking point with many elite athletes and coaches openly talking about their personal challenges and struggles.  Yet do clubs and organisations take their needs seriously? In some cases, this is arguable.  Though, thankfully it is changing for the better. Today's guest, Dr Paul Gorczynski and I discuss this topic where he talks about his interest in mental health, his research in the development and implementation of mental health literacy strategies.  He shares some great advice for decision makers in organisations as well as useful ideas for Sport and Exercise Psychologists who have an interest in mental health and psychological well-being. Key Learnings Mental health literacy refers to the knowledge and understanding of mental health, including the ability to recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness, understand the causes and risk factors, and know how to access appropriate resources and support. Mental Health Literacy projects Paul has been involved with include work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) where he looked at improving diagnosis and treatments for elite athletes and shifting the culture in relation to how mental health was viewed. Athletes have a life outside of sport therefore a holistic approach is required. As a Sport and Exercise Psychologist it is essential to recognise the limits of what you know and can help someone.  Having a clear referral process to more qualified mental health practitioners is essential. Helping people in sporting clubs and organisations to engage in open and informed conversations about mental health and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and well-being is a large part of mental health literacy policies. Having mental health literacy is important for individuals to take care of their own mental health. Mental health literacy can support athletes or coaches who may be struggling with mental health issues.  It can also help by increasing awareness and understanding, promoting early intervention and treatment, and improving overall mental health outcomes. Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Connect with Dr Paul Gorczynski Website Email Relevant Podcast Episodes Ep065: Dr Amy Izycky – Encouraging Mentally Healthy Cultures in Sport Ep066: Marilyn Okoro – Mental Health and Resilience: Lessons from an Olympic Medalist Ep113: Polly Brennan – The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness Ep123: Richard Dorney MBE – Supporting People: What Can You Learn About Resilience From The Military Ep128: Paula Eddy-Wilcox – Can You Show Vulnerability and Be Mentally Tough? Yes! Relevant Blogs Blog – Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment Blog – 3 Tips to Deal with Bullying in Sport Blog - Creating a Mentally Healthy Sporting Environment

Welcome to Christian Wealth Podcast. In this episode, Alex Cook, founder of Wealth With Purpose together with Ross of 96threeFM talks about strategies on helping kids develop good money habits and financial responsibility. To learn more about what the Bible says about money, wealth, and business, visit www.wealthwithpurpose.comSupport the show: https://www.christianwealth.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Write Answers, we talk to Cris Tovani about ways of thinking and tools teachers can use to improve student engagement! Check out Cris Tovani's newest book, Why Do I Have to Read This: Literacy Strategies to Engage Our Most Reluctant Students at https://www.stenhouse.com/content/why-do-i-have-to-read-this The Ohio Writing Project specializes in professional development for teachers. OWP does on-site PD with schools as well as virtual, hybrid, and in-person courses teachers can take for college + CEU credit. Learn more about OWP's upcoming Credit Workshops: https://www.miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/english/academics/graduate-studies/ohio-writing-project/credit-workshops/index.html?_ga=2.77005781.1786759835.1660330958-1027542627.1660330958 The Ohio Writing Project also features a masters degree program for teachers through Miami University. Featuring the renowned “4-Week”, the OWP's Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program is both practical and transformational. Learn more about OWP's Master's Degree Program: https://www.miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/english/academics/graduate-studies/ohio-writing-project/teaching/index.html Learn more about the Ohio Writing Project + Programming: http://miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/english/academics/graduate-studies/ohio-writing-project/ GET INVOLVED! Want to be kept in the loop for future OWP events? Email us here: ohiowritingproject@MiamiOH.edu Looking for a quick and easy writing invitation for your students...or yourself? Follow us on Instagram @owpmu Find Cris Tovani on Twitter: @ctovani Find Noah on Twitter: @MrWteach Find OWP on Twitter: @owpmu

This week on The Preschool Podcast we have a very exciting episode! We are overjoyed to welcome Darryl McDaniels, Co-founder of Run-DMC and Makeda Mays Green, Vice President of Digital Consumer Insights at Nickelodeon to the podcast! We discuss Darryl's journey as an early literacy advocate and how he and Makeda work closely together. We dive deep into early literacy strategies that stick and how educators can use digital tools, including music, to support literacy learning as early as PreK.

Production Editor, Madison Gannon, interviews Tori Golden Hughes | Edited by Saurabh Anand, Communications Editor.

Happy New year and welcome to 2022! In our first episode for the year, host Leanne McMahon talks to educator and digital guru Greg O'Connor from Texthelp. Greg poses some of the problems he sees in how our students are learning maths and suggests some solutions for overcoming these issues. Contact us at www.calculate.org.au or https://www.facebook.com/amsischools  Resources: Contact Greg: Email: g.oconnor@texthelp.com Twitter @gregoconnor Webpage: gregoryoconnor.com Texthelp www.texthelp.com EquatIO https://www.texthelp.com/en-au/products/equatio/  EquatIO - Free for Teachers http://text.help/freeforteachers EquatIO For Schools/Universities - contact asiapac@texthelp.com Other resources: Early math skills predict later academic success Australia's Chief Scientist 2020 Australia's STEM Workforce Report A couple of posts by Greg: Literacy the real barrier to STEM uptake Can educational technologies help to reverse Australia's maths slump? How should schools tackle the maths slump? Research has shown that mathematics textbooks contain more concepts per sentence and paragraph than any other type of text. Joan M. Kenney (2005) Literacy Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction, ASCD, 2005 STEM texts are often written above the grade level for which they are intended Barton, M. L., Heidema, C., & Jordan, D. (2002). Teaching Reading in Mathematics and Science. Educational leadership, 60(3), 24-28. PDF Does reading *really* matter in mathematics? https://www.theconfidentteacher.com/2021/04/does-reading-really-matter-in-mathematics/ Readability with Rewordify https://rewordify.com/

In this episode of the SeamlessMD Podcast, Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO at SeamlessMD, and marketing colleague, Alan Sardana, chat with Dr. Daniel Chu, Vice Chair of Health Services Research at UAB about "Leveraging Digital Patient Engagement for ERAS & Health Literacy Strategies". For full show notes, please visit:

We don't want kids to leave school each day without reading 67 minutes or hating to read! So how do we get texts back into kids' hands, hearts, and minds? Cris Tovani joins the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss her latest book, Why Do I Have to Read This? Literacy Strategies to Engage Our Most Reluctant Readers, and research based strategies to get students re-engaged with reading. Cris cautions us to watch out for practices that do not to support student growth and to leverage the following: Volume: Increase independent reading time across the day and across subject areas ~ aim for 67 minutes each day! Choice: Increase engagement by not asking every student to read the same text or complete the same task all the time ~ strive to include variety! Relevancy: Increase agency by connecting content to students' lives outside of school ~ create opportunities for ownership! Curiosity: Increase understanding by leaning into student generated questions rather than teacher produced materials ~ encourage students to ask their own questions! In addition, Cris shares strategies for designing better units and text sets. Crafting compelling topics, targets, tasks, and text sets that connect to kids increases student engagement, she offers the following planning questions: Topic: What's the point of what we are studying? Targets: What do we want students to know and be able to do? Tasks: What are we asking students to do or make that reflects their true understanding and emulates real world products? Texts: What anchor text is going to ground our study and serve as a touchstone for everyone? What supporting texts can we offer that span perspectives, genre, and accessibility? Cris Tovani taught first grade to seniors for 31 years. Her entire career has been spent trying to figure out the “knowing-doing” gap. Researchers tell teachers what they should be doing but actually doing it with 125+ students is a whole new ball game. Throughout her career, Cris has tried to take reading and writing research and apply it to all levels of learners. She loves sharing her success and failures with colleagues around the world so they too, can better serve students. Cris is a founder of PEBC and an internationally known consultant focusing on issues of reading, content comprehension and assessment in secondary classrooms. She has been an adjunct professor and is the author of four books: I Read it but I Don't Get It, Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, So, What do They Really Know?, No More Telling as Teaching: Less Lecture, More Engaged Learning and Why Do I Have to Read This? The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Kids Math Talk Podcast Host Desiree Harrison interviews Dr. Lindsay A. Gold, author of the book, On the Money: Mathematics Activities to Build Financial Literacy Grades K-5.Support the show (https://paypal.me/kidsmathtalk?locale.x=en_US)

Despite what research tells us about time learners need in emergent literacy environments,  learners with CVI and significant disabilities are often expected to immediately jump into conventional strategies. This episode shares emergent literacy strategies, specifically in writing, for learners who have difficulty seeing and who have significant physical impairments.  About the Guest: Gretchen Hanser, PhD Dr. Hanser has worked in the field of assistive technology and literacy for students with significant disabilities for over 20 years. She is an educator and an occupational therapist. Her primary focus has been on augmentative and alternative communication and literacy for students with the most significant disabilities. She has worked in a variety of educational settings developing model classrooms, developing school based assistive technology centers, providing teacher and related service provider trainings, participating in assistive technology assessment teams and working directly with students and staff in the classroom. Gretchen has taught university classes and presents nationally and internationally on these subjects. She is currently the Director of Assistive Technology at the International Academy of Hope in New York City. Links to Mentioned Content Articles for Closing the Gap Comprehensive Literacy for All by Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver Article by Karen Erickson on what to do everyday with emergent learners (coming soon) Order of teaching phonological awareness (coming soon) Teachers Pay Teachers alphabet book Jane Farrall’s Pinterest page and blog post

Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld (@AndreaHonigsfe) shares how we can grow students' language and literacy skills at different language proficiencies based on her book Growing Language and Literacy: Strategies for English Language Learners.   To learn more about one of Tan’s work, go to https://www.empoweringells.com 

Sometimes, small things have big magic. Like my daughter's toy penguin. It's not fancy, and it doesn't even have pupils anymore! I'll tell you all about that too.But for some reason, that tired penguin is magic to my daughter. Just like that penguin, word families may seem insignificant, but they hold magic for our little learners who are trying so hard to become readers.In today's episode, I'll share four strategies that will help you harness the magic of word families. I'll also share a free Word Families poster set, and I'll tell you how to get one of the paid resources I designed for free.Are you ready?Links in today's episode:Word Families Blog Post (with free Word Families posters!)My Bag of Word FamiliesWriting CVC Words Blog Post

Often learners with disabilities are not provided ample opportunities for emergent literacy skills to solidify. This episode presents 4 questions to identify if our learner needs more time with emergent literacy strategies and several practical applications to build emergent reading skills. About the Guest Sofia Benson-Goldberg PhD, CC-SLP works as a research assistant at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies. Prior to starting her PhD studies, Sofia had her dream clinical job working, with children, teenagers, and young adults with severe physical and cognitive disabilities with complex communication needs at a small private practice in Northern Colorado. Since joining the CLDS, Sofia has been a research assistant on Project Core and Tarheel Shared Reader among other projects. She looks forward to continuing her academic career with a post-doctoral fellowship at the CLDS on Project Open. Links to Mentioned Content: Comprehensive Literacy for All by Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver Shared Reader is a project that uses Tarheel Reader but built in supports for adults to implement shared reading. Especially check out the professional development modules to learn more about how to implement shared reading. Project Core was a project aimed at creating supports for teachers/school teams in supporting students with significant cognitive disabilities in accessing communication all day, every day. Professional development modules are free and cover a range of topics regarding communication and emergent literacy routines. Tarheel Reader is a free website full of books that can be accessed by a variety of access methods. Thousands of titles, really great for shared reading and independent reading/exploration. Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development This interview is the 3rd of a 12 in the series focusing on literacy instruction for students with disabilities.  Find Sofia on Instagram @sofia_phd_slp Find Kim on Instagram @journey2lomah

TUNE IN EVERY SUNDAY AT 7PM EST. CALL 425-569-5169 to speak to host. GET CONSULTATIONS AT: home-schoolguide.com HOMESCHOOL WEBINAR RECORDING IS AVAILABLE AT: https://www.home-schoolguide.com/product-page/how-to-home-school-for-nationals **e-book is coming soon** Please subscribe to my website to get updates!! Raising Independent Thinkers show with Bathsheba Omane, we'll discuss a variety of topics on homeschooling including getting started, alternative methods, federal and state laws, and creating a platform where families and educators can collaborate! I am so excited this week to have special guest Fariyda Goodwin join us this Sunday! Fariyda is a long time educator and literacy coach from New York, and will be discussing literacy strategies for your scholar. Please join in on the conversation on Sunday at 7:00 PM EST. Call in at 425-569-5169. Peace.

Every teacher knows these students: the reluctant reader, the class clown, the resistant writer. Cris Tovani, author of Why Do I have to Read This? Literacy Stategies to Engage Our Most Reluctant Students, views these masks that kids wear as entry points into understanding who they are and then responding to their needs.In my conversation with Cris, we talk about:developing a partnership approach to teaching and learning with our students,planning literacy instruction long term so we can anticipate challenges, andhow our own interests and questions can be models for our students’ inquiries.Related Resources:Purchase This BookTranscript + AudioListen on Apple PodcastsStenhouse Podcast with Cris and Samantha Bennett, instructional coachTranscript of ConversationMatt Renwick (00:04):Welcome Chris to the podcast.Matt Renwick (00:10):I was just sharing my introduction to your work. This is 20, almost over 20 years ago. Now your first book, I Read It, But I Don't Get It. I was a newly minted fifth and sixth grade teacher. And I realized I had to teach readers and not just reading as a subject area. And I wasn't sure what to do. So I found your book and read it a couple of times. I had so many post-its in there, kind of taking it to heart, what you recommend. And the text was much thicker with all the post-it notes inside of it after I'd read it a couple of times. I've enjoyed every one of your books since then. Your newest one is Why Do I Have to Read This? Literacy Strategies to Engage Our Most Reluctant Students. So tell me if you can, tell us what prompted you to write this book?Cris Tovani (01:02):Well, thank you for reading my book. I do appreciate that and for your time. You know, I guess I think for me, there was always, there's always been kids that I just struggled to hook and I really wanted to dig into to those kids to figure out what, you know, how do I get, how do I get those students engaged? And we were just talking about my instructional coach and friend Sam Bennett, and I think when she would come visit, that was one of the things that she would always ask me, you know, who did you get smarter about today and what did you learn about so-and-so? And that so-and-so was usually a kid who was disengaged. And so it became a sort of curiosity for me to think about, okay, what's that? What does that student need to, you know, just to dig into the text, to dig into writing and discussing them, just really participating in school.Matt Renwick (01:59):You mentioned Sam in your Stenhouse podcast and she noted that it took her four years or around 40 classroom visits before she could actually ask you a question that you cared about, or make a point that changed how you. What happened in those first four years? Was it around building relationships and professional trust?Cris Tovani (02:20):Well, if you don't know Sam, she's a little hyperbolic and I don't think it was four years. We always had a good relationship. We always laugh and had fun. I think what I started to really let her coach me was when she started sharing questions, she was truly curious about, and it became more a partnership than somebody facilitating people running through my classroom. And I think that's when it became fun because I was taking all these risks, letting visitors observe. Until she started taking risks, sharing what she did, what she wanted to get smarter about it, that's when things started clicking.Matt Renwick (03:00):So when she was sharing her own inquiries with you, it became more of a level playing field, so to speak.Cris Tovani (03:08):Yeah. Yeah. And you know, we laughed because I introduced her the first few times when she started facilitating visitors for me as my coach. What I was really trying to do was give her credibility to these kinds of crusty high school teachers that had been sent there to be fixed by their principal. I didn't really intend for her to be my coach, but she took that to heart. And so initially it was like, "Wait, what are you doing? What, what are you telling me? Is this for, what are you asking me this for?" We sort of had to redefine our roles and she, she just didn't give up on me either. That was the other piece too. I think she just kept coming back and coming back with questions. And finally there was some things that I started to care about. I saw how much she could really lend them on instruction.Matt Renwick (03:55):Yeah. That story with her pushing you to rethink that one class and honorable of you two to open up like that. So that, I think I just felt very affirming when I read that. And I think anyone can read this book and just feel like I can do that and nd it's okay to make mistakes. Speaking of trust, um, you kind of use the metaphor of masks, which I'm sure you, weren't thinking about when you wrote this to our current reality. The mask, more of a metaphor of just the personas and personalities that kids wear when they come into your classroom. The mask of apathy and anger, for example. But they all seem to relate to relationships and trust that that we have with our kids, especially in the beginning of the year. What makes a teacher trustworthy to help pull off the masks with kids?Cris Tovani (04:53):You know, it was weird. There was that, that we wrote about masks, because we turned the final draft in way before COVID. I think for me, one of my core beliefs is that students would, if they could. That nobody wants to look like a loser or fail. And so when I would see kids coming in angry or fooling around. I just didn't want to label them as that way all the time, because I had seen them in different contexts. I had seen them around the school or on the football field, and they didn't have that same mask on. And so when they would come into class with that mask on, it was just this kind of fun challenge, really, to figure out, "Okay, what is this kid going to need to take this mask off and be serious like he is when hewhen he's on the field with his football team, or when he's in the cafeteria talking to his buddies?" How can I, you know, get him to really be vulnerable too and what his needs are or how he'd like to get smarter?Matt Renwick (06:03):Hmm. I'm thinking about Mauricio is one example from your book in the beginning. All these kids were trying to develop their identities at the secondary level and who they are while trying to fit in and avoid looking dumb. What you talk about there, it seems like entry points with these kids, not as necessarily bad things, they bring a different mask to your classroom, but as ways to engage with their level. So Mauricio did not want to finish his writing, and he was done. But you presented that authentic audience to him and that engaged him to write a better piece through the writing process. Can you say more about that?Cris Tovani (06:47):Sure. Yeah. Mauricio was a really great kid, but he really just intended to graduate from high school. Part of it was because he was undocumented and for college really wasn't an option at that point for him. He was just trying to get by with minimal effort. So when I think about myself, like when I'm just trying to get by, or when I'm doing something that I don't like to do, or that's hard for me to do, I've got to have a real reason to dig back into it. I think that having an audience that, that we send you, I send writing out to people, because I think that gives you an urgency to make it better. I don't know, it just seems like if a real person is going to read it, you're going to try better and you're going to revise it. You're going to put some effort into it. The kids all knew I loved them. So, you know, it was like, "Okay, whatever, this is good enough." But for other people, that seemed, an authentic audience, seemed to lend some urgency to kids wanting to redo and revise.Matt Renwick (07:49):So then that leads into the heart of the text is developing curriculum that you can anticipate, CYA. It was an interesting approach. You have expectations for kids, right. But sometimes those can be reflected in our curriculum. So how does your approach with curriculum so that we're not, I guess, selling them short, how does your approach to curriculum, CYA, help you keep your expectations high?Cris Tovani (08:19):Well, I read when I was writing a book, Sam gave me a little excerpt from, um, Steven Wolk's book, Being Good. He cites two researchers in there, deMarrias and LeCompte's, and their definition of what curriculum was. I didn't really know the curriculum was everything teachers do. I just thought it was, you know, the stuff you had to read or write or view. I didn't realize it could also be the way you arrange the seating in the room or talk to kids. And so it sort of opened my eyes, that curriculum is so much bigger. We were, Sam and I were sitting there doing a little revising, she helped me with the major editing of this book, and she said, "Okay, when you go in to do demo lessons, how do you prepare for these kids that you've never seen before?"Cris Tovani (09:11):Like, like how do you plan for that? And I just looked at her and I said, "Well, I gotta cover my ass." We'd start laughing, at CYA. So we started to take that Curriculum You Anticipate for mixed audiences. I know it was of gotten to like a PG rating now on your podcast. But to think about, if you're not one for longterm planning, which I wasn't, I didn't want to waste my time planning for kids. I didn't know yet, which was a big mistake because once kids come to the class, you hit the ground running. I realized that if I did a little bit of long-term planning, it was going to give me more time, in class doing individualized teaching or instruction because I wasn't trying to coax a kid into doing what I wanted him to do.Cris Tovani (10:00):And so, you know, you've taught and you've been a principal. You just start to accept that, you know you're going to have struggling readers. We're going to have at least one, and you know you're going to have somebody who's going to say, "This is stupid. I really learned this." And you know you're going to have somebody who says, 'Why do I have to read this?" And, you know, you're going to have somebody who wants to know, is this good enough, they need a model. So if I started anticipating some of those questions, as I planned units, I would have that text ready for the kid who struggled. I would have a reason to say, "Okay, here's why we're digging into this." I have a case study that, the one I had chosen to use as a model for the class didn't work, I would have another case study I could share with the kids. So he could see a reason. Those kinds of things in the CYA structures helped me with the long-term planning. So during the day when I'm with kids, I can make those tweaks. And those small changes to re-engage kids who have kind of dropped off a little bit.Matt Renwick (11:06):And you carry those plans for year after year, as any curriculum, but you adapt them to each group of kids that you get?Cris Tovani (11:18):Yeah. And so you thinking about, you know, I'm trying to couch, I'm trying to really cradle all standards in compelling topics.Matt Renwick (11:30):The cradling of the standards. I think that for me, that made a lot of sense,Cris Tovani (11:34):This is all that equity work we're talking about now, and fairer standards to different populations of kids and just trying to think about, if I can find a really compelling topic, that's going to be timeless. So work from the previous year that I don't necessarily have to change. The fun work would be, you know, opinion articles and updating the text. I am just trying to build onto each year, onto what I've done the year before, but not to a point where you forget what it was like on a first read. When you read the same book over and over again with kids, you just forget what it was like, and then you are not as patient. So I tried to model a couple of those in the book for teachers. So they could see that not every year they were having to throw everything out and start over again, because that is just grueling in terms of planning. And also, I think articulating what you've done between grade level as well. If every year the teachers are doing something different than, than they did a year before, then it's hard for 10th grade teachers to know how to build onto that.Matt Renwick (12:35):So you want that articulation through, throughout the grades too. Is there a tool or a template that you liked? That was one thing I was wondering too, is do you use a curriculum mapping tool or do you use more just a Microsoft word document? Where do you keep these plans?Cris Tovani (12:57):Well, I have a format and I have it in the book. I think I have it in the book, where I just kind of go through all those six keys. I literally just write them out. And then I have that workshop wheel where the work time is a major part of the time I'm with kids. And that's where I start thinking about, okay, what are kids going to read, write and talk about during that period? So, I guess I have two tools. I have one to kind of do a long range plan, and then I've got a little daily plan that is very simple that there's some days I don't do it every day. But I don't have to because of that long-term plan in place. I know where I'm going.Matt Renwick (13:44):You got two things in place. You've got the unit of study, but you've got the framework of the workshop model that kind of drives your daily instruction. I remember a quote that I appreciated too. Early in your teaching career, you felt like "Everyday it felt like starting over again." That's when you started and I felt the same way teaching too. in my first years. You started to integrate more purpose in your workshop beyond just becoming just better readers and writers, which is not a priority for every kid in our classroom. But looking towards something. You just saw that larger purpose. Workshop connotes making something, right? And so you talk about the makes and the dos in your tasks with them.Cris Tovani (14:27):Yeah. You know, I was an elementary school teacher for 10 years before going to high school. The last grade I taught was first grade before I had high school. I had learned a lot and had the privilege to study a little bit with Donald Graves and Donald Murray. And so I brought a lot of that old-school workshop to high school with me. I think my mindset was okay, I'm gonna use workshop to make them into better readers and writers so they can survive their other courses. I thought the strategies as really tools to access content. The problem was, you're right, when you say that that's not enough for a lot of kids. I wasn't giving kids a chance to use those tools to do real work. And I think that's where, planning with long term plans with compelling topics in mind, really gave kids an opportunity to read and write and talk about authentic things that were happening.Cris Tovani (15:34):I think it goes down to these reasons, like kids need more than one reason to really read a lot of times. I could get kids to do things just because they like to, but there was always three or four, especially 10th grade girls that would I just annoy, I don't know why. But it wasn't enough for them. But Once there was an audience that they were writing for that hooked those three. Sometimes it was controversial questions that didn't necessarily one right answer that hooked another three kids. Choice of texts with another few kids. So I started thinking about, okay, how can I give kids more reason to read and write? I think then that's when the workshop really started coming alive, they were making things that they saw a purpose in.Matt Renwick (16:21):You seem to add more structure to a workshop model in a sense, in terms of your long-term planning. I mean, you were very fluid in your daily instruction, but adding more maybe entry points, I guess, to the unit of study itself. That was what I took away.Cris Tovani (16:35):Yeah. I interview people all the time formally and sometimes more informally. I just started realizing how many people just didn't choose to read or like to read. And it didn't matter if you gave them the hottest YA book there was, or the best seller on the New York Times, just because you said it was a good book that wasn't going to be enough. Especially when I would talk to men or young men, they were like, "I want to read for reason, I want to read to be able to do something." And that kind of really hit home with me, that a lot of kids in my intervention classes were ones who just, who didn't read for enjoyment, who didn't read, because somebody said this is a great book. But they would read if it was something that was going to empower them.Matt Renwick (17:28):The stories from the book are great. And you kind of walk the reader through every process, from where they started to using these tools to be successful, empowered. This quote from page 67, I highlighted: "Our questions drive how we build our prior knowledge about a topic. Our goal is not to memorize facts, dates, names, or places; it’s to study a real-world problem that can affect how we vote, the health of the economy, and how we respond to an international issue." So you made a good point there too about providing students with background knowledge that, that they genuinely care about. What is your process for collecting this information and knowledge to be able to give them those additional entry points? I know you're active on Twitter, for example, you pull up permission from there. What is your reading diet like?Cris Tovani (18:20):I tend to get a lot of, I read a lot of nonfiction. I read a lot of newspapers. I don't read as much fiction and I probably should, because I think I like some of those young men of my classes, I like to read and get smarter about something. I think that that whole background piece: there's a study I read by Hattie and Yates and they talked about how background knowledge is the number one predictor of success. The faster you can assess what kids know, the faster you can build it so they can go deeper. And I thought, Okay, so what would that look like if we were trying to build background knowledge about an issue that you didn't have a lot of information about? So what I write a lot about in the book is Syria.Cris Tovani (19:10):I had just kind of heard snippets of the Syrian refugee crisis, and I didn't really know what it was about. But I thought, Okay, I think that would be a really interesting unit to build, and while I'm building that, I can watch how I build my own background knowledge. That will inform how I share with how I can teach kids to build their own. So I think as a teacher, and I learned this from Debbie Miller, an amazing first grade teacher in Colorado, Debbie said, "My job isn't to build background knowledge for these first graders. It's to show them how to build their own background knowledge because that's going to empower them." And so watching what I need to get smarter about an issue or a topic informs them what I want to share with students.Cris Tovani (20:00):It's like Syria. I really wasn't even quite sure where on the map it was. I mean, I knew it was in the Middle East and I wanted to know like what the big deal was and why Obama was crying because of the chemical weapons that had been dropped. I started asking all these questions and then those questions led me to nonfiction, but then the questions I had helped me sift and sort what part of that non fiction I read. It was such a big topic that even though I had to study that for two months before I taught the unit, there was so much more I didn't know about it. That then provided that sort of shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration that I could do with the kids. "Here's how I found this out. Maybe you can find your answer to your question, trying the same process." So I think it's like being more collaborative and just modeling those thinking processes for kids.Matt Renwick (20:54):Sounds like a similar partnership, relationship between you and your coach.Cris Tovani (21:00):Yeah. I mean questions, right? Questions drive, our curiosity drives what we give our time to and what we decide to read and what we decided to skip and what we decide to read more of. I think it's just a lot of it's reigniting that curiosity with high school kids. They're curious, just not necessarily about the topics we want them to be curious about. We have to create that curiosity.Matt Renwick (21:26):The concept of engagement has been around a while. But I think this book presents it in a whole new light and just allows the reader, educator to dive deep into your process and kind of walk out of it feeling like they can do it. The book is Why Do I Have to Read This? Literacy Strategies to Engage Your Most Reluctant Students by Cris Tovani. This is your fifth book, correct? And each one - they're all good - but each one gets a little better, a little more personal, a little more real, and funny. Thank you, Cris.Cris Tovani (22:11):Thank you for your time today. I appreciate it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readbyexample.substack.com

In this episode, Jimmy Bowens converses with Dr. Jennifer Williams, a professor of education at St. Leo University in Florida and author of Teach Boldly Using Edtech for Social Good. Jennifer is a self-confessed education activist and is an influential proponent of effective literacy strategies. Listeners, you are encouraged to pledge your support for the Children’s Rights to Read initiative co-authored by Jennifer on the International Literacy Association’s website and you are welcome to download the free Global Goals book which was co-edited by Jennifer. Twitter: @JenWilliamsEdu

Today on the Heinemann Podcast, we’re joined by author Andrea Honigsfeld. Andrea’s new book, Growing Language and Literacy: Strategies for English Learners, offers a multi-faceted approach to language instruction. It is based around the five levels of language acquisition identified in the TESOL framework, and emphasizes instructional practices that honor students’ strengths.Filled with student vignettes, work samples, and classroom examples, Growing Language and Literacy provides K-8 educators with concrete strategies to best support their English learning students.We started our conversation with understanding what language development is…

Mary and Shannon discuss Dyslexia. There are a lot of misconceptions that are due to lack of training. Many teachers are somewhat familiar with dyslexia and may even say that they have previously taught students with dyslexia. However, the reality is that almost 20% of the population struggles with dyslexia and may or may not be formally diagnosed. Find out more about dyslexia and join the conversation. Are you wondering what you can do to keep your classroom "dyslexic-friendly?" We have plenty of ideas! Resource Links:Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally ShaywitzYale Center for Dyslexia and CreativityDyslexia in the Classroom: What every teacher should know from IDA8 Things Every Teacher Should Know about DyslexiaTeachers Don't Understand the Depth of DyslexiaLetter Fed Gov Guidance on Dyslexia 2015APM Reports Educate: Hard Words by Emily HanlonDyslexia Simulation - Dyslexia Training InstituteLearning AllyAn interview with Patricia Polacco (children's author) about her struggle with dyslexiaFollow Us:Our Website InstagramShannon's TPT Store

Are you using literacy strategies in your art room? If you are, you know how effective they can be for engaging students, connecting content areas with your lessons and providing an opportunity for children to analyze art. If you’re not sure, you might be surprised with how easy you can adapt simple literacy strategies in your art room—so easy in fact, that you might be using some without even knowing it! My guest today is Marisa Gebert. If her name sounds familiar, that’s because she is chief curriculum creator at Team Sparkle. Marisa aligns Common Core, Visual Art Standards, plus assessments and writing exercises into our Sparklers Club lessons. And, she is the architect behind the done-for-you art curriculum inside the Sparklers Club. She earned her Masters degree in education with an emphasis on literacy and is one smart cookie. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: Why books are a wonderful way to introduce an art lesson How to have your students caption their artwork You can support the skills students are learning in Language Arts by encouraging students to tell a story about their artwork How to teach Elements of Art and Principles of Design through journaling in the art room. Why you should incorporate a word wall into your art room LISTEN TO THE SHOW DOWNLOAD THIS ART RESOURCE GUIDE: LINKS & RESOURCES Art Made Easy 048  with Marisa Gebert Deep Space Sparkle Facebook Page The Three Musicians: A Children’s Book Inspired by Pablo Picasso by Veronique Massenot & Vanessa Hie Gunslingers & Outlaws Lesson from DSS Ashley Bryan Home Page Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan High Museum of Art, Atlanta 50 Early Childhood Literacy Strategies (Teaching Strategies Series) by Janice J. Beaty Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas by Sharon Kane

Allyson Burnett joins Justin Baeder to discuss her work as Director of Virtual Coaching at Sibme.Interview Notes, Resources, & LinksLearn more about virtual coachingAbout Allyson BurnettAllyson Burnett is the Director of Professional Learning for Sibme and an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Downtown working in teacher education. A former teacher and instructional specialist, Allyson is a national education consultant and the co-author of the book 20 Literacy Strategies to Meet the Common Core.

Brittney Castro is a certified financial planner who has a passion for helping people become financially literate. She has awesome proven strategies in helping people understand money, love money, and use it for the life they have always wanted. Financial literacy is something I am passionate about, because it's a game changer for all of us. Show notes: FMPodcast.com/episode11