#038: How Teaching Phonics Will Set Your Students Up for Long-term Reading Success

Does this sound familiar? "p--a--n.....p----an.....pan" Teaching phonics and decoding skills is one of the most debated topics in teaching reading. From my experience, I KNOW teaching phonics will set your students up for long-term reading success.

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I could throw a ton of solid research at you, but I won't. Just know this...84% of our words in the English language follow predictable rules. And research done in 1983 confirmed that only 24% of our words can be predicted through context.

In case you haven't guessed...today's episode is all about phonics and how it can set your students up for success into their college years - long past their time with you. 

Listen in.

In this episode, find out: 
  • What is phonics and how is it different from phonemic awareness?
  • How good decoding skills using phonics sets kids apart in middle and high school. 
  • 5 tips for supporting students' phonological...
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#037: Teaching "How To" Writing with Shared Experiences and Pictures

Teaching "How To" Writing seems so simple, doesn't it?! Guess what...It's not as easy for our students as we think!

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Procedural writing seems like just writing down a bunch of steps, but there's so much more to it! 

Today's episode is all about …how to teach your students to write a "How To" text. *giggle*  Yes, I really said that! I couldn't resist. Anyway...this type of writing first requires students to understand the procedure for what they are going to write about [a recipe, an experiment, directions...]. then they have to put that procedure into specific, ordered steps. This can be really hard for many students. By giving them the input they need to understand how to break it down, we can make the process so much easier.

Listen in. 

In this episode, find out: 
  • How to get started teaching procedural writing to any grade K-5.
  • Why a picture book can help your students...
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#036: How to Simplify and Systemize Your Busy Teacher Life

organization self-care Feb 25, 2021
Are your busy? Overwhelmed? Burnt out? I get it! In fact, I was just there last week. 

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Teacher lives are busier than ever before and as we head into the end of the year, things just seem to speed up, don't they?!  Overwhelm, exhaustion and just general burnout are rampant. Maybe you’re even there right now, friends. If you are, I'm so sorry to hear that. But here's help...

Today's episode is all about helping you take back a bit of control in six simple ways, from email to systems. In fact, I think of these as not only organizational tasks, but self-care. Yup. Self-care. We have to create sustainable day-to-day lives in order to be sane and enjoy our lives. We're not meant to walk around stressed out and overwhelmed ALL THE TIME. You deserve better than that.

Listen in.

In this episode, find out:
  • Why NO is your new best friend! 
  • How to make dealing with your emails faster than...
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#035: What is Phonemic Awareness and Why Is It So Important?

Did you know…a student's phonic awareness skill is the BEST predictor of reading readiness and future reading development?

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So what is phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is…the ability to hear, differentiate and flexibly manipulate units of sound in spoken language. That means skills like rhyming, separating sounds, blending sounds, substituting sounds, deleting sounds or adding sounds. I know that sounds a lot like what you teach with phonics, right?! It's not the same thing and here's why...

Phonemic awareness can [and should] be taught without any paper, pencils or letters because it's all about auditory skills. You can find out more in this week's episode.

Listen in.

In this episode, find out:
  • The difference between phonemic awareness and phonics.
  • What the essential phonemic awareness skills are.
  • How to begin teaching phonemic awareness.
  • The clues that tell us a student in lacking...
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#034: 11 Ways to Use a Mentor Text to Teach Reading and Writing

effective teaching Feb 04, 2021
Is teaching with mentor texts really worth the effort? Yes! And...this episode will help you maximize your efforts.

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Mentors texts are essential tools for well-planned, effective literacy lessons. Bold words, I know! I stand behind them. 

From experience, I know you can use one mentor text in numerous ways over the course of a week. In fact, I can think of 11 ways off the top of my head that include teaching reading skills and strategies, comprehension, multiple writing opportunities, math and even social studies. Once you hear my ideas, I'm willing to bet you'll think of even more ways to use the same text in your classroom.

Even better, there's  one more way to enrich and extend the learning. Adding in some texts to pair with your first mentor text choice makes for leaning that sticks and  real student success. 

Listen in.

In this episode, find out:
  • How mentor texts...
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#033: How Our Expectations in the Classroom Have the Power to Impact Our Students' Success

effective teaching Jan 15, 2021
It's great to say we have high expectations for ALL students but… how will you get them there? 

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Let’s revisit the topic of student success from the expectations side of the equation. WHAT we teach and having high expectations are definitely a big part of student success but if that's all there was to it, most students would already be successful. But as every teacher knows, teaching and student success are not that simple. 

High expectations requires high levels of support. Sounds great but what’s that like in reality?  Does it really work? Remember, every year I'm committed to getting all my students, regardless of background, language knowledge, socio economic level, etc., to read and write at or above grade level by the end of the year. I'm no stranger to high expectations. I absolutely believe in the power of high expectations. However, there's more to high expectations...

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#032: Simple Steps You Can Take Toward Becoming a More Joyful Teacher, Friend and Colleague

self care teaching Dec 24, 2020

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What better time of year to begin thinking about becoming more joyful is there than Christmastime?

You're probably heard a ton about how gratitude and practicing gratitude regularly can make you a happier person. But I'm not talking about happy. Happy is fleeting and sits on the surface of our lives. Joy is deeper. It's a state of being and a viewpoint for life. Did you know... we can be joyful even in the midst of not so great situations? The RIGHT kind of gratitude practice can help you do that. It's a just a couple of simple steps and a whole lot of practice away. Listen in here to find out more.

In this episode, find out:
  • How simple it is to develop a grateful [and joyful] heart.
  • The essential step that most people leave out of their gratitude practice.
  • How simple it is to get started.

If you commit to this, you'll be known as the Joyful Teacher at your school [and then you can teach your students the secret too]. 

...
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#031: Your January Back-to-School Success Plan

organization Dec 10, 2020

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I know it's December and you're working hard to finish strong, but have you even thought about how to successfully restart school with your class again in January? January success doesn't just happen all on it's own!

Raise your hand if you stress out over school at the end of your Christmas Break. Well let me share a crazy idea... We all know it's coming - the January Back-to-School craziness. Let's prepare for it now, so you can enjoy a true break. That's crazy talk, right?! No, it's your new normal.

In this episode, I'm sharing my January back-to-school success plan.  With just a small investment of time now, you can relax, enjoy your break AND be ready for the January back-to-school madness. Listen in here.

In this episode, find out:
  • Why you don't have to make yourself nuts at the end of December.
  • The details of my plan.
  • How simple it is to get started.
  • Why you need to...
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#030: How to Teach Sight Words in 10 Minutes a Day [or less]

effective teaching Dec 04, 2020

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Let’s talk about how we teach sight words. There are two camps with sight words – teach them and don’t. I’m just going to jump right in and tell you – I’m in the teach them camp.

Yes, there are many sight words your students can figure out. But there are just as many sight words that they can’t. So many sight words and their spellings don’t make sense to children. So, trying to decode them becomes a minefield that slows students' reading down and makes learning to read well.

Think of it this way… you are new to a school. The staff tells you most of what you need to know but some of it feels intuitive to them. So, they assume you’ll figure it out. And that might work if you weren’t overwhelmed with the enormity of the task of just getting your feet under you. But, you are overwhelmed. Every little piece someone can give you helps you...

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#029: 8 Teacher Self Care and Mental Health Tips for the Holidays

self care Nov 19, 2020

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I know self care is the last thing you have time for, but it shouldn’t be. It should be in the top 3 on your list. Before work and before caring for someone else.

But, let’s start off with the basics of regular self care. I know you’ll tell me you don’t have time to work out, figure out healthier meals or just take time for yourself. You’re spent. Exhausted. There just is not enough time on your day.

I’m here to tell you…that’s exactly why you NEED to prioritize your self care. I believe you can’t afford to NOT take care of yourself. Don’t be the teacher who looks back this time next year and says the same things as this year. I’m exhausted and burnt out. There’s not enough time….

All I’m asking you to do is choose one goal for yourself this holiday season to help you come out the other side a better, more joyful...

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