Have you ever felt overwhelmed and stressed about managing and planning all the moving parts for literacy teaching? Do you ever worry that not all of your students will make a full year’s growth in reading and writing?

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Don't worry, I've got 4 things you can do NOW to help you teach literacy successfully all year.

I KNOW you want each of your students to reach maximum learning and grow as much as they can in their time with you. We all do! But...accomplishing that is easier said than done when we're moving at lightning speed all day, every day, right?! 

In today's podcast episode, I've got you covered! There are a few things that are game-changers when it comes to teaching. These things can help reduce your stress, tame that overwhelm, and give you a new perspective so you can actually fully focus on teaching literacy [or any other subject].

Listen in. 

In this episode, find...

Cell phones out, toilet paper on fire--just another day in school when the regular teacher is out and a sub is in charge, right? No way!

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Do you ever feel overwhelmed or stressed out about figuring out what information your sub will need? How many hours do you spend making sub plans? Too many, right? And when you’re sick, making detailed sub plans is the last thing on your mind. But those sub plans are the key to a successful day for your substitute teacher! Join Lisa as she chats with Barb Mastro, former PE teacher, swim coach, and sub extraordinaire.

Today's episode is all about Barb’s best tips for planning for a substitute teacher, straight from the sub herself. As a substitute, Barb has taught it all--from AP Calculus to language arts, and elementary P.E. As a band mom and swim coach, she might come in knowing what kids are trustworthy, but that still doesn’t mean they won’t...

I keep a section on my bookshelf just for teacher books. Do you?

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As a teacher, you should have some books on your teacher bookshelf as your go-to resources. While I have quite a few teacher resource books I've collected over the years, I admit to having some favorites. Today I'm sharing 5 of my favorite must-have books for your teacher bookshelf. Don't judge me or my book picks until you hear me out as to why I love these books and think they're essential. One of them is a bit unconventional but I stand behind it as an essential resource.

In case you haven't guessed it already...today's episode is short and to the point and will help you grow your teacher reference book collection. Who doesn't love a great book, right?! And one that will help you in your teaching...even better!

I'm so excited to share these 5 books with you!

Listen in. 

In this episode, find out: 

• What my 5 book picks are.
• ...

Being able to relax this summer and let school go for a bit can be as simple as getting a few simple things in the works and walking away.

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You'd think relaxing over summer break would be easy. But sometimes, it's hard to let go and wind down. Turning our teacher brains "off" in the summer isn't necessarily automatic. When that happens, I've found that getting a few simple things under control or "in the works" can help me let the rest go and truly rest and recharge over the summer. 

So if this all sounds familiar to you, this episode is for you! I've got 5 simple tricks that will Make back-to-school so much easier and help you let go and relax because you've got a plan in place and a bit of progress toward that plan to boot. #teacherwin

Listen in. 

In this episode, find out: 

• What 2 things you need to schedule that you probably haven't even thought of.
• A one-minute task you can do...

Do your families struggle to support their child's literacy at home? Is weeding out the best books out of the sea of books exhausting? Help is here!

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You know literacy is my passion, and in today's episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with a kindred soul.

Today's guest is Jodie Rodriguez from Growing Book By Book.  Jodie has been an educator for over 20 years teaching the little ones through adults.  She had worked as a Reading Specialist, Literacy Coach, Curriculum Coordinator, Federal Programs Coordinator, and Head of School. 

Her focus is on what really matters when teaching young readers and connecting home and school for awesome literacy growth. With two high-energy boys of her own in addition to her teaching experience, you KNOW she gets what really works to grow readers.

Listen in. 

In this episode, find out: 

• Why Jodie...

When teaching writing, it's easy to get caught up in the details...

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Writing is one of the areas that I find teachers struggle with teaching the most. It's such a personal and tricky thing to teach. And quite honestly, it's one area we can sometimes feel unqualified or less confident in because we doubt our own ability to write well. It's kind of the nature of being a writer. We're our own worst critics, aren't we?!

While we do all the right "things" when teaching writing like giving directed feedback, assessing, using rubrics, providing lots of practice, etc., it's easy to forget a few of the basics in all the moving parts.

In case you haven't guessed...today's episode is all about teaching writing. It doesn't matter what grade you're teaching, from primary to upper elementary, writing is an important skill for all students. It can be easier to teach than you think.

Listen in. 

In this episode, find...

As a mom, I make mistakes every single day – big ones, small ones, and in-between ones. It’s unavoidable. 

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The key is to reflect and learn from them so you don’t keep making the same ones all the time. That’s when you know you’re stuck.

Today's episode is all about mistakes. Seriously! We talk about mistakes, personal reflection, and how important they both are for our students and our own kids' growth. But... do we own our mistakes and consciously learn from them in the same way? It's so much harder to do than we think!

As a mom and an educator, I have to say taking the time to pause, reflect and learn from my mistakes is much harder than it should be. However, I have found that I not only quit making the same mistakes over and over when I do take the time to reflect, but I can dump of the mom/teacher guilt too. That might not be a win in your book, but it is in...

We’ve all experienced it – students who simply don’t participate unless we call on them. And even then...their answers are often lacking in quality or understanding.

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You might have tried drawing student names out of a bin to call on students randomly, call directly on students, or even lectured on the importance of participating. On the surface, this might appear to be working, but is it really accomplishing the real goal of students demonstrating their understanding and having engaged students and a real, class discussion? Or are our students just checking the box by answering when forced to do so?

Today's episode is all about …helping your students actively engage and participate in meaningful ways. 

So how do we generate interest and build confidence so students will gladly participate and even look forward to having their say?

Listen in. 

In this episode, find...

Raise your hand if you have students that have never [or rarely] been read to at home. Well...I'm raising my hand right along with you! 

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It can be frustrating and leave you feeling like your students will never get ahead in reading. But, that's lie.

Today's episode is all about how I use classroom reading time to impact students' long-term reading success. There's no reason to think you students can't succeed in reading and in school if their home is devoid of books and reading. No, you can't change that, and you shouldn't stress yourself out over it either. Instead, I suggest a more proactive approach but owning what we CAN control...our classroom time.

By intentionally structuring my classroom reading to provide background knowledge, vocabulary growth, and tons of time both reading and being read to, my students see exponential growth. It's simple to do once you know how.

In this...

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...