Do you ever wonder what the difference is between reading skills vs. reading strategies? Quite often the terms are used interchangeably but they are not the same thing!

Reading skills and reading strategies are actually 2 different things that require different thinking skills, different parts of the brain, and have different purposes in your students' reading.

In this episode, I'll be explaining what the reading skills and strategies are and the difference between these two groups [and why you should care]. 

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I'll bet you have an idea of what the reading skills and strategies are. But do you really know the difference? It's easy to be confused. 

Listen in.

I did a quick search online and come up with tons of resources, articles, and information about both reading skills and reading strategies. None of them agree. So let me clarify...

• Reading skills are what your students use to decode and read a text, any text.
• Reading strategi
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Do you ever catch yourself saying things like “stop talking and listen” or "turn it off and listen" or some other variation on that theme? Knowing how to listen and connect is fast becoming a lost art. Our students and many adults go through life in their personal sound bubbles [aka. Headphones]. This kind of isolation can inhibit our students' abilities to listen and comprehend in real-time. If your students seem to hear less and less of what you say...you’re not alone!

Today, I have 5 ways to teach and strengthen listening skills.

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Listening is all about hearing patterns, differentiating sounds, and pulling out or extracting the information we need from the fluff.

This is much harder than it seems. Like so many things in our lives, listening is something we do without thinking so much of the time. That doesn't mean we do it well all of the time though. How often do you meet someone new, hear their name and then promptly forget it? Or h...

When heading back to school in January, it's easy to think that your students know what to do and can just jump right back in. You spent all that time at the beginning of the school year training your students in systems, routines, and all the rules and expectations for your class. Your students have it down, right?! Unfortunately, that is not the case. 

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Getting our students back into the swing of things efficiently and effectively means we have to SLOW DOWN in order to go fast the rest of the year.

Slowing down can be so hard! We have so much to do and testing pressure is beginning in January as well. I know you're yelling at me (maybe just in your head) but take a breath and hear me out for just a minute.

Listen in.

Your students have had 2 weeks off with varying activities, sleep levels, routines, and schedules (or lack thereof).  those kiddos are not going to remember all the rules and expectations off the bat. Yes, all the rout...

How do you empower your students to learn to cope better and to self-regulate? We're all dealing with different forms of stress and even trauma these days. Students often show their stress in their behavior at school, sabotaging themselves and disrupting others. So how do we move forward and help our students do the same?

We are imperfect teachers and we can't do everything by ourselves. I know that's not a shock. But, admitting there's a problem or even just asking for help is tough.  It is the first step though. As we all know, there's been a LOT of trauma for us and teachers and for our students [now more than ever]. 

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We've heard the term "mastery" for years. It's a lofty goal. We expect it from our students but is it really doable all the time? What if we expected progress over mastery? Remarkably imperfect progress. 

Meet Dr. Michael Gaskell, a middle school principal, award-winning author, speaker, and principal mentor in New Jers...

Using text evidence is a skill all students should have. How often do your students answer a question about a character, the setting or something about a text and they don’t know why or how they came to that conclusion? Or... your students answer a question vaguely without any specifics or text evidence? Perhaps you have students who simply have no idea what to say and don’t know where to begin to figure it out?

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"In order to let people know we aren’t making stuff up, we should use Explicit Textual Evidence to support our opinions or answers." - unknown

Using evidence when commenting or answering a question about a text is an important skill not only for comprehension of school topics but for life too. Our students need to be able to THINK and give their reasoning for their conclusions. We don’t want them running on impressions, emotions, what others say or tell them, or just throwing things out there and hoping it sticks…So today, I’m gi...

Why is it that some students are asking questions ALL the time and some students can't think of a single question? It’s true across life really. Think about it…There are people who ask questions by the ton in your college classes – in teacher meetings, at conferences – they are unafraid of looking stupid or of being the only one who doesn’t understand, but they aren’t. They’re just the brave ones asking the questions that most everyone else has. They’re also the ones who can take what they’ve learned and apply it effectively faster than anyone else. They don’t fumble around with it so much because they already have clarity and the information is remembered [from asking questions as they were learning].

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“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
– Albert Einstein

The benefits of asking questions make us realize what an important skill asking good questions is.

Asking good questions:

• Ma
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Prepping reading and writing lessons can be time-consuming and creating lessons that will both engage your students before Christmas break and keep the learning going can be really tricky. 

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Do you focus more on reviewing or teaching new concepts before a break? Do struggle to help your students stay focused until break?

I have news for you...You don’t have to sacrifice great learning to keep your students engaged before Christmas break. AND…

You don’t have to spend hours planning either.

Listen in.

What teacher isn’t stressed out and needing more than 24 hours in a day right about now? Hardly anyone. Well here’s some tips for your holiday literacy plans that will keep kids engaged without sacrificing learning.

I know you don’t want to slow down and waste a minute when your students are already struggling from the last year [or more] of confusion. But, students are understandably excited and ready for Christmas break. So let’s get ...

Teaching reading comprehension is not as easy as all those programs and teacher training make it out to be. Do this and you're all good, right?! Wrong! there isn't a magic bullet or even one right way to teach. There's lots of parts and pieces that affect a student's ability to comprehend a text.

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How and where do you teach reading comprehension?

Reading is complicated. It's a fact. And sometimes we make it even more complicated. Online programs and apps cannot replace a real teacher with an actual book modeling and guiding students in learning how to comprehend various texts.

In case you haven't guessed, today is all about teaching reading comprehension effectively to ALL your students regardless of their reading level. Yes, that is possible if we level the playing field with a read-aloud.

Listen in.

In this episode, you will learn:

• What 5 key elements contribute to your students' reading comprehension.
• How to teach reading com
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To an outsider, it looks like children playing with Play-Doh. Little do they know, important learning is taking place. And that learning meets multiple district mandates so teachers aren't trying to add one more thing to their already packed day. 

Do you use play in your classroom as a way for students to learn?

I'd like to you meet Vanessa Levin. As a pre-K educator and accidental teacher-preneur, Vanessa knows the importance of taking small steps to reach a larger goal. Whether she is turning resources she used in her classroom into "sellable printables" or intentionally crafting hands-on lessons, Vanessa understands the importance of constructing activities that are developmentally appropriate for your young learners.  Vanessa is passionate about education and pre-K. So listen in to find out more about how to get started engaging your learners in play without a paper and pencil.

Listen in.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why play is an important part of learning
• How your
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Do you have students you just can't seem to get excited about reading? Do you struggle to help your students move from knowing how to read to loving books and reading? It's an age-old problem!

Well, I have another tool for your teacher toolbox to help you with this...Author Studies.

Yup! You read that right. I have found author studies to be a great way to create a sense of community for your readers [and NO they do not take tons of time to prepare].

As a teacher, you know how hard it can be to get all students excited about books and reading.  I know you read to your class regularly, provide lots of great skill and strategy instruction, and work really hard to help your students find books they'll love reading.  But sometimes, all that just doesn't move the needle for some students to become lovers of books and committed readers. It's time for a new approach.

Listen in to find out more about how to use author studies to create some extra buzz and excitement about reading so you...