Reading Teachers Lounge

May 04 2024 120

Reading Teachers Lounge Podcast artwork

This is the Reading Teachers Lounge where listeners can eavesdrop on professional conversations between elementary reading teachers. We are passionate about literacy and strive to find strategies to reach all learners. Shannon and Mary are neighbors who realized that they were “literacy soul sisters” at a dinner in their Atlanta neighborhood. Once they started chatting about reading they haven’t really stopped. Come join the conversation.

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Delightful Word Learning with Colette Hiller

May 04 2024 53 mins

Shannon and Mary chat with critically acclaimed author and experienced actress & advocate Colette Hiller about ways to make word learning innovative and fun. Colette is releasing a new book titled Colossal Words for Kids, which combines educational poetry with vibrant illustrations to teach new words and related content knowledge. The book is delightful and so is Colette. Liste

Supportive Strategies for Working Memory

Apr 19 2024 71 mins

Shannon and Mary chat about how to best support learners with working memory challenges. This is a companion episode to a deep dive learning topic we went through with our Patreon community about Working Memory. Listeners to this episode will walk away with increased awareness about which students may have working memory challenges AND strategies to help those students during readi

Meaningful Professional Learning

Apr 06 2024 68 mins

Shannon and Mary talk with Kelly Butler and Carla Stanford about professional learning that is meaningful. Kelly Butler worked with the Barksdale Reading Institute to bring about systems change in reading instruction in the state of Mississippi over the last twenty years. Kelly and Carla share about a free resource they're working on now called Reading Universe, which is a one

the Intersection of Speech, Reading, and Language

Mar 22 2024 74 mins

Shannon and Mary chat with speech therapist Dr. Karen Dudek Brannan about the overlaps between speech, reading, and language. Dr. Karen helps us understand the challenges facing students with language impairments. From this episode, teachers can understand the perspective of a speech therapist to better understand speech and language challenges. After listening, you should walk awa

the Importance of Handwriting

Mar 07 2024 67 mins

Shannon and Mary discuss the importance of prioritizing handwriting instruction simultaneously with reading and writing instruction in the early grades. Learn why handwriting is essential for overall literacy development and how to include it in your daily instruction. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES AND ONES MENTIONED DURING THE EPISODEThe Importance of Teaching Handwriting by Louise Spear

Date Your Data

Feb 23 2024 86 mins

Shannon shares with Mary the steps she follows for analyzing student data. This Date Your Data process requires multiple steps of looking at test scores, improvement goals, student strengths and weaknesses, and then connecting the data to standards to facilitate data-driven instruction. This method of data review makes the test score information meaningful to teachers, students, pa

Building Knowledge with Linda Rhyne

Feb 08 2024 64 mins

Shannon and Mary are joined in by Linda Rhyne in the Reading Teachers Lounge. They share a deep dive of information from the book, The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler. This episode is full of information and strategies to increase your student's knowledge helping them dive deep into comprehension and knowledge building. Linda Rhyne is a returning guest to the show and shares h

Ideas for Differentiation with Wiley Blevins

Jan 18 2024 61 mins

Shannon chats with her favorite literacy guru, Wiley Blevins, about the decisions and methods that go into differentiation. Shannon picks his brain about some of her reading students. Also, Wiley shares insights from his coming book about adjustments that teachers can make before or during their lessons to better suit the learning levels of their students. We always get some much w

Gifts for Our Readers with Dr. Karen Gazith

Jan 05 2024 65 mins

Shannon and Mary chat with Dr. Karen Gazith about her new book The Power of Effective Reading Instruction. The conversation flowed through many topics but ultimately what you can gain from our discussion is the gifts we give our readers when we teach with intention. Listen to this episode to gain fresh ideas for enhancing your own reading instruction.RECOMMENDED RESOURCES AND ONES

Read Aloud to Boost Comprehension

Dec 07 2023 54 mins

Mary and Shannon chat with Dr. Molly Ness about her new book Read Alouds for All Learners. Molly shares how teachers should intentionally plan their read alouds, with thought put into the vocabulary instruction, the purpose for reading, the think aloud process, and engagement and extension activities for students after reading. Listen to this episode for TONS of ideas from our gues