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Well, my friends, we’ve made it to the last pillar of reading, which is reading comprehension. While most would argue that reading comprehension is the most important pillar in a student’s success in reading, it’s actually the last one you should focus on. This is because students need a solid foundation in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary in order to focus on comprehension. To finish out the series, I’m sharing eight reading comprehension strategies to help students become successful readers. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode182

Everything that a literacy teacher does is to try and help their students be successful readers and writers, which is why, over the last month, we've been focusing on the five pillars of reading. And one of the big factors that contributes to reading is a strong vocabulary. It's no surprise that the way most of us were taught vocabulary when we were younger is not the most effective vocabulary instruction anymore. Instead, there is a new way. So, in today's episode, my guest, Michelle Sullivan, is sharing some evidence-based strategies for building student vocabulary. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode181

We’ve really taken a deep dive into the five pillars of reading over the last few weeks. My goal is to provide you with accurate information and practical tips that you can apply in your classroom to improve your students’ reading. With each pillar, I’ve brought in guests who are experts in their field, and today is no different. Aylin Claahsen not only is a fluency expert, but she is also a close friend of mine. So in today’s episode, Aylin is sharing ways to improve accuracy in fluency that you can use this week in your classroom. Download Aylin's Free Fluency Resources here (Phonics Focused Reading Passages) and here (Fluency Passage Samples)! Grab The Fluency Files here! Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode180

We are continuing our series on the 5 pillars of reading instruction with effective phonics instruction. If you teach upper elementary, you might be wondering how phonics fits into your literacy instruction, but I’m here to tell you it does. I love bringing on experts in the field to share their knowledge, which is exactly what I’m doing today. My guest on today’s episode, Savannah Campbell, is sharing how phonics instruction can help all students be successful in reading. Download the Free Sound Decks here (graphemes) and here (morphemes)! Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode179

Last week, I gave an overview of the 5 pillars of reading, which gives us the foundation of reading. But today I’m doing my first deep dive into one of the pillars, which is phonemic awareness. Whether you’re like me, who learned about it in college, or someone who this is a new concept, I’ve got an expert today who’s going to share her wealth of knowledge on this topic. So, in today’s episode, guest Christina Winter is debunking common myths around phonemic awareness and sharing research for best instructional practices. Download the Getting Started with SOR Toolkit here! Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode178

I recently hosted a workshop on how to create a literacy block that fits everything you need in it because that’s a common challenge for most literacy teachers. But the one recurring question throughout the workshop was, what does effective literacy look like? Effective literacy is directly related to the 5 pillars of reading instruction, which is what this upcoming series is all about. Over the next month, I am going to focus on each of the 5 pillars of reading instruction, including experts in certain areas, practical strategies, and ideas on how to incorporate them in your literacy upper elementary classroom. Before we can dive deep into each pillar, it’s important to have a general understanding. Therefore, in today’s episode, I’m providing an overview of the 5 pillars of reading instruction in order to provide you with some confidence in your instruction and how to help your students. Read the National Reading Panel here! Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode177

As we start the new year, I want to focus on ways that I can help you with anything your students might be struggling with and provide you with support, resources, and strategies. And today’s topic is something that I think all literacy elementary teachers will resonate with, which is how to help struggling readers in your classroom. While this can be an overwhelming idea because there are so many elements to it, I’m going to make it more manageable for you. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing 7 things you need to consider when trying to figure out how to help struggling readers. Grab the FREE Successful Reader Cheat Sheet here! Download my FREE Reading Interest Inventory here! Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode176

January can be the perfect opportunity to refocus and remind yourself to create a balance between your teacher life and your personal life. But as we all know, that's easier said than done! My first international guest on the podcast, Ashleigh Smith, is one half of the Aussie duo dedicated to helping teachers with the ups and downs of teacher life. In today's episode, she's sharing five secrets to success that will help both new and veteran teachers experience success in the classroom. Grab Ashleigh's freebie for new teachers here! Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves More To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode175

Happy New Year, everyone! As we start the beginning of a new year, I want to help you feel successful in areas that you have identified as challenging or struggling concepts to teach. In a teacher survey, there was an overwhelming response to grammar and the many questions surrounding this concept. So, I wanted to start the year by giving you three grammar swaps that change your grammar instruction for the better. Join me for my free event Read, Write, & Rejuvenate here! Get my Weekly Sentence Writing Routine free sample here! And get your Sentence Writing Reference Sheets here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode174

When coming back from break, we always prepare our lessons and activities and set goals for the semester ahead. However, something we don’t anticipate happens when students return to school: they often forget how to do school. This means they struggle with executing procedures and routines they once mastered before the break. So, instead of letting these misbehaviors slide, there’s something you can do about it. In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to do a classroom routine reset with five creative tips. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode173

I’ve stressed many times on this podcast the importance of fostering a love of reading in your students. And while you may incorporate more read alouds and independent reading time, the effort might not result in positive change if you’re always reading from the same genre. This was a mistake I made early in my teaching career, so I want to make that correction for you right now. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing why it’s so important to teach reading genres and five ways to be more intentional throughout your day. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode172

While the weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break can be full of fun holiday-themed activities, this can also be a great time to review and assess student learning of the content you covered in the first semester of school. As you gear up with the state assessments to come in the next few months, finding creative and fun ways to assess your students gets them in the mindset while also helping you gauge where they’re at. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing 10 creative student assessment ideas you can easily use in your classroom this week! Grab the Exit Ticket Templates here! Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information, click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here! Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode171