Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ™

Powered by Great Minds

This podcast is for educators interested in the science of reading who want to hear the latest research on teaching reading and writing and learn how to make it practical for your classroom. Our guests include some of the most well-known literacy researchers and experts, as well as teachers and leaders doing the hard work every day!


read less

Our Editor's Take

The Melissa and Lori Love Literacy™ podcast offers advice on all aspects of literacy. Melissa and Lori, two friends and literacy experts from Baltimore, host the series. Their district introduced a curriculum, Wit & Wisdom ELA, which resulted in much change. Wit & Wisdom is a curriculum founded on books that intrigue curious minds and share diverse perspectives. Through their passion for supporting educators, they decided to start this podcast.

This podcast provides expertise across the education system. Melissa and Lori invite experts to share their knowledge and passion for reading. Professor Doug Fisher joins to talk about a transformative approach to reading. It questions what the goal should be and says comprehension is an outcome rather than a skill. The episode also offers practical advice that teachers can apply in their classrooms.

In a "Back to School" podcast episode, expert Holly Lane discusses educational research. She starts by helping listeners define "the science of reading." Holly admits that it has a different "right" meaning for everyone. On a similar topic, researcher Neena Saha joins to discuss reading research. She believes that science has a complex role within education. For Neena, the most important thing is understanding what will help children the most.

Other experts include researcher Hugh Catts and comprehension expert Nancy Hennessy. Lecturer Nathaniel Swain discusses how to transform students into confident readers. He believes it's all about balancing speed with comprehension. This balance is critical in the digital age, when skimming texts is common. Author Jan Hasbrouck also joins the podcast. She shares recommendations for how best to assess fluency in children. Jan also reveals why she went from being a reading teacher to studying fluency.

The Melissa and Lori Love Literacy™ podcast provides insightful discussions about teaching literacy. The hosts talk to experts, from researchers to authors, to gain different perspectives. Melissa and Lori ask valuable questions and share practical advice to help educators.

read less
EducationEducation

Episodes

Ep. 191: Teaching Spelling is Teaching Reading with Pam Kastner
3d ago
Ep. 191: Teaching Spelling is Teaching Reading with Pam Kastner
Pam Kastner discusses the connection between spelling and reading. She emphasizes that teaching spelling is teaching reading, as spelling is a higher linguistic skill that requires complete and accurate recall and memory for words. Spelling helps students understand the internal structure of words and improves their reading abilities. She suggests using instructional routines that integrate phonology, orthography, morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics to teach spelling effectively. TakeawaysTeaching spelling is teaching reading, as spelling is a higher linguistic skill that requires complete and accurate recall and memory for words.Spelling helps students understand the internal structure of words and improves their reading abilities.Effective spelling instruction should be explicit, systematic, and teach spelling patterns from least complex to most complex.Instructional routines should integrate phonology, orthography, morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics to teach spelling effectively. Direct and systematic spelling instruction is essential for students' language development.Spelling inventories are valuable tools for assessing students' understanding of language and identifying areas for targeted instruction.Spelling can be used as a teaching tool, allowing students to learn from their errors and improve their spelling skills.Spelling instruction should be aligned with the research and evidence-based practices to ensure its effectiveness.ResourcesPam Kastner's Padlet with resources (password PT2)We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 190: How to Teach Heart Words with Jessica Farmer (Quick Tips from our Teacher Friends)
Apr 12 2024
Ep. 190: How to Teach Heart Words with Jessica Farmer (Quick Tips from our Teacher Friends)
In this episode, Jessica Farmer shares tips for teaching heart words. She explains the importance of blending and introduces the concept of continuous blending. Jessica defines heart words as high-frequency words with irregular or temporarily irregular spellings. She emphasizes the need to follow a scope and sequence and provides a routine for introducing new heart words. Jessica also discusses the process of orthographic mapping and suggests engaging activities for teaching heart words. She concludes by recommending additional resources for teaching heart words.TakeawaysBlending is the process of putting sounds together to form words, and continuous blending is a method that connects phonemes without breaking between the sounds.Segmenting is important for spelling, while continuous blending is effective for decoding words.Heart words are high-frequency words with irregular or temporarily irregular spellings, often involving vowel sounds.Teaching heart words should be done in a systematic and routine-based manner, following a scope and sequence.Engaging activities for teaching heart words include coloring by sounds and unscrambling the spelling.Resources Find Jessica at Farmer Loves Phonics on social! Connected Phonation Research A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency WordsBlending PyramidsHeart Word Cards30 Early High Frequency Words for Beginning Readers We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 189: Kindergartners Can Read CVC Words by November: Find Out How!
Apr 5 2024
Ep. 189: Kindergartners Can Read CVC Words by November: Find Out How!
Julie VanLier and Dr. Svetlana Cvetkovic discuss their experiences and successes teaching phonics.  They both highlight the importance of a speech-to-print approach and the impact it has had on their students' reading and spelling abilities. The conversation also delves into the principles of speech to print and the scope and sequence of instruction.  They emphasize the importance of interleaving, where concepts are revisited over time. The integration of phonics into all aspects of reading and writing is key, as well as the use of authentic text. Overall, their approach focuses on engagement, flexibility, and integration to ensure student success in literacy.TakeawaysTeaching phonics using a speech-to-print approach can lead to significant improvements in students' reading and spelling abilities.The principles of speech to print include the understanding that one, two, three, or four letters can spell a sound.A sound can be spelled in many different ways, and the same spelling can represent different sounds.The scope and sequence of instruction in a speech-to-print approach involves teaching students the different sound-spelling patterns and helping them understand the logic and patterns of the English language.Key Tenets of Speech to Print Sounds can be represented by 1, 2, 3, or 4 letters. Sounds can be spelled different ways.Spellings can be pronounced in different ways.ResourcesJulie's iReady scores infographicKinder spelling phase comparisons using traditional & speech-first phonics approaches infographicEvidence-Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI) Li & Wang (2023) self-teaching meta analysis -- self-teaching was enhanced through phonological recoding via spelling A step-by-step pdf for k-2 teachers using FREE speech-first resources-- I especially encourage kinder teachers to take the free 1-hour Udemy course by John Walker (founder of Sounds-Write) as it includes a full scope & sequence for teaching the basic code and even into the beginning advanced codeEp. 147: Hot Topic Series: What is Speech to Print? We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 188: How to Teach Students to Read Irregular Words with Danielle Colenbrander & Katie Pace Miles
Mar 22 2024
Ep. 188: How to Teach Students to Read Irregular Words with Danielle Colenbrander & Katie Pace Miles
Danielle Colenbrander and Katie Pace-Miles discuss orthographic mapping, irregular word instruction, and the different terms used to describe high frequency and irregular words. They translate research about the effectiveness of different approaches to teaching irregular words. They also discuss the role of morphology - how understanding morphemes can help students decode and understand words. TakeawaysIrregular words exist on a spectrum, ranging from completely regular to highly irregular.Different teaching approaches, such as mispronunciation correction, can be effective for teaching irregular words.Meaning and context play a crucial role in word recognition and understanding.Teachers should provide students with a toolbox of strategies to decode and understand irregular words.Temporary irregularity is a helpful concept for students, emphasizing that irregular words are only temporarily challenging until they learn the necessary grapheme-phoneme correspondences.ResourcesHear more from Danielle Colenbrander on Teaching Literacy podcast (Ep. 38) and Thinking Deeply About Primary Education podcast (Ep. 76)Assessing the Effectiveness of Structured Word Inquiry for Students in Grades 3 and 5 With Reading and Spelling Difficulties: A Randomized Controlled Trial by Colenbrander et. al. Katie's PRINTABLE Word Analysis Manual, a resource to support learning and word analysis activities to use with high frequency words (and any word, really!)Treasure trove of additional research articles (Katie Pace-Miles, Devin Kearns, Linnea Ehri, and more!)http://reading-ready.com/ Our guests mentioned the work of Lyndall Murray but meant Bruce Murray. The correct article is linked above. We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 185: Understanding the How and Why of Sound Walls with Mary Dahlgren
Mar 1 2024
Ep. 185: Understanding the How and Why of Sound Walls with Mary Dahlgren
Sound wall expert Mary Dahlgren explains how sound walls differ from word walls, why it's important to teach all 44 speech sounds, and how sound walls can help students make sense of English. She shares evidence to support the use of sound walls in your classroom and gives practical advice for implementation. TakeawaysSound walls are an instructional tool to help students see and understand the 44 speech sounds of the English language.Sound walls provide a visual representation of the sounds and their corresponding spellings. Sound walls help students make connections between sounds and letters.Sound walls support phonological awareness, phonics instruction, and the development of decoding skills.Sound walls are beneficial for all students, including English learners, as they provide a structured and visual approach to learning the sounds of the English language. Teachers should be aware of the different phonemes in their students' languages and teach the phonemes in English.ResourcesSound Walls: A Tool for Students to Use by Mary DahlgrenWe wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 181: What Research Says About Phonemic Awareness with Matt Burns
Feb 2 2024
Ep. 181: What Research Says About Phonemic Awareness with Matt Burns
Matt Burns discusses the importance of phonemic awareness in reading instruction. Phonemic awareness is an outcome of skilled reading, not a precursor, and it has a reciprocal relationship with reading. Matt also emphasizes the need to focus on decoding skills in second, third, and fourth grade, rather than solely on phonemic awareness. Matt provides practical takeaways for teachers and recommends additional resources for learning about phonemic awareness.TakeawaysPhonemic awareness is an outcome of skilled reading, not a precursor.Phonemic awareness and reading have a reciprocal relationship.Decoding skills are a strong predictor of reading success.Nonsense word fluency assessments can be beneficial for assessing decoding skills.Avoid teaching nonsense words and focus on decoding instead.ResourcesPhonemic Awareness, Research, Misconceptions, and Fads with Dr. Matt BurnsThey Say You Can Do Phonemic Awareness Instruction “In the Dark”, But Should You? A Critical Evaluation of the Trend Toward Advanced Phonemic Awareness TrainingRIP to Advanced Phonemic Awareness | Shanahan on LiteracyPhonemic Awareness with Letters YouTube video, Matt BurnsMatt Burns YouTube Channel National Reading Panel Report Elkonin Boxes, Reading RocketsFlorida Center for Reading Research UFLI Foundations Ep. 159: Back to School: Science of Reading or Snake Oil with Holly Lane Road to the Code, Book IES Practice Guides Empirical Analysis of Drill Ratio Research: Refining the Instructional Level for Drill Tasks, Matt Burns (meta-analysis)We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 180: Teaching the Alphabet with Shayne Piasta
Jan 26 2024
Ep. 180: Teaching the Alphabet with Shayne Piasta
Shayne Piasta discusses best practices for teaching alphabet knowledge. She tells us what the research suggests about teaching  letter names and sounds, why teaching a letter of the week may not be the most effective approach, and an order to teach letters. The best part? She shares concrete ideas and strategies for classroom practice. TakeawaysTeach both letter names and sounds simultaneously.Consider the acrophonic principle, where the letter name gives clues to its sound.Avoid teaching letters of the week and consider a faster pacing for letter instruction.Be intentional about the order of teaching letters, considering children's names and frequency of letters in text.Use differentiated instruction and embedded mnemonics for effective alphabet instruction.ResourcesHandbook on the Science of Early LiteracyThe Science of Early Alphabet Instruction, chapter 7Ohio State University Alphabet Learning and Instruction research and articlesOhio State University Early Literacy and Learning LabEpisode 164: Misconceptions About Learning to Read with Carolyn Strom We wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 179: The RAND Reading Model with Hugh Catts
Jan 19 2024
Ep. 179: The RAND Reading Model with Hugh Catts
SummaryIn this episode, the hosts discuss the RAND Model, a heuristic for thinking about reading comprehension. The model was developed in the late 1990s by the RAND Corporation in response to a need for more research on comprehension. The model considers three main components: the reader, the text, and the purpose or activity of reading. It emphasizes the active role of the reader in constructing meaning from the text and highlights the importance of text complexity, coherence, genre, and the context in which reading takes place. The hosts also explore the challenges of measuring reading comprehension and suggest a curriculum-based assessment approach.TakeawaysThe RAND Model is a heuristic for thinking about reading comprehension that considers the reader, the text, and the purpose or activity of reading.Text complexity, coherence, genre, and the context in which reading takes place are important factors in comprehension.Measuring reading comprehension with standardized tests can be challenging due to the complexity of the construct.A curriculum-based assessment approach that measures comprehension within specific disciplines may provide a more accurate and fair assessment of reading ability.ResourcesEp. 177: The Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh CattsEp. 178: The Simple View and Scarborough’s Reading Rope with Researcher Hugh Catts Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh Catts Follow researcher Hugh Catts on Twitter (or X)A Heuristic for Thinking About Reading Comprehension, or the RAND Model ICYMI: Ep. 118: Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh CattsWe wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 178: The Simple View and Scarborough’s Reading Rope with Hugh Catts
Jan 12 2024
Ep. 178: The Simple View and Scarborough’s Reading Rope with Hugh Catts
SummaryIn this episode, Hugh Catts discusses two popular reading models: the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough's Reading Rope. The Simple View of Reading highlights the importance of word recognition and language comprehension in reading comprehension. It emphasizes that if a child struggles in one area, it will affect their overall reading comprehension. Scarborough's Reading Rope provides a more detailed breakdown of the components involved in reading, including background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, strategies, and literacy knowledge. Both models help educators understand the complexity of reading and the interaction between different components.TakeawaysThe Simple View of Reading emphasizes the importance of word recognition and language comprehension in reading comprehension.Scarborough's Reading Rope provides a more detailed breakdown of the components involved in reading.Both models highlight the complexity of reading and the interaction between different components.Effective reading instruction should focus on developing both word recognition and language comprehension skills.ResourcesEp. 177: The Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh CattsFollow researcher Hugh Catts on Twitter (or X)The Simple View of Reading  Scarborough’s Reading Rope ICYMI: Ep. 118: Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh CattsWe wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Ep. 177: The Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh Catts
Jan 5 2024
Ep. 177: The Five Pillars of Reading with Hugh Catts
SummaryIn this episode, the hosts discuss the five pillars from the National Reading Panel and their history. They explore the confusion that can arise from viewing these pillars as a model of how reading works. The role of fluency and the importance of differentiating instruction for the five pillars are also discussed. The conversation concludes with a reevaluation of the five pillars and a key takeaway to look beyond them. The next episodes will cover three other reading models.TakeawaysThe five pillars from the National Reading Panel are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.The five pillars should be viewed as interconnected and treated differently in instruction.The actual chapters of the National Reading Panel focus on alphabetics, fluency, and comprehension.It is important to look beyond the five pillars and consider other reading models.ResourcesFollow researcher Hugh Catts on Twitter (or X)The National Reading Panel Report The Five Pillars of Reading Graphic The Narrow View of Reading, Alan Kamhi The Narrow View of Reading Promotes a Broad View of Comprehension, Hugh Catts ICYMI: Ep. 118: Rethinking Reading Comprehension with Researcher Hugh CattsWe wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.
Episode 176: Quick Q&A: Why Shouldn’t We Level Students and What Should We Do Instead?
Dec 26 2023
Episode 176: Quick Q&A: Why Shouldn’t We Level Students and What Should We Do Instead?
Why shouldn’t we level students? Professor and researcher Kristin Conradi-Smith from episode 143 says, “We lack research for differentiation by text levels.There's simply no support for it.”  Teaching with a leveled reading, sometimes known as guided reading, approach isn’t the most effective way to teach or learn to read. Instead, we can Support students’ access to complex texts through scaffolds and building knowledge using language comprehension. Use students' prior knowledge and match that knowledge to text topic demands.Read text sets - a group of texts on the same topic - to build students’ knowledge and vocabulary. Practice and model oral reading fluency, rearead, and use comprehension strategies.ResourcesEpisode 143: Maximizing Small Group Reading Instruction Matt Burns F&P BAS and LLI ResearchMatt Burns Leveling Students: Why we do it, why we shouldn’t, and what we should do insteadTim Shanahan Should We Teach at Reading Level? Tim Shanahan blogs What does the Easter bunny have in common with the independent reading level?Tim Shanahan presentation Science of Reading LevelsDr. Kristen Schrauben Science of Reading What I Should Have Learned in College Private Facebook Group Presentation Giving Up F&PWe wrote a book! The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night Facebook and join our Facebook Group Twitter Instagram Don't miss an episode! Sign up for FREE bonus resources and episode alerts at LiteracyPodcast.com Helping teachers learn about science of reading, knowledge building, and high quality curriculum.