Melissa & Lori Love Literacy ®
Melissa & Lori Love Literacy® is a podcast for teachers. The hosts are your classroom-next-door teacher friends turned podcasters learning with you. Episodes feature top literacy experts and teachers who are putting the science of reading into practice. Melissa & Lori bridge the gap between the latest research and your day-to-day teaching.
Episodes
Episode 37
The article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom is a must-read — before or after you listen to this episode!
Meredith Liben and Sue Pimentel join us to unpack the true intentions behind the Common Core State Standards and how they’ve sometimes been misinterpreted in practice. They share what they’ve observed in classrooms and schools — both when high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) are...
Episode 239
Experts Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs, and Erica Woolway join Melissa & Lori to tackle one of the biggest questions in teaching today: What happened to reading whole books in school? From the pull of digital distractions to the rise of skill-focused instruction, they explore why diving into full texts matters more than ever. You’ll hear inspiring ideas for making books come alive in the classroom, the magic of read-alo...
Episode 238
What if the “secret sauce” to reading big words isn’t just syllables, but also morphemes? In this episode, Melissa Orkin and Alex Osburn share why morphology is essential, especially in grades 3–6, and how it bridges word reading, vocabulary, and comprehension.
They dig into practical strategies for teaching morphology, from explicit routines to vocabulary activities like the Frayer model, and show how to weave it all in...
Episode 237
Teachers know the challenge: students hit multisyllabic words and suddenly reading slows down. In this episode, researchers Jessica Toste and Brennan Chandler share research-based routines that make multisyllabic word reading easier, more automatic, and more effective. You’ll hear practical strategies rooted in the research to help your students tackle big words!
📚 Resources Mentioned
Episode 236
Catlin Goodrow discusses her role as a literacy coach and interventionist for older students, focusing on assessing student needs, implementing effective interventions, and the logistics of providing support in the classroom. She shares insights on decoding challenges, comprehension strategies, and the importance of engaging students with appropriate texts. She also emphasizes the significance of flexibility in instructi...
Episode 235
Matt Burns discusses effective interventions for students struggling with learning. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the learning hierarchy, identifying where breakdowns occur, and matching interventions to individual student needs. The conversation highlights the significance of modeling in teaching, shares a success story of a kindergartner's progress, and explores the application of the framework to ...
Episode 234
Michelle Hosp joins us to break down the different types of literacy assessments within an MTSS framework in the most approachable way.
We talk:
- universal screeners
- diagnostics
- progress monitoring
- formative assessments
Most importantly, we talk about when and why to use each one. Michelle helps us shift the question from “Which test should I give?” to “What do I need to know to help my students grow?” We also dig in ...
Episode 233
In this episode, we sit down with speech-language pathologist Linsey Jones, who’s leading groundbreaking work in her district by delivering smart, targeted, and manageable literacy interventions to kindergarten students.
Linsey shares how her background in speech-language pathology led her to create a data-driven, highly responsive tier 2 intervention program. She walks us through how she uses assessments (think: letter-...
Episode 232
We know MTSS can feel like one more acronym and maybe one more thing on your plate. But what if it was the thing that helped everything else run more smoothly instead?
In this episode, we chat with Stephanie Stollar and Sarah Brown, authors of MTSS for Reading Improvement, who help us rethink what strong systems of support actually look like. Together, we explore how to move beyond one-off interventions and start building...
Episode 231
Working with students who struggle to make sense of complex texts? You’re not alone! Christina Cover, a high school special educator, interventionist, English teacher, and literacy coordinator, is here to help!
In this episode, Christina shares real-world, research-based strategies she uses to help her students break down and make sense of challenging texts. From her go-to routine Getting the Gist to building vocabulary ...
Bonus Episode
In this episode, Melissa and Lori sit down with Freddy Hiebert, founder of Text Project, to dive deep into the critical role texts play in reading instruction. They explore how the types of texts provided to students not only shape their reading practice but also influence their self-perception as readers.
Freddy shares her expertise on understanding text features and the vital role of repetition in vocabulary acquisiti...
Episode 230
In this episode, we discuss this article and the vital role of difficult texts with three experts: Kristin Conradi-Smith, John Strong, and Steve Amendum. They explore how thoughtful scaffolding and motivation help students confidently tackle challenging materials, clarifying the difference between text complexity and text difficulty.
Listeners will hear practical strategies for assessing student needs and differentiating...
Episode 229
In this episode, Katie Pace Miles and Molly Ness define and explain orthographic mapping as a crucial cognitive process for reading fluency and comprehension. They discuss the importance of mapping words in long-term memory, the difference between memorization and mapping, and the trifecta of phonology, orthography, and meaning that supports effective word learning.
They share a four-step protocol from their new book, Ma...
Episode 228
If you’ve ever wondered how to help your students decode longer words, this episode is for you! We’re joined by literacy researcher and professor Devin Kearns to talk all about teaching multisyllabic words.
Many phonics programs focus on single-syllable words, but what happens when students hit big words and get stuck? Devin unpacks the research behind why that happens and what we can do instead. We talk about:
- flexib...
Episode 227
In this episode, Jan Hasbrouck discusses the critical components of reading fluency, focusing on automaticity and its measurement through words correct per minute (WCPM). The discussion highlights the relationship between fluency and comprehension, the role of oral reading fluency in assessing student progress, and the importance of frequent assessments in the classroom. Jan also reflects on recent research findings from...
Episode 211 from December 6, 2024
Fluency is a crucial aspect of reading. It involves automaticity and the ability to connect different aspects of word knowledge.
In this episode, Maryanne Wolf and Melissa Orkin discuss:
- the importance of fluency in reading
- the factors that contribute to fluent reading
- the need for an integrative approach to fluency instruction
- the POSSUM approach to building word knowledge
Big Takeaway: Fluency...
Episode 226
In this episode, Virginia discusses the importance of fluency in K-2 grades, emphasizing its role in reading comprehension. She shares strategies for teaching fluency, including within partner reading, read-alouds, and shared reading. Virginia highlights the significance of modeling fluent reading and incorporating songs and poems to enhance prosody. This conversation provides valuable insights for educators on how to ef...
Episode 225
How do we turn fluency instruction into something engaging, meaningful, and effective? Fourth-grade teacher Aaron Grossman has the answer.
In this episode, Aaron shares his fluency protocol, inspired by Chase Young’s work, that helps students develop prosody, comprehension, and confidence through Reader’s Theater. He walks us through his structured 5-day cycle, from introducing scripts to students writing their own, and h...
Episode 209 from November 8, 2024
Chase Young discusses the implementation of Reader's Theater in the classroom, providing a detailed framework for the process. He emphasizes the importance of structured practice, fluency, and expression, as well as the benefits of engaging students in dramatic reading. Reader's Theater can be implemented in ELA and other subject areas with grade-level texts. Reader's Theatre improves...
Episode 224
Helping students become fluent, confident readers isn’t always easy—especially when they’re still sounding out words and struggling with comprehension. That’s why Synchronous Paired Oral Reading Techniques (SPORT) is a game-changer.
In this episode, we’re joined by Jake Downs, assistant professor at Utah State University and host of the Teaching Literacy podcast, to break down:
✅ What SPORT is and why it works
...
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