The Literacy Teacher's Life

The Literacy Teacher's Life

This podcast is for teachers and parents who are dedicated to helping young readers and writers thrive. Children are naturally curious and it’s our role as parents and teachers to provide them with support so they learn to love reading and writing. Between national standards and outside influences, there is a significant amount of pressure on teachers and parents around teaching young children to be successful readers and writers. My goal with this podcast is to support and provide guidance for new and continuing teachers so that they can design and implement literacy instruction that will inspire enthusiasm in young readers and writers. For parents of elementary-aged readers and writers, I hope that this podcast will demystify the process of teaching reading and writing. I will introduce the terms and practices that teachers use so that you will be in a better position to support your children’s love of literacy. With this podcast, I aim to provide guidance, reassurance, and confidence so that children - both at school and at home - are building the literacy foundation that they need to empower them throughout the rest of their lives. This is the podcast that will benefit teachers and parents so they can confidently take control of their role in nurturing tomorrow’s readers and writers.

Episodes

Making Fluency Fun with Reader’s Theater EP 74

December 4, 2025 • 19 mins
This week's episode is about using reader's theater to address fluency with kids. Elizabeth just used reader's theater in her classes to show current and future teachers how scripts can support fluent reading -- and comprehension. Her students had a lot of fun and saw the benefits of using this teaching practice with kids - at all grade levels (not just elementary school).The episode begins with information about fluency and then E...
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Poetry is Fun! A Conversation with Poet, Darren Sardelli EP 73

November 20, 2025 • 26 mins
Today's episode is such a treat! Elizabeth is joined by poet Darren Sardelli. He writes poetry and shows kids how much fun words and language can be - and how poetry is fun! His goal is to make his ideas fun and relatable for kids.And, his work is a lot of fun! Darren shares some poetry with us - and you will be very entertained! He gives great ideas in this episode - such as start an Idea Notebook and encourage kids to check-out o...
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Beliefs About Books and Reading EP 72

November 6, 2025 • 21 mins
In this episode, Elizabeth shares eight common beliefs about reading and how they can discourage kids from reading. There have been many alarming articles about kids not reading much - so it's important to try and support our young readers as best we can.The 8 beliefs are:- Phonics Instructions Ends After Second Grade- Picture Books are Easy Books- Reading With Kids Ends Once They Learn to Read-If Kids Want to Hear a Story Rather T...
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Connecting Teaching to Writing A Conversation with Former Teacher and Author, Terri Lilga EP 71

October 23, 2025 • 23 mins
This is a treat! Today, I am joined by my former colleague, Terri Lilga. Terri is a retired teacher, who is now writing books for children. We worked together in Buffalo, NY for a few years. In this episode, Terri shares her books with us. She explains how she came up with the ideas for her books - and how she gets ideas in general. She has really great stories about how she thinks up ideas! They are great to share with young read...
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Relevance is Essential: How Teachers Can Make Literacy Learning Relevant to Our Students’ And Their Futures With Lorraine Radice EP 70

October 9, 2025 • 49 mins
Lorraine Radice is back on the podcast! Lorraine has a new book that recently came out, Revolving Literacy: How to Connect Relevance and Future-Ready Skills to Secondary English Instruction.In our conversation, Lorraine talks about: - what the term literacy includes- her revolving literacy framework and how it benefits teachers and supports students- books for kids in middle and high school- ideas for teaching reading in the secon...
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Focusing On Mood to Unlock Critical Thinking with Trevor Bryan EP 69

September 25, 2025 • 30 mins
I'm back this week with Trevor Bryan, an educator and writer. Trevor's latest book is out and available to be purchased. It's called Narrative Know-How: A Fresh Approach to Support Comprehension and Craft in the K-6 Classroom.In the last episode, Trevor explained the framework to this book. And, today he is back to share ideas about how this work can be implemented into the classroom to support our readers and writers. This book is...
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All About Understanding Narratives with Trevor Bryan EP 68

September 11, 2025 • 25 mins
We want our students to be confident readers and writers. One way to support their confidence is to teach them about structure. Today, I am joined by Trevor Bryan, who is an educator and writer! Trevor is the author of The Art of Comprehension and has written a new book that just came out this week, called Narrative Know-How: A Fresh Approach to Support Comprehension and Craft in the K-6 Classroom. His focus is on teaching kids to ...
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Making Reading Fun (And a Priority) This School Year EP 67

August 28, 2025 • 20 mins
Recently, there have been studies out that discuss how reading, particularly reading for pleasure is at an all-time low. This is for kids and adults, but the findings have been seen as concerning. The UK is calling on 2026 to be the year of reading - so that kids are reading for pleasure.In this episode, Elizabeth shares ways that teachers can make this school year a year of reading as well - and the great news -- it doesn't requir...
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Another Summer is Coming To An End Gearing Up for the New School Year – Some Tips for Teachers EP 66

August 14, 2025 • 15 mins
It's August, and that means that the new school year is just around the corner! My semester begins in just two weeks. This episode is aimed at teachers, but can be helpful for parents, too. As I am planning for the upcoming academic year, I have six tips that I am focusing on to have a calm start to the school year. I also have a planning tip from a planning expert! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Parents, Here's A Tip When Your Kids Do Not Want To Read! EP 65

July 31, 2025 • 13 mins
It's the end of July and the new school year is approaching (faster than I would like!). Today's episode is for parents. I often hear comments from parents that their kids are not interested in reading. After taking my daughters and a friend to a bookstore, I have a story and some suggestions about what you can do to help get your child interested in reading a book before the end of the summer. It will take some effort on your end,...
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Mid-Summer Check-In for Parents: Have Your Kids Been Reading? If Not, You Have Time! EP 64

July 17, 2025 • 11 mins
It's mid-July already! This week's episode features a quick check-in with three tips to get your kids back into a reading habit this summer. Daily routines and habits shift during the summer months which can mean that reading may not be happening as regularly as it does during the school year. So, Elizabeth shares tips that you can put into practice pretty quickly to get back into reading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
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Matching Books to Readers: A Conversation with Lea Anne Borders EP 63

June 19, 2025 • 25 mins
Lea Anne Borders is the founder of Bookelicious, a digital tool that connects kids’ interests to books that they may enjoy reading. She joins me on today's episode to talk about the features of Bookelicous and we discuss how it can be used by teachers and parents to help children find books that they are interested in reading. This is a great tool to explore - especially at the start of the summer - so that kids can find books the...
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Getting Kids in Middle and High School Reading with New York Times Bestselling Author Jen Calonita EP 62

June 5, 2025 • 29 mins
In today's episode, New York Times Bestselling Author, Jen Calonita comes on to discuss her books as well as why she loves writing for the middle grade and young adult kids. She shares why it is so important to meet kids where they are and why connecting to kids' interests - at any age - is so important to get and keep kids reading. Jen is the author of many books, including The Lost Legend series, 12 to 22, The VIP series, and Is...
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Supporting Multilingual Learners with Interacting, Reading, and Listening: Learning More from Susan Katz EP 61

May 22, 2025 • 33 mins
We are back with the second half of my conversation with Susan! Susan is the author of The Swirl Method: Supporting Multilingual Learners as They Speak, Write, Interact, Read, and Listen. This week, Susan is taking us through her strategies to support multilingual learners with interacting, reading, and listening. She offers excellent resources in each area - so please check them out! This is the second part of a two-part episode....
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Ideas and Strategies for Teaching Multilingual Learners with Susan Katz, Author of the SWIRL Method EP 60

May 8, 2025 • 29 mins
The Swirl Method: Supporting Multilingual Learners as They Speak, Write, Interact, Read, and Listen, written by Susan Katz addresses how we can support children who are multilingual learners. In this amazing resource, Susan identifies specific strategies in each area: speaking, writing, interacting, reading, and listening - that can be used in the literacy classroom to help learners thrive. This is a two-part episode. Today's epis...
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Connecting Sports and Reading: Making Sure Kids Have Books They Want to Read with Football and Baseball Player Brian Jordan EP 59

April 24, 2025 • 35 mins
Brian Jordan is a former professional football and baseball player. He played football for the Atlanta Falcons and he played baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Texas Rangers. Brian believes that all kids need to learn to read. He has written a number of children's books, such as I Told You I Can Play!, Overcoming the Fear of Baseball, and Time-Out for Bullies. Brian is passionate about ...
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It's National Library Week! Get Involved and Support Your Local Library with President-Elect Sam Helmick EP 58

April 10, 2025 • 28 mins
It's National Library Week! It's a great week to get involved and support your local library. Libraries are a reflection of the community they serve. You can check out new books and see what other events are happening at your library this week. On today's episode, American Library Association's President-Elect Sam Helmick joins me. We discuss what is happening with libraries at the moment. We also discuss National Library Week an...
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Movement and Literacy: A Multi-Sensory Approach to Learning to Read EP 57

March 27, 2025 • 20 mins
How can movement be included in learning to read? In today's episode, Elizabeth speaks with Stefanie Hohl, the creator of ABC See, Hear, Do, which is a multi-sensory approach to learning to read. Stefanie believes in getting kids moving when reading and she shares many ideas about how this can be done. In this episode, we discuss: - What a multi-sensory approach to literacy is? - How active kids can be supported when they are lea...
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Handwriting is a Foundational Skill & The Role it Plays in Supporting Reading EP 56

March 13, 2025 • 34 mins
Is handwriting important now that kids have access to technology and devices in school? Many parents are concerned about their children's penmanship. Should handwriting be taught in schools? The answer to these questions is yes. Handwriting should be taught in school (and so should cursive writing). Dr. Cheryl Lundy Swift is the Professional Learning Director at Learning Without Tears - the program that includes Handwriting Withou...
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Three Signs that Kids May Be Frustrated with Reading and What To Do About It EP 55

February 27, 2025 • 20 mins
What behaviors signal that kids are frustrated when they are reading? This week's episode focuses on three behaviors that can signal that kids may be frustrated when reading. The behaviors include: - Hanging onto one detail from the book - Looking for a distraction - Not having books that kids want to read Elizabeth explains these behaviors and offers some suggestions about how we as teachers (and parents) can support our elementar...
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