Are you ready for summer? We can't wait to play with our kids! Mary and Shannon have compiled some resources for hands-on summer play to practice important reading skills outside of the classroom.

Teaching, phonicsMary SaghafiAugust 6, 2019summer, back to school, hands on learning, phonics, alphabet, letter recognition, sight words, outdoor learning, chalk work, play based cirriculum, S1 Ep26 Hands-on Learning in the Summer, read and write outdoorsComment

S1 Ep25 Necessary Phonics Lessons

We share some of the unexpected phonics lessons that students need that aren't always obvious in the curriculum guides. These important and necessary phonics lessons are essential in phonics instruction.

phonics, Reading, sight words, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 6, 2019phonics, Necessary Phonics Lessons, spelling generalizations, decoding, encoding, literacy, spelling, sound out words, season 1 episode 25Comment

S1 Ep24 Facilitating Digital Learning

Two reading teachers share how to facilitate digital assignments in the reading classroom. We go into detail about using Moby Max, Imagine Learning, and Boom Learning with students.

phonics, Teaching, Blended LearningMary SaghafiAugust 6, 2019digital learning, teachnology, reading, phonics, phonemic awareness, S1 Ep24 Facilitating Digital Learning, online learning, season 1 Episode 24Comment

S1 Ep22 Encoding first, Decoding second

Shannon and Mary discuss a professional article, "Why Phonics Teaching Must Change" published in Educational Leadership, September 2008 by Jeannine Herron. They talk about a different approach to teaching students to read. What if we focus more on encoding activities rather than starting with decoding activities?

phonics, Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 6, 2019phonics, decoding, encoding, reading, intervention, elementary, teaching, phonemic awareness, spelling, S1 Ep22 Encoding first, Decoding second, season 1 episode 22, reading interventionComment

S1 Ep21 Preschool Literacy

Two reading teachers talk about pre-reading skills and other school readiness skills students need before going to Kindergarten. They also discuss preschool literacy and give resources for preschool literacy activities and curriculum.

Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 6, 2019foundational skills, emotional skills, social skills, phonological awareness, early learning, preschool, preschool literacy, literacy strategiea, literacy startegies, play based cirriculum, preschool programming, early literacy skills, language and developement, pre-reading skills, season 1 episode 21Comment

S1 Ep20 Jargon Defined: Executive Functioning

What are executive functioning skills? In this episode, we will tell you what executive functioning is and what executive functioning activities are best for your students!

Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 6, 2019Executive Functioning in Plain English, Executive Functioning task cards, Executive Functioning, S1 Ep20 Jargon Defined: Executive Functioning, teaching life skills, the reading brain, season 1 episode 20, learning disabilitiesComment

S1 Ep18 Mindfulness about Learning

In this episode, two reading teachers discuss mindfulness activities for kids in the classroom. Teaching metacognition activities and metacognition strategies in the classroom is so important and that is why we are talking about it in this episode.

Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 6, 2019metacognition, ownership of learning, mindfulness about learning, thinking, learning strategies, performance evaluations, mindful, season 1 episode 18, 18, SELComment

S1 Ep15 ZPD and Rigor

We believe that learning to read is rigorous and teachers must continue to teach students where they are while developing the lofty learning goals.

Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 5, 2019rigor, reading instruction, foundational skills, zpd, zone of proximal development, education, elememtary, ZPD and rigor, instruction, scaffolding, season 1 episode 15Comment

S1 Ep13 The Big Secret

Two reading teachers talk about struggling readers in kindergarten, first, second, and third grade and the best coping mechanisms for struggling elementary readers.

Learning Disorders, Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 5, 2019reading intervention, self-esteem, foundational skills, dyslexia, struggling learners, struggling readers, reading, classroom analysis, season 1 episode 13, episode 13, SELComment

S1 Ep11 Sight Words

Shannon and Mary share a multitude of ways to increase practice for your students as they learn sight words.

Reading, Teaching, sight wordsMary SaghafiAugust 5, 2019sight words, high frequency words, dolch, fry words, etymology, structured word inquiry, practice sight words, parent teachers, reinforce learning, spelling, spell sight words, Season 1 episode 11, episode 11, irregular words Comment

S1 Ep10 All About Syllables

Join two reading teachers as they discuss the many moving parts of teaching syllables. In this episode, they discuss teaching syllables for kindergarten, first, second and third grade. They also discuss resources and fun syllable activities.

Teaching, syllablesMary SaghafiAugust 5, 2019syllables, all about syllables, teaching syllables, CLOVER technique, Magic-e, cvc, cvcvc, syllable patterns, syllable division, syllabicationComment

S1 Ep9 Vowel Teams

Two reading teachers will walk you through all things vowel teams in this episode. In this episode, we discuss different vowel team activities and show you some examples of vowel team anchor charts.

Vowels, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 5, 2019Vowel Teams, teaching vowels, vowel sounds, vowel teams, season 1 episode 9 Comment

S1 Ep7 All About Long Vowels

Two reading teachers chat about ideas for teaching long vowels. They discuss activities for long and short vowel sounds for kindergarten, first, second and third grade. After listening, teachers will understand the difference between long and short vowel sounds.

Teaching, VowelsMary SaghafiAugust 4, 2019vowels, long vowels, long vowel sounds, vowel sounds, teaching vowels, Season 1 Episode 7Comment

S1 Ep6 All About Short Vowels

Two reading teachers chat about the best methods for teaching short vowel sounds and teaching short vowel spelling patterns. They share their favorite free resources of short vowel activities. Each teacher explains why short vowel sounds are tricky for struggling readers and how to best provide instruction and intervention.

Reading, Teaching, VowelsMary SaghafiAugust 4, 2019short vowels, vowels, learning short vowels, vowel sounds, teaching vowels, all about short vowels, Season 1 Episode 6 Comments

S1 Ep5 Learning Disabilities 101

In this episode of the reading teachers lounge two reading teachers discuss different types of learning disabilities and activities to accommodate such learning struggles.

Learning Disorders, Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 4, 2019learning disabilities, Special Education, struggling learners, season 1 episode 5, RTI, dyslexiaComment

S1 Ep3 Getting to Know Your Readers

Two experienced reading specialists share practical assessment tools they use to measure their students' decoding skills

Reading, TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 4, 2019getting to know your readers, understanding your students, reading levels, assessment tools, teaching tools, Season 1 Episode 3, fluency, sight words, oral reading, phonemic awareness, decoding skills, spellingComment

S1 Ep 2 Becoming A Reading Teacher

Two reading teachers discuss when they felt the magic of unlocking literacy with their students.

TeachingMary SaghafiAugust 4, 2019Becoming a real teacher, Reading teacher, unlocking literacy, teaching reading, teacher talk, Season 1 Episode 2Comment