Reading Teachers Lounge

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Courses
**Reading Teachers Lounge**

This is the Reading Teachers Lounge where listeners can eavesdrop on professional conversations between elementary reading teachers. We are passionate about literacy and strive to find strategies to reach all learners. Shannon and Mary are neighbors who realized that they were “literacy soul sisters” at a dinner in their Atlanta neighborhood. Once they started chatting about reading they haven’t really stopped. Come join the conversation.

Latest Episodes:

Season 2 Finale Jul 22, 2020

Show notes

Shannon and Mary catch up after their Season 2 hiatus to discuss Quarantine Life, Home Learning, and what's next.

RESOURCE LINKS:

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Our Website
Facebook
Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

We love FCRR! Feb 29, 2020

Show notes

Are you familiar with the FCRR? They have done incredible work making free effective research-based literacy activities. The centers include directions for teachers and all the necessary materials. They are mostly print and go activities requiring minimal teacher prep!
In this episode, Shannon and Mary share their favorite FCRR reading center activities. They give ideas for storage and organization of the materials and ways to scaffold.

RESOURCE LINKS:
(General links are listed first, then below those you will see the links for the specific games mentioned.)

SPECIFIC GAME DIRECT LINKS FOR ACTIVITIES CREATED BY FCRR or SHANNON

FCRR: Vowel Picture Sort
FCRR: Phoneme Swap
FCRR: Vowel Stars
FCRR: Multiple Meaning Match
FCRR: Medial Phoneme Dominoes
FCRR: Speedy Phrases
FCRR: Word Web
FCRR: Sandpaper Words
FCRR: Contraction Bingo
FCRR: Root-A-Word
FCRR: Synonym and Antonym Connections
Shannon's Soccer Goal DIGITAL Vowel Sound Sort on Boom
Shannon's Read Around the Shape on Boom

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Our Website Facebook Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Spelling Tests: Good or Bad? with special guest Alison from Learning at the Primary Pond Feb 20, 2020

Show notes

Shannon and Mary speak with consultant and literacy specialist Allison from Learning at the Primary Pond all about spelling tests and best practices in phonics instruction.
Resource Links:

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate program, we earn a small amount from your qualifying purchases. We'd appreciate if you would use our links to help support the podcast.*

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Our Website
Our Facebook
Our Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Shared Reading Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

Shannon and Mary discuss another pillar in the Balanced Literacy Series: Shared Reading. Shared reading is interactive reading with teacher guided support. This is essential for helping struggling readers build their fluency and expression as well as explicitly modeling how proficient readers approach text. It can be done in whole group, small group, or with individualized instruction. Sometimes you will see shared reading experiences modeled with big books or books that are projected for the whole class to share.
Resource Links:

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate program, we earn a small amount from your qualifying purchases. We'd appreciate if you would use our links to help support the podcast.*

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Our Website
Facebook
Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Reading Wars Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

Shannon and Mary talk about the recent discussions in the news and educational circles related to the reading wars. Additionally, based on listener questions, they recommend some resources for teachers who want to implement more structured literacy into their classroom practices.
Resource Links:

Emily Hanford APM Reports Educate Podcast New Salvos in the Battles over Reading Instruction
Emily Hanford APM Reports How a Flawed Idea is Teaching Millions of Kids to be Poor Readers
Lucy Calkins' response: No One Gets to Own the Term "The Science of Reading"
Need to practice Phonics instruction? *Speech to Print Workbook by Louisa Cook Moats and Bruce Rosow *
Shannon recommends *Phonics A to Z by Wiley Blevins*
Shannon recommends *Teaching Phonics & Word Study in the Intermediate Grades by Wiley Blevins*
Free webinars IDA Upper Midwest Branch
IDA PDF Structured Literacy: Effective Instruction for Students with Dyslexia and Related Reading Difficulties
Comprehensive List of Programs based on Structured Literacy
Mary recommends Equipped for Reading Success by David Kilpatrick
our Encoding episode (Season 1, episode 22): Encoding First, Decoding Second

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate program, we earn a small amount from your qualifying purchases. We'd appreciate if you would use our links to help support the podcast.*

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Our Website
Facebook
Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Balanced Literacy versus Structured Literacy Dec 12, 2019

Show notes

Mary describes the differences between Balanced Literacy vs. Structured Literacy.
We have been doing a series on Balanced Literacy which might confuse some of our listeners. RTL wants to bring best practices to our conversations. If you, like us, believe that a strong phonics practice is essential, you will want to help your school transition to using a stronger structured literacy approach to word study. In this episode, we will be discussing ways to effectively bring stronger phonics instruction to your schools' teaching practices.
Resource Links:

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Our Website
Facebook
Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Independent Reading Nov 28, 2019

Show notes

Shannon and Mary continue the conversation about balanced literacy elements by discussing supporting students' independent reading in the classroom and at home. They share ideas about goal setting, making time for reading, reading conferences, and helping students develop literacy preferences.
"Teaching children to read and providing them with something worthwhile to read is not a job for the faint of heart in this world. But I'll keep at it, and I won't be alone. You'll come too. We're fortunate, you know. Too many people in this world spend their lives doing work that doesn't matter in the great scheme of things, but bringing children and books together does matter. And we get to do it."
~Katherine Patterson
Resource Links:
NOTE: As an Amazon Associate program, we earn a small amount from your qualifying purchases. We'd appreciate if you would use our links to help support the podcast.*

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Our Website
Facebook
Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Read Aloud Nov 07, 2019

Show notes

Shannon and Mary share their tips and tricks for one of the most enjoyable experiences of reading with young readers: Read Aloud! We share professional resources, essential tips for working with struggling readers, and how parents can make reading aloud at a home a treasured time for any type of reader.
Resource Links:
NOTE: As an Amazon Associate program, we earn a small amount from your qualifying purchases. We'd appreciate if you would use our links to help support the podcast.*

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Our Website
Facebook
Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Guided Reading Oct 24, 2019

Show notes

Shannon shares how guided reading groups are the non-negotiable element in her daily classroom. In this episode Mary and Shannon weigh in on the importance and power of small group teaching of guided reading.
Resource Links:
NOTE: As an Amazon Associate program, we earn a small amount from your qualifying purchases. We'd appreciate if you would use our links to help support the podcast.*

COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Our Website
Facebook
Instagram
Shannon's TpT Store

Support the show

Alphabetic Principle Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

Mary discusses the concept of alphabetic principle and strategies for teaching blending.
Resource Links:
NOTE: As an Amazon Associate program, we earn a small amount from your qualifying purchases. We'd appreciate if you would use our links to help support the podcast.*