Best Practices in Education

Part 6- Putting it All Together with Writing!  

In this series we have discussed all of the elements of learning to read and building comprehension through knowledge building.  We put all this together in our writing!  In this episode I am joined again by my team teacher, Rebekah Walker.  You will learn how we teach students to write as they learn.  Students start at the sentence level and end up writing 5 paragraph essays in first grade! 

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Part 5- Project Based Learning and Knowledge Building

We know that comprehension is built with knowledge building curriculum.  We love building knowledge!  One really fun way to build knowledge is through project based learning.  In this episode Master Teacher, Carly Penny talks about her experience with project based learning and how it builds knowledge! 

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Part 4- Comprehension Through Knowledge Building Curriculum with Equity in Mind! 

The science of reading has taught us that students build comprehension through knowledge building.  We went searching for a knowledge building curriculum that we wanted to use.  In our search, we made equity a high priority.  We strongly believe in decolonizing history.  We want to give our students a world view that celebrates all cultures.  That search led us to Fishtank Learning!   In this episode, we also hear from the head of school at Odyssey, Dr. Howard.  He explains why equity is so important. 

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Part 3- Phonics and Intervention with UFLI

Every good science of reading program needs a strong phonics program that is explicit and systematic.  It also requires intervention work.  In this episode, we discuss how we use UFLI as a tool to teach phonics according to the science of reading and Orton-Gillingham methods.  We also talk about how we use small group interventions to help support struggling readers.   This episode will be helpful for anyone looking for ways to implement a high quality reading and phonics program!

https://ufli.education.ufl.edu/ 

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In the second episode in our series on the Science of Reading we discuss assessment.  Odyssey moved away from Fountas and Pinnell assessment and adopted Acadience this year!  The difference has been amazing!  Please enjoy listening to us explain why and how it works! 

Use this link to learn more about Acadience Learning.  https://acadiencelearning.org/

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Odyssey Elementary Director Robin Skeen takes on a six part series of the science of reading and how it can be applied in the classroom and beyond. Part 1 is an introduction and overview of the program. 

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We close out the third season of Best Practices in Education with special guests from AVL Rise, a peer-to-peer literacy and mentorship program based in Asheville, North Carolina, which is funded through OpenDoors Asheville.

Program Director, David Kennedy, a Jamaican native, is a father, creative, music artist, writer, educator, and scholar. As an educator, he has over 7 years of experience at the primary, secondary and tertiary level as a Special Education and Social Studies teacher, also an Adjunct Lecturer, and was a certified professional teacher in two states, Florida and Colorado. David is joined in the studio by Toni and Kei'Shawn, ages 16 and 8, a student pair who participated in the program for the '21-22 school year.

AVL Rise uses youth culture pedagogy and hip hop elements to build cohesion and growth within its students and reimagine the classroom setting. Listen till the end to enjoy the original song, "Everyday We Rise," written and performed by David "Coppa Stone" Kennedy, Nex Millen, and Open Doors senior, Khalid Jean.

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Guest Host Elijah Allred is back to interview Intermediate teacher, Kylie Hulver. In this episode, Kylie talks about game design and how to create moments of  joy and movement in the classroom, while building gross motor skills and mental acuity for your students. 

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Intermediate Director, Kalyan Volpe, returns to the podcast to talk about his "Spiritual Warrior" intermediate program. Volpe defines spiritual cultivation in his classroom as the individual's attunement to their inner landscape and translating the information and knowledge taken from that attunement out into the physical world. It includes mindfulness practices, meditation, and developing inner attributes, such as focus and courage.

Listen to learn more about how to inspire preteens and teens to engagement and leadership.

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Kindergarten teacher Samantha Sole shares about her journey to integrate sign language into the kindergarten classroom. Supporting students in using movement to communicate opens up new pathways in the brain for communication and understanding, and builds empathy for difference.

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