Literacy Talks

Every educator can relate to this episode as it delves into the complex issue of students encountering difficulties in reading. Our podcast hosts approach this issue through various lenses, revisiting the essentials of effective reading instruction, highlighting the significance of diagnostic assessments, and emphasizing the importance of early identification of learning gaps. This episode underlines the value of structured literacy, setting priorities, and understanding students at a personal level. Listen to gain helpful strategies to devise, implement, and modify instruction for your students, converting challenges into stepping stones toward success.

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

Words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently depending on their context can be perplexing for readers of all ages. What can you do? The answer comes from helping young readers build the skill known as set for variability. This episode of Literacy Talks unpacks this essential literacy skill and distinguishes it from the notion of guessing at the right pronunciation. It requires students to build cognitive flexibility and is a valuable predictor of a student’s word reading ability. Once students recognize that letters can have more than one sound and begin to address the mismatch between the sound of a decoded word and the words they recognize and know, they’re building the critical skill of set for variability.

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

Whether you attended the March 2023 Plain Talk Conference in New Orleans or wish you did, this Literacy Talks episode will give you a front-row seat for an insightful wrap-up on all the news and sessions from the conference. From favorite breakout sessions to highlights of the keynote addresses, this episode will take you on a round trip to Plain Talk and back without ever packing a suitcase.

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

We’re all familiar with the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” When it comes to literacy, that village includes teachers, families, and caregivers alike. In this episode of Literacy Talks, our trio of literacy experts looks at how educators and those in students’ home lives can play a cooperative, collaborative role in raising confident, capable readers. From productive conversations to helping encourage and structure literacy interactions with their children, this episode will give every educator practical, powerful tips and ideas for making caregivers and families valuable, trusted partners in literacy learning.

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

As schools and districts transform literacy instruction, invest in new professional learning for teachers, and train literacy coaches to implement instruction anchored in the science of reading, a key question arises—When will we see results? This episode of Literacy Talks addresses the question and provides insights into how changes in literacy instruction will deliver measurable and observable improvements. From improvements in spelling to incremental gains in formative and summative assessments, this episode encourages frontline teachers and administrators alike to give themselves and their students the space and grace needed to make continuous, systemic improvements.

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

Reading and literacy statistics offer valuable insights. In this episode of Literacy Talks, our trio of reading experts takes a helpful look at the numbers of reading. The “one in five” stat underscores the need to provide services and support to striving readers. There’s also the 50/50 split that tells us an equal number of girls and boys grapple with dyslexia. You can count on new information and insights when you tune in to this episode! 

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

Once students can master decoding, their vocabularies can blossom. In this episode of Literacy Talks, our trio of literacy experts tackles the challenges and joys of helping students build their vocabulary skills, along with the how’s and why’s of using the techniques of vocabulary-rich teaching. 

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

How can we, as educators, caregivers, and family members, encourage a love of reading in students? This episode of Literacy Talks explores the challenges and joys of teaching students to read, our priority, and encouraging their love of reading along the way. From helping them experience and feel success as they decode their first words to giving every student the opportunity to succeed, this episode delivers simple, practical, and yet profound tips for nurturing the love of reading and the joy of learning for every learner.

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

In November 2022, our Literacy Talks hosts attended the International Dyslexia Association’s 73rd annual conference. In this episode, you’ll have the opportunity to travel with them virtually as they share their key takeaways from the conference and their impressions of the many memorable presentations they attended. From new findings in brain research to effective intervention and prevention models of instruction and the connection between health and reading, this episode takes listeners on a whirlwind visit to the IDA conference.

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.

The reading pendulum is swinging, and in this episode of Literacy Talks, our reading experts talk candidly about how to frame and navigate the changing priorities and emphases. This conversation will give teachers and leaders valuable perspectives on the importance of focusing on foundational skills while still addressing all strands of literacy in instruction. The sciences of reading and learning can help guide the way, as early literacy instruction focuses first on phonics and then expands education to include all literacy components. It’s a “must-hear” episode!

💬 Want more insights like this?
Subscribe to the Literacy Talks Podcast Digest for episode recaps, resources, and teaching takeaways delivered straight to your inbox!

Core Instruction and Reading Intervention. One System. One Path Forward.

From Pre-K readiness to advanced fluency, Ascend®️ gives educators a consistent, needs-based approach to literacy—helping every teacher deliver the right instruction and every student build lasting mastery, one skill at a time. Coherent literacy for lasting impact.

See how Ascend works.

Do you teach Structured Literacy in a K–3 setting?
Sign up for a free license of Reading Horizons Discovery® LIVE and start teaching right away—no setup, no hassle. Sign-up Now.