The Literacy Dive Podcast: Reading and Writing Strategies for Upper Elementary Teachers and Parents

I’ve mentioned before about how writing can be difficult and students often struggle with it. But let’s take it a step further, and imagine what writing is like for a student whose English is not their native language. As the world becomes more diverse, so are our classrooms. Therefore, we want to be able to provide support for ESL students in our classroom. Take a listen to today’s episode where I’m sharing a variety of writing strategies to support your ESL students. 

While all these tips and strategies can be used for any student needing writing support, they’re especially helpful for your ESL students. All of these writing strategies help students find success, confidence, and assist students in getting their thoughts and ideas out in written form. Along with getting them started, a lot of these strategies can be modified and adapted to the next level as your students grow in the skills and become more confident, which is the ultimate goal! 

In order to make a difference and help develop their skills, make sure you implement these writing strategies that support your ESL students. By practicing writing daily, providing tools and other resources, and so much more, your students will begin to feel confident in their written language in no time! 

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode110

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership
• Descriptive Writing Anchor Charts
• Upper Elementary Writing Office Folder

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
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All month long I’ve been discussing the topic of read alouds, so if you missed episodes 106, 107, and 108, make sure you go back and take a listen to hear all the different strategies, tips, and suggestions regarding read alouds. This episode is the last in our series, which helps bring it all together. Today, I’ll be sharing the benefits of using your read aloud specifically for spiral review. 

Just like we want to make sure our students understand and practice new concepts, there are certain skills we utilize spiral review on. While we know additional instructional time for such review can be limited, that’s why practicing these skills during your read aloud is beneficial. During the episode, I share 4 ideas on how to organically and purposefully incorporate spiral review on struggling skills during your read aloud time. 

Incorporating spiral review during your read aloud doesn’t have to take up a lot of time or provide you with a lot of additional prep work. These 4 quick and easy ideas will give you an opportunity to focus on spiral review of specific skills, all during your designated read aloud time. Implement these ideas and watch your students master their struggling skills with daily practice! 

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode109

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership
• Reading Response Sticky Notes
• Student Response Cards

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
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If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

All this month we’ve been having discussions around read alouds, why they’re effective, and what texts to choose. But did you know that you can also use read alouds to work on literacy skills with your students? One of the best literacy skills you could work on is fluency. In today’s episode, we have special guest Aylin Claahsen, who is sharing 5 ideas for focusing on fluency during read alouds.

Aylin Claahsen is a certified reading specialist, literacy consultant and curriculum designer who loves sharing literacy tips for teaching readers. Specializing in Kindergarten-5th Grade, she can be found sharing literacy tips on her blog or through social media at Literacy with Aylin Claahsen. She has a huge passion for small group reading as she has seen the impact it has on readers of all ability levels. Creating engaging literacy resources is one way that Aylin loves to connect with students and teachers all around the world. Aylin personally believes that building confidence in readers is one of the most important things teachers can do.

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode108

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership
• Seasonal Literacy Activities Bundle
• Seasonal Literacy Activities Bundle
• Aylin’s Fluency Course: The Fluency Files
• Episode 106, 4 Best Practices for Executing a Successful Read Aloud Experience
• Episode 107, How to Choose Effective Read Alouds

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Watch my YouTube channel 

If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

As literacy teachers, we’re always finding new ways to read to our students that help develop their reading skills, which is why read alouds are so effective. We’re in the middle of our series all about read alouds, so if you haven’t listened to the first episode, Episode 106, make sure you take a listen to get caught up in the series. In episode two of our series, I’m sharing how to choose effective read alouds and then how to use them. 

When it comes to choosing effective read alouds, there are many things to consider, which all stem from the purpose of your read aloud. Depending on which skill or strategy you want your students to focus on, that will also help determine which text to use and how to use read alouds effectively. 

One of the great things about read alouds is you can mix up how you use them and they benefit all grade levels. It can be overwhelming to think about how to choose effective read alouds, so take these ideas into consideration:

1. Use a variety of texts
2. Think about the experience of your students
3. Supporting other content areas
4. Books read by the author
5. Using books in a series
6. Finding ways to incorporate audiobooks, video books, and podcasts
7. Consider the length of texts you’re reading

Although you might know you want to start incorporating more read alouds into your classroom, it can be difficult finding the right texts and knowing how to use them. After listening to the episode, you’ll be more prepared on how to choose effective read alouds that help develop your students’ literacy skills. Stay tuned next week for the next episode in the series! 

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode107

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership
• Seasonal Literacy Activities Bundle
• Check out BookFlix

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
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• Watch my YouTube channel 

If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

My main goal in all that I do is to help teachers build ways to support and enhance their students’ literacy skills. While a lot of our discussions revolve around what students can do, with your guidance and support, this particular activity requires more from you as the teacher that ultimately supports your students, which are read alouds. I’m kicking off a new series that starts with today’s episode about the 4 best practices for executing a successful read aloud experience. 

Reading aloud is a powerful way to engage students in the literacy process, and is crucial to incorporate during your instructional time throughout the day. Whether you are new to adding read alouds to your classroom or a teacher who does them every day, it’s important to know the benefits and reasons why you make it a priority during your day. Some of those include increasing student vocabulary development, reading comprehension growth, and an increased motivation and willingness to read. However, there’s so much more, which I outline during the episode.

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode106

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership
• Seasonal Literacy Activities Bundle
• Fiction and Nonfiction Reading Comprehension Questions
• Higher Order Thinking Question Cards

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Watch my YouTube channel 

If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for awhile, you know that we’ve been discussing all things writing. Our topics have ranged from finding time to teach it, effective strategies, and how to incorporate writing across various content areas. However, we still know that students are reluctant writers and one way to help with that is by making it more fun and enjoyable. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing how to make writing fun that’s beyond the basics. 

Now, there’s a lot of simple ways to make writing fun, but I want to go beyond the basics. What I mean by that is more than fun paper, materials, or just allowing student choice. I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong with adding those to student writing, but there’s endless possibilities you could try as well. Some ways to make writing fun include:

• Draw on student interest
• Have materials only accessed through writing center
• Start writing with your students
• Make the transition time special
• Include opportunities for share time
• Partner writing or writing buddies

As we’ve learned over the last several episodes, writing can be a challenge for students, making them reluctant writers. Nevertheless, providing opportunities to make writing fun for your students will keep them engaged and willing to write during your designated writing time. By incorporating my tips for making writing fun, you will be amazed by how much your students look forward to it! 

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode105

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership.
• Monthly Writing Prompts Freebie
• Monthly Writing Prompts
• Episode 104, 5 Ways to Sneak Writing into Other Content Areas
• Episode 103, How to Find More Time to Teach Writing
• Episode 102, The Challenges of Teaching Writing and How to Overcome Them
• Episode 32, Diving Into Your Q&As: How Do You Set Up Effective Writing Centers?

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
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• Instagram Posts
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If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been discussing the challenges that teachers face when it comes to writing with our students and how to incorporate more writing into your literacy block. However, there are definitely more ways to get your students writing, without them even knowing it! In today’s episode, I’m revealing 5 ways to sneak writing into other content areas throughout your school day. 

By incorporating writing into other content areas, your students will be exposed to more opportunities that will have them practicing their writing skills outside of your designated writing block. During the episode, I share my 5 easy ways that you can implement at any grade level. Those ways are double dipping, creativity, materials, questioning, and partners. 

Each way that sneaks writing into other areas is easy, quick, and allows students to make connections amongst a variety of content areas, making most of your lessons transdisciplinary. It’s easy to embed writing into social studies or science, but I even have ideas on how to use writing during your math lessons! I also provide numerous examples to go along with each opportunity to write to visually show you how to use them effectively in your classroom. 

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode104

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership
• Monthly Writing Prompts Freebie

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Watch my YouTube channel 

If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

Our number one complaint as teachers is we don’t have enough time. Enough time to lesson plan, gather materials, teach each content area with the same equity, communicate with parents, eat our lunch, or have time for ourselves. The list goes on and on. But let me ask you this: how are you using your time? Is it that you don’t have enough of it or are you not managing it in the best way?

In last week’s episode, Episode 102, I discussed the challenges of teaching writing and how to overcome them. The issue of time was definitely part of those challenges. But what if I told you there were ways to find more time in your day to teach writing? In today’s episode, I’m going to share my tips and strategies on how to find more time to teach writing in your classroom. 

Throughout the episode, I share simple ways that either prioritize making time to teach writing or small ways to incorporate it throughout your day. We all have a writing block incorporated into our day that’s designated for writing, but I help break down what that can look like and how to make that writing block effective and achievable for you, as well as your students. 

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode103

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Watch my YouTube channel 

If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

Throughout our school day, teachers face a variety of challenges from a variety of different components. Some of them we can control, but some of them we can’t. One of the challenges teachers face is teaching writing to students. Although we can’t control every aspect of our literacy block or the skills students come to us with, we can start to change their mindset to grow their skills. In today’s episode, I’m talking all about the challenges of teaching writing and how to overcome them.

First, these writing challenges aren’t new, but they have been impacted more due to the pandemic. Other skills may have taken precedence over writing, which explains why their writing skills are lacking. However, students’ writing skills aren't the only roadblock. Teachers are lacking support, guidance, and personal confidence when it comes to writing. Some may even be without a true writing curriculum in their schools or districts. 

While all of those components result in challenges of teaching writing, there are ways to overcome them and be successful. During the episode, I share several different ways to change the way you think about writing or how it’s incorporated throughout your day. Each idea is simple, yet effective, and shows the countless benefits writing has on your students. And spoiler alert, they don’t just apply to your students! I share ways that you, as the teacher, can overcome your own challenges to teaching writing. 

Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode102

Resources Mentioned:

• Join the Writing Made Simple Membership

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Watch my YouTube channel 

If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!

With so many “buzzwords” circling through the educational world, it’s hard to keep them all straight. What do they mean? How is this different from what I’m already doing in the classroom? What type of activities do I need to be implementing in order for my students to be successful? 

All of these questions can relate to the idea of orthographic mapping. Luckily, I have brought on guest Michelle Sullivan to help give us some insight on this topic. So in today’s episode, we’re discussing exactly what orthographic mapping is and why it is so crucial for your reading instruction.

Michelle helps explain why this idea is so important for our students, for it’s more than just having words stored in our brains. Orthographic mapping also has positive effects on reading comprehension and fluency. Beyond those, there are so many reasons why it’s important, which Michelle helps breakdown for us throughout the episode. 

Resources Mentioned:

• Monthly Writing Prompts
• Seasonal Phoneme Grapheme Mapping Boards
• Free Blending + Segmentation Boards
• High Frequency Words - Phonics
• Follow Michelle on Instagram
• Check out her blog
• Find so many resources at her TPT store

SHOW NOTES: https://theliteracydive.com/episode101

Connect with me:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Subscribe to my E-mail list
• Instagram Posts
• Blog Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Watch my YouTube channel 

If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!