Episode 61: Thriving by Design: Educator Wellness & Student Reading Fluency with Melissa Tallman

Now more than ever, teachers have a lot on their plate. In addition to the regular responsibilities of lesson planning and grading, additional pressures to foster classroom community, focus on student wellness, increase standardized test scores, and keep up with the competitive Instagram teacher community can leave anyone feeling stressed and pulled in many different directions. But Melissa wants to help teachers feel more in control, helping them use their time more effectively by offering high quality, research-based curriculum products and actionable advice so teachers no longer just get by but truly thrive in the classroom each and every day.

Melissa is the curriculum designer behind Teacher Thrive. Melissa explains how her foray into curriculum design happened organically, long before she had even heard about TeachersPayTeachers and while she was very much in the trenches of the classroom herself. What was a gig to craft curriculum for her district ended up aligning with her stage of life all the better, and Melissa has never looked back. Now, Melissa’s blog and shop allow her to reach even more teachers, giving them the tools they need inside the classroom and the advice they need to hear.

While Melissa has crafted curricula for many different areas, Melissa deep dives into strategies for reading fluency, providing tips that can be immediately implemented no matter what grade level or subject you teach.

In this episode, you’ll hear,

-How your own district may be just the place to start when designing curriculum

-Why teacher wellness (and particularly your sleep) play a big role in your success in and out of the classroom

-What exactly reading fluency means—and the strategies you can use in your classroom to promote reading fluency

Links mentioned: 

Melissa's website, blog, and ready-made downloads

https://teacherthrive.com/

Melissa's Choral Reading freebie download

https://teacherthrive.com/2019/10/choral-reading-and-reading-fluency.html