Returning guest and recent doctoral degree recipient Dr. Jasmine Rogers rejoins the podcast to discuss findings from her research on Black language and teacher perceptions of Black language. Dr. Rogers shares strategies for how educators can better serve students by allowing them to be more themselves in the classroom. She also shares specific teacher approaches she's observed that listeners can apply in their own classrooms. Lastly Dr. Rogers inspires listeners with emotional stories—including her own—about educators learning and growing, and posits that starting with introspection can often have the greatest impact on the classroom.Show notes:Listen: Jasmine’s first appearance on Science of Reading: The PodcastRead: “The Importance of Phonemic Awareness Instruction for African American Students” by Ramona T. Pittman, Marianne Rice, Esther Garza, and Myriam J. GuerraRead: “Difference or Deficit in Speakers of African American English?” by Linda M. Bland-StewartReference: “Phonemic Inventories and Cultural and Linguistic Information Across Languages,” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)Quotes:"You address people as human beings because they're human and that's the right thing to do." —Dr. Jasmine Rogers"The history of our country, the history of who we are as individuals in our families, absolutely impacts who we are as teachers and how we show up in the classroom." —Dr. Jasmine Rogers"A lot of change is just being open to feedback, being curious, and ensuring that whatever you are doing, you are not causing harm to students." —Dr. Jasmine Rogers"If I was able to make a change, you 110 percent can make a change. And a lot of that is just being open to feedback, being curious, and ensuring that whatever you are doing, you are not causing harm to students." —Dr. Jasmine RogersEpisode Content Timestamps*2:00: Recap of the last episode with Dr. Jasmine Rogers4:00: How teachers respond when students use Black language in their lessons and how that impacts student behavior11:00: Observation on teacher moves in the classroom, pre and post professional development23:00: Tips for educators wanting to be more affirming in the classroom26:00: Resources for learning the phonological features of different languages & the importance of relationship building and knowing your students31:00: How we teach irregularly spelled words & syllable stresses35:00: Emotional stories from educators & final encouragement from Dr. Jasmine Rogers*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

Many educators understand the value of reading aloud to students, but may not have yet unlocked the full power of these tools as an intentional, consistent, and joyful instructional approach. In this episode, we welcome Molly Ness, author or the recent book, Read Alouds for All Learners: A Comprehensive Plan for Every Subject, Every Day, Grades PreK—8. Molly—a former classroom teacher herself, who also spent 16 years as a teacher educator—gives us an overview of the research on read-alouds, detailing the myriad benefits (linguistic, socioemotional, motivational, and physiological) they provide students. Molly also lays out strategies for effective read-alouds, instructions on how to properly plan and implement them, and specific examples of the pre-work process for texts like Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.Show notes:Book: “Read Alouds for All Learners: A Comprehensive Plan for Every Subject, Every Day, Grades PreK–8” by Molly Ness*Use promo code “AmplifyPodcast20” from Oct. 24, 2023–Dec. 15, 2023, for a 20% discount on the paperback version. Read: “What are Teachers Reading and Why?: An analysis of elementary read aloud titles and the rationales underlying teachers’ selections” by Kristin Conradi Smith, Craig A. Young, and Jane Core YatzeckWebsite: www.drmollyness.comX account: @drmollyness*Terms and conditions:Discount valid on SolutionTree.com only. Enter promo code AmplifyPodcast20 at checkout to receive a 20% discount on the paperback version of Read Alouds for All Learners. Offer expires December 15, 2023. Not valid for bookstores, distributors, or resellers. Continental U.S. only. Cannot be combined with other offers. For customers submitting a purchase order, payment must be received by December 15, 2023, to qualify for this offer.Quotes:"A read-aloud is an interactive language experience...where a teacher reads something, elicits a conversation from students. Those conversational turns are so essential in [a] read-aloud. It's a shared literacy experience around a text." —Molly Ness"What I don't think teachers understand, and I say this having been one of those teachers, is the intentionality that needs to happen in planning the read-aloud." —Molly Ness"When we add things like think-alouds and being explicit in our vocabulary, we are building [students'] metacognition and [their] abiliy to understand text." —Molly Ness"We all have those gaps in knowledge and life experiences, regardless of where we come from and regardless of our zip code and regardless of our personal or family situation." —Molly Ness

In the premiere episode of Season 8 of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert is joined by guests Reid Smith and Pamela Snow to lay the groundwork for a season entirely centered on knowledge and knowledge-building. Reid and Pamela—of the SOLAR Lab at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia—recently co-authored (along with many others) a review of the literature on background knowledge and literacy. In this discussion, they share what they learned, including some surprising takeaways. This episode examines the  complexity of building background knowledge, the important role it plays in literacy, and the reasons we’ve decided to spend a whole season exploring it!Show notes:Read: "The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension: A critical review"Read: "Elementary Teachers' Perspectives on Teaching Reading Comprehension"Blog: The Snow Report Website: The SOLAR LabQuotes:“We decided we'd embark on a knowledge-rich curriculum where we would make deliberate decisions about what it is that we would like our students to know about the world in which we live and thinking carefully about the coherence and sequencing of that knowledge.”  —Reid Smith“This idea of having a coherent curriculum that systematically builds knowledge and skills over time is something that we think is really important for our kids.” —Reid Smith“There's a group of students who, even when they know they have the background knowledge that's required to make inferences in a text, they find that really difficult, that they have difficulty identifying the pieces of knowledge that they actually have that are going to enable them to make inferences with a particular text.” —Reid Smith“Explicit teaching is an important way of building accurate background knowledge, building schema about a topic that, of course, is an important social equity lever for us to pull because not all students have equal opportunities.” —Pamela Snow“Background knowledge has a particularly strong effect for those students who don't have other compensatory mechanisms to be able to pick up the ball when they don't have that background knowledge.” —Reid Smith“The long-term memory makes no distinction between information that's correct or incorrect…so, of course, the incorrect knowledge would impact on our understanding." —Reid Smith“I think we respect teacher autonomy when we give them the knowledge that they need about how the English writing system works, right across the Reading Rope, and how the English language works, right across the Reading Rope.” —Pamela Snow

In this episode, in honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month, we highlight Kareem Weaver's daughter Margaret "Margo" and nephew Elijah—both of whom learned they had dyslexia later in their young lives. After many struggles in school, Margo was diagnosed with dyslexia in high school. Meanwhile, Elijah was diagnosed with dyslexia only while he was incarcerated. Margo and Elijah discuss the impact of their diagnoses. Meanwhile, Kareem reflects on their stories and shares lessons learned for families and caregivers. Margo and Elijah also share their advice for educators and other young people about types of dyslexia. Show notes:Listen: Kareem Weaver’s first interview with Susan: What it takes to be a literacy education changemaker.Listen: Kareem Weaver’s most recent podcast appearance: The Right to Read: live from Plain TalkMuch more on dyslexia: Listen to S7E7 with Dr. Tim Odegard and S7E9 with Dr. Sally ShaywitzDocumentary: The Right to Read Website: FULCRUM (Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate) Read: How dyslexia diagnosis changed a Bay Area high school softball player’s lifeQuotes:"It made me realize I wasn't the problem; something was wrong with me. I just had a little bump in the road that was making it just a little bit harder for me." —Margo Weaver"It shouldn't take having to go to jail to get what you need to learn how to read. That's the bottom of it." —Kareem Weaver"Just try to take a deep breath in and ask questions." —Elijah Valencia"Even when they were trying to help me ... it's like they were expecting me to be learning at everybody else's pace." —Elijah Valencia"Real talk as a parent: We got to own up to stuff." —Kareem Weaver"When a kid can't read and life gets a hold of you, it's a life cycle. Next thing you know, you find yourself in situatins that you never would have imagined." —Kareem Weaver"Most parents are overwhelmed and they need an ally in the building." —Kareem Weaver"I just wish somebody kind of sat with me and told me that I wasn't stupid and that I was okay." —Margo Weaver

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Reid Lyon, one of the leading experts in reading research. After years working for and with the highest levels of the U.S. government, Dr. Lyon stepped away from working on reading research. However, in May 2023, he released his "Ten Maxims: What We've Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read." Picking up where we left off last episode, Dr. Lyon continues to expand on what we know about how children learn—and explains how much of this information was known two decades ago when he was testifying before Congress. He also goes into what he sees in the current Science of Reading landscape, and what he hopes for the future, and how both of those things led to the creation of his "Ten Maxims."Show notes:Listen to: Embracing the complexity of learning to read (Part 1)Dr. Reid Lyon: “Ten Maxims: What We've Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read”Keith Rayner’s research: “Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research”Marilyn Adams: Beginning to ReadSusan Brady:  Phonological Processes in Literacy Emily Hanford: “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong”Quotes:“The Science of Reading is cumulative and we’re learning all kinds of new things.” —Dr. Reid Lyon“A more realistic look at reading is in fact to understand the complexity, but not be intimidated by it.” —Dr. Reid Lyon“When you’re working on something that’s so critical to a life—to a child’s life—belief systems don’t cut it. Evidence cuts it.” —Dr. Reid Lyon

Dr. Reid Lyon is one of the leading experts in reading research. After years working for and with the highest levels of the U.S. government, Dr. Lyon stepped away from his reading research. But in May 2023, Dr. Lyon released his "Ten Maxims: What We've Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read." And of course Susan jumped at the chance to invite him onto the podcast. In a wide-reaching interview, Dr. Lyon traces his life story from the Vietnam War to the National Institute of Health. He also offers an expansive overview of what we know about teaching reading, how children learn—including a discussion of whole language vs. phonics—and his response to educators wondering what reading actually is and what methodology of teaching students to read is most effective. Be on the lookout for Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Reid Lyon, being released next week.Show notes:Dr. Reid Lyon: “Ten Maxims: What We've Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read”Keith Rayner’s research: “Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research”Marilyn Adams: Beginning to ReadSusan Brady:  Phonological Processes in Literacy Emily Hanford: “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong”Quotes:“Phonics—that is, looking at letters, letter patterns, learning how to bring sound to associate to those letters—is absolutely essential, non-negotiable. It has to be learned. But it in no way is sufficient to be able to comprehend, which is the goal of reading.” —Dr. Reid Lyon“Reading is a complex behavior subserved by multiple systems in the brain that integrate and inform each other.” —Dr. Reid Lyon“It’s a symphony of neural activity that undergirds this very complex behavior of just learning how to read. So when people boil reading down into phonics or whole language, it’s just a false characterization.” —Dr. Reid Lyon“People somehow conflated this natural ability of oral language to develop—just expose kids, just shower them with language—to reading. And reading is by no means natural. It has to be taught. It does not reside in the brain systems.” —Dr. Reid Lyon“We’re hampered by the teacher-knowledge issue. That’s not a teacher’s fault. That’s a college of education system that is bereft of responsibility. It operates on philosophical foundations. It operates on belief systems. It’s very politicized. It looks at reading as a right, which it is. But it doesn’t look at the instruction of reading as methodology—strategies, direct and comprehensive programs that can help most kids learn to read.” —Dr. Reid Lyon

From reading street signs and menus to checking the weather, and using a ruler, there are so many examples of how a student's math and literacy adventure continues beyond the classroom. That's why we're sharing another bonus episode—this time from our friends at Math Teacher Lounge, to show the connection between math and children's literature.In this episode, Mathematizing Children's Literature authors Allison Hintz and Antony Smith join Math Teacher Lounge hosts Bethany Lockhart Johnson and Dan Meyer to discuss what would happen if we were to approach children's literature, and life, through a math lens, and how we can apply those techniques to classroom teaching.Show notes:Dr. Hintz’s Twitter: @allisonhintz124Dr. Smith’s Twitter: @smithant  Dr. Hintz and Dr. Smith’s Instagram: @MathematizeChildrensLiteratureQuotes:“We started asking ourselves what would happen if we considered any story a chance to engage as mathematical sensemakers.” —Allison Hintz“We think of stories as mirrors or windows. We really want to be mindful of story selection, of whose stories are told and whose stories are heard.”—Allison Hintz “Modeling what I, as a teacher, notice or wonder about helps set the expectation for what kind of response would be encouraged.” —Antony Smith

In this episode, we take on the difficult topic of literacy education in the American juvenile justice system. Susan is joined by Hilderbrand Pelzer III, who discusses his experience as an educational leader in the Philadelphia prison system. Pelzer talks about what he saw and learned—and explains why he advocates for aspiring teachers to work with incarcerated youth. This passionate and moving discussion breaks down the myths surrounding literacy's relationship with juvenile incarceration and also leaves listeners with advice on how to become more involved in their own communities.Show notes:Hilderbrand Pelzer III's FacebookHilderbrand Pelzer III's LinkedInHilderbrand Pelzer III's Intragram: @hilderbrandpelzer3Hilderbrand Pelzer III"s Twitter: @HP3PotentialWebsite: www.hilderbrandpelzer3.comBook: “Unlocking Potential: Organizing a School Inside a Prison” by Hilderbrand Pelzer IIIHilderbrand's Tedx Talk: What incarcerated youth can teach teachersBook: “The Unspoken Truth and Life Story” by Keenan HudsonQuotes:“Once we have our understanding and expectations, what are the opportunities we are going to put in place to help them thrive? It’s as simple as that. Expectations and opportunities.” —Hilderbrand Pelzer III“Teacher preparation training should be [taking place] inside correctional settings. Why? Because inside correctional settings, you will see all the challenges that we talk about… [the teachers] will not run away from challenges. They will be able to understand, navigate, and already have a plan of action to help.” —Hilderbrand Pelzer III“These are real stories about children living their [lives] unable to read. It’s not data. They’re telling you they’re in a situation of incarceration and they’ve figured that their life is over as a result of not being taught in school.” —Hilderbrand Pelzer III“I said, ‘Well, I’m gonna be at the Philadelphia prison system,’ and he looked at me like my career was dead...not knowing that my career started in juvenile prisons. Going from this to that [felt] like, ‘I’m about to do something extraordinary.’” —Hilderbrand Pelzer III

We're excited to share a special episode from our friends at the Science Connections podcast! Literacy learning doesn't end when a student leaves their English class; it continues to develop, grow and be challenged across all subject domains. In this episode, host Eric Cross sits down with Susan Gomez Zwiep, former middle school science teacher and senior science educator at BSCC Science Learning. She shares research that shows the benefits of integrating science and literacy, strategies for applying these ideas in the classroom, and what she's learned through her own experiences.Show notes:Listen to more Science Connections episodesDr. Susan Gomez Zwiep’s BSCS profile, link: bit.ly/SC-zwiep-profile  Inquiry Science: The Gateway to English Language Proficiency, link: bit.ly/SC-zwiep-researchTwitter: @SusanGomezZwiep Study guide (episode 2)Quotes:"If we wait until students develop English proficiency to allow them access to quality learning, we've lost a tremendous number of students that could not only benefit from science, we could benefit from their entering this science conversation." —Susan Gomez Zwiep"When kids were excited about this thing in a Ziploc bag, they didn't care. They communicated however they could—sometimes in their primary language or in their home language, sometimes in imperfect English ...but you and large, they just communicated." —Susan Gomez Zwiep"This expansion of language including non standard dialects and even home language, is really important for letting students bring their whole selves into the classroom.""...The kids were coming into the office and had transitioned to communicating in English, especially when they wanted to talk about science, and they really wanted to talk about science, 'cause they were super excited about the stuff that they were learning." —Susan Gomez Zwiep

While in New Orleans at the Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference, Susan sat down with keynoter Zaretta Hammond. Zaretta shared her thoughts on the importance of scaffolding in literacy education. In this episode, Susan and Zaretta also look back on Zaretta’s impactful book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students and talk about scaffolding, mastery, and the importance of learning how to learn. Show notes:Book: Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta L. HammondTwitter: @ready4rigorInstagram: @crtandthebrainNewsletter sign up: www.crtandthebrain.comQuotes:“What I have come to believe is the obstacle is the way. So what worries me becomes my research project. What worries me becomes my new mission.”  —Zaretta Hammond“For me, justice is the mastery. I'm a movie fan and so I, in this case, think of Master Yoda all the time. You know, he said there's no try or not try. You're just doing it. Either you're teaching them to read or not.” —Zaretta Hammond“When that scaffold stays [up] too long, it becomes a crutch and the child actually believes they cannot learn without it.” —Zaretta Hammond“So this idea of somehow we get overprotective and we don't want them to fall. We don't want them to fail. We don't want them, you know, their self, self-esteem, to be bruised. We are actually doing that when we delay this because the only way we learn is through error. And we have not reframed errors as information.” —Zaretta Hammond“Number one, you assign yourself, and number two, you always go for mastery. Not a grade. No one will ever ask you about your grades four years after college, ever. Go for mastery. They will ask you what you know how to do.” —Zaretta Hammond

This season is all about tackling the hard stuff, and there is no harder pill to swallow than being told by a student that you don't know how to teach reading—especially when you realize they're right! After this happened to Jamey Peavler, Co-Director in the Reading Science Graduate Program at Mount St. Joseph University, she leaned in and took the opportunity to completely rethink her approach to literacy instruction. Now, her research focuses on maximizing small-group instruction. In this episode, she'll share her findings and her advice, as well as some best practices for small-group instruction and balancing small- and whole-group work.Show notes:Book: Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching by Anita L. Archer and Charles A. HughesGraphic: Instructional Hierarchy: Matching Interventions to Student Learning Stage (Haring, et al., 1978)Webinar: Maximizing the Benefits of Small-Group Instruction with Jamey PeavlerBook: 10 Success Factors for Literacy Intervention: Getting Results with MTSS in Elementary Schools by Susan L. HallQuotes:“We have this mindset of that small-group differentiated golden standard, but there's a certain amount of instruction, again, [that] all kids need and there isn't a lot of difference between those things.” —Jamey Peavler“There's a certain amount of proactive, preventative foundation-building work that should be done for all kids. We can do that more efficiently in a whole-group setting and then reserve that small-group setting for what truly needs to be differentiated, because not everything has to be differentiated.” —Jamey Peavler“If we can set aside the idea of introducing a new program, and instead focus our core instruction on how that language and how those routines could actually be intensified in that small-group setting, we're going to minimize that cognitive overload.” —Jamey Peavler“What we know about overlearning is when you get that fluency down and that generalization down, you are more likely to accurately reach adaptation sooner. So it's not causing harm for the kids who have already learned that skill.” —Jamey Peavler“When you mess up, it's okay. Just mess up again tomorrow in a different way.” —Jamey Peavler

We're thrilled to share that we are about to launch brand new seasons of our hit podcasts— Science of Reading: The Podcast, Science Connections, Math Teacher Lounge. Listen to this trailer to learn more about what's to come in season 7 of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Tackling the Hard Stuff; season 3 of Science Connections, Science is the Underdog; and season 5 of Math Teacher Lounge, Math Anxiety. Click here to visit the new Amplify Podcast Hub and watch the video trailer promoting all three new seasons. Show notes:Science of Reading: The Podcast pageScience Connections podcast pageMath Teacher Lounge podcast pageAmplify Podcast HubCrossover episode: The science of learning, the humility of teaching