Literacy

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to share with a teacher friend or leave us a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

Just a quick reminder that the views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests of the Melissa and Lori Love Literacy podcast are not necessarily the opinions of Great Minds PBC or its employees.

We appreciate you so much and we're so glad you're here to learn with us.

line.

So if you're ready to connect the pieces and make the literacy instruction you're already doing even stronger, come join us inside Beyond Phonics Club.

Head to the link in the show notes to learn more.

You're listening to episode 124 of Literacy in Color.

What if we stopped looking at literacy development as a series of isolated, disjointed skills to master and started thinking about how each component integrates with the next? Today, I'm thrilled to welcome back Dr.

Molly Ness, who joins me to introduce her newest contribution to the literacy landscape, the Upward Spiral of Literacy.

This framework offers a refreshing perspective on how oral language, foundational skills, word knowledge, and self-regulated text engagement work together to propel students toward joyful and purposeful reading and writing.

And here's what I love most.

Welcome to For the Love of Literacy, an occasional podcast where we discuss innovative methods and current research that strengthen the connections between language and literacy.

We also explore the many ways that today's students learn.

including those with dyslexia, attention, memory, and executive function struggles, as well as those who are simply disengaged from instruction.

Most importantly, our guests transform often complex concepts into concrete activities that engage and motivate both students and their teachers.

I'm Bruce Howlett, a former research biologist who struggled for decades to read for enjoyment, spell complex words, and write engaging sentences.

My goal for this podcast is to show that there is no reason that students should complete this school year without developing a love of literacy, including reading, spelling, and writing for enjoyment.

Your students' struggles will dissipate, just like mine did, once they learn how all the pieces of the literacy puzzle work together in an integrated and self-reinforcing manner.

This is why we often discuss the importance of morphemes, the universal building blocks of words, phrases, the universal building blocks of sentences, and syntax, which provides the blueprint in every language for assembling morphemes, words, and phrases into meaningful sentences.

And I'm glad to say that we are rip roaring.

And in a week, I will announce, we will get to announce really transformative new approach to driving better learning outcomes and literacy here in the U.S.

And just to recap for folks, and maybe you could give us a little more meat on the bone, there's a movement happening.

I was first exposed to it through tutoring around going outcomes-based and outcomes-based contracting as something that was emerging in some states where you could actually Structure your contracts so that you actually had to deliver.

And when we get outcomes, you pay us.

If we're not getting all the outcomes that we all agreed we could go try to do, we understand, but we want to keep committed to really driving the outcomes, not just selling books or licenses.

And in the literacy space, it's a place where, you know, the Mississippi Miracle, I've heard it now called the Mississippi Marathon.

It's plenty of those things.

[upbeat music] Welcome to the Adolescent Literacy Podcast, a space where educators, researchers, and literacy leaders come together to explore what it really takes to transform reading outcomes for older students.

We're talking about the evidence, the practices, and the people driving change.

I'm Melanie McDermott, and this is episode 21.

Our guest today is Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, author of The Essentials of Adolescent Literacy, and the creator of the Writing Rope, a companion framework to Scarborough's Reading Rope.

Joan has been working in adolescent literacy since before most of us knew that it was even a field.

She got her start at the Landmark School in Massachusetts, a school for students with dyslexia, where she spent 23 years teaching, researching, and building programs for older striving readers.

You know, people say, "If they're not reading by third grade, you've lost them." And it's so disheartening to hear that, but so wonderful.

And y- I know that no one could see me as you both were speaking, but I was nodding my head with everything that you were saying because yes, absolutely yes, we have to continue with a really robust system of literacy in secondary.

"Thank you to the City of Flagstaff for this special dedication to Gene Munger," said Molly Munger, Gene's wife.

"He would have been very honored by this recognition." Before his passing in 2023, Gene was a passionate advocate for literacy and a dedicated volunteer in Flagstaff.

He read with English as a second language, ESL, adults through the Literacy Volunteers of Coconino County, now the Literacy Center.

He also volunteered for many years reading to fourth graders at Knowles Elementary School.

"So many told him he made such a positive difference in their life and increased their skills and appreciation for reading," added Munger.

"And what a positive difference they made in Gene's life as well." A bronze plaque featuring a photo of Gene will now adorn a bench that provides a meaningful place for visitors to watch the trains, read, reflect, and remember this beloved community member.

The bench is part of the British Phone Booth Library, a beautification project designed to promote literacy by offering free books to readers of all ages.

The installation features two libraries, a larger one refashioned from a British phone booth, which inspired the project's name, and a smaller library designed to accommodate accessibility needs.