Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers

Struggling with teaching comprehension? You’re not alone. Many students find comprehension challenging, and as teachers, it’s easy to feel stuck when strategies don’t seem to stick. In this episode, we’ll explore five common misconceptions about comprehension and how addressing them can transform your literacy instruction. If you’ve ever wondered why your students aren’t mastering comprehension strategies or why their understanding seems inconsistent, this episode is a must-listen.Comprehension is more complex than it seems, and traditional methods often miss the mark. By viewing comprehension as an outcome rather than a single skill, and by focusing on elements like background knowledge, vocabulary, and syntax, you can unlock significant progress in your students’ reading abilities. I’ll also share actionable strategies to help you assess comprehension authentically and build the foundational skills students need for success.Whether you want to refine your strategies or start fresh this semester, this episode is packed with practical advice to help your students succeed. Plus, join us for our FREE Comprehension Reset Challenge starting January 11 to dive deeper into evidence-based strategies. Head to stellarteacher.com/reset to sign up today!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode233.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

As you head into your well-deserved winter break, it’s the perfect time to contemplate a plan for a smooth return to the classroom. In this episode, we’re bringing back one of our most-loved episodes from the archives: 5 Creative Ways to Reteach Classroom Routines in January. Whether your students need reminders on how to line up, transition between activities, or engage during independent reading, these fun and effective strategies will help you reset your classroom expectations without stress.Returning from winter break can be a challenging transition for both teachers and students. After two weeks away, routines can feel like a distant memory, and classroom behavior might get a little “spicy.” That’s why taking time to reteach and reinforce your expectations is so important—and these strategies make it engaging, lighthearted, and manageable. You’ll hear how to involve your students in the process, make routines fun, and ensure the second half of the school year starts off strong.So, whether you’re tuning in during the first days of break (I hope you’re relaxing!) or saving this episode to help you prep before heading back to school, this episode will give you a simple game plan for tackling routines and behaviors in January. Let’s jump into five creative and student-centered ways to refresh your classroom routines so you can head into the new year with confidence and calm.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode232.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Winter break is almost here, and you’re probably balancing excitement for the holidays with the pressure to assess student learning before the semester wraps up. But assessments don’t have to mean stressful, time-consuming tests. This week on The Stellar Teacher Podcast, we’re bringing back one of our most popular episodes from the archives: Creative Ways to Assess Student Learning. These quick and engaging strategies will help you gather valuable insights without overwhelming your students—or yourself!In this episode, I’ll share 10 creative ways to assess student learning without relying on traditional tests. From quick brain dumps to hashtag challenges, these ideas are versatile, low-prep, and effective across all subjects. They’re designed to give you meaningful insights into your students’ thinking and understanding while keeping them engaged and motivated during the final days before winter break.If you’re looking for fresh ideas to assess student learning, this episode is packed with practical tips you can use right away. And if you’re looking for even more ideas, check out the templates available in my TPT store to make implementing these strategies even easier. Let’s finish the semester strong with fun, meaningful ways to celebrate all the learning your students have done so far!Purchase the Stellar Teacher Company Exit Ticket Sticky Notes here.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode231.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Dyslexia is a complex challenge—but with the right support, students can thrive. In this episode, Sara is joined by dyslexia specialist Heather O’Donnell to explore how teachers can build strong, collaborative relationships with parents to support students with dyslexia. Together, they break down the essential steps teachers can take to identify potential signs of dyslexia and how to communicate effectively with families to ensure students get the interventions they need to succeed.Heather unpacks the common signs of dyslexia that teachers may observe, including challenges with reading, writing, spelling, and executive function tasks. She highlights the importance of early identification and structured literacy interventions, while also addressing misconceptions about dyslexia, like the myth that it’s simply “reversing letters.” With her practical advice, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how to approach this learning difference with empathy and expertise.Whether you’ve worked with students with dyslexia before or are supporting a student for the first time, this episode offers valuable insights to help you build a team approach. Discover how to empower both students and parents with the tools they need to overcome obstacles and celebrate progress along the way. Don’t miss Heather’s expert tips for fostering confidence and collaboration in every step of the journey!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. Fill out the Dear Stellar Teacher form for a chance to be featured on a future episode.To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode230.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Have you ever felt a little possessive over a favorite classroom activity or picture book? You’re not alone! In this month’s Dear Stellar Teacher episode, Sara and Emily dive into a question many teachers can relate to: What do you do when a beloved book or activity has already been used by another grade level? Together, they explore how to shift your mindset from competition to collaboration, unlocking new opportunities for your students.Throughout this episode, Sara and Emily share practical strategies to make familiar books and routines feel fresh and engaging, even for students who’ve seen them before. From creating collaborative campus traditions to tailoring activities for different grade levels, they highlight how to maximize the learning potential of shared resources. Plus, they discuss the unexpected benefits of rereading books and repeating routines across multiple years.Whether you’ve encountered this scenario or are simply curious about fostering a collaborative teaching culture, this episode is packed with inspiration and actionable advice. Don’t miss the chance to transform how you approach shared classroom materials and build a stronger sense of community on your campus. Let’s make teaching a true team sport!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Fill out the Dear Stellar Teacher form for a chance to be featured on a future episode.Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode229.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Do your students struggle to turn their ideas into cohesive, organized writing? If so, you’re not alone. Outlining is an essential step in the writing process, yet it’s often rushed or overlooked in classrooms. In today’s episode, we’re diving into the art of teaching outlining—a skill that makes writing easier and more effective for students. By helping students create a roadmap for their writing, you’ll set them up for success and reduce the frustration of staring at a blank page.Drawing inspiration from The Writing Rope by Joan Sedita and The Writing Revolution by Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler, we’ll explore why spending more time in the “think and plan” stage can transform your students’ writing. We’ll discuss how outlines reduce the cognitive load of drafting and make the writing process more efficient. Whether it’s brainstorming ideas, organizing details, or structuring a paragraph, outlining is the key to unlocking confident and skilled student writers.In this episode, I’m sharing three strategies to help your students master outlining. From teaching them to identify the task, audience, and purpose (TAP) to practicing paragraph deconstruction, you’ll walk away with practical tips to implement immediately. Plus, you’ll discover how to seamlessly integrate outlining into your literacy block and beyond, empowering your students to write with clarity and confidence.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode228.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

If teaching topic sentences has ever felt like a struggle, you’re not alone. Many students find it challenging to start their paragraphs with a clear, engaging main idea, often jumping into details or relying on repetitive phrases. In today’s episode, we’re tackling this foundational writing skill with six practical strategies to help students craft topic sentences that truly enhance their paragraphs.Reflecting on my own classroom experiences, I remember how often students would freeze at the beginning of a paragraph or produce overly generic topic sentences. Now, with proven strategies in hand, I’m here to share exactly how you can guide your students to create topic sentences that set the right tone and direction for their writing. From structuring their ideas to experimenting with sentence frames, these approaches will make a noticeable difference.Join me as we explore hands-on activities and techniques, like identifying topic sentences in reading materials and practicing with prompts, that are sure to build your students’ confidence and skill. With a bit of guidance, you’ll see them move from hesitation to mastery in no time! Plus, these strategies will not only strengthen their topic sentences but also enhance their overall paragraph writing, helping them create clearer, more cohesive paragraphs with ease.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode227.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Sentence-level writing can be a skill that is often overlooked but absolutely essential for literacy success. Many teachers feel the pressure to focus on end-of-year essay skills, but without strong sentence foundations, even the best essay instruction can falter. I’ll be sharing why it’s crucial to prioritize sentence writing with your students and how this focus will strengthen all areas of their literacy—from writing coherence to reading comprehension.Why is sentence work so powerful? It all starts with structure. When students learn to craft clear, varied, and purposeful sentences, they unlock the ability to communicate their ideas effectively. This skill also boosts comprehension, as students who understand sentence structure can better interpret complex texts. By building sentence-level skills, we’re helping students develop clarity in both their writing and their reading—setting them up for academic success across subjects.You’ll leave this episode with practical strategies to bring sentence-level work into your classroom, even if you’re short on time. Whether through sentence deconstruction in small groups or fluency-building exercises, these approaches will transform how your students approach writing and understanding texts. Ready to make sentence writing a priority? Tune in to discover how focusing on sentences can be one of the most impactful shifts you make in your teaching practice.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode226.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Welcome to this month’s episode of Dear Stellar Teacher! We’re kicking things off with a heartwarming story straight from our Stellar Literacy Collective Facebook community, where fifth and sixth-grade teacher Rebecca shares an inspiring classroom win. At her new school, Rebecca has been using our whole group lessons, including a powerful poetry lesson on The Invisible Backpack, a lesson designed to help students understand that everyone carries unseen challenges or struggles. She had her students reflect on it through a thoughtful writing prompt—a moment that brought both empathy and comprehension to the forefront of learning and allowed her to make personal connections with her students.In today’s episode, we’re unpacking one of teaching’s biggest balancing acts: grading. Teachers often wonder how many grades to take, what to grade, and the type of feedback to offer. We’ll talk about balancing grading requirements with meaningful assessments, helping you reduce pressure while still providing valuable insights for your students. Our goal? To streamline your grading process so it’s not just about checking boxes but rather about fostering growth and understanding. One tip we discuss is how to use in-class grading for instant feedback—an approach that saves time and boosts student engagement.It's important to keep in mind that grades are more than just numbers in a grade book; they’re a way to communicate progress and provide feedback that supports student growth. By staying intentional about what and when we grade, we can shift our focus from merely fulfilling requirements to fostering a more meaningful learning experience. Instead of letting grading become a burdensome task, let’s remember that it’s an opportunity to guide, encourage, and celebrate each student’s journey.If you have ideas or topics you’d like us to cover in a future Dear Stellar Teacher episode, feel free to reach out—we’d love to hear from you!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Fill out the Dear Stellar Teacher form for a chance to be featured on a future episode.Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode225.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

In this episode, I’m thrilled to bring you the best insights and takeaways from the incredible Reading League Conference, where a few teammates and I learned from some of the brightest minds in literacy education. If you’re unfamiliar, the Reading League is a powerful organization dedicated to helping teachers implement effective literacy practices rooted in the science of reading. I absolutely love their mission: “We believe all children deserve to learn to read, and all teachers can learn to teach them.” That vision aligns so well with what we strive for here on the podcast—empowering teachers to provide the best instruction possible.Throughout the Reading League Conference, I attended several incredible sessions, each offering valuable insights into literacy instruction and how we can better support our students. From understanding the importance of balancing word recognition with comprehension skills, to grasping how the science of reading and the science of learning intersect, I walked away with a renewed sense of purpose. One major takeaway was the reminder that while research provides clear direction, the real challenge lies in effectively implementing these best practices in a way that supports each student's unique learning journey.I also left the Reading League Conference feeling energized by the discussions around how emotions, cognitive load, and productive struggle play a role in literacy learning. It’s not just about the programs or strategies we use, but how we create environments where students are challenged yet supported, and how we recognize their progress along the way. These insights have sparked new ideas for future podcast episodes and Stellar Teacher resources, and I can’t wait to dive deeper into these topics with you all!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode224.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Have you ever spent time teaching new vocabulary—defining words, providing examples, and guiding your students through practice—only to see them struggle to use those words in their own sentences? Frustrating, right? In this episode of the Stellar Teacher Podcast, we're here to change that! We’re sharing four simple yet powerful strategies that will help your students not only grasp new words but actually use them in meaningful ways, building a robust vocabulary that sticks. If you want to supercharge your vocabulary instruction, this episode is a must-listen!Why is building a robust vocabulary so crucial? Research shows that students need to understand 90-95% of the words in a text to truly comprehend it. Vocabulary mastery can account for up to 80% of reading comprehension scores! But teaching vocabulary is about more than just definitions—it’s about giving students repeated, meaningful practice using those words in context, creating a robust vocabulary that supports their reading comprehension and overall academic success.In this episode, you'll learn four actionable strategies designed to help your students build a more robust vocabulary, including "repeat after me", yes/no questions, partner discussions, and sentence stems. These methods give students the support they need to use new words confidently and correctly. Tune in to discover how you can make vocabulary instruction more engaging and effective, ensuring your students don’t just learn new words—they truly understand and use them!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode223.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

In this episode, we’re exploring the benefits of writing about reading. Research shows that engaging students in writing about what they read can significantly improve their understanding and retention of the material. We’ll unpack what this research means for your classroom, why it’s particularly impactful for struggling readers and writers, and how you can make "writing stuff" a regular part of your literacy block.So why is writing about reading so powerful? It not only helps students clarify their thoughts and focus on the most important information from a text, but also encourages them to make connections and reflect on their reading. The process of transforming their ideas into their own words, whether by summarizing, sharing personal opinions, or writing reviews, pushes students to think critically and engage actively with the content. Throughout this episode, we’ll explore how you can incorporate these writing activities into your teaching practice, making it a seamless and effective way to boost student comprehension.Ready to get started? We’ll be sharing three simple and practical strategies for bringing more writing about reading into your literacy block. You’ll learn how to help students summarize texts, respond with personal reactions, and write reviews—all of which can be done with minimal prep work. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a range of ideas to implement immediately, so you can begin to see the benefits of this powerful practice in your classroom today. Tune in, take notes, and think about which of these writing tasks you can introduce to your students this week!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode222.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Welcome to the first episode of our brand-new podcast segment, Dear Stellar Teacher! We are so excited to launch this monthly segment, where we’ll be diving into listener questions, sharing stories from teachers, and having real, candid conversations about the joys and challenges of teaching. You can expect these episodes to hit your feed on the first Monday of every month, giving you that extra dose of inspiration and encouragement to kick off your month. For these episodes I will be joined by my amazing teammate, Emily Caudill, who is one of our curriculum creators at The Stellar Teacher Company, and a former elementary teacher.In today's episode, we tackle a question that so many teachers struggle with – how to fit everything into your literacy block when your time feels stretched and your schedule is chaotic. We’ll share tips for maximizing your literacy time, making transitions more efficient, and even doing a time audit to pinpoint where you can make small, impactful changes. We'll discuss how to get creative with your time by “double-dipping” parts of your literacy block and why routines can be the secret to maximizing both your instructional time and your planning efficiency.We also reflect on the importance of mindset, and the importance of focusing on what you can control, while letting go of what you can't. While it’s natural to want to fit everything in, remember that progress beats perfection. It’s perfectly fine to slow down or revisit a concept to ensure your students truly understand before moving on. We share an inspiring story from a teacher inside the Stellar Literacy Collective who did that, and how her students benefited. So, if you’re feeling pressed for time or just want to make your schedule work better for you, tune in for tips, mindset shifts, and solutions to help you take back control of your day!Do you have a burning question you want us to explore on the podcast? Or maybe you have an amazing story that deserves a shout-out? We’d be thrilled to feature your question or stellar story on the show! Just shoot us an email at sara@stellarteacher.com. We can’t wait to hear from you!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode221.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

In this episode, we’re diving deep into a topic that many upper elementary teachers grapple with—how to help students with decoding multisyllabic words. I’m excited to be joined by Marnie Ginsberg, the founder of Reading Simplified, a research-based program that gives educators practical tools to support struggling readers. Marnie is here to share some incredibly simple yet powerful strategies that you can start implementing right away. Whether your students are stumbling over three-syllable words or longer, these tips will help them gain the skills they need to become confident readers.Decoding single-syllable words is tough enough, but when students are introduced to multisyllabic words, the challenge escalates. As Marnie explains, multisyllabic words build upon the decoding skills students develop early on, but with extra complexities. We’ll talk about how these multi-step processes can overwhelm students who haven’t mastered automaticity with one-syllable words and why addressing this gap is critical for their reading fluency and comprehension. Many teachers focus heavily on comprehension, but Marnie reminds us that if students struggle to decode, that’s where we need to begin.During our conversation, Marnie also introduces specific activities like "Switch It", "Read It,", and "Write It" which help refine students’ letter-sound knowledge and build the automaticity needed for decoding longer words. You’ll hear how you can incorporate these strategies into your classroom, even if you're not a phonics expert. Marnie’s practical tips will give you the tools to support students who are falling behind, empowering them to become fluent, confident readers capable of tackling multisyllabic words with ease.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode220.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

In today’s episode, we’re diving into five key strategies to help you build a more effective literacy block in your classroom. As teachers, it can be tempting to compartmentalize every aspect of literacy instruction into separate chunks, but that often leads to time constraints and missed opportunities for students to apply their skills holistically. We’ll explore why it's crucial to avoid teaching everything in isolation and how we, at the Stellar Literacy Collective, have designed resources to make it easier for you to integrate different literacy components seamlessly into your schedule.Flexibility is key when planning your literacy block. While routines and schedules provide structure, being adaptable to your students' needs is just as important. Today, we’ll discuss how to balance the consistency of your literacy routines with the flexibility to adjust your pacing based on student responses. Remember, the goal isn’t to rigidly follow the schedule but to focus on the content and let your students' progress guide your instruction.We’ll also talk about setting realistic expectations for what you can accomplish in your literacy block. By auditing your time and building in buffer moments, you’ll become better at predicting how long activities will actually take. Along the way, we’ll touch on why focusing on mastery over mere completion leads to meaningful progress, and why the traditional five-day school week shouldn’t be the sole dictator of your schedule. So don’t be afraid to introduce new lessons or assessments on any day of the week!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode219.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

In upper elementary, students are exposed to more multisyllabic words in the texts they are reading. Coming across big words can feel intimidating and overwhelming. To help, I've created a simple strategy and visual that you can start using with your students immediately that will help them decode and understand multisyllabic words.In this episode, I’ll guide you through a 5-step process for decoding multisyllabic words, explaining the key foundational concepts students need beforehand. I’ll also show you how to implement this routine in your classroom and how to use it as a diagnostic tool to identify where students need extra support, leading to better reading success.Supporting students who struggle to read big words can be tough. My hope is that with this 5-step process, you’ll equip them with a tool that scaffolds learning until decoding multisyllabic words becomes automatic!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode218.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

Writing instruction is crucial in every 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade classroom. But with limited time in an already packed literacy block, how do we cover everything students need to know? The solution is simple: integrate writing instruction into all content areas.In this episode, my goal is to inspire every teacher to see themselves as a writing teacher, no matter the subject they teach. Writing skills and an understanding of sentence structure are vital for student success across all subjects. By the time students reach upper elementary, they are doing more content writing, and with just a little bit of intention and a little extra time, you can seamlessly incorporate writing instruction into science, social studies, math, and more.After you listen to this episode, I have two challenges for you. The first is to pick one of the five ideas shared in this episode and implement it this week. The second challenge is to share this episode with a fellow educator. Embedding writing instruction throughout the day is essential, so spread the word to help increase student writing in every content area!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode217.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

I remember back-to-school time being both exciting and exhausting. It's a new school year filled with fresh possibilities. It's also extremely busy with classroom setup, planning, organizing, and meeting students, parents, and new teachers. To lighten your load, I'm sharing 3 important literacy lessons to teach at the beginning of the year to set your students up for literacy success.As literacy teachers, we strive to build skilled readers who develop a love for reading. I've come up with 3 literacy lessons that are great to teach at the beginning of the year, and I've included various ideas for fun, engaging activities for students to participate in during each lesson. Plus I share picture books you can use to go along with each lesson.Focusing on literacy from the start emphasizes its importance. Therefore, implementing these 3 essential literacy lessons towards the beginning of the year will lead to more skilled readers in your classroom this school year!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode216.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

We've discussed how challenging it is to fit all the necessary skills into your literacy block with limited time. But what if I told you that focusing on fluency doesn't have to take extra time? It can be seamlessly integrated throughout your day. Game changer, right? In today's episode, my special guest, Aylin Claahsen, shares practical reading fluency activities you can incorporate into your classroom today.Many believe that upper elementary students are already fluent readers, but that's not always true. Fluency involves five key aspects: accuracy, expression, pace, smoothness, and reading for meaning. While this may seem like a lot, Aylin offers five strategies to help you support fluency development in your students.Fluency is the thread that ties reading and comprehension together. Aylin's tips are easy to implement and require no extra time or prep. You can start using these reading fluency activities today to enhance students comprehension, fluency, and their love for reading.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode215.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟

I loved teaching genre when I was in the classroom, and now I love talking about it. I view teaching genre as the cornerstone of a literacy block. Genre is something that you can talk about in both reading and writing, so anytime you talk about genre, it can have an impact on all areas of your literacy block. Genre categorizes books and texts by specific attributes. When students understand genre, it gives them a roadmap to help them navigate the texts they read. By learning genre, students gain tools and clues to comprehend different types of texts.Teaching genre boosts academic performance, student engagement, and community building. It's a great topic to introduce at the start of the year. In this episode, I share three fun activities to introduce genre to your students.Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Sign up for my FREE Revision Made Easy email series here!Follow me on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode212.Mentioned in this episode:The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student UnderstandingWe are hosting a FREE four-day Comprehension Reset Challenge to help you unlock student's understanding. Here’s what you’ll get: ✅ A clear plan to build lasting comprehension in your students. ✅ Effective, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately. ✅ Confidence that you’re teaching comprehension in a way that works. 📅 Challenge Details: 🔹 The challenge runs from January 12th - January 15th, 2025. 🔹 You’ll receive daily videos with actionable strategies. 🔹 Connect with other teachers in our pop-up Facebook group for Q&As and giveaways! 🌟 Sign up for The Comprehension Reset: 4 Days to Unlock Student Understanding: stellarteacher.com/reset 🌟