Episode 248

There’s a saying we hear often in literacy work: you don’t want to try to intervene your way out of a Tier 1 problem. Real change happens when classroom instruction and small-group support are aligned.

In this episode, we’re joined by Kerry Cusick and Erin Sharon, two reading interventionists, who share how aligning Tier 1 instruction with the small-group work they lead every day transformed both their approach and student outcomes. While their work lives in intervention, the routines and decision-making they describe are just as relevant for classroom teachers running small groups.

In this conversation, we explore:

• What small-group intervention looked like before alignment and what had to change
• How clearer, more consistent Tier 1 instruction reshaped small-group teaching
• What responsive small-group lessons look like when they’re built around student need
• How phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and meaning work together in small groups
• Why fluency matters and how routines move students from sounds to connected text

Kerry and Erin share practical examples from their MTSS work, including how they use data to form groups, align with classroom scope and sequence, and design small-group instruction that builds accuracy, automaticity, and meaning.

RESOURCES

• Small-Group Instruction Listening Guide
• Building Fluency with POSSUM with Melissa Orkin and Maryanne Wolf (podcast episode)
• Reading Universe 
• Read Works 
• Read Live 
• Roll & Reads
  • UFLI Kindergarten
  • UFLI Grade 1 
• Neuhaus Education Center Rapid Recognition Chart Generator 
• Crafting Minds

If you’re enjoying Melissa & Lori Love Literacy, bring us to your school or event.

We offer keynotes, presentations, and live podcast-style sessions focused on practical, science of reading–aligned strategies aligned to our podcast and book, The Literacy 50. Email LiteracyPodcast@greatminds.org to learn more.

Get free resources and updates at literacypodcast.com.