Shows
Inspire LiteracyEpisode 17 - Getting Ready for a New Writing UnitFirst of all, we are GRATEFUL! Grateful for all things we have right now - listeners, each other, teachers, YOU!Are you starting a new unit of study soon? Wondering what you can do to get your mind and self ready? Listen in as Erica and Chara share some (or a lot) of things that you can do to get ready to teach your next unit of study. This is not to overwhelm you, but instead to ignite a spark for you and your students. Choose one thing, choose a few things, but nothing feels more exciting than...
2021-11-2736 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 16 How to Confer When You Don't Know the BookDo you ever shy away from conferring with one of your students because they are holding a book that you have never read? Or do you find yourself ending up in the retell tunnel hearing every single detail of your student's book? What about sitting down to a conference and leaving feeling more like you just gave a quiz than had a conversation. I think we have all been guilty of one of these. However, you don't have to do that any longer! Let Chara and Erica remind you of all the ways that you can confer with k...
2021-11-1032 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 15 Top Ten Tips for Scheduling ConferencesHow do you fit it all in? Do you have an actual schedule for your conferences? How many times a week do you meet with your students? These are some of the questions that get answered in this week's episode of the Inspire Literacy Podcast. Chara and Erica know that scheduling is NO easy task. It is one of the most challenging aspects of conferring. At a time when conferring seems most important and scheduling seems most challenging, come along as we unpack how to fit it all in!Chara and Erica sat down and created their own...
2021-11-0131 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 14 Compliment ConferencesComplimenting is an art! It takes some practice to name explicitly what a child is doing right or almost right. But it can be one of the most powerful types of conferences. Who doesn't love to hear a compliment?Listen in to this week's episode to hear Chara and Erica unpack the art of the compliment conference. You will hear about why they love them so much. the criteria to assist you with your compliments and how compliment conferences leave children with not only a smile, but a willingness and desire to get better!You wil...
2021-10-2129 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 13 Big Ideas Around Conferring"Conferring is not the icing on the cake. It is the cake," says Carl Anderson. In this weeks episode, Chara and Erica provide some big ideas around conferring. This is the first of a series of podcasts around this essential aspect of workshop. Even if you aren't a workshop teacher, meeting individually with kids in this way can move mountains!You will hear what conferences look like - what to expect when watching a teacher do an individual conference. They will also share what conferences are NOT. This will probably be validating for many of you. So don't be...
2021-10-1343 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 12 Keeping Your MIni-Lessons MiniKeeping MIni-Lessons mini is no small task! It is something that Chara and Erica have worked on for years with the help of their coaches. It is one part of workshop that they feel passionately about and continue to improve on. And lucky you. . . they are going to share a TON of tips and tricks to keep your mini lessons mini. You will feel challenged, nudged and inspired to take on this task in your own workshop. You will be reminded that the Mini Lesson is not everything and is not for mastery. And from there, you are i...
2021-10-0434 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 11 Book Buzzes for Grades 3-8Do you want some new, fresh ideas for books in your 3-8 classroom? Come along and listen to Erica as she creates excitement around new titles that you need NOW! You will be reminded about how to create a book buzz, the importance of them in your classrooms and how to ultimately turn it over to kids. Check out the Book Buzzes for these titles: Hi Lo (a graphic novel), Rule the Music Scene like Queen Beyonce, Starfish and The Talk. Erica will make you want to not only add these titles to your Amazon cart, but also b...
2021-09-2331 minInspire LiteracyLet's Buzz about Some K-2 BooksBUZZZZZZZ! What is a book buzz? Why should I do them? How do I get kids excited about the lower level books? Well, put on your actress hat and listen along. Join Chara and Erica as they share a basic structure for your Book Buzz. This kind of book buzz will get your readers excited to read the books in your classroom library, even at the lower levels. Chara shares 3 different books at 3 different bands of text. You will hear a book buzz on Big Dog, Little Dog, Croc and Ally and Commander Toad in Space. ...
2021-09-1722 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 9 - Graphic Organizers in Writing WorkshopWhat do you think about Graphic Organizers in Writing Workshop? Yes or No? We asked listeners and the response was split. And then this episode was born. Erica and Chara decided to tackle this important topic. Listen along as they discuss how they used graphic organizers and why teachers often use them. You will also be challenged to think about other ways to help students organize their writing. You will leave with a ton of tips and alternatives to just handing out a piece of paper to all students. Come along and learn with Erica and Chara as they...
2021-09-1137 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 8: Tips for Parents with Special Guest Host Elizabeth MorphisThis week's show is intended for Parents and Teachers alike. Chara and Erica are so excited about their guest host, Elizabeth Morphis, assistant Professor of Childhood Education and Literacy at SUNY at Old Westbury. She brings a wealth of knowledge about all the ways we, as parents, can support our children at home with their literacy skills. The three of them discuss activities that can be done at the dinner table, in the car or even at bed time. You will leave with so many ideas about how to support your child at home. Teachers, this podcast is pe...
2021-09-0547 min
Inspire LiteracyEpisode 7 Building Your Reading CommunityIt is that time of year when school is starting, kids are excited and teachers are doing all they can to build their classroom communities. Listen along to this episode to hear all the suggestions for building up your reading community. We know relationships are at the forefront. But how do we do it with our youngest learners to our most skilled readers? Erica and Chara give tips for how to build those strong communities where each reader will flourish and grow! You will learn about Read Alouds, Inventories, Favorite Reading Memories and Timelines, Book Buzzes and more...
2021-08-3039 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 6 Creating a Writing Community in Your ClassroomWhether school has already started or you are starting soon, is building a community on your mind? It is on ours!! Erica and Chara spend this episode talking through all the ways you can build a classroom community within your writer's workshop. Without engagement, everything else is tricky. Listen in to find out all ways to build community from: writing partners to mentor texts to writing celebrations. We would love to hear any other ideas you may have about how YOU build community!
2021-08-2239 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 5 Let's Get Ready for Writer's WorkshopAre you setting up your classroom? Are you wondering how to get ready for the best Writing Workshop this year? This episode is for you. Listen along as Erica and Chara share some tips and tricks for setting up your writing workshop. Let's go back to our beliefs around writer's workshop and get ready for the best year yet. Whether you teach Kinder or middle school, this episode will give you some tried and true techniques to jumpstart your new year.
2021-08-1526 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 4 - What is your Mantra?From a tricky year last year to a bunch of unknowns this year, let Inspire Literacy Podcast get you ready for what's to come. In this episode, we will think a lot about mantras. Grab a bright colored post it and get inspired!What is a mantra? What helped Chara and Erica navigate last year? Listen in to find out their mantras and tools to help you create your own mantra for the upcoming school year. We got this, teachers!!!
2021-08-0526 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 3 Read Aloud IdeasWhat are some of your beginning of the year Read Alouds? Erica and Chara will share their thoughts about what interactive read aloud is, why it is the heart of workshop and some of their new favorite read aloud titles. Listen along and get your Amazon list ready to order some of these newer titles. Please reach out with any of your favorite read alouds and we will share your suggestions with teachers near and far.
2021-07-2745 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 2 - What have we learned from Distant Learning that we want to carry with us?Erica and Chara sat down and reflected on all the amazing things that teachers have learned during DL and picked some top choices that should be carried with all of us back into brick and mortar. Listen to those tips and even a few that we can surely leave behind.
2021-07-1536 minInspire LiteracyEpisode 1Why Readers Workshop? In this episode, we will discuss what the basics of Readers Workshop are and why we believe it is one of the best ways to teach literacy. We will explain what it means to us and what it looks like when we are in classrooms. You will love this episode if you are new to workshop, been teaching it for years and just need some validation or want to revisit all the great things that Reader's Workshop is.
2021-07-0729 min