Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers
Sara Marye, Literacy Teacher, Elementary Teacher
Welcome to the Stellar Teacher Podcast! We believe teaching literacy is a skill. It takes a lot of time, practice, and effort to be good at it. This podcast will show you how to level up your literacy instruction and make a massive impact with your students, all while having a little fun!
Your host, Sara Marye, is a literacy specialist passionate about helping elementary teachers around the world pass on their love of reading to their students. She has over a decade of experience working as a classroom teacher and school administrator. Sara has made it her mission to create high quality no-fluff resources and lesson ideas that are both meaningful and engaging for young readers.
Each week, Sara and her guests will share their knowledge, tips, and tricks so that you can feel confident in your ability to transform your students into life-long readers.
For printable and digital resources, head to stellarteacher.com. Connect with Sara on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany
Your host, Sara Marye, is a literacy specialist passionate about helping elementary teachers around the world pass on their love of reading to their students. She has over a decade of experience working as a classroom teacher and school administrator. Sara has made it her mission to create high quality no-fluff resources and lesson ideas that are both meaningful and engaging for young readers.
Each week, Sara and her guests will share their knowledge, tips, and tricks so that you can feel confident in your ability to transform your students into life-long readers.
For printable and digital resources, head to stellarteacher.com. Connect with Sara on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 10, 2023 • 21min
148. 4 Things to Do If You Don’t Have a Writing Curriculum (or it Doesn’t Meet the Needs of Your Students!)
We know that writing can be difficult for our students, but on the flip side, teaching writing can also be difficult for teachers. This can be particularly prominent if your school doesn’t have a writing curriculum or if the curriculum provided doesn’t meet the needs of your students. But don’t worry! I’m sharing 4 things for you to do that improves your writing curriculum, or lack thereof.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: stellarteacher.com/join To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode148
Jul 6, 2023 • 17min
147. Teach Syllabication [Small Steps to S.O.R. Part 6]
Over the last six weeks, I’ve discussed in every episode about Scarborough’s Reading Rope and its importance to the science of reading. In order for a student to be a skilled reader, they need both language comprehension and word recognition skills. I’ve often focused my attention on language comprehension, but in today’s episode, I’m shedding some light on a skill that’s needed to gain word recognition skills, which is teaching syllabication.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode147
Jul 3, 2023 • 21min
146. Get More Out of Your Literacy Block With a Strong Whole Group Lesson Routine
This summer I’m doing my best to answer your questions on your biggest challenges as teachers. While I could do four individual episodes on these four questions, each of them can actually be answered with the same common response: creating a strong whole group lesson routine. In this episode, I’m sharing a sample routine you can use in your classroom and 7 reasons why routines should be a significant part of your school day.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode146
Jun 29, 2023 • 16min
145. Incorporate Phonological Awareness Activities [Small Steps to S.O.R. Part 5]
We've talked before about how as upper elementary teachers, we sometimes think the foundational aspects of the science of reading aren’t as pertinent to us. However, by now you have learned that explicitly teaching word recognition and language comprehension skills helps your struggling readers. That's why incorporating phonological awareness activities into your instruction is a small step toward the science of reading.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode145
Jun 26, 2023 • 24min
144. How Book Talks Can Transform Your Classroom Community with 4th Grade Teacher, Kelsey Moody
During your first year of teaching, or really any year of teaching, you learn many lessons, but also know it’s important to celebrate your wins. And a win for any teacher is gaining back your time and energy and fostering a love of books in your students. That’s exactly what my guest, Kelsey Moody, accomplished after her first year of teaching. In today’s episode, she’s sharing how implementing a system gave her back time and the impact book talks had on her classroom community.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode144
Jun 22, 2023 • 12min
143. Use a Semantic Map [Small Steps to S.O.R. Part 4]
Since we’re in the fourth week of the small steps to S.O.R. series, you know by now that reading comprehension is the result of having strong word recognition skills and language comprehension skills. Additionally, an important element of the language comprehension strand is vocabulary. But what’s the best way to teach and have students learn new words? Today’s small step is going to show you how to use a semantic map when introducing new words in isolation.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode143
Jun 19, 2023 • 21min
142. How to Get Students to Write a “MEATY” Paragraph
A while back I vowed to include more writing content in my episodes because I tend to focus more on reading strategies, but I’m a lover of all things literacy. Writing is a big area where teachers need support and have a lot of questions when it comes to supporting their students. And one of the biggest areas of concern is how to get students to write a “meaty” paragraph. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing what a “meaty” paragraph includes and engaging ways to get students writing.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode142
Jun 15, 2023 • 17min
141. Explicitly Teach the Most Common Prefixes & Suffixes [Small Steps to S.O.R. Part 3]
By now you know that the science of reading relates heavily to Scarborough’s reading rope and its two strands are word recognition and language comprehension. Well, this week’s step aligns with both strands in creating a skilled and confident reader, which is teaching common prefixes and suffixes. In the third episode of this series, I’m going to share why explicitly teaching common prefixes and suffixes helps your students with their reading skills. Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Download my Word Lists for Common Prefixes and Suffixes here.Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode141
7 snips
Jun 12, 2023 • 25min
140. Top 5 Aspects of Small Group Instruction to Plan for NOW!
The topic that I get asked about the most is in regards to small group instruction. The questions range from how do I structure small groups, to what activities should I focus on, to how often should I switch the groups up? And even though it’s summer and you probably won’t even start your small groups until a few months into the school year, it’s always a good idea to think about what you can do now to prepare. So in today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 aspects of small group instruction to start thinking about now so you’re ready when school begins.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Get my Small Group Teacher Planning Guide here.Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode140
Jun 8, 2023 • 10min
139. Practice Sentence Deconstruction [Small Steps to S.O.R. Part 2]
Aligning your instruction to the science of reading can be easier than you think. With these small steps I’m sharing with you each week, you’ll have strategies and activities to use when you return to school in the fall. This week’s step is usually associated from a writing standpoint, but is so important from a reading standpoint, which is practicing sentence deconstruction.Check out my Free Literacy Workshop. For more information click here. Download my Sentence Writing Routine Free Sample here.Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series here!Join us in the Stellar Literacy Collective Membership: https://learn.stellarteacher.com/waitlist To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode139
