Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Today, we're focusing on social and emotional learning (SEL) with Abby from Mrs. Mo's Modifications. Abby, a behavior specialist and former special education teacher, is passionate about helping teachers incorporate social and emotional learning into their classrooms. In our conversation, she explains what SEL is and its importance, emphasizing the need to explicitly teach and practice these skills with students.As the new school year approaches, I challenge you to embed social and emotional learning practices in your classroom. Consider incorporating welcoming activities to build rapport, engaging lessons that encourage participation, and teaching topics such as friendship, goal setting, dealing with failure, and coping skills. Model these practices and give students time to practice them.Teaching social and emotional learning is crucial for whole child development. When we are teaching academics, we are teaching human beings. We need to make sure that we're addressing the whole child and giving them support in all areas, not just our content specialist area. Tune in to learn how to make SEL a reality in your classroom this 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/episode213.

As a new school year approaches and you prepare your literacy lessons and schedule, I want to share some advice on teaching word study. In this episode, I'll discuss 5 things to do and 5 things to avoid in word study instruction.Expanding students' vocabularies is crucial in upper elementary, so incorporate a daily word study activity. This should be a shared goal across all subjects, not just ELA. Make your lessons fun and engaging for all students, and always connect word study instruction to students' reading and writing.Teaching word study can be intimidating, but you don't need to be an expert to start. You can do it! Reuse routines and activities throughout the year with new words. Keep instruction bite-sized, and teach word study concepts as generalizations, not rigid rules. The goal is not mastery but helping students apply what they learn to their reading and writing.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.

I’ve shared on the podcast before that it’s impossible to teach every single unknown word to your students. So, with that in mind, what can you do as a literacy teacher to help your students learn and understand the meaning of new words? You need to provide them with the tools to figure out word meanings, and one way to do that is through teaching morphology. In today’s episode, I’m explaining what morphology is and how you can teach it. Grab my free How to Read Big Words Strategy poster here!Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves MoreTo check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode211

As elementary teachers plan their small groups, they think about the lessons they’ll be teaching, activities for students to engage in, and the number of students in each group. And while those are important components of a successful small group, there’s one major aspect teachers don’t often think about: the rest of their class! This is such a challenge for teachers that the number one question I get asked pertaining to small groups is What do I do with the rest of my class so I can pull small groups? So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing five ways to plan your small group time that also engages the rest of your class. Sign up for my FREE private podcast, the Confident Writer Systems Series, here!Join The Stellar Literacy Collective here!Check out my Free Literacy Workshop, The Time Crunch Cure: Create a Literacy Block That Fits it All In and Achieves MoreTo check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode210

As we conclude our Science of Reading Summer Series, I want to share some tips for planning your literacy block for next year. We know fitting everything into a literacy block can be challenging, so here are some key components to include: word study, reading comprehension, whole group lessons, writing, small group lessons, independent practice, and transitions.The good news is that these components don't have to be done in isolation. I encourage you to be creative and find ways to teach multiple concepts at once. Integrating different elements can make your literacy block more engaging and efficient, allowing you to cover more ground without overwhelming your students.Remember that while it's important to establish routines and structure in your literacy block, you want to also maintain flexibility to adjust as needed throughout the year. This adaptability ensures we can meet our students' needs and help them become successful readers and writers.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/episode207.