The Reading Teacher's Playbook with Eva Mireles

In this episode:

Listen in as I talk about the two things you need to know about your students when you are changing grade levels.

We talk about:

-What you need to prioritize most when changing grade levels.

-What not to do when changing grade levels. 

-How to work with where your students  are at developmentally and not against it.

Quotables:

-The two main things I am going to advise you to do are: determine what is developmentally appropriate and get to know the grade level standards.

-Knowing what was developmentally appropriate for the fifth graders I taught that year helped me to plan not just academic turn and talk opportunities, but also short non academic talking opportunities, like when they could go from their tables to their cubbies to grab resources

- It was up to me to know my standards and make sure that I held them accountable for what they needed to know and not for what they would need to know in the next grade.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Listen in as I talk about my top three tips for starting the school year off strong in your literacy classroom. 

We talk about:

-Helping students see themselves as readers

-Getting to know your students as readers

-Helping students feel safe taking risks in your classroom

Quotables:

- Reading in your classroom needs to be seen as non negotiable. When students know that in your classroom everyone reads, then it will be that much easier for them to see themselves as readers.

-One of the best ways to get to know your students as readers is to just talk to them and it will tell you a lot. Most students have strong opinions about reading and aren’t shy about telling you what they think.

- I think as the adults in the room we forget that when we ask students to engage in our classrooms we are asking them to be brave enough to make mistakes…..in front of strangers. 

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Listen in as I wrap up season 5 of the podcast. 

We talk about:

The top 5 most listened to episodes of the podcast this season and the main takeaways. I also mentioned how we can hang out face to face this summer. Give the episode a listen and jot down the episodes that you need to binge right now. 

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Listen in as I talk about the third question you need to ask yourself as you reflect on this past school year in your classroom. 

We talk about:

1.What- What does it mean to take care of yourself?

2. Why- Why is it important to take care of yourself?

3. How- How do you embark on the ever elusive self care journey?

Quotables:

-You need to define what self care means for you.

-Part of taking care of yourself is paying attention to the season that you are in and acting accordingly.

-You need to be willing to adapt your definition of self care from time to time.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Listen in as I talk about the second question you need to ask yourself as you reflect on this past school year in your classroom. 

We talk about:

1.What- What does it mean to reflect on the challenges that you have encountered in your literacy classroom this year?

2. Why- Why should you take time to reflect and choose just one challenge to focus on?

3. How- How do you go about reflecting on one challenge and what you have already tried to resolve it?

Quotables:

-As much as we think we are great multitaskers, the truth is we really can only focus on one challenge at a time. 

-Sometimes we assume that because what we’ve done hasn’t eradicated the problem that “nothing is working” this is often not the case. 

-Writing down your responses during this reflection process will help get the problems out of your head and on paper which will help you think more clearly.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Listen in as I talk about the first question you need to ask yourself as you reflect on this past school year in your classroom. 

We talk about:

1.What- What does it mean to reflect on what is going well in your classroom this year?

2. Why- Why should you take time to reflect on the good things going on in your classroom this year?

3. How- How do you go about reflecting on what went well in your classroom this year?

Quotables:

-Not making a habit of reflecting on what is going right in our classrooms becomes a problem, because then you turn into someone who is constantly reinventing the wheel, quickly burns out or only sees what's wrong in a situation.

 - No one else knows how many things you’ve tried, how long you have studied, the amount of data you’ve collected etc… in order to get your class where it is right now. Only you fully understand this which means that only you can truly celebrate you and your accomplishments. 

-Writing down what is going well in your classroom helps you solidify your thoughts as well as serves as a concrete reminder of this accomplishment that you are taking time to reflect on.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Listen in as I interview Stacey Riedmiller of Literacy for Big Kids. We talk about the what, the why and the how of reading what your students are reading. 

We talk about:

1.What- What does it mean to read what your upper elementary students are reading?

2. Why- Why is reading what your upper elementary students are reading important?

3. How- How do we make reading what our upper elementary students are reading happen?

Quotables:

 - Reading what students are reading means that you read what they gravitate to during independent reading and what you are going to use to teach from whether that be in whole group or small group instruction.

-We read what our students are reading because it helps us build connections with students, showcases our professionalism, and deepens the conversations we can have with students.

- We make reading what our students are reading happen when we remember our why and make time to read in the edges of our day. 

Stacey Riedmiller- Is a fifth grade language arts teacher who lives near Cincinnati, Ohio. She is finishing up her 11th year teaching in the school she went to as a child. She has a Masters in Writing from The Ohio Writing Project at Miami University. Next up is working on her reading endorsement.

In this episode:

After listening to this episode you will leave with clarity around the what, the why and the how of differentiated instruction in the upper elementary classroom. 

I talk about:

1.What- What is differentiated instruction anyway?

2. Why- Why does differentiated instruction matter?

3. How-How do I differentiate instruction in my upper elementary literacy classroom?

Quotables:

 - Differentiation is the ability of the teacher to ensure that content, process, product or accountability are structured in such a way that all students are able to access the curriculum and set on a path to demonstrate mastery of the grade level standards.

-All students deserve to feel some measure of success in a day. One way to make this happen is to create paths for them to be able to access mastery of the standards we teach them each day. 

- An intentional mini lesson really is the best vehicle for delivering high quality research based instruction. 

-Small group and whole group  instruction can both be ineffective if they are poorly planned and all around unintentional.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

After listening to this episode you will leave equipped with tangible steps to help students be able to independently execute the skills you teach them. 

I talk about:

1.What exactly do we mean when we say we want students to work independently?

2. Why do we want students to be more independent members of the literacy classroom? 

3. How do we help students cross the bridge to independence? 

Quotables:

 - We want students to be able to use the strategies we teach them in order to independently execute a skill as it pertains to their reading.

-We want our students to be able to not just read on grade level, but to do so proficiently.This means that students need to be able to apply the skills that we’ve taught in our mini lessons to their independent reading and any assignments that we assign.

-Let’s face it some of our frustration comes from the fact that we are not assigning respectful tasks which is the reason students aren’t able to complete them independently. 

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

After listening to this episode you will leave equipped to choose or create a resource that is appropriately rigorous for your students. 

I talk about:

1.What rigor is and what it isn’t.

2. Why we want to find or create appropriately rigorous resources for our students. 

3. How to find an appropriately rigorous resource or just make one ourselves.

Quotables:

 - You build in rigor through your knowledge of your standards and your ability to hold students accountable

-The main reason to try to find or create rigorous resources is so that we can prepare students to have the critical thinking skills and grit needed to be a thinking member of society. 

-Remember that reading skills are cyclical. So although we would love for students to be able to demonstrate mastery after one try we should not actually expect that to happen. 

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

After listening to this episode you will leave equipped to choose resources that help you teach your students.

I talk about:

1.What your most undervalued resource is….hint it’s not your pal google.

2. Why you need to know your standards before you try to look for your next resource.

3. How to go about deciding when to look for a resource and decide if it’s going to work for you and your students.

Quotables:

- Your most undervalued resource is you and your knowledge of your state standards and your students.

-You are the chief learner in your classroom and you have to model being a learner for your students.

-Kids can smell the cap and know when you don’t know what in the world you’re talking about, so please practice the strategy you’re going to teach them ahead of time.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Krystal Smith aka The Renewed Teacher and I continue our conversation about writing instruction in the upper elementary classroom. Listen in as Krystal and I continue to discuss the what, why and how of writing across content areas.

We talk about:

1.What-Incorporating writing across content areas means creating authentic opportunities to write in each subject.

2.Why- It’s not about writing to  pass a test.

3.How- It won’t just happen, you have to plan for it.

Quotables:

- Teaching writing goes beyond scores on a test. You could be teaching a future writer or poet.

-This work requires an abundance of grace. Grace for your students and grace for yourself.

-Teaching students the writing process is the goal. It’s the writing process that will prepare them for real life writing.

About Krystal aka The Renewed Teacher:

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is the creator of The RenewED Teacher, a blog and support network where she specializes in advising teachers on how to be more effective in their teaching practice and purpose by prioritizing self-care and staying in touch with their purpose. Smith shares tips, quotes, teacher resources, Tik Toks/Reels, and a wealth of knowledge on how to be successful in the classroom. While content specific advice and tips are shared with teachers, Smith manages to also help teachers who are getting discouraged and approaching or experiencing burnout.Smith knows her purpose is to motivate, encourage, inspire, and empower educators and teachers alike.

Connect With Krystal:

In this episode:

Krystal aka The renewed teacher breaks down the what, the why and the how of incorporating writing across content areas.

We talk about:

1. What- Incorporating writing across content areas means creating authentic opportunities to write in each subject.
2. Why- Studies show that reading and writing proficiency are linked.
3. How- You do not need to try and cram writing into every subject everyday.

Quotables:

- I saw that our students were struggling with reading and that my coworkers were struggling to fit writing in. I wanted to support them so I figured out how to incorporate writing into the content areas I was teaching.

-Incorporating writing across content areas means looking at both your content area and language standards to see where the two can connect.

-Incorporating writing across the content areas means that you have to plan for it, so that you avoid frantically trying to fit it in.

About Krystal aka The Renewed Teacher:

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is the creator of The RenewED Teacher, a blog and support network where she specializes in advising teachers on how to be more effective in their teaching practice and purpose by prioritizing self-care and staying in touch with their purpose. Smith shares tips, quotes, teacher resources, Tik Toks/Reels, and a wealth of knowledge on how to be successful in the classroom. While content specific advice and tips are shared with teachers, Smith manages to also help teachers who are getting discouraged and approaching or experiencing burnout.Smith knows her purpose is to motivate, encourage, inspire, and empower educators and teachers alike.

Connect With Krystal:

In this episode:

After listening to this episode you will leave equipped with the what, the why and the how of using one text for multiple mini lessons.

I talk about:

1. What a mentor text is and its purpose in the RLA classroom.
2. Why using a mentor text for your RLA instruction will: save you time, save students processing time, save you instructional time
3. How to make using mentor texts for multiple mini lessons a reality in your classroom.

Quotables:

- Mentor texts can be used for several lessons to model what good readers and writers do.

-Mentor texts save you planning time, instructional time and help save students processing time.

-Planning for mentor texts means long range and short range planning so that you can get the most out of using key texts for your next unit.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

I lay the foundation of what needs to be in place before we reach for the extras that we think of when we think of supporting high readers.

I talk about:

1. What support for on and above level readers should look like.
2. Why our on and above level readers need our support even though they may look fine.
3. How to make supporting your on and above level readers work with your current literacy block.

Quotables:

- Supporting on or above level readers means remembering that they deserve our watchful eye and protective concern about their reading progress as much as our striving readers do.

- We support our higher readers because we don’t make assumptions about their abilities.

-We support on or above level readers by  making time to meet with them, ensure they have the basics down and teaching them.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

You will learn how to use historical fiction to teach black history. Turns out you don’t have to wait until Black History Month to teach it.

I talk about:

Why using historical fiction helps you expose students to a variety of accomplishments by black Americans outside of the civil rights movement.

How to roll out your historical fiction unit of study.

What three skills your historical fiction unit should include.

Quotables:

-Black Americans have done and accomplished a variety of things not only during the civil rights movement, but before and after.

-Historical fiction is a great genre to use to dive into various lessons related to fiction, but on a deeper level. My top three focuses would be character motivation, setting and conflict.

-Reading historical fiction is my favorite way to learn about history. It’s my favorite genre to use to teach students about important people and events in history and is a great way to review and dive deeper into various fiction skills.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

Listen in as I tell you what I said yes to when my school year took an unexpected turn.

I talk about saying yes to:

1.Creating monotony as a way to create stability

2. Taking the stance of learner

3. Working out semi consistently

4. Delegating at work and at home

5. Meeting with my book club

6. Cultivating friendships at work

7. Asking for help

8. Letting go of perfection

9. Keeping things simple

10. Maintaining boundaries

Quotables:

-I said yes to taking the stance of a learner. I needed to look to the people on my team as the experts that they were.

- Fun is an undervalued tool for adults, we know that it can impact kids but negate its impact on us adults.

-I said yes to asking for help which started with first admitting that I don’t have it all figured out.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

You will walk away with clear steps for how to launch and teach your next poetry unit.

I talk about:

I talk about the what, the why and the how of teaching your next poetry reading unit.

1.The What- A type of literature, or artistic writing, that attempts to stir a reader's imagination or emotions.

2. The Why- Teaching poetry allows students to be able to learn how to see the deeper meaning behind what a poet is trying to convey.

3. The How- I give you 5 main teaching points to zone in on in your next poetry reading unit.

Quotables:

• Because the use of figurative language in poetry is commonplace this makes it the ideal genre to use to teach students the difference between literal and figurative language.
• In order to teach students how to monitor their comprehension, readers need to be given a way to keep track of what they are reading one stanza or one chunk at a time.
• It’s important to expose students to a variety of poets and poetry books will also allow students to see that lots of different people are poets and also see that poetry can be written in many forms.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

You will walk away with clear steps for how to launch and teach your argumentative text unit.

I talk about:

I talk about the what, the why and the how of teaching your next argumentative text reading unit.

1.The What- a type of persuasive text that presents one viewpoint and includes: claim, evidence, facts and opinions.

2. The Why- It is important to equip students with knowledge of the genre and tools for how to read it so that they can decide what they think for themselves.

3. The How- I give you 4 main teaching points to zone in on in your next argumentative text reading unit.

Quotables:

• We live in a time when most people take to google to research a topic.
• It is important to equip students with knowledge of the genre and tools for how to read it so that they can decide what they think for themselves.
• It is important to teach students how to decide if the text they read will inform or change their opinion.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

You will walk away with clear steps for how to launch and teach your nonfiction reading unit.

I talk about:

I talk about the what, the why and the how of teaching your next nonfiction reading unit.

1.The What- It’s Broken into two camps:Expository and Narrative Nonfiction

2. The Why-  Teaching students how to think about new information and what they think about it is critically important.

3. The How- I give you 4 main teaching points to zone in on in your next nonfiction reading unit.

Quotables:

• As an educator and as an adult you and I both know that you are never done learning, this means that learning how to navigate non fiction is a lifelong skill.
• In addition, learning how to navigate nonfiction will also teach students how to take in new information and decide how to think about it and what they think about it.
• Because nonfiction text may include bias therefore,  students will need to be taught how to identify the author's purpose in order to help them discern this.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode:

You will walk away with clear steps for how to launch and teach your next fiction unit.

I talk about:

I talk about the what, the why and the how of teaching your next fiction reading unit.

1.The What- Hint Fiction is not fake.

2. The Why- How being able to navigate fiction can prepare students for real life.

3. The How- I give you 5 main teaching points ot zone in on in your next fiction reading unit.

Quotables:

• Please for the love of all things literacy stop telling students that fiction is fake.
• Teaching students how to read fiction is another way to equip students with skills that they need to be able to navigate life.
• Teaching students how to read and understand fiction is just as important as teaching students how to read and understand any other genre.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as: 

I share how creating systems that support you is the real self care. 

You may be thinking Eva it’s late in the year who actually cares, but here is the thing anytime is a great time to create a system that supports you.

 I talk about: 

-What is a system, routine and habit? 

-Why you need systems, routines and habits in your work life. 

-How to incorporate systems, routines and habits into your day. 

Quotables: 

-I don't really believe in the idea of work

-life balance anymore, and thank goodness, because life is hard enough without looking for one more way that we may or may not be measuring up. 

-The goal should be to come to work fully rested, fully prepared and fully ready to be present in the moment with our students and not constantly thinking about the million and one things that we have to do. 

-I'm going to teach you how to craft your routines for tasks that you need to do daily, weekly, and monthly, then you will have a chance to craft your very own daily routines checklist. 

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: 

Listen in as: 

I share my solution for literature circles and book clubs. 

Hint I have control issues and couldn’t do it the normal way. 

Listen in as I take you step by step through my roll out and implementation process. 

I talk about: 

-Why to take a guided book club approach to literature discussions in upper elementary grades. 

-How to create buy-in for guided book clubs  in your classroom. 

-How to get started with guided book clubs in your classroom. 

Quotables:

 -Although their need for small group instruction in reading was the same, the way I went about it, the materials I used among other things were all different.

 -A guided book club is composed of a group of students reading at a similar reading level. 

Students have buy-in in choosing the book the group reads. 

-Guided book clubs are a great opportunity to teach students how to discuss books as well as a great time to reteach skills previously taught in mini lessons, but not yet mastered by your class. 

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: 

Listen in as: 

I share how you can lead a literacy revolution in your classroom that helps equip students to become thinking members of society. 

I talk about:

 -What book banning is. 

-Why world leaders ban books. 

-How to equip students to become thinking members of society despite what is going on in our world right now. 

Quotables: 

-Reading is a revolutionary act and because world leaders know this they have long attempted to  control the access to books and literacy as a form of control. 

-He who controls the books controls the people. 

-During your reading block the main purpose of your reading block is to teach students how to engage with and think about books so that they can transfer these skills to becoming thinking members of society. 

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: 

Listen in as:

Share two professional book recommendations for this time of year. Teachers are lifelong learners and as such you are always on the lookout for books and skills to add to your toolbox.

I talk about:

-Thinking through when to add new tools to your teacher tool box

-Adding read aloud with accountable talk to your whole group instruction and what book to guide you

-Varying your small group instruction and what book to guide you

Quotables:

-Read-Aloud with accountable talk was such a game changing addition to my reading block.

-Now that you’ve figured out how to navigate the basics of guided reading you may have noticed that not every student actually needs guided reading, but you’re not quite sure what to do next.

-If you’ve gotten your mini lesson down to 15 minutes and you are able to get guided reading groups on most days then you might be ready to add more tools to your whole group and small group instruction tool box.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I share tips about ways to reset your reading block any time of the year, because let’s face it, any time of year is a good time to reset your reading block.

I talk about:

-Celebrating your wins

-Resetting your goals if something is not working

-Staying the course if things are going well

-Helping your classroom community hit the reset button

-Helping each student reset their reading goals

Quotables:

- Mid-year is a great time to take stock of how things are going in your reading classroom and hit refresh on those goals, but let’s be honest any time of year is a good time to hit the refresh button.

- Think about how you showed up well in your reading block this last semester, last month, or even last week depending on when you choose to embark on this practice. Take a moment to list off what went right. Read these accomplishments out loud and pat yourself on the back, you deserve it.

- Sometimes the most sanity saving, lifegiving practice growing thing we can do for ourselves and our students is to stay the course.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I share part two of a two part series about how a love of reading is cultivated in a classroom. Part two of this series is all about how a love of reading is taught.

I talk about:

-What to teach your students to do first

-Teaching students how to think about their reading

-Giving students a chance to practice

-Building a reading community

-Encouraging students to read widely

-Teaching students how to make reading a priority

Quotables:

-Most teachers know the value of students having time to read at home, yet we have zero control over what students do when they are outside of our classrooms.

-There is value in meaningful reading activities, but if you have to choose between reading activities and actual reading I would encourage you to choose giving students time with text.

-Teach students how to think about their reading. We are so used to operating on autopilot and not really paying attention to the moment. Our students are no different.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I share part one of a two part series about how a love of reading is cultivated in a classroom. Part one of this series is all about how a love of reading is caught.

I talk about:

-Taking on the identity of a reader

-Making it impossible to opt out

-What books to start with

-How to take your reading habit public

Quotables:

- If you have a negative attitude about reading your students will pick up on it too.

-We start by taking on the identity of a reader. I know this sounds simple, but this is exactly what we do with our students. We start by trying to get them to see themselves in a different light so that they can start thinking of the possibilities and acting accordingly.

- I would also recommend you read books that fuel your fire for teaching and specifically teaching reading.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I share why I took an extended break from the podcast and what to look forward to hearing in this upcoming season.

I talk about:

-Why I took a break

-What made me come back

-Why I’m still here

Quotables:

-I’m on a mission to help upper elementary reading teachers use their literacy block to teach students how to think about books so that students learn how to apply those same thinking skills to their everyday life.

-This season we will dig into how to reset your reading block any time of year, what professional development books you will want to add to your PD reading list, How a love of reading is both taught and caught, We will even take a dive into how to create systems that support you. I will also get a little ranty as I tackle how you can lead a book banning revolution in your classroom.

-Things don’t have to be perfect, I don’t have to be or feel perfect in order to make an impact in my building, through this podcast and in the online eduspace.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I give you 3 steps for keeping your students reading over the winter break.

I talk about:

Creating a culture of reading, no it’s not too late. I also talk about how to use easy to do activities to help you create a bingo board and how to use a books to read list to help your students set reading goals.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I give you actionable ideas that you can use to get yourself ready to truly enjoy your winter break.

I talk about:

The things you need to do to start your break off right, why it’s important to think about how you want to feel at the end of your break before it starts and ways to reignite your passion for teaching before coming back in the new year.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I give you actionable ideas that you can use to launch reading response opportunities the right way.

I talk about:

My love/hate relationship with reading response activities

The right reasons to use reading response

How to launch reading response the right way

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I give you actionable ideas that you can use to keep students accountable during independent reading.

I talk about:

Creating a culture of reading

Using Stop and Jot

And …. So much more

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as:

I give you tangible actions steps for crafting a virtual and/or in person mini lesson. You are going to want to grab your notes app for this episode.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as

I break down my top mini lesson Do’s and Dont’s. I also tackle how to come back from a mini lesson bust, because guess what no matter how much we prepare not every single lesson will land. Don’t worry I got you. I help you create a comeback plan.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Listen in as

I break down the components of a mini lesson and share what I think the point and purpose of a mini lesson is. Tune in to hear how I used to do it and how I changed my ways.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Reader’s workshop has been around for a long time, which means that there are a lot of books out there. This can be good and it can also be overwhelming. That’s where I come in.

Listen as I break down:

My top 3 books for getting your reading block started off right.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

(affiliate links)

In this episode we are going to talk about all things independent reading. Take a sneak peak at my workshop that talks about all things launching independent reading so that you launch your readers workshop right.

Listen as I break down how to:

Give your students the skinny on the how, the what and the why behind independent reading. Learn how I build a community of readers.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In the last episode we talked all about setting goals for yourself as the teacher of your reading block. We talked about my 7 step approach to setting goals that stick and how to use those goals to craft a PD plan.

In this episode we are going to talk about applying the same goal setting framework to your class as a whole as well as your individual students. Let’s Jump in.

7 steps to setting a professional  goal you will stick with:

1.Reflect

2. Visualize what success looks like

3.Identify Action Steps

Listen to the podcast to learn more.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode-

Learn how to set goals for yourself as the chief visionary for your reading classroom. Learn my seven step approach to crafting a goal that helps you create your PD plan for the year.

 I walk you through several examples so you walk away feeling equipped to tackle setting a goal you actually want to work towards.

7 steps to setting a professional  goal you will stick with:

1.Reflect

2. Visualize what success looks like

3.Identify Action Steps

Listen to the podcast to learn more.

Links to resources mentioned in the podcast: