SMARTER Literacy

SMARTER Literacy Chat with Mikayla Storey

In this bonus episode, we sit down with Mikayla Storey-Link, a familiar face to the SMARTER community, to hear about her journey from psychology grad with almost no liter

SMARTER Literacy Chat with Lindsey Buck

In today's literacy chat, we're flipping the script. You've spent the last several episodes hearing Lindsey interview educators from across the world, and now it's her t

SMARTER Literacy Chat with Sarah Hornung

What does it actually look like to lead a district through one of the biggest instructional shifts in recent education history without losing your teachers in the process

SMARTER Literacy Chat with Heather Diebel

Heather Diebel knew she wanted to be a teacher at six years old. What she didn't know was how long it would take to find an approach to literacy instruction that actually

SMARTER Literacy Chat with Rosemary Del Prado

What does literacy intervention look like when your students are spread across microschools, homeschool co-ops, and even another continent? In this literacy chat, we sit

SMARTER Literacy Chat with Vicki Brackett

What happens when a speech-language pathologist with hundreds of hours of literacy training still can't find a curriculum that pulls it all together? In this literacy ch

SMARTER Literacy Chat: Natalie Pryor

What does literacy intervention look like when you start from scratch, in a studio with mini trampolines, and a background in law? In this first literacy chat, Lindsey s

Introducing: Summer Literacy Chats

Something a little different is coming to the Smarter Literacy Podcast this summer. Over the next several weeks, we're stepping back from our regular format to share som

Episode 30 - Why Developing Reading Fluency isn't Just about Reading Faster

Fluency is often reduced to words-per-minute scores, but strong readers do much more than read quickly. In this episode, we discuss what fluency actually means and why sp

Episode 29 - How to Support Editing in Writing

Editing often gets treated like the quick final step in writing, but in reality, it’s where the real work begins. In this episode, we unpack why students rush through edi

Episode 28 - Building Independent Writers with Long Form Writing Routines

In this episode, we explore why students often struggle with longer-form writing like paragraphs and essays, and how those struggles usually show up as either “stream of

Episode 27 - Building Independent Writers with Spelling & Sentence Routines

In this episode, we explore why teaching spelling patterns and grammar rules alone does not always translate into stronger student writing. We discuss how simple sentence

Episode 26 - Comprehension Is Not a Checklist

In this episode, we tackle one of the most common challenges in literacy instruction: teaching reading comprehension effectively. We explore why isolated, skill-by-skill

Episode 25 - Why Aren't Our Reading Scores Moving?

In this episode, we take a closer look at how structured literacy principles can be applied flexibly to meet real classroom needs. We discuss what it means to thoughtfull

Episode 24 - How We Bridge the Gap (for Students in the Messy Middle)

Many students fall into the “messy middle” of literacy, needing more support than core instruction but not a full intensive intervention. In this episode, we walk through

Episode 23 - Why Effective Literacy Instruction Requires Both Science and Art

Many educators feel overwhelmed trying to support students who don’t clearly fit into traditional literacy intervention models. In this episode, we explore the “messy mid

Episode 22 - Helping Students Build Executive Functioning

We break down how to use a simple five-step executive functioning framework with students to support focus, regulation, and task completion. You’ll learn practical ways t

Episode 21 - Using the 5-Step EF Framework to Start the Year

In this episode, we share a reflective approach to starting the new year (or at any time of the year!) using an executive functioning framework designed to create calm, c

Episode 20 - How to Gamify Reading Lessons

In this episode, we share simple, no-prep ways to bring games into your literacy lessons using simple materials like a whiteboard, a die, or a word list. Learn how to mak

Episode 19 - Why Games Work in Literacy Instruction

In this episode, we share why games aren’t just for fun. They’re one of the most effective ways to teach, review, and differentiate literacy skills. Learn how to use game