Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchDo's and don'ts for teaching phonics
067: Should we teach letter sounds before letter names? Do kids need to learn syllable division rules? We'll examine it all in this episode, the firs…
4 years, 2 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #10: Do Fountas and Pinnell REALLY want teachers to educate themselves?
066: Fountas and Pinnell claim that administrators need to prioritize ongoing professional learning for teachers. But what happens when these teacher…
4 years, 2 months ago
Response to Fountas & Pinnell #9: Do teachers know best?
065: Fountas and Pinnell tell us that no literacy program can take the place of a teacher's expertise. And they're right! But expertise comes from kn…
4 years, 3 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #8: Is structured literacy responsive?
Fountas and Pinnell are proud to describe their approach as responsive; rather than follow a script, they make observations and tailor their instruc…
4 years, 3 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #7: Do Fountas and Pinnell promote "balanced literacy?"
063: Fountas and Pinnell are steering clear of the label "balanced literacy." But should they? Do they deserve the label?
Click here for the show no…
4 years, 3 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #6: You can teach phonics AND language comprehension
#062: Fountas and Pinnell caution against focusing "only on accuracy and decoding." If we do that, they say, students may not understand that what t…
4 years, 3 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #5: Here's why you SHOULD use decodable books
061: Fountas and Pinnell aren't moving when it comes to decodable books. They believe these books are contrived and that decodable books teach childr…
4 years, 4 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #4: Here are the problems with guided reading
For Fountas and Pinnell, guided reading is the key piece of the reading block. But there are some problems with the guided reading approach in K-2.
C…
4 years, 4 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #3: Yes, you ARE teaching guessing
059: No one likes to admit they're teaching kids to guess at words, but that's exactly what's happening when we teach beginning readers to use three-…
4 years, 4 months ago
Reaction to Fountas & Pinnell #2: Fountas and Pinnell are wrong about three-cueing
058: Despite the lack of evidence for three-cueing, Fountas and Pinnell aren't budging. In this episode I respond to their recent blog post in which …
4 years, 4 months ago