Podcast and Blog
literacy podcast
S4 Ep13 - Let's Talk Year 3-6 Reading Assessment and Grading
Hi there. Welcome to the Structured Literacy Podcast recoded here in Tasmania, the lands of the Palawa people. I’m Jocelyn and I want to say a huge hello to all teachers and leaders grappling with assessment and reporting. Last episode of the podcast, I shared a perspective on reporting and grading early years reading without a benchmark assessment. In the old days, we assessed students, looked at the level and then used that to determine what A-E grade students r…
S4 Ep12 - The Secret to Grading Early Years Reading
Hi there, I'm Jocelyn and I'd like to welcome you to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania.
Here in Australia, it is Term 4 and the end of the school year is just a few weeks away. That means that teachers and leaders will be turning their attention to assessment and grading in preparation for report writing. So in this episode, I’d like to share some thoughts and suggestions on grading early …
S4 Ep11 - Making Decisions When The Floor Is Lava
Hi there and welcome to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania.
I have the enormous privilege of talking with school leaders from around the country and working directly with schools. I don't for a single second take the trust that is given to me for granted, and I value so highly the opportunity to be a part of people's journeys. Seeing the tangible results they are achieving is so rewarding.…
S4 Ep10 - Instructional Spring Cleaning - Timers During Classroom Fluency Work
Well, hello there and welcome to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast recorded here in Tasmania, the land of the Palawa people.
In this latest mini-series, I've been doing a little bit of spring cleaning. So far, we've looked at the idea of classroom news for oral language development and one student coming up to the front of the room during phonics lessons.
Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on something that impacts all grades in the primary school, t…
S4 Ep9 - Instructional Spring Cleaning - One Student at the Front
Hi there. Thanks so much for joining me on this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, the place where we get right down into the nitty-gritty of structured literacy. It's Jocelyn here, joining you from Tasmania, the lands of the Palawa people.
It's wonderful to be working in education at a time when we have a growing understanding of the importance of research and using evidence to guide our classroom decisions. The challenging thing about this is that we …
S4 Ep7 - The Critical Issue of Teacher Knowledge Building
Hello and welcome to this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast. I’m Jocelyn and today I’m recording on the lands of the Palawa people here in Tasmania. In our last episode of the podcast, I shared 5 reasons that traditional professional learning probably isn’t leading to student outcomes. In that episode, I discussed cognitive biases that lead us to believe that we have more knowledge than we do. It turns out that people with less knowledge about a topi…
S4 Ep6 - Five Reasons that Traditional PL May Not Lead to Student Outcomes
Hi there, welcome to the Structured Literacy Podcast. I'm Jocelyn and I'm so very pleased to welcome you to this episode recorded here on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania.
My goodness, the year is flying by. I'm recording this in the last week of September and Christmas feels like it's just around the corner.
Over the years, I have supported many schools with consultancy and coaching to help them achieve their big picture goals. This human-centered w…
S4 Ep5 - The Key to Successfully Implementing a New Program in Your School
Welcome to today's episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania. I'm recording this in September 2024 and it's the time of year in Australia when schools begin to turn their eye to making decisions about instruction for the next school year.
To support those efforts, today we're diving into a crucial topic for school leaders: how to successfully implement a new teaching program in your school.
Whether yo…
S4 Ep4 - Connecting Explicit Teaching and Engagement in Years 3 to 6 Spelling
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast.
I'm Jocelyn, and today we're diving into a topic that's pretty important for teachers in grades three to six:
How do we connect explicit, structured spelling instruction with opportunities for application and engagement?
Now I know what some of you might be thinking, Jocelyn isn't explicit teaching of spelling just about repeated practice and low variance instruction? Yes, that's a f…
Tuesday Tip - Stop Trying to Fit Everything into your Literacy Block
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss integrating literacy components, like vocabulary, morphology, and writing, into a unified lesson to maximise efficiency and enhance student connections.
Video Transcript
Hey there, my name is Jocelyn and it's Tuesday, so that means it's time for a tip. The number one question that I receive from teachers is, how do I fit everything into my literacy block? The reality is, if that you're trying to teach everything separately, you can't.
The vocabulary …