Foundational Reading Skills As the science of reading movement continues to evolve, some much-needed attention is being drawn to adolescent literacy and the Language Comprehension side of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. In our work with special education teachers and students in our 7th – 12th grade building this year, we have uncovered significant foundational skill gaps … [Read more…]
2026 marks the beginning of my 6th year of maintaining this blog. When I began writing five years ago, I had many reservations that nearly prevented its birth. On January 3, 2021, in my Jumping In post, I listed four fears about starting the blog: Fear of commitment to regular maintenance Fear of scrutiny Fear … [Read more…]
Today’s writing marks the final of 41 posts for 2025. That’s 11 posts short of writing a post each week, but 41 more posts than 0. Making and keeping promises to others and to ourselves turns out to be a pretty big deal. I’ve made a habit of writing each week and have no regrets. … [Read more…]
As the Thanksgiving holiday closes and the Christmas holiday season is underway, it is increasingly easy to feel heaps of gratitude. That gratitude comes from many places, including time spent with family and friends, amazing meals, and a warm house that provides shelter from the snow that found its way to the Midwest. Among all … [Read more…]
My husband struggles with hearing loss. Years of working around heavy equipment and power tools have taken their toll. He has chosen not to pursue getting hearing aids due to the reports from friends and family who have not had the best luck with them. I’m frustrated with the choice, but understand not wanting to … [Read more…]
The Reading League Iowa’s entire group of board members gathered in the windy city this week for The Reading League’s 9th Annual Conference. A flurry of text messages between our group reveals that our heads are still spinning from three days of intense and immense learning! We can’t wait to recap the conference on Tuesday, … [Read more…]
Zach Groshell’s Progressively Incorrect podcast dropped another stellar episode recently. He hosted two literacy greats: Linda Diamond and Paige Pullen. They discussed a topic that is gaining much-needed attention. I describe the topic as “The Trifecta.” I had written about “The Trifecta” in May after finishing Harnessing the Science of Learning by Nathanial Swain. In … [Read more…]
My intent with this post is to be brief, and to somehow connect lots of unrelated thoughts. The title, “Not Sure” comes from two places: 1. I’m not sure what I want to write about and 2. I’m not sure how to connect seemingly unrelated ideas. Chances are, this will be a jumble! Listening As … [Read more…]
When I was a teacher in my fourth, fifth and sixth grade classrooms, I was pretty good at what I did. I wasn’t anywhere close to great, but I was pretty good. (See how “ego” made its way into today’s title?) 🙂 I enjoyed my students and their families. I listened to my students and valued … [Read more…]
I’m 50 years old… closer to 51 than 50. And at 50 years old, I’m still figuring out who I want to be. I shared this with my dear friend, Kate, over a delightful lunch the other day. I shared with Kate that I heard a line in my audio book where the main character … [Read more…]