For The Love Of Literacy

Bruce
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For the Love of Literacy provides podcasts about the exciting advances in literacy instruction, from morphology and orthography (the spelling system), to meaningful sight word memorization, and sentence construction and comprehension. We focus on the often overlooked aspects of literacy and their links to language development.  We tie learning to read, spell and writing to their roots in spoken language. This makes teaching and learning these abilities much easier because literacy learning is driven by language learning. The major components of spoken language plus vocabulary knowledge strongly predicting and largely determining growth in reading, spelling and writing.  Our guests are not just knowledgeable the links between language and language but know how to implement this learning in the classroom.   You will hear from noted researchers including Linnea Ehri, Marcia Henry and Peter Bowers as well as teachers who have developed lessons that engage students and enrich language abilities. Check back weekly to discover more Fulfilling Literacy Lessons and Clarifying conversations. Feel free to reach out to me at Bruce@ReadingShift.com. 

  1. Vocabulary Development Through Morphology, Semantics and Complex Text - Elfrieda Hiebert

    Jun 14

    Vocabulary Development Through Morphology, Semantics and Complex Text - Elfrieda Hiebert

    If your students read accurately but with limited fluency, comprehension or interest then Elfrieda “Freddy” Hiebert’s talk will be of great benefit. Freddy summarizes her decades of research, showing how vocabulary depth and richness are key components of reading comprehension and written expression.   Dr. Hiebert has created two essential materials: Teaching Words and How They Work, and TextProject.Org. Teaching Words centers literacy instruction on vocabulary development and how children learn, understand and read complex words. She notes that most students read with high accuracy, but with limited fluency and vocabulary depth.   To address this widespread problem, Freddy’s TextProject.org provides free resources for teaching vocabulary development and semantics, or word meaning. The site includes ready-to-use word webs, Exceptional Expressions and Super Synonyms as well as reading material for emerging readers, content areas and Teen Reads.   The subtitle of Teaching Words is Small Changes for Big Vocabulary Results. Dr. Hiebert talks about the importance of small changes, not wholesale shifts, for improving instruction.  TextProject.org

    41 min
  2. Connecting Math and Literacy Learning Difficulties - Meghan Hicks & Jennifer Petrich

    Jun 9

    Connecting Math and Literacy Learning Difficulties - Meghan Hicks & Jennifer Petrich

    Many students who struggle with literacy also struggle with math.  Understanding the number system requires engaging linguistic, cognitive, executive functions and conceptual understanding -- just like literacy. Meaning is as important to math learning as it does in literacy. Math that is taught as a series of isolated procedures, facts and “islands of knowledge” disconnected from meaning will make little sense - just as it does with reading. Math makes sense when students learn the structure of math, including its syntax and vocabulary, and approach it as a coherent system. This also diminishes math anxiety.     Bruce Howlett’s Seven Layers of Literacy Approach:  ReadingShift.com  Megan Hicks: scienceofthesentence@gmail.com  The Sentence Studio www.scienceofthesentence.com Jen Petrich:  Literacy Dr website:  https://www.theliteracydr.com·         D.O.T.S. course info and registration:   https://www.theliteracydr.com/pd/dots·         Wednesdays with Literacy Dr (free drop-in) info and registration: https://www.theliteracydr.com/drop-in·         Literacy Dr videos https://www.theliteracydr.com/videos·         List of Resources for Further Learning

    1h 2m
  3. Enriching Structured Literacy Through Integrated Word Study - Sarah Mitchell

    Jun 1

    Enriching Structured Literacy Through Integrated Word Study - Sarah Mitchell

    Why do so many students continue to struggle with spelling and writing even after years of phonics instruction? In this episode, Sarah Mitchell explores the missing layer between decoding instruction and deeper literacy transfer: integrated word study. Drawing on research, classroom experience and practical teaching examples, Sarah explains how word-building using a six-layer “word study map” that develops sounds, meaning, spellings, connections, morphemes and sentences in the same lesson. The more connections a child has with a word the easier it is to recognize, comprehend and use it while writing. The conversation explores the implementation gap many teachers experience — understanding the theory but still feeling unsure how to apply it during real lessons — and introduces practical ways to make literacy instruction more connected, efficient and meaningful for older students. Sarah Mitchell  Author - Teaching Structured Literacy Series Contact Info: admin@teachingstructuredliteracy.com  Structured Literacy for Older Students:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/360409786946482  Founder - Morphology Hub Website: www.morphologyhub.com Social media: YouTube @sarahmitchell3941

    1h 3m
  4. Scripts, Sentences and Structures: Helping Students Unlock Meaning - Louise Hewitt, Meghan Hicks & Mary Beth Steven

    May 23

    Scripts, Sentences and Structures: Helping Students Unlock Meaning - Louise Hewitt, Meghan Hicks & Mary Beth Steven

    Teaching about morphemes (the meaningful components of words), sentence structure (syntax) and grammar (the framework for organizing words and sentences) isn’t hard, once you learn about two new resources: Mary Beth Steven’s Dramatic Scripts and Meghan Hicks and Louise Hewitt’s The Sentence Studio. In fact, you can learn about these vital components of language as you teach your students by using their scripts, sentence and text practices. Their common goal is to create insightful readers and articulate writers.  These educators recognize that word study, syntax and grammar go to the heart of reading comprehension and written expression. They also focus on responsive teaching that brings these topics alive through rich highly engaging activities. Mary Beth Steven book, Enhancing the Teaching of Morphology and Grammar with Dramatic Scripts for the Classroom, uses plays to build reading comprehension while creating a collaborative classroom. Meghan and Louise’s new instructional guide, The Sentence Studio, teaches grammar and syntax with fables and a groundbreaking BubbleMap analysis strategy. Educators and students discover the artistry of sentence structure while unlocking the meaning that lies within every sentence You can find more information about Mary Beth’s book on her classroom blog mbsteven.edublogs.org You can purchase The Sentence Studio and access free downloads and other supporting resources at Meghan and Louise’s website www.scienceofthesentence.com

    1h 5m
  5. Meet the Students (A.K.A. Humans) of the Boring (into words) Scholars Collective - Sara Leland & Students

    May 11

    Meet the Students (A.K.A. Humans) of the Boring (into words) Scholars Collective - Sara Leland & Students

    Title: Meet the Students / Humans of the Boring (into words) Scholars Collective Listen Sara Leland’s students, five humans who have dyslexia, ADHA and/or autism. With Sara’s guidance and support they grew to love literacy. They joined together and built a website www.boringscholarscollective.site. The boring scholars used their writing, creative and artistic skills to express their love of reading and writing through the website. Learn how they became word detectives, deeply investigating the spelling, meaning and history of words.  Sara shares how she develops a fascination for words in children who may have struggled with basic skills. She explains that the ultimate purpose of education is human development, helping children to grow into capable, curious, creative and empathic citizens. You’ll also learn how a philosopher views language, filled with metaphors and narratives, fueled by critical thinking.    Sara’s own website is:  www.wordscholars.net Sara can be contacted through the site or by email at:  sara.wordscholars@gmail.com

    1h 23m
  6. The Sentence Pathway to Decoding and Comprehension -- Xiuhong Tong & S. Hélène Deacon

    Apr 20

    The Sentence Pathway to Decoding and Comprehension -- Xiuhong Tong & S. Hélène Deacon

    If you have ever wondered why your students struggle with word reading, or read accurately but with limited comprehension, then you may want to flip your approach to reading instruction. Start at the sentence level by using Xiuhong Tong and Hélène Deacon’s groundbreaking Linguistics Pathways Model, which provides two parallel paths leading to reading comprehension. The first pathway leads to word recognition by morphological decoding. Deacon and Tong show how word reading and meaning arise from an awareness of how morphemes—the meaningful components that compose all words—are linked to graphemes. Unlike phonics decoding, students develop word reading, spelling and vocabulary knowledge in unison, which supports reading comprehension.  The second pathway is a syntax to sentence pathway. Syntax, the blueprint for creating and understanding sentences, is the layer of language that most directly supports reading comprehension and fluency. Together, words are not only read with meaning but as part of meaningful sentences – which largely determines text comprehension. Xiuhong Tong and S. Helene Deacon 2025. The Linguistic Pathways Model: Capturing the Multiple Dimensions of Reading Development. Reading Research Quarterly

    59 min
  7. Four Powerful Word, Sentence, Text and Cognitive Routines for Teaching Writing - Meghan Hicks

    Mar 20

    Four Powerful Word, Sentence, Text and Cognitive Routines for Teaching Writing - Meghan Hicks

    Meghan Hicks returns to talk about how teaching structure at the word, sentence, and text levels can help students make sense of the writing process. We often discuss literacy as a system and the importance of students understanding how it works. Meghan explains the broader system and how her students discover that the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.  You’ll learn that syntax—how sentences are constructed from words, phrases and clauses—isn’t an abstract language concept. Rather, it is a straightforward way to improve reading comprehension and sentence construction. Meghan explains a simple sentence diagramming method that provides visual representations of sentence structure. Meghan also dives into the cognitive aspects of writing, starting with thinking. Students who can structure their thoughts are better able to structure their sentences. You learn about the four categories of thinking and how they influence students’ writing.   You can contact Meg at ThinkWriteReadCommunity@gmail.com  or visit the Think~Write~Read Community  Bruce Howlett's Seven Layers of Literacy Project - ReadingShift.com

    1h 5m
  8. Respecting the Social, Emotional & Academic Needs of Dyslexic Individuals -- Bonnie Feeney & Jen Petrich

    Mar 2

    Respecting the Social, Emotional & Academic Needs of Dyslexic Individuals -- Bonnie Feeney & Jen Petrich

    Bonnie Feeney, a dyslexic mother and Jen Petrich, her PhD neuroscientist daughter discuss dyslexia from a unique perspective—one of from a journey of personal discovery and the other from studying brain science. Hear how their journeys came together, enriching both their lives.  Learn the difficulties that dyslexics confront within and beyond the classroom. Dyslexics share more than a diagnosis and supporting them requires more than just a reading intervention. They deserve our respect and understanding.  For decades, Bonny experienced biases and judgments that included narrow instruction that didn’t develop her interest in language. Jen became a neuroscientist not to help her mother, but to understand neurodiversity and find methods that support students broadly. Bonny began to listen in on Jen’s tutoring sessions with students and realized that this type of word and sentence inquiry made sense to her.  A note from Jennifer Petrich: I would like to clarify a comment I made on this podcast episode that doesn’t reflect my true beliefs. In recounting someone else’s experience, I used language and framing that I no longer align with, including referring to a good IQ and not being dumb. I believe that measures like IQ do not define a person’s worth or fully capture their abilities, and I’m mindful that words we use—especially casually—can reinforce harmful assumptions. This was an unfiltered moment, and I’m committed to being more thoughtful and aware of my language and biases moving forward. Bruce Howlett’s Seven Layers of Literacy Approach: ReadingShift.com Literacy Dr website: https://www.theliteracydr.com D.O.T.S. course info and registration: https://www.theliteracydr.com/pd/dots Wednesdays with Literacy Dr (free drop-in) info and registration: https://www.theliteracydr.com/drop-in Literacy Dr videos: https://www.theliteracydr.com/videos List of Resources for Further Learning: https://cb29367d-4ec0-40b5-af0b-a46966ed9d5a.filesusr.com/ugd/2c8fa0_47cff29b89e34ae2bcf16d59670de2d7.pdf

    53 min
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About

For the Love of Literacy provides podcasts about the exciting advances in literacy instruction, from morphology and orthography (the spelling system), to meaningful sight word memorization, and sentence construction and comprehension. We focus on the often overlooked aspects of literacy and their links to language development.  We tie learning to read, spell and writing to their roots in spoken language. This makes teaching and learning these abilities much easier because literacy learning is driven by language learning. The major components of spoken language plus vocabulary knowledge strongly predicting and largely determining growth in reading, spelling and writing.  Our guests are not just knowledgeable the links between language and language but know how to implement this learning in the classroom.   You will hear from noted researchers including Linnea Ehri, Marcia Henry and Peter Bowers as well as teachers who have developed lessons that engage students and enrich language abilities. Check back weekly to discover more Fulfilling Literacy Lessons and Clarifying conversations. Feel free to reach out to me at Bruce@ReadingShift.com. 

Information

  • Creator
    Bruce
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 For The Love Of Literacy
  • Show Website
    For The Love Of Literacy

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