For The Love Of Literacy with Bruce Howlett

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. 2d ago

    Beyond the Alphabetic Principle: Bringing Etymology into Literacy Instruction - Anya Maloney

    Why doesn’t sounding out a word always tell us how to spell it? Bruce Howlett welcomes speech-language pathologist and literacy specialist Anya Maloney to explore common misconceptions about the alphabetic principle and how English spelling works. Anya explains how borrowing, pronunciation changes, and other historical influences shaped a system that represents pronunciation, meaning, and word history. Through examples of unexpected spellings and expansive word families, she shows how etymology can help students understand spelling, connect related words, and deepen their vocabulary. The conversation offers educators a fuller picture of English spelling and accessible ways to bring word history into literacy instruction. Anya’s website: https://languagelearninglink.com/ SWIRV FB page:  https://www.facebook.com/share/19hwRYQN1g/?mibextid=wwXIfr

    Beyond the Alphabetic Principle: Bringing Etymology into Literacy Instruction - Anya Maloney

  2. Sep 17

    Infusing England's Rigid Phonics Mandates with Morphological Word Study - Andrea Dalland, Tanya Watt, Jo Johnson & Susannah Thorne

    England's phonics‑first mandates struggle to engage all learners, leaving about a third of students with limited reading abilities—even when they have received years of instruction. The mandates miss opportunities to build vocabulary, comprehension and curiosity, essential literacy skills.  Meet a team of educators working to enrich instruction with Structured Word Inquiry, which blends morphology and spelling. This approach blends deep inquiry into words, offering a meaning‑rich alternative to traditional spelling instruction.  Students learn that English spelling is a logical system to explore rather than a code that fails to account for all spellings. Bullet points: England’s phonics‑first system—driven by Ofsted pressure, scripted SSP lessons, and high‑stakes checks—creates a bottleneck where many children stall, repeat ineffective drills, and miss out on broader reading development.Structured Word Inquiry offers a scientific, meaning‑centered alternative that integrates morphology, etymology, and phonology, turning word study into investigation rather than rote decoding.SWI boosts engagement, supports dyslexic and neurodivergent learners, and re‑energizes the teaching of early reading and spelling by replacing rigid scripts with flexible, evidence‑based tools like word sums, matrices, and word families.Policy shifts and grassroots UK advocacy are opening space for richer instruction, with accessible entry points—such as simple word sums and weekly SWI drop‑ins—helping teachers begin immediately. Contacts:  Andrea Dalland: Tanya Watt: , Jo Johnson Language and Literacy Support: jojohns2021@gmail.com. Susannah Thorne: Link for the UK SWI Cohort FB group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1401185435025834/ The FB group for the Drop-In: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1536607167483053/ The International Drop-In meets every Thursday at 12:30pm London time.  The Zoom link is available in the FB group

    Infusing England's Rigid Phonics Mandates with Morphological Word Study - Andrea Dalland, Tanya Watt, Jo Johnson & Susannah Thorne

  3. Aug 7

    The Word Mapping Project: Engaging Every Learner in Vocabulary, Morphology, Spelling & Writing Instruction - Sean Morrisey

    Do you want to get excited about teaching words, vocabulary, spelling, and writing instruction? Do you want to see your students embrace these subjects as enriching and empowering abilities — not just another academic task? Sean Morrissey points the way with The Word Mapping Project, a series of clear, consistent 35-minute lessons that integrate these language and literacy abilities using cognitive learning principles that make instruction stick.  Sean, a school psychologist who became a classroom teacher, discusses the excitement that comes from seeing diverse groups of students embrace reading, spelling, vocabulary, and writing tasks they once avoided. Sean makes integrating this innovative and enriching approach simple enough all teachers to embrace, including classroom and content area teachers, EL and intervention specialists, SLPs and tutors.     Website: www.wordmappingproject.com X handle: https://x.com/smorrisey   @smorrisey Substack: https://seanmorrisey.substack.com/

    The Word Mapping Project: Engaging Every Learner in Vocabulary, Morphology, Spelling & Writing Instruction - Sean Morrisey

  4. Jul 13

    Building Executive Function Skills into Literacy Sessions - Beth Coppoc Gunshor

    Do your students struggle to stay focused, avoid distractions, begin and complete assignments, or remember directions? Would you like to help them resist impulses, switch between tasks, and manage their thoughts and behaviors? Speech-Language Pathologist Beth Coppic Gunshor discusses how these executive function (EF) skills play out when working with students, turning abstract concepts into practical activities that build academic and life-defining skills. Learn how Beth uses self-talk, whiteboard clocks, and flashlights to help her students remember past events so they can visualize the future to decide what action to take right now. Resources mentioned during For the Love of Literacy’s podcast on literacy and executive function with Beth Coppoc Gunshor Cognitive Connections: Sarah Ward and Kristin Jacobson Video about working clock, starting at 30 minutes Tera Sumpter: Seeds of Learning Gretchen Wegner: Anti-Boring Learning Lab Michael Mcleod: GrowNow ADHD Video of Dimensional Change Card Sort Test Center on the Developing Child: Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function

    Building Executive Function Skills into Literacy Sessions - Beth Coppoc Gunshor

  5. Jun 30

    Two Dyslexic Adults: What We Wish Our Teachers Knew About Language and Learning: Sara Lee talks with Marie Foley & Bruce Howlett

    “If only we, as dyslexics, had learned how the English writing system works—from words to sentences—when we were in elementary school! Maybe we wouldn’t have struggled with language and literacy.”  For decades, non-dyslexic individuals have been telling dyslexics how they learn, often focusing strictly on early literacy skills. This offers a very limited view of dyslexia. Listen to two adult dyslexics, literacy instructor Marie Foley and For the Love of Literacy host Bruce Howlett, discuss their decades-long struggle with reading comprehension, complex word spelling, and written expression. Your understanding of dyslexia will be transformed. In this episode, Bruce hands over hosting duties to linguist Sara Lee. Sara works with Marie and Bruce on grammar and syntax, taking them beneath the surface of words and sentences while exploring new learning methods. Today, Marie and Bruce are utterly fascinated by language and its many connections to literacy. Best of all, written and spoken English finally make sense!

    Two Dyslexic Adults: What We Wish Our Teachers Knew About Language and Learning: Sara Lee talks with Marie Foley & Bruce Howlett

  6. 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

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

  7. 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

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

  8. 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

    Enriching Structured Literacy Through Integrated Word Study - Sarah Mitchell
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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. 

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