Kandice and Bel Closing the Early Literacy Gap
We are two educators and mothers who share a passion for early literacy. As educators we have noticed the devastating gap between many children's abilities and the expectations for proficiency in learning to read and write. We have great desire to catch those children who are falling through the cracks and put them on the pathway to academic success. This podcast is our attempt to reach out to all of the fellow educators, parents and anyone else who works with children to share research and our ideas about closing the early literacy gap! Come and join us as we become part of this great conversation!
Episodes
15 episodes
Ep. 15- Dyslexia
How much do you know about dyslexia? We start this episode with a true or false quiz. Check it out and see how much you know. Then keep listening to learn more.References:"Overcoming Dyslexia" by Dr. Sally Shay...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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28:12
Episode 14- The Brain
In this episode we tell we give a basic, easy to understand explanation of what is happening inside a person's brain when they learn to read. We are not brain scientists but sometimes learning from brain scientist can be a little d...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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23:49
Episode 13- Vocabulary and Comprehension
How do kids learn vocabulary and comprehension? In this episode we explore the different levels of word knowledge, how kids learn words, the different types or tiers of words and how do you choose what words to teach kids? We also talk a...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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22:42
Episode 12- Reading Fluency
In this episode we talk all things fluency! How do you help kids become fluent in reading? If kids do poorly on a fluency test, what do you do? Should you encourage kids to read as fast as they can? References:"Rea...
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23:31
Episode 11- Sight Words
In this episode we talk about sight words, or what is better named high-frequency words. We discuss how they are often taught and how we think they should be taught. And we do a fun word sort to figure out which ones are decodable, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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23:08
Episode 10- Reading with Kids
In this episode we discuss the three different ways you can and should read with kids: reading to them, reading with them, and listening to them read. Resources include:"Active View of Reading" Model by Duke and Cartwrig...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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21:33
Episode 9- Vowels
This is one of our favorite episodes! We had so much fun recording it as we experimented with singing using only vowels and only consonants and consequently had a great conversation about the importance of vowels and the challenges of tea...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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24:57
Ep. 8- Phonics
In this episode we discuss the following three big questions surrounding the teaching of letters and sounds:1. Shoud we teach the names of letters first, sounds first, or teach them at the same time?2. How fast should we...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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20:57
Episode 7- Phonemic Awareness
Do you know the difference between phonemic awareness and phonics? Do you know how important phonemic awareness is for setting the stage for reading? Do you know how to teach phonemic awareness? In this episode we talk about a...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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26:21
Episode 6- Talking to Kids
In this episode we go through some studies that show how talking to kids might just be the most important thing you can do for their academic and professional success. We have a special guest appearance by 3-year-old Bea and her mom to sh...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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21:58
Episode 5- The Big Five!
Wouldn't it be great if there was a place to find all the best research on teaching kids how to read? Well, there is! It's called the National Reading Panel report and it can be found at nichd.nih.gov. The National Reading Pan...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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24:04
Episode 4- In the Beginning
In this episode we talk about the basic things that all parents, caregivers and early teachers can be doing to set their kids up for success on the path of literacy. We go through the Simple View of Reading (P.B. Gough and W.E. Tumner) an...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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21:54
Episode 3- What Schools are Getting Wrong
In this episode we discuss the methods many schools are using to teach kids how to read and how it compares with what science says. We discuss Whole Language versus Phonics. In this episode we reference:"Sold a Story"...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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23:17