A Review of the Podcast “Sold A Story”

Part 1: “Flip the Feedback” — Teaching Strategy Hacks

I’m currently working in a school district that is switching over to curriculum modalities that are deeply connected to the “Science of Reading”. I for one, have been trained in a variety of reading programs but did most of those training outside of undergraduate studies (I studied psychology at Howard U.). More specifically, I learned about Marie Clay’s Concepts of Reading, F&P Running Records, Lucy Calkin’s Reading, and Writing Programs, the University of Chicago’s STEP Assessment Tool, and DIBLES all outside of my formal studies.

I highlight the point of learning outside of graduate studies because I was “boots on the ground” learning and flipping the feedback and knowledge. I didn’t have much time or the authority to question what I was learning. I just needed to learn the tool or philosophy and support students’ reading and writing growth.

Last year, I took an intensive reading clinic and learned so much about phonics and phonemic awareness, the course was eye-opening. As an educator, I love learning. (If you’re a teacher in DC, I highly recommend applying to the DC Reading Clinic.) I’ll admit it… Sometimes, I would fall into the trap of not questioning what it was that I was learning.

Years ago (2012), when I was new to teaching kindergarten one of my academic coaches said something to the effect of “These students don’t need phonics. Very few students will need a phonics program to be successful at reading.”…