What is the Summer Series? A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2026. Today's Episode In today's episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, we explore the role of comprehension strategies in our overall instruction. This episode will leave you with a clearer vision of the reading instruction landscape and the tools necessary to develop a deep understanding of texts. Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get i...

What is the Summer Series? A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2026. Today's Episode In today's episode, I discuss how you can maintain high student engagement in your low-variance instruction. Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-ro...

What is the Summer Series? A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2026. Today's Episode In this week's episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, I address the common challenge of tracking student reading progress. Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology t...

What is the Summer Series? A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2026. Today's Episode In this week's episode, I share some of my secrets for writing and teaching text-based units that will engage all your students in learning age-appropriate content. Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses p...

What is the Summer Series? A collection of listener favourites from the Structured Literacy Podcast to get you prepared for 2026. Today's Episode In this week's episode, we're going to talk about how Nonsense words play an important part in phonics assessment, but what about in Years 3-6? This week's episode of the structured literacy podcast explores whether middle and upper primary teachers need to include them in their classrooms. Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in to...

The difference between curiosity and commitment can make or break a literacy journey. We close our sixth season by drawing a clear line between being interested in structured literacy and being devoted to outcomes for every student, then map how teams can cross that line together. Along the way, we unpack five behaviour groups you’ll recognise in any staffroom, from early adopters to the special-case sceptics, and explain why labelling people as resistant often hides a deeper truth about capa...

This episode explores how to select rich texts for comprehension instruction by moving beyond traditional levelling systems. Jocelyn introduces four dimensions of text demand to help teachers find the "Goldilocks spot" - texts that challenge students without overwhelming them. She discusses four common reading scenarios and emphasises matching text complexity to students' abilities while considering cognitive load. For teachers wanting to dive deeper into these frameworks and learn practical ...

This podcast episode argues that while PowerPoints became widespread during COVID and helped reduce teacher cognitive load, over-reliance on them can hinder teachers' development. The key takeaway: if we are removing all obstacles, how are teachers learning from experience? Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morph...

The word exposure gets thrown around a lot in schools, especially when a student is behind in phonics or spelling. In this episode, Jocelyn takes a hard look at that belief and explains why presence in a lesson is not the same as learning, particularly for skills that are biologically secondary, like reading and writing. This episode covers: • why exposure is not learning for secondary skills • what explicit teaching demands of attention and practice • how misuse of the term expos...

School leaders and teachers constantly face the challenge of turning great ideas into lasting change. In this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, Jocelyn shares a practical, simple strategy to keep school improvement initiatives alive and thriving. Learn how to create consistency, maintain momentum, and prevent your best efforts from fading away. Whether you're a school leader or classroom teacher, this episode offers a straightforward approach to making school improvements stick. Has...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2 Quick Links Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage The Resource Room...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2 Quick Links Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage The Resource Room...

This episode helps schools cut bloated assessment schedules by focusing on two essential questions: 1. Who is at risk? 2. What skills lead to success? Key Principles: Not every assessment needs one-on-one administrationAssessments must inform instruction, not just generate dataQuestion whether testing time is more valuable than teaching timeAvoid decodable text level assessments that reinforce outdated levellingThe bottom line: Only assess what directly improves student outcomes. Everything e...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Are your students good readers, but poor spellers? If so, you are not alone. Spelling Success in Action addresses phonics, orthography, and morphology to give students a well-rounded understanding of how our language system works. Find out how you can help your students move beyond guessing and memorisation at https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2 Quick Links Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage The Resource Room...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Novel study has gained traction in teaching circles, but important questions arise about its suitability for all students, time management challenges, and whether it's truly evidence-based for primary schools. In this episode, Jocelyn explores • Research comparing novels with shorter stories • Teachers challenges in novel studies including time constraints, student stamina issues, and resource limitations • Quality of te...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Lead the Shift That LastsThe only whole-school transformation pathway that builds trust, develops teacher thinking, and equips leaders to lead sustainable change from within while building a deep understanding of human cognition and evidence-based practice. We are now taking bookings for 2026 to support those who are Leading Learning Success. Click the link to book your discovery call. https://www.jocelynseamereducation.c...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! We examine why educational practices often fail to stick in schools despite initial enthusiasm and training. The key insight is that sustainable implementation requires building systems where practices become embedded in school culture rather than being treated as temporary initiatives. • The implementation dip occurs when the "shine of the new" wears off and teachers must embed practices for the long term • Different teachers ...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! Lead the Shift That LastsThe only whole-school transformation pathway that builds trust, develops teacher thinking, and equips leaders to lead sustainable change from within while building a deep understanding of human cognition and evidence-based practice. We are now taking bookings for 2026 to support those who are Leading Learning Success. Click the link to book your discovery call. https://www.jocelynseamereducation.c...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! We must be strategic about harnessing teachable moments to ensure they enhance rather than distract from our learning objectives. Even experienced educators can get swept up in exciting classroom discussions that inadvertently create inequitable learning environments. • The satisfaction of engaging students in rich, spontaneous discussions can sometimes lead us away from our lesson objectives • Developing a "prompt or park" dec...

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch! In this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, Jocelyn provides essential guidance for educational leaders navigating the complex process of selecting instructional programs. She introduces a research-informed practice model that balances research findings, professional knowledge, and student outcomes, while emphasising that the goal should never be simply to "get a program" but to genuinely improve student learning. ...