Kailey chats with actor, comedian, and NWEA professional learning lead consultant Nicholas Joe about how, why, and when teachers get laughs in their classroom. Along the way they discuss strategies like how to pivot in the classroom with a “Yes, and…” mindset and how to utilize comedy in your lesson planning. And yes, Nick gets Kailey to do improv!

What a great crowd for our first live show! After discussing their Georgia roots, Jacob and Kailey chat with their guests about choosing the best summer professional learning opportunities and what gets them motivated at a conference. Next, they turn to the new school year and discuss the biggest challenges ahead, including how to scale success across schools and districts.  Kailey also asks a few of her signature lightning-round, light-hearted questions.  Finally, stay tuned for the audience Q&A at the end of the show for your daily dose of teacher inspiration. There may have been some tears of joy in the room…

One hurdle for young students who are beginning to read is learning letter names, shapes, and sounds. To help students master these arbitrary pairings between letter shape and letter sound, using letter-embedded mnemonics has been found to be more effective than using letters on their own or letters accompanied by a picture. Try out this sample set of embedded mnemonics with your early learners!

Like the students they serve, every educator enters the classroom in varying states of readiness. Education leaders must ensure each teacher has the tools, professional learning, and guidance they need to be successful. This detailed guide examines how the components of an NWEA Solution can provide the support teachers demand and deserve.

This was a fun one… because we got to talk to you, our listeners! In this episode: We see how Mr. Potato head can motivate students, one additional limb at a time. We open a big box of costumes in the middle of class. We learn about a teacher who calls students’ parents to share good news, and how one student wanted to return the favor. And finally, we get to hear some incredibly touching stories of students and families letting their teachers know how awesome they are. (Jacob and Kailey get a little misty-eyed.)

The Early Word Recognition Lesson Plan tool provides a framework for sequencing efficient and explicit strategies to create new lessons or to organize and expand upon existing lessons from standards-aligned materials.

The Early Word Recognition Learning Walk Tool is a companion for the Early Word Recognition Lesson Plan Tool and is intended to support the teaching and learning shifts educators make to provide equitable and excellent education for all students.