The Classroom Commute
Rachael Parlett
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Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Classroom Commute episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Classroom Commute for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Classroom Commute episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Summer Teacher Road Trip 2022
The Classroom Commute
05/23/22 • 6 min
TEACHERS: RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU’RE READY FOR SUMMER!
As we finally are winding down our school year, I know that the routines and everyday activities of a teacher change drastically.
For one - once school is out for summer (woot woot), you likely will NOT be commuting anymore. Unless you teach summer school, your classroom commute comes to a halt as you can finally enjoy less hectic days, actually drink your coffee hot (amen!), and let’s be honest – use the bathroom whenever you want (I mean...)!
So, that’s why here on the podcast, we are trading in our classroom commute for a Teacher Summer Road Trip (que the car tunes)!
The idea for a summer road trip here on the podcast came to me last summer and I thought: Wouldn’t it be fun if we traveled together each week this summer, visiting some of the most popular tourist destinations (AKA - most popular podcast episodes) from the last year?
Well - it turned out to be a huge hit. So - I’m inviting you to come with me again on the 2022 Teacher Summer Road Trip!
FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT: classroomnook.com/podcast/121
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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
>> CLICK HERE to Join us for the Summer Teacher Road Trip! You’ll be all set to be included in our weekly FLASH FREEBIES and HOT SUMMER DEALS!
Readers & Writers Workshop: Top Questions to Ask Yourself BEFORE Getting Started
The Classroom Commute
08/23/21 • 22 min
STOP.
Before you get started with readers and writers workshop this year, we need to talk.
I know you want to launch into your first reading and writing unit.
I know you’re anxious to start that first novel or that first writing piece with your students. It’s exciting to start fresh.
BUT — before you do, don’t.
Have your properly set yourself up for success when it comes to launching readers and writers workshop? Have you considered all.the.things. to make sure you have crossed all your t’s and dotted all your i’s?
In this week’s episode, I’m covering ALL the essential questions you should be asking yourself BEFORE you hit the ground running with your reading and writing curriculum.
From simple questions like: Where will your students keep their reading and writing materials? to more thought-provoking things to consider like: How will you fit conferencing into your workshop time? ...and everything in between.
LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE
EPISODE 29: How to Launch Reader's Workshop in Your Classroom
EPISODE 30: How to Launch Writer's Workshop in the Upper Elementary Classroom
EPISODE 62: Why You Need a "Share Chair" In Your Reading and Writing Workshop
RESOURCES:
- IntelliScanner (affiliate link)
- Online catalog like Book Source Classroom Organizer.
- Smart phone apps like iBookshelf, Book Crawler, and Book Buddy
- Launching Reader's and Writer's Workshop Bundle
Grab these TWO FREEBIES inside our Members Resource Library
- Teacher’s Guide to Reader’s Workshop — under “Teacher Resources” section
- Teacher’s Guide to Writer’s Workshop — under “Teacher Resources” section
Helping Your Students Make Inferences When They Read
The Classroom Commute
04/04/21 • 17 min
How can teachers help their students to become stronger readers?
Simple. Give them the tools (aka reading comprehension strategies) to help them make sense of what they read.
Ok, maybe not so simple.
Teaching students these strategies does take practice, intentional instruction, and loooots of modeling. But that doesn’t mean we have to make it complicated in the way that we teach these reading strategies.
When it comes to teaching comprehension strategies, like inferring, we can provide our students with simple, concrete examples before turning them loose to try it on for size.
In this episode, we’ll break down reading comprehension instruction, specifically, how to teach students to make inferences while reading. I’ll take a straightforward, step-by-step approach to make sure you know how to explain inferring to your students (and how to explain what it is not.) I’ll show you how to seamlessly go from modeling concrete and tangible examples before transitioning into using this comprehension strategy in different texts.
It’s an episode that you’re going to want to tuck away in your teacher toolbox.
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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
EPISODE 41: Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies
EPISODE 42: Reading Comprehension Instruction: How to Teach Making Connections
EPISODE 47: Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Visualizing
EPISODE 51: Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Making Predictions
EPISODE 59: A Step-By-Step Guide to Teaching Determining Importance in the Upper Elementary Classroom
Here are some of my favorite books to use when modeling inferring (affiliate links):
- The Wretched Stone by Chris Van Allsburg
- The Memory String by Eve Bunting
- This Is Not My Hat by Job Klassen
- The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Grab my FREE Inferring Bookmark inside the Members Resource Library under “Reading Resources.”
Ending Your Lesson: 10 Standing Ovation-Worthy Ways to Do It Right
The Classroom Commute
03/14/21 • 12 min
How you end a lesson is just as important as what you do during the lesson itself.
If you’ve ever spent hours prepping and planning for a lesson in your classroom (and I know you have), then after all that hard work you’re likely ready to just be done. Close the teacher planner and move on to the next task.
How we end a lesson however, whether it be a mini-lesson, a whole-class activity, or even in small guided reading groups, shouldn’t be an after-thought.
But - it often is.
Teachers often think that 5 minutes at the end of a lesson couldn’t really hold that much weight. You’ve already taught the important content during the actual lesson — just instruct your kiddos to close their books, put away their papers and get ready for lunch, right? What more is there to do?
PLENTY.
In fact, the final few minutes of your lesson could make a BIG impact on your students’ over-all understanding of what you just spent the last 30 minutes teaching them.
When you spend so much time planning for an epic lesson in your classroom - give it an epic ending! And don’t worry, I’m not giving you just one more thing to do. I’ve already compiled 10 plug-and-play lesson-enders that you can do right away in your classroom!
See the complete show notes at classroomnook.com/podcast/61
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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE
EPISODE 44: Engaging Ways to Start a Lesson
POST: How to Quickly Check Your Students' Understanding
RESOURCE: Show What You Know Cards
SONG: Do The Hustle
Grab my FREE Show What You Know Assessment Cards inside the Members Resource Library under “Student Assessment Resources.”
Using Podcasts to Get Students Excited About Learning with Jerry Kolber
The Classroom Commute
08/15/22 • 32 min
Interview with: Jerry Kolber
Today I have an amazing guest! His name is Jerry Kolber, and Jerry is the co-founder and CEO of edutainment company Atomic Entertainment Group.
He is also an Emmy-nominated co-creator and showrunner of Nat Geo's biggest hit series Brain Games and Netflix's Brainchild with Pharrell Williams.
He began his career within the production auditing department of New York Undercover has worked in the entertainment field with networks like Disney, Bravo, HBO, National Geographic, Animal Planet and MTV.
Overall, Jerry has written, produced, supervised, and run over 400 episodes of various premium television and streaming content pieces.
Today, Jerry is focused on education - specifically changing the game to create a system that helps children learn without stamping them all out of the same mold along the way.
He is now the voice behind Who Smarted?, a podcast that’s aimed at children ages 6 to 10. Each episode teaches kids something new through humor, stories, and even interactive games. Within just one year, they’ve hit 3 million downloads for the show.
FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT: classroomnook.com/podcast/132
Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode
Listen to the “Who Smarted?” Podcast HERE.
Receive ALL 52 Brainchild Lesson Plans and Activity Handouts FREE! SIGN UP NOW!
Sign up HERE to join Space Camp.
Join LINKtivity Learning
A Step-By-Step Guide to Teaching Determining Importance in the Upper Elementary Classroom
The Classroom Commute
02/28/21 • 21 min
Students tend to think that everything they read is important.
But - the problem with trying to remember EVERYTHING you read is that you actually end up remembering very little. Our brains can only retain so much information before it goes into overdrive, so its critical to help little brains, aka our students, develop strategies to strain out the nonessential information from the books that they read.
How do we do this? It should come as no surprise when I say that we need to explicitly teach them how. We need to show students how to separate out the important, must-remember information from the interesting, but not essential details in a text.
Teaching students to determine importance will help set the foundation for students to be able to master other critical reading comprehension strategies like inferring and synthesizing that they will need to pull out from their reading toolbox as well.
In order to infer, students need to be able to pick up on the important details that serve as clues in making inferences. They need to determine importance first.
Synthesizing requires students to collect all the important details from and textual “bread crumbs” left throughout a book in order to come to a much deeper and complete understanding of the story. It starts with determining importance.
For complete show notes, visit: classroomnook.com/podcast/59---------------------------
LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE
EPISODE 54: 6 GREAT Reading Activities to Use With Nearly ANY Novel!
Reading Comprehension Strategies:
- EPISODE 41: Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies
- EPISODE 42: Reading Comprehension Instruction: How to Teach Making Connections
- EPISODE 47: Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Visualizing
- EPISODE 51: Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Making Predictions
Favorite Books to use for modeling Determining Importance (affiliate links):
- The Important Book by: Margaret Wise Brown (this is a great book to introduce the reading strategy)
- Love Will See You Through by Angela Farris Watkins
- The Stray Dog by Marc Simont
- Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
Grab my FREE Determining Importance Bookmark inside the Members Resource Library under “Reading Resources.”
Reason's Why Your Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop Is Not Working
The Classroom Commute
02/21/21 • 20 min
There are a lot of moving parts in the readers and writers workshop model.
It takes a lot of coordination, planning, and modeling for reading and writing magic to happen.
Reading and writing centers seem chaotic and mismanaged, you’re constantly being interrupted during your small groups, and students still don’t seem to know what they should be doing during independent work time.
Is it really just too hard? Should you just go back to traditional whole-class teaching?
Maybe. OR - you could make a few small tweaks and get back on track.
Chances are, with a few changes to your readers and writers workshop, you could have your workshops running like clockwork - and in return, help your students become strong readers and writers.
Sound like a dream? It’s not! In this week’s podcast episode I’ll share with your 7 common mistakes teachers are making during their literacy block AND how to fix them!
For complete show notes, visit: classroomnook.com/podcast/58
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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
EPISODE 25: It’s time to Fine-Tune Your Instruction with New Teaching Strategies and Best Practices
EPISODE 29: How to Launch Reader's Workshop in Your Classroom
EPISODE 30: How to Launch Writer's Workshop in the Upper Elementary Classroom
EPISODE 49: Pressing the "Restart" Button On the School Year
Reading Comprehension Strategies:
- EPISODE 41: Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies
- EPISODE 42: Reading Comprehension Instruction: How to Teach Making Connections
- EPISODE 47: Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Visualizing
- EPISODE 51: Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Making Predictions
POST: Setting Up Classroom Routines and Procedures
POST: Back to School Series: Launching Readers Workshop
POST: Back to School Series: Launching Writer's Workshop
RESOURCE:
Getting Started With Reader’s Workshop (printable & digital)
Getting Started With Writer’s Workshop (printable & dgitial)
LINKtivities Interactive Learning Guides
Grab my FREE Routines and Procedures Checklist inside the Members Resource Library under “Classroom Management Resources.”
Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Making Predictions
The Classroom Commute
01/03/21 • 20 min
Wouldn't it be nice if we could predict what the future holds?
...especially as we head into 2021. Wow, that’s a loaded question! Maybe we would rather not know. (wink, wink)
Predicting in reading, however. Now THAT’S a necessity!
Proficient readers make predictions naturally, without even knowing it. They predict what a book will be about based on the title, they predict why characters act a certain way, and they guess what will happen next when they get to the end of a chapter.
It’s important that elementary teachers help teach young students to use this same reading comprehension strategy as well. Predicting helps keep the reader’s mind engaged and activated as he or she works through a text. When students actively predict while reading, they stay connected to the text and can reflect upon, refine, and revise their predictions.
This podcast episode will teach you how to introduce, model, practice, and assess your students on making predictions in reading. You won’t want to miss it.
For complete show notes, visit: classroomnook.com/podcast/51
LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
Episode 41: Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies
Episode 42: Reading Comprehension Instruction: How to Teach Making Connections
Episode 47: Reading Comprehension Strategies: How to Teach Visualizing
Here are some of my favorites to use when modeling predictions (affiliate links):
- Two Many Tamales by: Gary Soto
- Enemy Pie by: Derek Munson
- Those Shoes by: Maribeth Boelts
- What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by: Steve Jenkins
Grab my FREE Making Predictions Bookmark inside the Members Resource Library under Reading Resources
Resource: Making Connections LINKtivity
How to Teach Visualizing in the Upper Elementary Classroom
The Classroom Commute
12/06/20 • 17 min
As adults, it’s so hard to imagine NOT visualizing while reading.
Visualizing is what makes the characters, settings, and events pop off the page. Visualizing makes us want to keep reading. And - it’s visualizing that allows us to leave reality for a moment and escape into another world.
But - for young readers, it may not be that easy. They may not have been taught to focus their mind in that way - to create that moving in their mind. That’s where clear reading comprehension strategy instruction on visualizing, or picturing as some teacher refer to it as, comes into the...well, picture (pun intended)!
If you’re looking to develop stronger readers in your classroom, then tune in to this week’s episode as we continue our podcast series on teaching reading comprehension strategies in your elementary classroom.
LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
Episode 41: Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies
Episode 42: Reading Comprehension Instruction: How to Teach Making Connections
Books rich in descriptive language and detail — perfect for teaching visualizing:
- A Bad Case of the Stripes by: David Shannon
- Color Me a Rhyme by: Jane Yolen
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by: Judy Barrett
- The Salamander Room by: Anne Mazer
Grab my FREE Visualizing Bookmark inside the Members Resource LibraryLINKtivity Interactive Learning Guide: Visualizing
Getting Started with Elementary STEM for Classroom Teachers (with Naomi Meredith)
The Classroom Commute
10/31/22 • 44 min
BRAND NEW TO STEM INSTRUCTION?
Or - have your tried implementing STEM projects in your classroom but find it results in chaos? (you’re not alone!)
Then, allow me to introduce you to Naomi Meredith - former classroom teacher turned K-5 STEM coach.
Naomi knows the feeling of overwhelm all to well when it comes to STEM instruction. After accepting a position as a STEM coach, she was thrusted into a new building, a new STEM classroom — and given NO curriculum.
But along the way, Naomi has learned a thing or two (or ten!) about what makes STEM instruction successful in the elementary classroom, and she’s here to share her expertise with us.
Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.
With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, she helps teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.
She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively.
And, I had the honor of picking her brain about all things STEM - and you get to eavesdrop in on our conversation.
FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT: classroomnook.com/podcast/143
Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode
Grab Naomi’s FREE K-5 STEM Year Long plan HERE!
The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast:
- Episode 4: Welcome to STEM Survival Camp
- Episode 6: Managing Your Makerspace in the Classroom
After the Fall by Dan Santat
Naomi’s Favorite Timer for Classroom Management
Connect with Naomi Meredith:
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Classroom Commute have?
The Classroom Commute currently has 149 episodes available.
What topics does The Classroom Commute cover?
The podcast is about Teacher, Education, Podcasts and Teaching.
What is the most popular episode on The Classroom Commute?
The episode title 'Positive Behavior Management in a 21st Century Classroom (With Shawn Young)' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Classroom Commute?
The average episode length on The Classroom Commute is 18 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Classroom Commute released?
Episodes of The Classroom Commute are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of The Classroom Commute?
The first episode of The Classroom Commute was released on Dec 20, 2019.
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