Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers copertina

Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers

Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers

Di: Sara Marye Literacy Teacher Elementary Teacher
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Welcome to The Stellar Teacher Podcast! We believe teaching literacy is a skill. It takes time, practice, and support to become the literacy teacher you want to be. This podcast will help you level up your literacy instruction, build your confidence, and make a meaningful impact with your students—all while having a little fun along the way! Hosted by Sara Marye and The Stellar Teacher team, this podcast brings together literacy specialists and educators who are passionate about helping upper elementary teachers feel more confident and effective in their literacy instruction. Together, we’re committed to sharing high-quality, no-fluff strategies, resources, and ideas that are practical, research-informed, and easy to bring into your classroom. Each week, Sara, the Stellar Teacher team, and special guests share their knowledge, tips, and practical strategies to help you strengthen your literacy instruction and support your students in becoming confident, capable readers and writers. For printable and digital literacy resources, head to stellarteacher.com. Connect with us on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany.Copyright 2026 Sara Marye, Literacy Teacher, Elementary Teacher Successo personale Sviluppo personale
Episodi
  • 325: The Real Purpose of Small Group Instruction

    325: The Real Purpose of Small Group Instruction
    Sep 21 2026

    Small group instruction is probably built into your literacy block—but have you ever stopped to ask: What is the actual purpose of small groups?

    For years, Emily knew she was supposed to teach small groups, but she wasn't always sure what students should actually be doing once they got to the teacher table. Like many teachers, she focused on creating groups, planning rotations, finding leveled texts, and managing the rest of the class. But the most important question often got overlooked: What do these students need to practice with my support?

    In this episode, Emily breaks down the real purpose of small group instruction and shares a simple mindset shift that can completely change the way you plan. Small group isn't a curriculum or a specific type of lesson. It's an instructional structure that gives students more opportunities to practice a targeted skill while you observe, provide immediate feedback, and adjust your instruction based on what you notice.

    You'll also learn why strong small group instruction starts with specific student needs (not reading levels) and how using multiple layers of data can help you pinpoint exactly what students need to practice.

    In this episode, you'll learn:

    • The real purpose of small group instruction—and why it's not simply getting every student to the teacher table
    • Why small group is an instructional structure, not a curriculum
    • How small groups increase opportunities for meaningful student practice
    • Why immediate, precise feedback is one of the biggest benefits of teaching students in a smaller setting
    • The planning shift from “What am I going to teach?” to “What do my students need to practice with my support?”
    • Why effective small groups should be flexible and responsive to what you notice about your students

    Next week, we're wrapping up our Small Group Success series with a special guest! You're not going to want to miss that!

    Resources Mentioned:

    Small Group Success Checklist: stellarteacher.com/smallgroup
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    13 min
  • 326: Making Small Group Instruction More Effective with Dr. Julia Lindsey

    326: Making Small Group Instruction More Effective with Dr. Julia Lindsey
    Sep 28 2026

    Small group instruction is a regular part of many literacy blocks—but what actually makes a small group effective? And do you really need to meet with every student every day?

    In this episode, Emily is joined by Dr. Julia Lindsey to rethink some of the traditional ways teachers approach small group reading instruction. Instead of starting with rotations, reading levels, or the pressure to get every student to the teacher table, Julia encourages teachers to start with something much more important: the specific needs of their students.

    Julia shares why small group instruction is most powerful when it gives teachers an opportunity to differentiate instruction, provide immediate feedback, and target the skills students need additional support with. She also explains why small groups don't have to look the way they've always looked—and why it's okay if every student doesn't meet with you every day.

    You'll also hear practical advice for using assessment data and informal observations to make instructional decisions, managing the rest of your class while you're meeting with a group, and designing a small group schedule around your students rather than trying to fit your students into a predetermined schedule.

    In this episode, you'll learn:

    • Why effective small group instruction starts with student needs, not a predetermined schedule or rotation
    • How small groups give teachers an opportunity to differentiate instruction and provide immediate, precise feedback
    • Why you don't have to meet with every student every day for small group instruction to be effective
    • How to use assessment data and informal observations to identify targeted skills for small group practice
    • Why reading comprehension is complex—and what that means when you're deciding what to teach in a small group
    • How a triage approach can help you prioritize which students need additional teacher support
    • Why knowing your readers is one of the most important parts of making small group instruction more effective
    • How to rethink traditional small group structures and create an approach that works for the students in front of you

    If small groups have ever left you feeling like you need to do more, meet with more students, or somehow fit more rotations into an already packed literacy block, this conversation is your reminder that small group instruction is a tool you can use—not a structure you have to serve. Focus on knowing your students, identifying what they need, and designing your instruction from there.

    Resources Mentioned:

    Small Group Success Checklist: stellarteacher.com/smallgroup

    Check out the Stellar Literacy Collective: stellarteacher.com/join
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    52 min
  • 327: What Should the Rest of Your Class Do During Small Groups?

    327: What Should the Rest of Your Class Do During Small Groups?
    Oct 5 2026
    Episode 327: What Should the Rest of Your Class Do During Small Groups?You’ve planned an intentional lesson for the students at your small group table—but then comes the other question: What should the rest of your class be doing while you teach?For years, Emily assumed small group instruction automatically meant centers and rotations. One group was doing word work, another was reading, another was on the computer—and every 15 minutes, everyone rotated. But small groups don’t have to be that complicated. Your students can all work on the same meaningful literacy activity, or you can rely on a few predictable routines that students already know how to complete independently.In this episode, Emily shares practical ways to simplify what the rest of your class is doing during small group instruction—without constantly searching for, creating, and prepping new activities. You’ll learn four literacy routines you can use again and again: partner fluency practice, sentence writing, writing about reading, and purposeful independent reading. The goal isn’t to create an entirely separate literacy block for your independent students. It’s to build on the instruction and routines you’re already using.Emily also shares why independent work needs a clear connection back to your instruction, how a quick whole-class check-in can create accountability, and one mistake she made when assigning graded work during small group time.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why small groups don’t have to mean complicated centers and rotationsHow predictable routines can make independent work easier for students—and require less planning from youFour meaningful activities students can do while you teach a small groupHow to use partner fluency practice as a repeatable routine where the structure stays the same and the text changesHow sentence writing and writing about reading can extend instruction you’re already doingHow to make independent reading more purposeful by connecting it to the knowledge students are buildingWhy bringing students back together after independent practice creates accountability and helps you catch misconceptionsWhy you should be thoughtful about assigning graded work when some students will have less independent work time because they’re meeting with youNext week, we’re continuing our Small Group Success series with a conversation all about behavior management during small groups—including setting expectations, reducing interruptions, and helping students work independently while you focus on the students at your table. Pasted text(20260925-153458)Resources Mentioned:FREE Sentence Writing Activities: stellarteacher.com/sentencesYou’ve planned an intentional lesson for the students at your small group table...but then comes the other question: What should the rest of your class be doing while you teach?For years, Emily assumed small group instruction automatically meant centers and rotations. One group was doing word work, another was reading, another was on the computer—and every 15 minutes, everyone rotated. But small groups don’t have to be that complicated. Your students can all work on the same meaningful literacy activity, or you can rely on a few predictable routines that students already know how to complete independently.In this episode, Emily shares practical ways to simplify what the rest of your class is doing during small group instruction—without constantly searching for, creating, and prepping new activities. You’ll learn four literacy routines you can use again and again: partner fluency practice, sentence writing, writing about reading, and purposeful independent reading. The goal isn’t to create an entirely separate literacy block for your independent students. It’s to build on the instruction and routines you’re already using.Emily also shares why independent work needs a clear connection back to your instruction, how a quick whole-class check-in can create accountability, and one mistake she made when assigning graded work during small group time.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why small groups don’t have to mean complicated centers and rotationsHow predictable routines can make independent work easier for students—and require less planning from youFour meaningful activities students can do while you teach a small groupHow to use partner fluency practice as a repeatable routine where the structure stays the same and the text changesHow sentence writing and writing about reading can extend instruction you’re already doingHow to make independent reading more purposeful by connecting it to the knowledge students are buildingWhy bringing students back together after independent practice creates accountability and helps you catch misconceptionsWhy you should be thoughtful about assigning graded work when some students will have less independent work time because they’re meeting with youNext week, we’re continuing our Small Group Success series...
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    19 min
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