Reading Teachers Lounge
By: Shannon Betts and Mary Saghafi
Language: en-us
Categories: Education, Kids, Family, Language, Learning
This is the Reading Teachers Lounge where listeners can eavesdrop on professional conversations between elementary reading teachers. We are passionate about literacy and strive to find strategies to reach all learners. Shannon and Mary are neighbors who realized that they were “literacy soul sisters” at a dinner in their Atlanta neighborhood. Once they started chatting about reading they haven’t really stopped. Come join the conversation.
Episodes
8.6 Deliberate Orthography
Jan 09, 2026Shannon and Mary revisit the topic of Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) and discuss the importance of understanding the deliberate reasons for English spellings with guests Jennifer Petrich and Bradley Johnson.
The conversation follows the hosts' and guests' experiences with SWI, detailing how it helps students understand and apply the structure of English spelling with its focus on word structures, etymology, and morphology.
Emphasizing a shift from a phonics-only approach to one that also prioritizes morphology & etymology, the episode highlights the importance of starting with word meaning and developing scientific inquiry skills in literacy teaching.
8.5 The Literacy Block
Dec 07, 2025Mary and Shannon are joined by Lindsay Kemeny, a returning guest and 1st grade teacher. Lindsay discusses her latest book and shares insights into structuring an effective literacy block. During the chat, Lindsay stresses the importance of routines, transitions, and frequent student responses in her data-driven instruction. Lindsay also opens up about her personal journey, detailing how her son's struggles with dyslexia transformed her teaching methods. The conversation covers practical tips for teaching phonics, spelling, high-frequency words, and integrating content into literacy. Listen to the episode to learn valuable tips for optimizing your reading instruction.
01:17 Welcoming Back Li...
Duration: 00:54:428.4 SEL Concerns
Nov 16, 2025Educator and author Erin Waters joins Shannon and Mary to discuss supporting the whole child through Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Erin shares her teaching journey and highlights the crucial connection between SEL & literacy development—because our students aren’t just learning to read; they’re learning who they are. They explore what SEL looks like in real classrooms: morning meetings that build community, read-alouds that spark emotional awareness, and simple coping strategies that help students manage anxiety and stress. The discussion also acknowledges the lasting impact of the digital age and the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ social-emotional well-being, as more children...
Duration: 00:42:528.3 Affirming Practices with Dr. Jasmine Rogers
Oct 31, 2025In this episode, you're getting a preview of the types of conversations happening with educators in our bonus subscription episodes.
This month, Shannon and Mary chat with Dr. Jasmine Rogers, a reading specialist and college educator, about her dual roles in literacy. Dr. Rogers discusses her research on African American English (AAE) and structured literacy, emphasizing the importance of affirming behaviors in promoting student motivation and effective communication. Drawing on personal experiences and professional expertise, she emphasizes the importance of affirming diverse dialects, including Black English, and fostering an inclusive and supportive classroom environment. The episode also cov...
8.2 Treasured Stories
Oct 17, 2025In this special episode of the Reading Teachers Lounge, hosts Shannon and Mary have an engaging and insightful conversation with acclaimed children's author Kate DiCamillo about treasured stories. They explore Kate's journey as a writer, discussing the profound impact of her debut novel 'Because of Winn-Dixie,' the themes of her books, and the role of animals in her stories. Kate shares her thoughts on writing with empathy, the importance of ending stories with hope, and the joy of reading aloud. Highlights include listener questions about vocabulary development and character inspirations, and Kate's reflections on the magical connection formed...
Duration: 00:57:218.1 New Season, New Stories
Oct 03, 2025Shannon and Mary kick off the new season with reflections on how far the podcast has come, from family anecdotes to stories of former students thriving—like Rigby, a once-struggling reader now headed to college. They share practical tips for using Canva to teach morphology, highlight successes from their summer tutoring, and discuss balancing work, rest, and family life. Additionally, they unveil exciting plans to feature more teacher voices in the show through their bonus episodes, available to all subscribers.
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August 2025 bonus episode
Aug 22, 2025In this August bonus episode of Reading Teacher Lounge, Mary and Shannon exchange insights on recent articles they've read. They dive into practical strategies for supporting students, especially those with ADHD. They discuss homework routines, communication between teachers and parents, and how to create structured homework environments. Mary shares guidelines from ADDitude and Edutopia on effective homework systems and collaboration between special education and general education teams. Shannon highlights a thought-provoking article from The Atlantic about Lucy Calkins' impact on the reading crisis, emphasizing the need for nuanced approaches and critical thinking in education. The episode concludes with helpful...
Duration: 00:39:447.18 Season 7 Finale
Jul 11, 2025Shannon and Mary look back over Season 7 and reflect on what really matters for our reading students. "The right things for our learners" emerged as the unofficial theme of our seventh season. This phrase encapsulates what each of us strives for – cutting through the noise to identify the most impactful practices for the unique students in front of us.
The conversations with our guests this season revealed a common thread: the need to simplify and focus on what's most important. In this episode, Shannon and Mary share some of their key takeaways from the discussions with the pod...
7.17 Impactful Interventions
Jul 05, 2025Shannon and Mary chat with Dr. Katie Pace-Miles about MTSS and RTI, sharing practical tips for delivering effective reading interventions, choosing quality resources, and running efficient team meetings to support struggling readers. Whether you're a classroom teacher trying to support struggling readers, a specialist designing intervention programs, or a parent advocating for your child, this conversation provides clear, actionable guidance for making literacy interventions both manageable and truly impactful.
LINKS FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
Easy CBMMaking Words Stick by Katie Pace Miles and Molly Ness *Amazon affiliate link*our episode with Molly N... Duration: 00:56:137.16 Executive Functioning Demands
Jun 27, 2025What's really happening when students struggle to stay on task, complete assignments, or transition between activities? In this illuminating conversation with literacy experts Dr. Matt Strader and Dr. Douglas Fisher, Shannon and Mary delve into the complex world of executive functioning and its impact on classroom performance. Executive functioning isn't just about behavior—it's about cognitive processes happening in the brain's prefrontal cortex. Both guests help us understand the crucial distinction between the neurological processes of executive functioning and the observable skills of self-regulation.
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7.15 Language Demands
Jun 20, 2025Shannon and Mary talk with Dr. Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez about supporting Multi-Language Learners, exploring language development, daily classroom language demands, and practical strategies to help MLLs thrive. The information presented is relevant for teachers, administrators, and support staff seeking practical tools to enhance instruction for multilingual learners.
RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING THE EPISODE:
A free resource hub containing blogs, videos, research reports, and more— designed to connect teachers with practical classroom resources and Professional Learning tips.Vanderbilt University: Jeannette Mancilla-MartinezEdutopia: Using SIOP... Duration: 01:05:24
7.14 Literacy Leaders
Jun 13, 2025Shannon chats with Laura Stewart (from 95 Percent Group) about bold moves that literacy leaders can take to transform the literacy practices in their learning communities. Laura provides stories and strategies relating to successfully implementing best practices informed by the Science of Reading into schools and classrooms, and Shannon shares some real-life examples of what she's learned to do and not to do as a literacy leader. Listen and also download the recommended resources from the show notes to be empowered in your transformation efforts.
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7.13 The Right Things for Our Learners
Jun 06, 2025Shannon and Mary welcome Dr. Timothy Shanahan to the Reading Teachers Lounge to quiet the noise within the literacy community and help us all realize the MOST important things we should be doing for our learners according to the reading research. Listeners will find out what practices and activities they should prioritize to improve their students' reading achievement.
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7.12 Effective Student Engagement
May 30, 2025Shannon and Mary chat with Brandi Dugal from The Fidget Game, featured on Shark Tank, about unique ways to engage and motivate students to learn. They share methods for gamification, brain breaks, and other strategies teachers can use to increase student engagement. Listen for ideas to make reading more fun and how to help motivate even the most reluctant readers to get excited about their learning.
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7.11 Structured Word Inquiry
May 23, 2025Dr. Pete Bowers shared how Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) transforms spelling and vocabulary into tools for deep thinking - perfect for engaging advanced and struggling readers in the elementary reading classroom.
We encourage the listeners to also check out this episode on YouTube to learn from the visuals Dr. Bowers shared during the discussion (link is at the top of the show notes).
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Challenging Advanced Readers
May 18, 2025How can teachers effectively support advanced readers in elementary school? In this insightful episode, we’re joined by literacy expert Nancy Young to explore practical, evidence-based strategies for meeting the needs of gifted and high-achieving readers in the classroom.
Nancy shares her expertise on differentiation strategies, including offering choice in reading materials, using tiered assignments, and implementing project-based learning to keep advanced readers engaged. We also discuss how to encourage critical thinking, promote independent reading, and create meaningful peer discussion and mentorship opportunities.
Whether you’re a classroom teacher, reading specialist, or literacy coach, this epis...
🔒 April 2025 Bonus Episode
Apr 30, 2025Subscriber-only episode
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This is our April 2025 bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
In this April 2025 bonus podcast episode, Shannon and Mary chat about the tutoring and advocacy work they've been doing. They talk about how they're preparing their students for the upcoming testing season. They discuss some of the struggles and succe...
7.9 Smart Technology
Apr 18, 2025Shannon and Mary welcome Brandon Cardet-Hernadez from Mrs. Wordsmith to the RTL to chat about smart technology resources. They talk about intentional uses of technology resources for instructional purposes and what skills will be required as our students advance in the next part of the 21st century. Listeners will gain ideas for ways to incorporate technology to elevate students' learning.
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🔒 AD Free 7.9 Smart Technology
Apr 18, 2025Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary welcome Brandon Cardet-Hernadez from Mrs. Wordsmith to the RTL to chat about smart technology resources. They talk about intentional uses of technology resources for instructional purposes and what skills will be required as our students advance in the next part of the 21st century. Listeners will gain ideas for ways to incorporate technology to elevate students' learning.
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🔒 March 2025 Bonus
Apr 02, 2025Subscriber-only episode
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This is our March 2025 exclusive bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these bonus episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
In this episode, Shannon and Mary provide details about their tutoring students of various ages and how they're using different curriculum resources with their readers. Shannon describes how she's using some Conquering Spelling Demons cards that she purc...
🔒 February 2025 Bonus
Mar 06, 2025Subscriber-only episode
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This is our February 2025 exclusive bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these bonus episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
We start this episode with an apology and explanation for the missing January episode and the delay in publishing this one. (Back in January, Shannon's computer crashed unexpectedly and they lost 3 regular podcast episodes and the January bon...
7.8 Importance of NonFiction
Jan 24, 2025Shannon and Mary talk with Melissa Taylor from ImaginationSoup.net about the importance of nonfiction texts in a student's reading diet. They chat about the flexible comprehension strategies students need to organize the information gathered from nonfiction and text features and structures that are specific to nonfiction texts. Listeners should walk away inspired to put more NF texts in their readers hands.
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...
Duration: 00:40:12🔒 AD Free 7.8 Importance of NonFiction
Jan 23, 2025Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary talk with Melissa Taylor from ImaginationSoup.net about the importance of nonfiction texts in a student's reading diet. They chat about the flexible comprehension strategies students need to organize the information gathered from nonfiction and text features and structures that are specific to nonfiction texts. Listeners should walk away inspired to put more NF texts in their readers hands.
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7.7 System Changes with LaMonica Williams
Jan 10, 2025Shannon and Mary welcome LaMonica Williams from Teaching Matters back to the Reading Teachers Lounge. This time they chat about professional development experiences and the most effective ways to bring about positive change in school systems. They discuss the differences between management and leadership and how to foster student-centered school improvement.
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🔒 AD Free 7.7 Systems Change with LaMonica Williams
Jan 09, 2025Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary welcome LaMonica Williams from Teaching Matters back to the Reading Teachers Lounge. This time they chat about professional development experiences and the most effective ways to bring about positive change in school systems. They discuss the differences between management and leadership and how to foster student-centered school improvement.
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🔒 December 2024 Bonus
Jan 04, 2025Subscriber-only episode
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This is our 5th exclusive bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
In this episode, Shannon continues to share about the new learning and insights she's had about her instruction since getting training in Structured Word Inquiry and spelling out orthography. Mary updates Shannon on some patterns she's seeing thr...
7.6 The Reading Team
Dec 06, 2024Shannon and Mary chat with Katherine Hamilton about maximizing the learning impact of co-teaching. The conversation is centered around an article from Choice Literacy written by Franki Sibberson titled Aligning Curriculum with Struggling Readers in Mind. The article proposes that co-teachers need to reflect and determine how their various teaching activities and strategies align into a cohesive instructional plan for the students, so that the readers can build transferable skills they can apply across the school-day.
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🔒 AD FREE 7.6 The Reading Team
Dec 05, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary chat with Katherine Hamilton about maximizing the learning impact of co-teaching. The conversation is centered around an article from Choice Literacy written by Franki Sibberson titled Aligning Curriculum with Struggling Readers in Mind. The article proposes that co-teachers need to reflect and determine how their various teaching activities and strategies align into a cohesive instructional plan for the students, so that the readers can build transferable skills they can apply across the school-day.
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🔒 November 2024 bonus episode
Nov 28, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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This is our 4th exclusive bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
In this episode, Shannon shares the new learning and insights she's had about her instruction since getting training in Structured Word Inquiry and spelling out orthography. (Mary was out sick during this recording).
7.5 Spelling that Sticks
Nov 13, 2024Shannon and Mary welcome @MindfulTeacherRachel back to the podcast to discuss strategies for helping their students strengthen spelling skills. They talk about the stability of English spelling and the meaning-based reasons for a word's spelling, beyond sound-symbol connections. Listeners will know what to look for in students' spelling errors and accuracies and walk away with fresh ideas for spelling instruction.
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🔒 AD FREE 7.5 Spelling That Sticks
Nov 13, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary welcome @MindfulTeacherRachel back to the podcast to discuss strategies for helping their students strengthen spelling skills. They talk about the stability of English spelling and the meaning-based reasons for a word's spelling, beyond sound-symbol connections. Listeners will know what to look for in students' spelling errors and accuracies and walk away with fresh ideas for spelling instruction.
RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING THE EPISODE:
🔒 October 2024 bonus episode
Oct 24, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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This is our 3rd exclusive bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
In this October 2024 bonus podcast episode, Shannon and Mary chat about the tutoring and advocacy work they've been doing. Mary shares how she's fostering learning engagement and building relationships with her students. Shannon talks about the new 3rd grade...
7.4 Word Knowledge
Oct 17, 2024Shannon and Mary welcome Heidi Martin (@Droppin' Knowledge with Heidi) back to the podcast, and Heidi's husband, Adam, a LETRS trainer, also joins the conversation. They talk about all the aspects that go into the topic of Word Knowledge. What are all the things students should know and understand about a word to demonstrate complete knowledge of that term? You'll walk away from listening to this episode with a more complete understanding of all the layers of skills within Word knowledge that we need to help our readers build.
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...
🔒 7.4 AD FREE Word Knowledge
Oct 17, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary welcome Heidi Martin (@Droppin' Knowledge with Heidi) back to the podcast, and Heidi's husband, Adam, a LETRS trainer, also joins the conversation. They talk about all the aspects that go into the topic of Word Knowledge. What are all the things students should know and understand about a word to demonstrate complete knowledge of that term? You'll walk away from listening to this episode with a more complete understanding of all the layers of skills within Word knowledge that we need to help our readers build.
... Duration: 00:55:437.3 Book Equity
Oct 03, 2024Shannon and Mary welcome Marty Martinez from Reach Out and Read and Judy Newman from Scholastic to the podcast to talk about Book Equity. They share ideas for getting quality books in students' hands and nurturing students' reading diversity.
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🔒 AD Free 7.3 Book Equity
Oct 03, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary welcome Marty Martinez from Reach Out and Read and Judy Newman from Scholastic to the podcast to talk about Book Equity. They share ideas for getting quality books in students' hands and nurturing students' reading diversity.
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🔒 September 2024 Bonus Episode for Subscribers
Sep 26, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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This is our 2nd exclusive bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
In September 2024, Shannon and Mary provide details about their tutoring students of various ages and how they're using different curriculum resources with their readers. Mary shares how she's using Bookworms, All About Spelling, Measured Mom Plus, and the Time...
7.2 Mending Teachers with Karen Gross
Sep 19, 2024Shannon and Mary have an informative and inspiring chat with Karen Gross. They learn details about how the Covid-19 pandemic affected teachers and students. Karen shares why the role of teachers is more difficult today, and she provides tons of specific ways teachers can fill their cups and take care of themselves and their class. If you've experienced stress or trauma, you'll discover ideas from this discussion with Karen about healing.
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🔒 AD FREE 7.2 Mending Teachers with Karen Gross
Sep 19, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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Shannon and Mary have an informative and inspiring chat with Karen Gross. They learn details about how the Covid-19 pandemic affected teachers and students. Karen shares why the role of teachers is more difficult today, and she provides tons of specific ways teachers can fill their cups and take care of themselves and their class. If you've experienced stress or trauma, you'll discover ideas from this discussion with Karen about healing.
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7.1 New Opportunities
Sep 05, 2024Mary and Shannon catch up with each other after the summer & podcast break. They chat about their own children, their personal lives, and their plans for this upcoming school year. They discuss the implementation of Georgia's dyslexia bill this year. They share about their professional reading and learning. And they fill listeners in on the activities they've done through their Patreon community and about some free reading guides they've created over the summer. This new year is full of changes and possibilities!
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🔒 7.1 New Opportunities AD FREE
Sep 05, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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Mary and Shannon catch up with each other after the summer & podcast break. They chat about their own children, their personal lives, and their plans for this upcoming school year. They discuss the implementation of Georgia's dyslexia bill this year. They share about their professional reading and learning. And they fill listeners in on the activities they've done through their Patreon community and about some free reading guides they've created over the summer. This new year is full of changes and possibilities!
RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING TH...
🔒 August 2024
Aug 22, 2024Subscriber-only episode
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This is our first exclusive bonus episode of Reading Teachers Lounge podcast. In these episodes, Shannon and Mary will share about the students they're helping in reading, the resources they're using, and the books and other materials they're studying to further their practical knowledge about the Science of Reading.
In August 2024, Shannon and Mary go step by step through interpreting the results of a student's writing screener. Shannon talks about using Fundations handwriting guide and the UFLI curriculum and apps with her first grade tutoring student. Mary shares...
Reading Lessons with Jennifer Serravallo
Jul 01, 2024Shannon and Mary chat with Jennifer Serravallo, whose literacy work they have long admired. Jennifer shares how her view about reading instruction have evolved over time. Jennifer's written a new book showing teachers different structured models for responsive teaching called Teaching Reading Across the Day, and she gives us many ideas from us the book about how teachers can apply the art of teaching to set up their literacy blocks to best meet their students' needs.
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Reaching All Readers
Jun 13, 2024We have a summer bonus episode for you!
Shannon and Mary have Anna Geiger, the Measured Mom, join them in the lounge again to discuss the best evidence based practices that teachers can use to reach all readers. Anna's new book provides teachers and parents with a consolidated understanding of the Science of Reading findings.
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Season 6 Finale
Jun 04, 2024Shannon and Mary gather together to review the school year and close out the podcast season. They give updates on their personal and teaching lives and share their summer plans. Later they're joined by Kelsey (wifeteachermommy) to talk about Educate and Rejuvenate 2024.
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Enga... Duration: 01:05:02
Meeting Students Needs
May 17, 2024Shannon and Mary chat with Nancy Young and Jan Hasbrouck about differentiation and the latest updates to the Ladder of Reading and Writing. Listeners will get a better understanding of WHY it's so important to make adjustments to curriculum, instruction, activities, and/or assessments in order to meet the various needs of their students.
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Delightful Word Learning with Colette Hiller
May 04, 2024Shannon and Mary chat with critically acclaimed author and experienced actress & advocate Colette Hiller about ways to make word learning innovative and fun. Colette is releasing a new book titled Colossal Words for Kids, which combines educational poetry with vibrant illustrations to teach new words and related content knowledge. The book is delightful and so is Colette. Listen to this episode to gain creative ideas about how to help get students excited about word learning and how to help make the vocabulary stick in the students' minds.
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Supportive Strategies for Working Memory
Apr 19, 2024Shannon and Mary chat about how to best support learners with working memory challenges. This is a companion episode to a deep dive learning topic we went through with our Patreon community about Working Memory. Listeners to this episode will walk away with increased awareness about which students may have working memory challenges AND strategies to help those students during reading instruction.
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by Susan Gathercole (Author), Tracy Packiam Alloway (Author) *Amazon aff... Duration: 01:12:44
Meaningful Professional Learning
Apr 06, 2024Shannon and Mary talk with Kelly Butler and Carla Stanford about professional learning that is meaningful. Kelly Butler worked with the Barksdale Reading Institute to bring about systems change in reading instruction in the state of Mississippi over the last twenty years. Kelly and Carla share about a free resource they're working on now called Reading Universe, which is a one-stop shop for teachers and interested stakeholders to learn about best practices in teaching reading.
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the Intersection of Speech, Reading, and Language
Mar 22, 2024Shannon and Mary chat with speech therapist Dr. Karen Dudek Brannan about the overlaps between speech, reading, and language. Dr. Karen helps us understand the challenges facing students with language impairments. From this episode, teachers can understand the perspective of a speech therapist to better understand speech and language challenges. After listening, you should walk away with ideas about conversations to have with the speech therapist in your building and an awareness of language challenges your students may face within your curriculum.
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the Importance of Handwriting
Mar 08, 2024Shannon and Mary discuss the importance of prioritizing handwriting instruction simultaneously with reading and writing instruction in the early grades. Learn why handwriting is essential for overall literacy development and how to include it in your daily instruction.
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Date Your Data
Feb 23, 2024Shannon shares with Mary the steps she follows for analyzing student data. This Date Your Data process requires multiple steps of looking at test scores, improvement goals, student strengths and weaknesses, and then connecting the data to standards to facilitate data-driven instruction. This method of data review makes the test score information meaningful to teachers, students, parents, and other stakeholders. Listen to find out how to Date Your Data to get to know your students and their learning better.
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Building Knowledge with Linda Rhyne
Feb 09, 2024Shannon and Mary are joined in by Linda Rhyne in the Reading Teachers Lounge. They share a deep dive of information from the book, The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler. This episode is full of information and strategies to increase your student's knowledge helping them dive deep into comprehension and knowledge building. Linda Rhyne is a returning guest to the show and shares her expertise in guiding professional discussions to help educators meet their student's literacy goals.
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Ideas for Differentiation with Wiley Blevins
Jan 19, 2024Shannon chats with her favorite literacy guru, Wiley Blevins, about the decisions and methods that go into differentiation. Shannon picks his brain about some of her reading students. Also, Wiley shares insights from his coming book about adjustments that teachers can make before or during their lessons to better suit the learning levels of their students. We always get some much wisdom from Wiley, whether it be from a direct chat, a webinar he hosts, or from a book he's authored. Listen to this entire episode to get inspired about ways you can best meet your students' needs.
Gifts for Our Readers with Dr. Karen Gazith
Jan 05, 2024Shannon and Mary chat with Dr. Karen Gazith about her new book The Power of Effective Reading Instruction. The conversation flowed through many topics but ultimately what you can gain from our discussion is the gifts we give our readers when we teach with intention. Listen to this episode to gain fresh ideas for enhancing your own reading instruction.
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Read Aloud to Boost Comprehension
Dec 08, 2023Mary and Shannon chat with Dr. Molly Ness about her new book Read Alouds for All Learners. Molly shares how teachers should intentionally plan their read alouds, with thought put into the vocabulary instruction, the purpose for reading, the think aloud process, and engagement and extension activities for students after reading. Listen to this episode for TONS of ideas from our guest about how to get the most learning out of your read aloud experiences.
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the Comprehension Process
Nov 24, 2023Shannon and Mary wrestle with understanding the nature of the comprehension process. They discuss ideas from the Blueprint for Reading Comprehension and Executive Skills and Comprehension to understand the different cognitive processes and executive functioning required for students to extract and construct meaning from texts.
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Best Reading Instructional Moves
Nov 10, 2023Shannon chats with Lindsay Kemeny about her new book titled 7 Mighty Moves: Research-Backed, Classroom-Tested Strategies to Ensure K-3 Reading Success. Both Shannon and Lindsay have classroom experience teaching Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students, so their discussion was filled with details and stories about the best instructional strategies and techniques teachers should use to help their students become fluent readers.
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We Love Mistakes
Oct 19, 2023Shannon and Mary talk about why they love student mistakes. They share how to make mistakes meaningful in the ways they show insight into students' learning. They chat about establishing a trusting relationship with students so they feel comfortable showing us mistakes. Lastly, they discuss ways to provide student feedback without inducing shame. Learning happens between the lessons, and in this episode, you'll find concrete ideas for what to do and say each day with your students to promote a growth mindset and engagement in learning.
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Intervention in the Upper Grades
Oct 05, 2023Shannon and Mary meet with Kionna Squires (@DaLiteracyLady) to talk about the challenges facing older struggling readers. During the discussion, they explain how meeting students where they are IS rigorous and the right thing to do for our readers. They also share ideas for boosting student engagement and their favorite activities for upper grade reading intervention.
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Etymology and Orthographic Study
Sep 21, 2023Shannon and Mary host a returning guest to the Reading Teachers Lounge @MindfulTeacherRachel, who you heard in Season 5 on the Schwa episode. In this episode, Shannon, Mary, and Rachel talk about English word histories and how they may inform how a word is spelled. Check out this discussion to get ideas for how to share word origin stories with your reading students and help students see how important morphology is in addition to sound symbol connections.
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Back to School Reflections and Plans
Sep 07, 2023Shannon and Mary meet again to begin the 6th season of the podcast. They recap their summer activities in both professional and personal lives, update the audience on the plans they're making for their reading students this school year, and preview what's coming next in Season 6 of the podcast.
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Summer Reading Tips
Jun 15, 2023Shannon and Mary bring you a surprise bonus episode for Season 5. They chat with Dr. Amanda Alexander from Scholastic about statistics about summer reading. In the episode, they all share tips about how to make the most of the summer reading experience.
Note: The research statistics cited were compiled by Scholastic in conjunction with Fluent Research. The findings are based on a nationally representative sample of 1,724 parents and children, including 531 parents of children ages 0–5; 1,193 parents of children ages 6–17; plus one child aged 6–17 from the same household.
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Season 5 Finale: Ends & Beginnings
May 18, 2023Shannon and Mary meet up to review how season 5 of the podcast has gone. They share some of the things they learned during the season and list some of their favorite episodes and guests. They also chat about the school year as it winds down, their upcoming summer plans, and what is in store for the podcast in Season 6. At the end of the episode, they're joined by Kelsey Sorenson from Wife Teacher Mommy to talk about the Educate and Rejuvenate event they're all participating in during June 2023.
RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING THE EPISODE
Putting the Science of Reading Into Action with Malia Hollowell from Playdough to Plato
May 04, 2023Shannon and Mary chat with Malia Hollowell (@Playdough2Plato) about her new book, Science of Reading In Action. They summarize the big ideas within the Science of Reading for listeners and share practical actions teachers and parents can take to ensure they're doing best practices for students that are backed by literacy research. After listening, you'll understand more about WHAT the SoR is, WHY it is important, and HOW to put it in action, no matter your literacy role.
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Teaching and Reaching Diverse Learners
Apr 20, 2023Shannon and Mary chat with Khadijah Abdullah, a public school teacher in their area, about how she balances the wide variety of reading abilities in her classroom. Khadijah shares about her trauma-informed teaching practices and how she uses visual literacy to provide learning scaffolds for her students.
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Practical Tips for Reading Teachers with guest Jamie Sears from Not So Wimpy Teacher
Apr 06, 2023Shannon and Mary chat with Jamie Sears from Not So Wimpy Teacher about how to get more done as a reading teacher in less time. Jamie shares practical tips for teachers from her newly published book titled How to Love Teaching Again. Listeners will walk away with ideas on how to save time in preparing lesson plans, routines for lesson structure, easy grading techniques, and ways to simplify reading groups. Check out this episode to find out how to make your jobs as reading teachers easier and more enjoyable!
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Speaking and Listening Standards
Mar 23, 2023Shannon and Mary read over and discuss the Speaking and Listening standards in Reading to develop a deeper understanding of how and why these standards exist and help the students grow in literacy. They show how the standards develop in the depth of knowledge across the grade levels from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade. They also share ideas of ways to embed Speaking and Listening standards practice in classroom routines and project-based learning.
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Building Reading Fluency
Mar 11, 2023Shannon chats with Stephanie Summers from Pride Reading Program about the topic of helping students build their reading fluency. They talk about what skills go into a student's reading fluency. They share ways to work on fluency with readers. In their chat, they reference ideas from The Megabook of Fluency by Timothy Rasinski.
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Building Vocabulary
Feb 24, 2023Shannon and Mary focus their conversation on how to build students' vocabularies. They share less effective methods used in the past and how they've evolved their vocabulary instruction to help students the most. In the chat, they reference ideas from Bringing Words to Life by Isabel Beck.
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Meaningful Learning Assessments
Feb 10, 2023Often Shannon and Mary discuss different types of student assessments. Today we are going to dive a little deeper and discuss how we use data analysis to make meaningful adjustments and decisions to our teaching practices. Shannon brings the perspective of a classroom teacher and Mary shares how she individualizes plans for her private tutoring clients.
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Decodable Texts with Emily Gibbons, the Literacy Nest
Jan 27, 2023Shannon and Mary chat with Emily Gibbons from the Literacy Nest about decodable texts. This discussion provides information about how decodables are similar and different to trade books and leveled texts. In this episode, teachers will find out how and when to use decodable texts in reading instruction. Listeners will also learn the best sources for high quality decodable books and short texts.
Episode Links for Resources mentioned:
Decodable Texts Guide UFLIA tweet with a graphic that says "Decodable texts are a bridge, not a destination!" -C. TartaglioneA Research Study on the Effects of Using Decodable Texts...
Simple View of Reading and Beyond with Dr. Janet Mort
Jan 13, 2023Shannon and Mary chat with Dr. Janet Mort, who has fifty years of experience in the field of education and reading. We discuss the Simple View of Reading and how that affected reading instruction in the 1980s and 1990s. Dr. Mort then shares how the research following the Simple View of Reading has shifted and become more defined. This discussion provides context to reading research over the last few decades and helps reading teachers understand how Science of Reading discoveries impact classroom instruction.
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Orthographic Mapping with Anna Geiger (The Measured Mom)
Dec 23, 2022Shannon and Mary chat with Ann Geiger from The Measured Mom about how readers orthographically stores words in their reading brains. This episode follows our overview of the reading brain, where we talked about the reader's journey to whole word recognition and how reading teachers can help their readers bolt on the orthography to what students already know in spoken language and language comprehension. In this episode, we go into greater detail about best practices to do in the classrooms to help your students gain this meaningful letter sequence storage.
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the Reading Brain with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg
Dec 09, 2022Shannon and Mary chat with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg from Reading Simplified about what happens in the brain during reading. We talk about the reader's journey to whole word recognition and how reading teachers can help their readers bolt on the orthography to what students already know in spoken language and language comprehension. Listeners will learn how to build a strong foundation for reading and how to help their students build flexible decoding strategies. Teachers will also hear examples of feedback to provide to readers in order to promote orthographic mapping. Check out this episode to learn all about how the b...
Duration: 01:09:40Balancing It All as a Reading Teacher (with Guest Linda Rhyne)
Nov 25, 2022Shannon and Mary ask Linda Rhyne to join them for a live Reading Teachers discussion about how to find balance in our reading instruction. Teachers are asked to follow various curriculum programs, teach the grade level standards, differentiate for their students' needs, and utilize their own expertise & experience. How can teachers blend all this together into cohesive literacy instruction that makes sense to students and themselves and balance what they're asked to do with what they know their students need to be successful in reading? All these points are brought up in the chat, and Linda shares some tips for...
Duration: 01:08:56Classroom Libraries with Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp
Nov 11, 2022Shannon and Mary chat with Donalyn Miller & Colby Sharp about their recently published Common Sense Guide to Your Classroom Library. The reading teachers discuss how to set up and use the library to maximize its impact with kids. This conversation provides the WHY behind decision making and instructional use of the classroom library.
Episode Resources:
the Schwa
Oct 27, 2022Shannon and Mary chat with Mindful Teacher Rachel about the Schwa vowel sound and how to teach it to students. She shares great stories from her classroom about teaching reading and all about her newly published book that can be used to introduce the Schwa to readers. You'll want to listen in on this chat between reading teachers to get strategies and resources for working on the Schwa with your own reading students.
Episode Resources:
Our Favorite Literacy Resources
Oct 13, 2022Shannon and Mary chat about their favorite free and low cost literacy resources to use in reading lessons and tutoring sessions. They share links to: complete phonics curriculum resources that include scope and sequences, decodable texts, vocabulary lists and activities, phonics and phonemic awareness activities, and strategies for teaching comprehension. Check out the links in the show notes to find resources to use with your own reading students.
Episode Resources:
Supporting English Language Learners
Sep 29, 2022Mary and Shannon chat with Stephaney Jones-Vo about how to best support the reading needs of English Language Learners. Stephaney describes the differences in needs of ESOL students at various levels and provides easy ideas for differentiation and scaffolding for students at different levels. Stephaney shares how to understand the language load of class assignments and assessments, and this lens will help teachers view their own learning assignments in a fresh and supportive way for their students.
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Season 5 Opener: New School Year, New Season of the Podcast
Sep 15, 2022Shannon and Mary meet up after the summer hiatus to chat about going back to school. They catch up on their personal activities from the summer and then share their instructional plans for the new school year in 2022-2023.
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<... Duration: 00:50:17School Year and Season 4 Wrap Up
Jun 30, 2022Shannon and Mary catch up on their teaching activities and personal lives during the past school year. They share highlights from the past season and what is coming next in Season 5 and the 2022-2023 school year.
Episode Resources:
Hot Logic Mini Oven https://amzn.to/3jO2C4l (*Amazon affiliate link)
Long and Short Vowels
Jun 23, 2022Shannon and Mary share some new understandings they've discovered about the differences between long and short vowels. They chat about how they'll modify some phonics activities for students after discovering these new understandings.
Episode Resources:
Hot Logic Mini Oven https://amzn.to/3jO2C4l...
Duration: 00:13:26Differentiation for Different Readers
Jun 16, 2022Shannon and Mary chat with Nancy Young, the creator of the Ladder of Reading & Writing, about differentiated instruction for readers at different levels. [Note: Our podcast has explicit permission from Nancy Young to use her Ladder infographic image and information with our audience.] In this episode we discuss the equitable need for differentiation, in order to "offer children what they need based on where they are." Strategies, examples, and activities are shared for teachers to modify their literacy instruction based on the unique needs of their readers.
Episode Resources:
Just Right Reading Books for Families and Students
Jun 02, 2022Shannon chats with Sarah Rich, CEO of Just Right Reader, about her company that provides decodable readers to students, families, teachers, and schools. Sarah and Shannon talk about how decodable texts are important for the right reading practice for students. Sarah provides details about their mission to make reading fun and for students to learn to read with engaging decodables that are representative of students in America's schools.
Episode Resources:
Sound Walls
Mar 24, 2022Shannon and Mary chat with Christina Edmondson (@literacywithmrs.e) about implementing Sound Walls into your literacy classrooms. Christina shares how Sound Walls compare to traditional word walls and provides ideas for using them with students in reading and writing. She describes exactly how to set up your own Sound Wall and start using with your readers.
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Phonemic Awareness: In the Dark or With Letters?
Mar 04, 2022Shannon and Mary chat about the recent debate in the science of reading community about whether phonemic awareness drills without letters are a worthwhile exercise for readers. They describe activities they've done with struggling readers to build phonemic awareness, and they talk about the use of those activities as a part of Tier 1 reading instruction.
Episode Resources:
Morphology
Feb 11, 2022Shannon and Mary chat with Emily Conlan from @wordmorphed_ on Instagram about Morphology. Emily shows how and where Morphology fits into structured literacy instruction and the science of reading. Their discussion provides easy ways to strengthen students' word meaning knowledge at different grade and age levels of readers.
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New Understandings about Encoding
Jan 28, 2022Shannon describes some new ways she's helping her older elementary students learn how to encode and spell. Mary shares the S.O.S strategy for Spelling and explains the research about encoding and the brain processing that happens as students make spelling choices.
Note: The S.O.S. strategy is typically included with all Orton-Gillingham training organizations and isn't just attributed exclusively to IMSE. We appreciate Emily Gibbons from The Literacy Nest for this clarification. Also, we incorrectly stated that she had trained with IMSE, which was said in error. She first trained with IMSLEC (MA General Hosp...
The Updated Ladder of Reading and Writing
Dec 31, 2021Shannon and Mary discuss the revised Ladder of Reading and Writing that was recently updated by Nancy Young. [Note: Our podcast has explicit permission from Nancy Young to use her Ladder infographic image and information with our audience.] In this episode we compare the updates to the Ladder to its original form and discuss the changes and how they may impact literacy instruction.
Episode Resources:
The Importance of Storytelling
Dec 17, 2021Shannon and Mary chat with Anna Boldog from Bookr Class about the Importance of Storytelling. They share their own memories and experiences with stories as readers and teachers. And they talk about what research shares about how storytelling impacts language and literacy development. This discussion should prompt your own memories of stories and how they've impacted your life, your instruction, and your readers.
Episode Resources:
Supporting Reading Teachers
Nov 25, 2021Shannon and Mary chat with LaMonica Williams, Director of Programs for Teaching Matters, about how to support reading teachers and their students through intensive but supportive coaching and literacy training.
Episode Links for Resources mentioned:
Bookr Class App (interactive storytelling) 70% off promotion link
Hot Logic Mini Oven https://amzn.to/3jO2C4l (*Amazon affiliate link)
Daily Harvest (Get $35 off your first box when you use this link)
Scarborough's Reading Rope with Tess Kraft
Nov 12, 2021Shannon chats about the different strands of Scarborough's Reading Rope with Tess Kraft. They talk about all the many different skills that weave together into skilled reading and share ideas about transferring the science of reading into effective literacy instruction.
Episode Links for Resources mentioned:
Science of Reading with Heidi Martin
Sep 30, 2021Shannon and Mary chat with Heidi Martin about her journey into learning about the Science of Reading. Heidi has been documenting her literacy transformation on Tiktok (@learningwithheidi) and Instagram (@droppinknowledgewithheidi).
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Chatting about Scope and Sequence with Wiley Blevins
Sep 16, 2021Shannon and Mary chat with literacy expert Wiley Blevins about the scope and sequence of phonics instruction.
Episode Links for Resources mentioned:
Season 4 Opener: Back To School & Together Again
Sep 06, 2021In their Season 4 opener, Shannon & Mary update listeners on their summer activities and their plans for the upcoming school year and podcast season. They share what they've been reading and learning about lately, which leads to a discussion about differentiating for students at various points on the Reading Ladder.
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Season 3 Finale
Jul 15, 2021In this episode, Shannon closes out the third podcast season. She describes the struggles from the 2020-2021 school year and shares what's coming next for the podcast in Season 4.
Resource Links:
1. Boundaries podcast episode (We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle)
2. Ross on Friends ("Pivot!")
3. How to Set Boundaries as a Teacher (Cornerstone for Teachers)
4. Teachers, This Should be the Summer of Saying No
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Auditory Learners
Apr 29, 2021This title continues our multi-sensory series. In this episode, Shannon shares the characteristics of auditory learners. She gives some strategies and resources for incorporating more auditory practice in your literacy instruction.
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Making the Most of Your Online Reading Instruction
Jan 10, 2021Shannon and Mary chat with Maria Halkias about her on-line reading instruction. They talk about parent engagement with virtual instruction, teaching challenges during these unprecedented times, and what resources have been most helpful when teaching virtually. Maria shares about the community of inquiry and how she's using that framework to provide structure to her reflective teaching practice during this unusual teaching year. This episode provides ideas and inspiration for increasing student presence, teacher presence, and cognitive presence in your online reading instruction.
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Visual Learning
Dec 11, 2020Shannon and Mary continue the discussion about multisensory reading instruction. This episode focuses on strategies for visual learners.
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