Knowing Which Strategy to Teach, and When

In the third installment of the three-part series Jen explores how her work in The Reading Strategies Book 2.0 supports differentiated instruction. Jen shares how educators can use student data, lesson objectives, and skill progressions to select targeted strategies that meet diverse learning needs.

Air Date: September 29, 2025

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Explicit Literacy Instruction for Secondary Readers

Jen joins Dan Cogan-Drew, CEO of Newsela, for a conversation about the Science of Reading in Secondary Instruction. Jen shares research and key ideas for strong lesson design and responsive instruction.

Air Date: September 26, 2025

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Using Reading Strategies with a Core Program

In this second installment of the three part series, Jen explores how research-based reading strategies can help educators support all students in meeting the learning objectives of any reading curriculum, and how strategies align to all state and national literacy standards.

Air Date: September 22, 2025

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Inside The Reading Strategies Book 2.0: The Research

Jen unpacks the definition of the Science of Reading (SOR) and explores the decades of science behind using strategies to help students become proficient readers. Jen explains that strategies are an essential part of explicit teaching, helping all students build skills and knowledge. 

Air Date: September 8, 2025

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Another Conversation with Jennifer Serravallo

Jennifer Serravallo discusses her book Teaching Reading Across the Day, sharing practical, research-based literacy strategies. She emphasizes responsive teaching, adapting instruction for diverse learners, integrating reading across subjects, and fostering student engagement to build strong literacy skills.

Air Date: February 11, 2025

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How to Do a Close Reading Lesson in Any Subject

Jen returns to Cult of Pedagogy for an interview with host Jennifer Gonzalez to discuss how to support students’ comprehension of complex texts through Close Reading Lessons, and how all teachers—of any subject—can and should be reading teachers. Click to read the blog, watch a video of this lesson in action, and listen to the full interview on the podcast.

Air/Pub Date: January 19, 2025

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Are Foundational Writing Skills Evolving?

The conversation with Jon Harper, China Bond, Tom Berger, Melanie Meehan, Jeremy Hyler, and Jen Serravallo explores the implications of AI in education, particularly in writing. It features educators discussing foundational skills necessary for writing, the evolving nature of these skills, and the potential role of AI as a tool for enhancing learning.

Air Date: January 5, 2025

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Fidelity to a Program Requires Teachers Who Can Adapt

Jen argues that by making informed instructional decisions, teachers can maintain fidelity to their curriculum while supporting and engaging their students. Leaders should trust teachers—practitioners who have insights and knowledge about their students, as well as pedagogical expertise—to do so. She shares practical strategies to support teachers with this work.

Pub Date: December 4, 2024

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In this wide-ranging interview for Issue 17 of the GALA Newsletter, Jennifer Serravallo discusses the science of reading, the benefit of teachers leaning on a small repertoire of tried-and-true lessons,  incorporating knowledge and vocabulary building into every literacy lesson, and the importance of always being responsive to the students in front of you. Link to the full newsletter here.

Pub Date: Fall 2024

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Practical Tips on How to Teach Reading

Jen discusses with host Vicki Davis the artistry of teaching, how to overcome the challenges of teaching reading, and teacher autonomy and responsiveness. She also reflects on where the research is "fuzzy" in reading instruction and needs more work and discusses where we go next.

Air Date: November 14, 2024

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The Art and Science of Teaching Reading

A believer in using research to inform practice, Jen explains how she tests research in hundreds of classrooms across the country so she can confidently recommend practices that she knows will work in a typical K–8 classroom. Jen also discusses the importance of responsive teaching to ensure we meet the needs of the evey student.

Pub Date: November 8, 2024

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An Interview with Jennifer Serravallo

Elaine Bukowiecki and Valarie Harlow Shinas interview Jen about her newest book, Teaching Reading Across the Day: her inspiration for writing the book, balancing the science with teacher knowledge and decision-making, the nine lesson types described in the book, content area literacy, and more.

Pub Date: November 2024

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Teaching Reading Across the Day: Strategies for Engaging Instruction

Jen and host Olivia Wahl discuss valuable strategies for teaching reading, including nine tried-and-true lesson structures, grouping strategies, balancing research and teacher autonomy, and more.

Air Date: October 7, 2024

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Responsive ELA Teaching

Jen discusses nine evidence-based lesson structures and how to choose the right one for your learning purpose. She also explores how to anticipate likely student response and creating an if-then tool kit, including using skill progressions to assess and adjust instruction in the moment.

Pub Date: August 9, 2024

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Reading Lessons with Jennifer Serravallo

Jen shares with hosts Shannon Betts and Mary Saghafi ideas about how teachers can lean on both evidence-based lesson structures and their classroom expertise to set up literacy blocks that best meet the needs of their students.

Air Date: July 1, 2024

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Teaching Reading Across the Day

Jen and host Jacob Chastain explore the research-backed strategies that truly enhance literacy skills, contrasting them with the flood of ineffective programs schools often invest in. Together, we uncover why these programs fail to deliver and discuss practical solutions for educators feeling overwhelmed.

Air Dates: June 24 and July 1, 2024

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How to Select Texts that Drive Student Learning

Jen writes about how to select texts that align to learning objectives, build knowledge and vocabulary, and engage students. She also discusses how and why to build conceptually coherent text sets.

Pub Date: June 20, 2024

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Teaching Reading Across the Day

Jen and host Elizabet Morphis chat about explicit instruction, why it's necessary to include in instruction, and what this looks like in the elementary classroom. Then, Jen takes listeners through ta few of the nine lesson structures and hundreds of resources in her new book Teaching Reading Across the Day.

Air Date: June 13, 2024

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Reflection on Literacy Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 3 (NCRA)

The North Carolina Reading Association interviews Jen about her new book Teaching Reading Across the Day. Jen shares how her book can help teachers address SOR legislation, how to build knowledge and vocabulary into every reading lesson, and the importance of having a repertoire of research-based, classroom-tested lesson structures that you can rely on.

Note: Scroll down near the end of the newsletter to read the interview.

Teaching Reading Across the Day: Methods and Structures for Engaging, Explicit Instruction

The podcast episode features Jen discussing strategies for integrating reading instruction across the school day. She emphasizes personalized, research-based methods, effective teacher coaching, and actionable ways to enhance literacy in classrooms.

Air Date: June 11, 2024

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Embracing Opportunities in Integrated Reading Instruction

Jen talks with host Nick Ortego about how and why teachers should integrate reading instruction across the day in all subjects. She focuses on practical, doable strategies that equip teachers with the tools they need to embed reading instruction in the ELA block, social studies, and science.

Air Date: May 24, 2024

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All Teachers Are Teachers of Reading

Jen chats with host Carol Pelletier Radford and new teacher Jessica Concha about how to collaborate with other teachers to ensure that students get reading instruction in every class, every day.

Air Date: March 20, 2024

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Reading Strategies that Electrify Lessons

Jen discusses fun and effective reading strategies as a way of scaffolding reading instruction with host Donna Lee Fields. Jen shares how teaching students strategies allows them to tackle not only the text they are currently reading but provides them with the tools they need to read any text.

Air Date: January 15, 2024

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“This book provides excellent resources for employing a variety of engaging reading strategies that have wide applicability across K-8 contexts. Purchase for libraries with a focus on reading, explicit instruction, or a new curriculum.”

Pub Date: April 2024

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3 Tips for Teaching Reading Across the Day

Jen shares three big ideas how to teach reading across the day: (1) view every lesson as an opportunity to build vocabulary and knowledge, (2) use the right lesson type for deeper reading, and (3) incorporate conversation to support comprehension.

Pub date: April 9, 2024

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Part 1: Reading Strategies 2.0 and Educational Research

Part 2: Why the Reading Wars are Complex

Jen talks with host Jacob Chastain the intricacies of education, literacy, and the passion that drives Jennifer's invaluable contributions to the field. Jen also shares the latest reading strategies from Reading Strategies 2.0and how her work has transformed over the years, offering valuable insights for teachers.

Air Dates: September 10 and 17, 2023

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Unveiling the Secrets of Reading Comprehension

Jen discusses her book Understanding Texts and Readers—which equips teachers with the tools to assess a student's grasp of a book—with host Nick Ortego. With an engaging blend of stories, illuminating charts, and practical examples, Jen guides educators in assessing whether their students are truly "getting it."

Air Date: September 7, 2023

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Untangling the Debate over Reading Instruction

Jen and researcher Dr. Kelly Cartwright join host Jennifer Gonzalez to discuss the different perspectives on effective reading instruction and what research says teachers and school leaders should be doing now to help kids learn to read.

Air Date: August 20, 2023

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To the Classroom Podcast and Reading Strategies 2.0

Jen shares with host Oliva Wahl what inspired her to launch her ground-breaking literacy podcast for educators, To the Classroom.  With each episode, Jen interviews leading researchers and scholars and then processes the research with colleagues, leaning on the question, “How will we take what we’ve learned to the classroom?”  

Air Date: May 15, 2023

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Developing Skilled Readers with The Reading Strategies Book 2.0

Jen talks about why she wrote a new edition Reading Strategies 2.0 of her groundbreaking 2017 book, its timeliness, detailed research process, and the many new strategies and features readers will discover in this updated edition.

Air Date: March 2, 2023

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The Impact of Research on Reading Strategies 2.0

Jen discusses with host Todd Bedard her update to her New York Times bestseller Reading Strategies. She shares that Reading Strategies 2.0 is dramatic rewrite, chalked full of the most recent research Jen also discusses how important it is to connect research to doable classroom practices.

Air Date: Feb 20, 2023

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Talking Reading Strategies

Jen shares with host Elizabet Morphis shares how her update, The Reading Strategies Book 2.0, of the bestselling The Reading Strategies Book features 100 new and 150 revised strategies as is so different that it feels like a completely different book. Jen talks about the intensive research that undergirds this new edition and how it helps ensure teachers are using the evidence-based practices.

Air Date: January 12, 2023

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A Conversation with Jennifer Serravallo

Jen talks with host Lindsay Persohn about individualizing learning through the strategies and structures in a teacher’s toolbox.

Air Date: June 7, 2022

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Teaching Writing in Small Groups

Jen talks with host Tan Huynh about the ins and outs of guided writing in small groups. Jen notes that teaching writing in small groups is a highly efficient way for teachers to differentiate instruction to target student needs, build relationships, and provide focused attention which together can accelerate progress.

Air Date: April 29, 2022

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All Things Writing with Jennifer Serravallo

Jen discusses with host Cassie Tabrizi actionable ideas— from setting up writing groups, to figuring out goals for each student, to reaching reluctant writers—teachers can use to structure the writing block.

Air Date: October 12, 2021

Jennifer Serravallo in Conversation with Wiley Blevins

Jen and author and early reading specialist Wiley Blevins talk about the complex nature of education, reading and phonics instruction, and the pitfalls of all-or-nothing thinking.

Air Date: September 30, 2021

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Teaching Writing in Small Groups

Jen reveals how just a few minutes of purposeful, responsive teaching writing in small groups can have a big impact with your students.

Air Date: March 7, 2021

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Connecting with Students Online

Jen chats with host Jamie Sears about the challenges of teaching online. Jen recommends having kids work off screen as much as possible, using breakout rooms for individual feedback, grouping students in small groups, building relationships virtually, and much more.

Air Date: Feb 22, 2021

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Jen discusses with host Troy Hicks the importance of teaching writing as its own discipline and how schools and teachers can devote more time in the day to writing. She also talks about why both students and teachers need wide access to a variety of voices and genres to study and model a wide spectrum of writing.

Air Date: July 28, 2020

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Finding Value in the Subtleties with Jennifer Serravallo

Jen joins hosts Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts as they talk about building out your library, finding moments for queer representation, and how to make the case for building representation into your curriculum.

Air Date: July 5, 2020

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Problem Solving for Students’ Needs

Jen chats with host Brittany Carpenter about conferring, goal setting, professional development resources, digital trainings, and more.

Air Date: September 8, 2019

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