Literacy Talks

A Mighty Moving Episode With Lindsay Kemeny

• Reading Horizons • Season 4 • Episode 6

Share episode

This installment of Literacy Talks features and celebrates the publication of our own Lindsay Kemeny’s new bestselling book, 7 Mighty Moves: Research-Backed, Classroom-Tested Strategies to Ensure K-to-3 Reading Success, from Scholastic. It’s an opportunity to hear how Lindsay, a first-grade reading teacher and popular presenter, decided to write the book while giving listeners an inside look at her writing process. Most importantly, you’ll get a preview of the book’s content and its unique features, including images and videos from Lindsay’s classroom demonstrating specific foundational literacy strategies and an accessible “can-do” approach to helping teachers put the science of reading research into classroom practice.

Spend a little time with some of the brightest voices in literacy teaching and learning and come away inspired and energized. Tune in to this mighty moving episode of Literacy Talks! 


Chat about this episode in The Science of Reading Collective.

Explore the Reading Horizons Discovery® Product Suite.

Access past show notes.

Read the transcripts.

Narrator:

Hello literacy leaders and champions. Welcome to literacy talks, a podcast series for Reading Horizons dedicated to exploring the ideas, trends, insights and practical issues that will help us all improve our professional practice knowledge and confidence in teaching reading. Our host is Stacy Hurst, professor at Southern Utah University and Chief Academic Advisor at Reading Horizons where reading momentum begins. Joining Stacy are Donell Pons, a recognized expert in literacy and special education and Lindsay Kemeny, an author and Utah based elementary classroom teacher. Our special guest is our very own Lindsay Kemeny, who's just published book seven mighty moves. Research backed classroom tested strategies to ensure K to three reading success is receiving rave reviews. You'll hear why she wrote the book and share her personal powerful connection to its content. It's a mighty moving episode. So let's get started.

Stacy Hurst:

Welcome to this episode of literacy Talks. My name is Stacy Hurst and I'm the host and I'm joined by my co-hosts, Donell pons and Lindsay Kemeny. And today we have a very exciting episode we've been looking forward to for a long time. And I'm going to let Donell, we're just going to turn the time over to you and let you introduce it. And we'll get right into it.

Donell Pons:

Thank you, Stacy. So I consider this episode one where we're all kind of sharing in the hosting duties, this is really going to be a conversation. And it's because we're introducing, you're talking about our co host, and dear friend, Lindsay Kemeny's book, and it's called 7 Mighty Moves. And it's been making a lot of traction, which is fantastic amongst folks who are online, and also folks who are at conferences, and it's really good to be hearing people talking about it. And Lindsey, I think today, there are lots of ways we can approach talking about a book and we talk about articles and books all the time on the podcast. And one of the things we want to be really aware of is the fact that we don't want to give away too much, because we would really like everybody to purchase the book, it's fantastic. And it would be well worth it, to have it there. So you can keep referring to it and thumbing through it. And I love that Lindsay, you also kept it so that it is very approachable. That's what I love about it, too. So if you're thinking to yourself, Oh, I'm gonna have to slog through it, you don't, it's not a slog. It's a very easy, approachable read, which is fantastic, again, for teachers. And so all of those things, we want to encourage you to think about buying a copy and going through it. So we're not going to want to get into the details too much we're going to we're not going to ask Lindsay to have read passages and that kind of thing, because we're hoping to encourage folks to entice them to learn more. But really, today, it's about because we have Lindsay and Lindsay is part of our community and you get to hear from her all the time, we're gonna get that kind of background story as to how 7 Mighty Moves came to be. And so I think that'll be interesting. And then kind of that writing process, because there's been a lot of folks in the reading world with books. And how does this one step apart from those? What are things that Lindsey learned in trying to approach other books and thought, Well, maybe if I have a chance, I might do this differently. There'll be part of the conversation too. But first, let's start off with what made Lindsay think she could write this book and why she should write this book? Because I think that's important with your background. So Lindsay, take that away.

Lindsay Kemeny:

All right. Well, there's a couple different directions. I could go here, Donell. So let me start back. First, what happens maybe seven years ago, six, seven years ago, is my son was struggling to learn how to read. And I was doing all the things I had been taught everything I've been taught in college, my early years of teaching, and nothing was working. And I was really confused, embarrassed, because I was a teacher and I couldn't help my own son learn how to read, I didn't understand why it was so difficult for him. And that at the end of second grade, we finally went and did some outside testing, where we found out that he has dyslexia, also dysgraphia dyscalculia. So that is really what started me on this journey. Which leads into why I wrote the book, right? Because I had to find out. Well, what do students with dyslexia need to learn to read? Why does everyone need to learn to read what happens in the brain when we learn to read? And so it was just like the snowball effect. I kept learning and learning and I became really upset because I found out that some of the things I had been taught in college and my early years of teaching, were not aligned with research. And that same year was when my son was diagnosed with my first year teaching kindergarten. That was another kind of thing going on because I had taught second grade before or, and so I was doing the same things I had done when I taught second grade with the kindergarteners. And that's where I really I started to grow uneasy with some of the things I had been taught. So I'm bringing them to my table oh, we're gonna read, I'm so excited. But the books that were provided to me were those leveled predictable, repetitive texts. And I grew so frustrated because I wanted my students to apply their letter sound knowledge that I had been teaching them. But now I had to say, Oh, this word you can't sound out look at the picture doesn't give you a clue, which is what I had been taught over and over and over. And I never questioned it until that moment teaching kindergarten, and I was like, wait a second, this is giving my students the wrong idea of what reading is. So I just have to start there, because that's kind of where it all started. And it was this gradual learning process. And I had to make some major changes, both as I was helping my son, and in my classroom, because everything I was learning, I would apply it with my son, and I would apply it in the classroom. And suddenly, my students were doing so much better, I had so much more clarity, I knew how to take a student who was struggling with reading, and I knew how to dive deeper, see what they need, you know, and help them as well as just providing that tier one instruction in the first place. That is what my book is about. And so does that answer your question, Donell, and then do you want me to go into like, first writing the book?

Donell Pons:

Yeah, and let's first of all, I want to bring Stacy. So at this juncture, once you've provided some really interesting information, I love hearing that background. And it'll be really important when you read the book at the beginning, because Lindsay does a lot of really good setup for that understanding. So that'll be interesting for listeners, when they do purchase the book, they'll go, Oh, that's really interesting to hear Lindsay talk about that. But Stacy, I'd like to bring you in at this juncture, because what we're hoping to do with you in the position that you are teaching in a University setting, we want your students to pick up Lindsay's book and not have to have the introduction of this is how I was taught, please don't do this. This is why you do it differently. So tell us about that with your students. Stacy.

Stacy Hurst:

Yeah. And, you know, I was thinking, as I read the book that my students definitely, when they get to the methods, part of our instruction for reading, would benefit from knowing what's happening in an effective teacher's classroom. And I think that's a really good lens into that. The other thing that I think the readers need to be aware of, Lindsay has many years, Lindsay, I'm talking about you like you're not here, Lindsay, you have a lot of years of teaching experience. But one thing that is unique about your situation is that you only teach literacy, that's a good thing, because you have the luxury of focusing 100% on that. So the rest of us can learn from that. And I know a lot of teachers out there also teaching math and all the other things, and we don't time is at a premium. So I remember when I was teaching first grade wanting to spend more time to learn about reading, and I didn't have it. But if I had had a resource, like your book to be like, okay, this is a teacher who does have the knowledge, the experience, and in her current teaching situation has the opportunity to just focus on reading, let's learn from her. Let's see what's working in that situation, you're doing the work for them in a sense. And then I love that you share, which I'm sharing with my teachers, the research, and then how it looks in practice. And I think for my pre service teachers, that's the most critical thing, because I don't want them to dismiss either one. And so that's what I think is one of the really valuable things about this book,

Donell Pons:

So Lindsay, take us to that writing process, as

Lindsay Kemeny:

well. And let me just piggyback off, see what you're saying. Because I feel like that's what I really wanted to do with the book. I wanted to make it really easy to understand. And really from the teacher perspective, like yes, I'm a current teacher, I'm in my classroom. And you know, have you guys seen that graphic where it's like a pit in someone's at the bottom of the pit. And there's people at the top kind of shouting down trying to help them to get out of the pit. Okay, so like if I think about this, because I feel like, you know, there's so many amazing experts out there and I love listening to them. But a teacher, I love also listening to teachers and I feel like the teacher like when you're in that pit and you can hear all these expert voices about what to do. The teacher is like, hang on, I'm coming down there. I've been right down there before and I'm coming down I'm gonna tell you and help you get out of that. Like that's what I was thinking about when right I just want you to know like, Hey, I know I've done this I made these mistakes. Here's what's working in my classroom is here's what I do. And here's my favorite ways to apply this stuff. Okay, so I started a blog several years ago, after my son was diagnosed, I started a blog because I was really passionate about literacy like, and passionate about the things that I was teaching and learning. And part of that, and I'm not going to go into it right now. But part of that is because if you've heard me speak, I've talked about my son also had depression. And I just saw, you know, what the struggle to read did to him, and also how it helped him. And I've talked about that a little bit before. So that's why I'm so passionate. So I started this blog, I wanted to share with everyone what I was learning, I just was like, every teacher deserves to know this stuff. Every student deserves a teacher who knows this stuff. And it's not a huge blog. I'm not huge blogger, because I am a teacher. And so it's just something I do when I have time. But people started sharing it. And they shared it on Twitter a lot. And in May last year, I got an email from the editorial director of scholastic, and they had read my blog. And so somehow they had seen it. And I imagine someone had shared it on Twitter, and they had seen it and they had read through it. And then they reached out to me to see if I was interested in writing a book. Well, I thought it might be a scam or something happens. I'm like, What is this? Is this true? Is this real? Plus it was May and May as a teacher is such a crazy time. So I was like, I can't even think about this. I don't have time for anything. I don't know if it's even a real email. And it took me a few weeks to email her back. And, and it was school was out. And I was thinking about it. And maybe this is maybe they did really, really did read my blog. And I reached out and we had a meeting. It wasn't a scam. And we had a great meeting. And they invited me to write a book proposal. And I just remember I was I had all these feelings like, I don't know, it's just scary, I guess. And I just can't I write a book. I don't know if I can write a book, you know. And but then Oh, my goodness, I really want to write a book because I'm so passionate about this stuff. And I've seen the difference in my son and in my class. And maybe it would be really helpful. So, okay, I agreed to write a book proposal, which there's a lot that goes into that. And you have to have a sample chapter. And so I wrote that. And I gave it back to Scholastic maybe in July. And then it had to go through several levels of the company, like, so there would be cuts, maybe so to speak. So if one group if it was a no, we were done. If it was a yes, with that group, it would go to the next group, and they would read the proposal. And so meanwhile, it's summer. And I'm a teacher. So I just continued to write. And I just thought, you know, if they pass and they say, No, I'll just try to find another publisher. So I just kept writing that summer was the first draft. And then in October is when I got the yes from Scholastic. So

Stacy Hurst:

I have a quick question on the sample chapter. Which one was it? Was it just the first chapter or were no, it

Lindsay Kemeny:

the first chapter, I think it was my wasn't chapter on decodables. So I didn't actually write the chapters in order of like how they are and, and that was part of the process, I guess, of the, because I would give them table of contents. And my table of contents were kind of a little weird at first, because it was a different order. And I started with the chapter on three cueing. That was my first one, because to me, I'm like, this is so important, one of the biggest differences in what I did, but they kind of helped me reorder and like for it to make more sense. And I feel like that was so good. And that was something else I learned through the process was just to value the feedback and taking feedback and just making the writing even better.

Donell Pons:

So with that Lindsay, you know, I'm going to ask you, was it always seven? How'd you land on seven? Yes,

Lindsay Kemeny:

it was always seven. If you look at my blog, I actually have a blog post I wrote several years ago, and it's called, it's a little negative. I don't know if I should. It's a little dramatic. It was seven deadly hours of teaching grading. Yeah. And so the the book, I kind of took those, and then I reordered them, and I, I really focus more on what the change was, what's the move I did, versus what was the mistake I was making before. And they're all like the mistakes what I was doing before, right, and then how I changed,

Donell Pons:

which I really love. I mean, it's one of my favorite things in there is that aspect of it. That viewpoint I think is fantastic for teachers. What's interesting, Lindsay, how do you separate the emotion because there's a lot of emotion. You've talked a little bit about the fact that this was in your home is very personal. And for me That's kind of one of the hard parts is separating the emotion from giving people the stuff.

Lindsay Kemeny:

Yeah, well, and I feel like I share a little more of the emotion maybe in my conclusion. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting because I come about this a couple different ways I come about this from the view of a parent, and the view of a teacher. And I can really understand and empathize with both sides. I understand those parents who are so upset and angry that their child isn't getting what they need. I can understand the teacher side where it's like, I was never taught this. Why wasn't I taught this or even the initial? What do you mean, I thought that was the best way to teach reading. What do you mean, that was wrong? I was taught that, like, there's so many emotions involved in all of it. I don't blame the teacher, you know, because I was there. And so that's what I try to show that in the book like this is yeah, I was surprised. Guess what, I was surprised to hear about this. And I just, I wanted the book to be really conversational. And just like you're talking to your teacher friend down the hall, you know, keep it there. So yeah.

Narrator:

Educators, families, policymakers, and our communities at large are all focused on coming together to help all children develop reading proficiency. That's why you will want to learn more about the new Reading Horizons Discovery. It's the evidence based foundational literacy program educators asked for and educators helped create with innovative technology to support teachers and students, a complete collection of decodable books, a digital sound wall, real time coaching and more. Reading Horizons Discovery gives you everything you need to help all K through three students become proficient readers. So take off with a trusted science of reading aligned approach, stay on top of student progress and individual needs with a tech enabled tool and streamline student data. And then take action to transform reading challenges into literacy success, go to readinghorizons.com/productguide to download a complete program overview today.

Donell Pons:

Stacy, I kinda want to ask you to because oftentimes, when we're at conferences, and this came up, we were at a conference recently, and there are teachers who stand up and share. And I remember we've linked I leaned to you and kind of mentioned this is not the first time we've heard this, when a teacher will share. I have a child, I'm the parent of a child who has now and usually they're in their 20s. And this is the sadness, and that child of mine never learned to read. And I'm in classrooms now teaching in there, lots of tears. And we've remarked on this. So I think this is interesting, this theme of separating the emotion from getting the work done. And Stacy, what are your thoughts on that, too? It's kind of it's very interesting, isn't it?

Stacy Hurst:

It is because as an educator, I've gone through all those emotions, too. And that's being an educator that doesn't have a child who struggles with dyslexia. But I think always there are a lot of emotions that are expressed, sometimes it's anger. And I would say that's probably the one that I feel the most often these days. I mean, I've been through all of it. But now I'm at the point where I'm frustrated, like, we have had this information for so long. And yet it's taken so long to get into practice. And I think that's one really hopeful thing about books like Lindsay's, Lindsay's book and others like that, that it really doesn't spend too much time in the emotion. It's like, okay, let's be solution based and fix this. And this is what works. I also love the emotional, Lindsay, you brought it up, having your writing reviewed, no matter how it is, I remember as a first grade teacher, just watching my first graders share their writing and be so proud and happy to do it. And I Yeah, as an adult, I don't feel that way. I write plenty, how often I share it is a whole other story. So I love that. I also love that. You acknowledge what you tried before that didn't work. And that's not on you that a lot of that is what we were taught, right? But you're, you're nodding to the fact that as we learn and grow, it's messy. And sometimes when we get feedback, we don't love it. But it's all in the name of making us better. And we can't be afraid of that. Right? We can't be afraid we've got to deal with the emotion, for sure. And yet apply it in very positive and productive ways.

Lindsay Kemeny:

Yeah, and I really I just grew to really love and appreciate the whole process and getting the feedback. And so as I had mentioned before, it was the end of October when it was, you know, a yes with scholastic and we're going to move forward and so then I would revise, I first revised every chapter and then I would send it to my editor. or my editor would give me feedback. And then I would revise again. And it just, I did, I loved it. And, you know, it went from being like, What do you mean, that's not clear? Or I need another example? Or that's redundant, what, you know, to being to as I made the changes, seeing Oh, yes, okay, I see what he was saying, this makes it more clear, or this makes the paragraph so much stronger. And so it was just, I was excited all the time to get his feedback. And just I knew, it would make the writing better. And after the, my editor had gone through everything, and he really was the best, like it was just so it's so great to have such a good relationship, you know, with someone a good working relationship, then I reached out to experts in the field, that I just I'm like, review, I wanted them to review a draft chapter and help me make sure. You know, is this aligned with research? Am I stating this accurately? Because I'm a teacher, I'm not a researcher. And, you know, this is in a science of reading line, Scholastic signs of reading line. That's like a lot of pressure. I want it to be accurate. And I want to be clear when something I do is not, there's not research about it yet, then I want to be clear about that. And I want to be clear about the research and make sure I'm interpreting it correctly. So it can withstand criticism. And so that was kind of my goal is I reached out to different people to redraft chapters, because I'm like, I want to hear the criticism now. Not when it's public. It's just you know, like, so anyway, I was just that was really important to me. And I just love that. And I just, I feel like the support I got was so great.

Donell Pons:

I love hearing that, Lindsay, because that's not easy to do. I mean, I think there's probably a lot of folks listening saying, you had to send it to wow, who read that? That's right. Yeah. So speak to that a little bit, because they were really supportive. They were

Lindsay Kemeny:

and it was so great. And because sometimes it was like, Oh, is there a better study for this? Okay, what study, you know, what's a better study to show this? So here's this study. And like I said, I'd wanted it to be accurate, and they were so gracious with their time. I mean, a Stephanie Stoller reviewed a chapter and then she went on to review a second chapter and like, Oh, my goodness, thank you so much. And I'm just everyone. I don't I feel so indebted to all of them, you know, for giving me their time and everything. So,

Donell Pons:

but I love hearing that at this particular juncture, when more than ever we need to come together, right?

Lindsay Kemeny:

Yeah. And I do. And I felt like they were all behind me. And it was great. And Pam Kassner read the entire draft, all the chapters and like, thank you. And then Dr. Anita Archer, she wrote the foreword. And I was so nervous about that. You know, she's one that makes everyone I think, sit up a little straighter in their seat. And she had printed out the whole thing had read through it, and it was so amazing to have her support.

Donell Pons:

Yeah, that's so great. Stacy, you jump in anytime, because I don't want to be taken up all the time. But make sure that Stacy jumps in with any questions that she's got or something to offer?

Stacy Hurst:

Yeah, no, I was just thinking, um, I actually asked a colleague today who I know is very thorough and direct in his feedback, I asked him to review academic piece of writing that I that I wrote in the same spirit, right. Like, and this is the other thing that I appreciate about that example, Lindsay because even with something like chatGPT that could do the majority of the writing for us, we still need to be critical. Right? We still need to look through it and say, this is accurate. This isn't so you weren't dismissing that either. I mean, you were definitely having your voice. And I'm sure there were some things that people requested you change that you didn't, and maybe you want to talk about that. But I also think just that camaraderie, and that we are all in this together. I love that you reached out. But I also love that the people who reviewed it had that in mind, like this is going to be a contribution. And it was a community that came together.

Lindsay Kemeny:

Yeah, it was great. So to what

Donell Pons:

Stacy said, was there anything, Lindsay that you held on tightly and said, No, this has got to stay? Was there anything that you let go that now you're thinking I wish that had been in there or are you pretty darn happy with everything that came out?

Lindsay Kemeny:

Um, yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. There wasn't anything. Well, there was really nothing huge that people were like, Oh, absolutely. But there were little little changes. I think there was one phrase I remember. Dr. Matt burns in the fluency chapter was like, Well, you can't say that because there's you we don't have a specific study for that. And I was like, oh, and that was just like a learning experience. But it's there's no thing I feel like I really dug in my heels about I mean, there were maybe things that I wish I can't I can't think of anything specific. But there were minor things people said, Well, you could consider putting this in or you could you know this. And it was hard because we had to keep it to exactly 160 pages. So I think that was a frustration, because there were things that we had to take out, not like a whole move, but there was just within each chapter, you know, like, there wasn't space to put in that example, or, but some of it, as I said, I could really see the benefit of being very succinct with my words, because that helps it be more readable and really clear. And I, there's, I can't go on a tangent in the book, because there's not space for that. So anyway, I don't think there's anything really huge that I wish I had done differently.

Stacy Hurst:

I'm wondering what advice you would have for someone who wants to write a similar kind of book?

Lindsay Kemeny:

Um, well, I think be open to feedback would be the the main thing. I don't know, I don't feel like I'm a huge writing expert or anything, but I think the probably one of the most important parts is just revising, revise, revise, revise. And even it was at first because my first, my first draft chapters didn't have all the same format. And it was really like, you know, I wrote it in the summer, and I had to go back in November. And okay, we need some continuity between these chapters. And that's when we decided, okay, well, we're gonna have like the kind of research section and the classroom implications section. And then my favorite is the strategies for success and every chapter, which are just, you know, my favorite ways to do those things in the classroom.

Donell Pons:

And that's what I was gonna ask you, Lindsay, you've seen now you've had an opportunity for to get some feedback. You've been on different podcasts talking about the book, how have you seen different places utilizing the book if you have and, and maybe share some of those recommendations? And then also, how has it made things different for you in your setting where you're teaching, if it has at all?

Lindsay Kemeny:

Well, you know what, it's so scary putting this out in the world, like, really, and you guys know, because I've told you guys over and over, because you're my friends, and I've mentioned it to other people, too. I'm like, This is scary, because I'm really putting myself out there. And for the whole world, you can just criticize me, and you'll see that you're like, I put my heart and soul into a book. And then, you know, someone could just say something like, oh, yeah, that's just really whatever, you know, whatever they might say. And that's crushing when you put so much work into it. So I feel so fortunate and so grateful, because so many people have reached out to me to let me know how much they appreciate it and loved it. And when all those Amazon reviews started coming in, and I was scared, because I'm like, I don't even want to look on Amazon. And then I looked, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, there's all these nice things. Thank you. And it was the same thing in our science of reading Facebook group, when I saw someone had asked for opinions on my book, and I'm like, I'm not even going to look at this because I'm scared. And then later, it was Anna Geiger, who tagged me, she's like, Come and look. And then I saw it. And everyone had said, all these nice things, and then just the messages I've been getting. So I think it's still really early. So I don't know how well it's being applied. I've had lots of, you know, people reach out to thank me, I've had, you know, districts that want me to come and, you know, speak to their teachers, which is so fun. I had a principal that's like, I don't even know if we have the money, but I'm gonna purchase it with my own money for my teachers and like, Oh, my goodness. And so it's fun, I just really hope it makes a difference. And I really hope positively impacts teachers and their students, because that's my overall goal, right is to have more proficient readers and more teachers comfortable and confident and have more clarity in teaching literacy.

Donell Pons:

I love that Lindsay, and I am sure you are going to have a lot of stories to tell over the course of this coming year and beyond, which I think is fantastic. And I also love what you're saying about because I think this is you touched on a lot of universal things, I think for us as educators. And there's that fear that when you step out in your space to say something, what the reaction might be. So I think that is universal. And I loved hearing all those ways in which that was a challenge for you. You had to push through. And then I also think it was interesting that you mentioned the I expected that things might be more negative. However, I was really surprised and felt great when people were so supportive. And I think that is more of what we generally experienced, right is that folks really do want to help and they we do want to lift each other up in this space. That's great. There's universal themes.

Lindsay Kemeny:

Well, and then another thing with the book is there's no stock images. It's all pictures from my classroom. Plus there's QR codes. Okay, this adds like another level of scary, right? Because there's these QR codes that go to me teaching in Classroom. It's all very authentic. And it's just, I'm not perfect. So this is another way that I was like people could really criticize me. But guess what, when you see it, and you see another teacher, you learn, and it's a learning and growing experience. And even I learned from Dr. Anita Archer, because I was taking a training from her. And she showed these videos of her teaching. And she would point out things that she did wrong in those videos, or things that oh, look, I could have done better with this. And that really had an effect on me. I'm like, wow. And that's also what I thought with the, with the videos, I can put myself out there. And maybe I might say something wrong or whatever. But it can be a learning growing experience for everyone. Whether you see wonderful things or you see a mistake, it can be a learning process. So and that was really kind of fun. Because literally, I did not have cameramen in my classroom. And some people were surprised to hear that it's literally I would take my cell phone, and I had a tripod and I would push record, go around to the front, teach the lesson, go back, push stop. And then I would send that to Scholastic. And then they could edit trim, you know, me going over to the gamma or whatever. So it's kind of fun, because it's, it's real life. It's just my classroom.

Donell Pons:

So you and your trusty cell phone, Stacy, I have teased you but that cell phone of yours it does a lot. It's pretty awesome.

Lindsay Kemeny:

We have for the listeners out there, we have this ongoing rivalry because I use Android and I'm very like, you know, I know, it's not the popular thing I have. I have a Google Pixel. And so and then Stacy and Donell have their Apple phones. And so I made sure to tell them when I was like, Oh, they're wanting to know, like, what I used to take the pictures and what I used to do the videos, and I'm like, it's just my phone. It's a good one. I believe

Stacy Hurst:

fair, it is really inconvenient for me because I can't type in text both of you on my laptop, I have to text you on my phone. So Google Pixel, if you're listening, it's just that one thing. That's it,

Lindsay Kemeny:

I caused all the problems. And so I had to point out like, literally, I couldn't wait to tell Stacy and Donell when, because scholastic was just saying, Oh, these look so great. You know, what were you using? Can you can you give us some tips, you know, to share with others when they take pictures. Because the pictures was with my cell phone too. In fact, some of the pictures my daughter took she's was in fourth grade. And I'm like, come in at recess, I just have it all set up, you just need to click this button.

Donell Pons:

I love that. And you know, Lindsay, I love your part about it's messy. And that's the part of for your students as well, right? We're gonna learn as we maybe don't do that exactly right. We'll learn from that experience. And I love you sharing that. And reminding us has been fantastic. Thank you, Lindsay, I know that we're going to have other opportunities to discuss. So we will. But this has been so fun just to have a little bit of background and to get us started. And I know teachers are deep in the school year. But I promise you that this is very approachable. So even if you hadn't heard about the book, and you're thinking, Oh, but my classes have already started, I don't know, I really do encourage you because it is something you could pick up and just do a quick and I think you'll be really surprised you'll get started with it. And I think it'd be pulled right in and say I think this is something I can do. It's quite doable. So I do encourage you if you haven't had a chance that is not too late. If you think oh, I'm already in deep in the year. Think about it.

Stacy Hurst:

That's one of my favorite things about it. Because we've had a lot of conversations on this podcast about hero worship. And the pitfalls of that. And this is not that right, this is you being vulnerable, but you also sharing your expertise. And I think the one of the best things about it is that anybody can read it like Donell said and feel like okay, I can do this too. You're not trying to put yourself above anyone else. You're just saying, Hey, I'm a teacher like you in the trenches. And this is what I've learned. So I look forward to more from you and from teachers, other teachers who are in the classroom sharing and I think collaboratively, we can do a lot as a community and and to bridge that research to practice gap that we have experienced for so long in education. So really, Lindsay in that way your book is the catalyst I think for that. So thank you. Donell, anything else. Lindsay, any parting words? No,

Lindsay Kemeny:

I'll just say please make sure to read the conclusion. It's probably my favorite part. And you know, sometimes I've said that at the end of the book, someone might skip that but it's really kind of the piece that is the most special to me. And just thank you and you can continue to reach out to me because I love those nice messages helps me keep going and keep my nerves at bay a little bit. And thank you, everyone. It's just exciting.

Stacy Hurst:

Thank you, Lindsay. Donell and I were able to throw Lindsay a book launch party, a book launch. And we had that conversation right up to the night before you were like, what part should I read out loud. And I read the whole book. And tonight it was that enthralling and good. And I didn't fall asleep. And it was the last thing I did before I went to sleep. But I, it was so good. But I remember when I got to that conclusion, I think I might have even texted you right then. And I don't remember, but maybe not because it was like two o'clock in the morning. But I remember being like, that's it. That's what you need to share, because it is really powerful. So I agree, don't skip that. And thank you, Danelle, for this conversation for those of you who are part of our collective. If you haven't already received an invitation this month, our live will be about Lindsay's book, and we'll be sharing some more information. And you'll be able to ask Lindsay questions yourself. So we're looking forward to that. Please join us if you're not part of the collective. We'd love to have you. It's a community right. We love it. So we'd love to see your face in that Zoom chat as well. Again, thanks for the great conversation, Lindsay. Thanks for the time that you took to share with us your expertise in practice and knowledge. And those of you who've been joining us, thank you so much, and we will see you on the next episode of literacy talks.

Narrator:

Thanks for joining us today for literacy talks, the podcast series for literacy leaders and champions everywhere. We invite you to join the science of reading collective, our free community and resource hub so you can stay current with new ideas, free webinars, resources and more. And be sure to visit literacy talks online for resources, access to every season's episodes and more at reading horizons.com/literacy talks. It's an exciting time to teach reading and ensure your students reach grade level proficiency this school year. Literacy talks comes to you from Reading Horizons where reading momentum begins. Join us next time