Creating Joyful Readers
It is possible to inspire a lifelong love of reading in secondary ELA students and that's what the Creating Joyful Readers podcast is all about.
Your host, Samantha (from Samantha in Secondary) is a seasoned educator with 15 years of classroom experience. This podcast shares what works in the post-pandemic classroom and what doesn't so you can skip the trial and error.
Every Monday, we’ll chat about the amazing benefits of independent reading, dig into the latest literacy research, cover practical tips and strategies to nurture lifelong readers, break down projects that help students show off what they’ve learned in creative ways, and highlight some fresh young adult books you can snag at Target right now to keep your students excited.
Let’s be real – kids aren't into reading anymore. Some can’t read well and those who can often don’t want to. It’s time for a change. We’re going to talk about how to make joyful, thriving readers a reality. If you’ve tried everything to get your students excited about reading and you’re out of ideas, you’re in the right place.
Tune in every Monday to find inspiration and practical tips to light that reading spark in your students. Remember, each book we introduce and every reading experience we create can change lives and foster lifelong readers.
Follow along on social media @samanthainsecondary for more tips, book recommendations, and to connect with other educators who are on this joyful journey.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 17 minutes
- Episodes
- 36
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
15. Making Reading Joyful and Effective: The Science of Reading for Older Students with Allison McManus
Science of Reading isn't something secondary teachers should skip. If you have struggling readers in your classroom, today's guest, Allison McManus has tips that you won't want to miss.
Resources Ment…
14. 5 Ways to Assess Your Historical Fiction Unit Without a Test or Quiz
Fresh assessment ideas, coming right up! Today we are wrapping up our exploration of the historical fiction genre with five assessment ideas you can use in your genre-based literature unit. These are…
13. How Explicitly Teaching Setting Can Make Historical Fiction Come Alive
Setting is your hook when we're talking about historical fiction. I know it might not sound like the most thrilling lesson idea in the world, but stick with me because I have a few ideas that are goi…
12. Pairing Personality with Pages: Perfect Historical Fiction Picks for Your Students
I’ve got some great books to share today that I know are going to help your students fall in love with historical fiction, so hang on, joyful readers, you’re going to want to hear all about these rec…
11. The Power of the Past: Introducing Historical Fiction to Your Students
Over the next few episodes, we’re going to talk about a new genre that I’ve personally witnessed help to shape lifelong readers. I know that sharing this genre in your classroom is going to hook an e…
10. Case Closed: Bringing Mystery-Themed Activities into Your ELA Classroom
I know it often feels like you just don't have time to do all the things in your classroom. And it’s true, you don’t! But you do have plenty of time to choose a few things to do well. Today we’re goi…
9. Cracking the Code: Effective Literature Circles and Mystery Book Picks for ELA
Maybe you’d love to try literature circles in your class, but you just don’t know where to start. Or maybe you’ve tried them before, but they didn’t go over well. Today I’m going to walk you through …
8. Solving the Reading Mystery: Integrating Anchor Texts with Student Choice
Like most other teachers, I was absolutely frightened when I was told I needed to run a choice reading unit. How will I keep track of everything? How do I manage a class full of students reading diff…
7. Unraveling the Mystery: Engaging Students with Sleuthing Stories
Mysteries continue to dominate best-selling book lists worldwide. Huge names like James Patterson, Stephen King, Riley Sager, Freida McFadden, and so many more are consistently seen leading the chart…
6. Best Practices for Independent Reading: 3 Strategies to Enhance Any System
You've got questions about independent reading and in today's episode I've got answers. It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to the practice or a seasoned veteran, this episode has helpful strategie…
5. The Low-Down on Literature Circles: How One Dynamic Practice Can Transform Your Students into Joyful Readers
Watching the power of literature circles in molding lifelong readers was transformative for me. Lit circles aren’t new. Maybe you’ve heard of them, but have been too afraid to try them, or maybe you’…
4. From Research to Reading: A Guide for Secondary Literacy Educators
It’s hard to be in education right now. Anyone who has been inside of a school lately knows that it is not for the faint of heart. Teachers currently need more support than ever. This includes having…
3. 5 Tips for Crafting a Strong Culture of Reading in Your Space
Creating a strong culture of reading in your classroom can feel like a daunting task, but today’s episode will walk you through a couple of actionable steps you can take to get started. Buckle up, jo…
2. Let’s Get on the Same Page: Key Independent Reading Terms Explained
Pop Quiz: What do you call the instructional practice where students self-select a book or choose from a list of pre-selected titles before reading it independently and completing some kind of assess…
1. Why Literacy Matters: My Story and Mission
This podcast has been on my heart for a few years and I’m so excited to finally be able to bring it to you now. I’ve been working hard to plan episodes and create content that I know is going to help…
Welcome to Creating Joyful Readers
This is the podcast for secondary educators who want to inspire a lifelong love of reading in their students.
Each week, we’ll chat about the amazing benefits of independent reading, dig into the late…