Stellar Teacher Podcast with Sara Marye

If teaching topic sentences has ever felt like a struggle, you’re not alone. Many students find it challenging to start their paragraphs with a clear, engaging main idea, often jumping into details or relying on repetitive phrases. In today’s episode, we’re tackling this foundational writing skill with six practical strategies to help students craft topic sentences that truly enhance their paragraphs.

Sentence-level writing can be a skill that is often overlooked but absolutely essential for literacy success. Many teachers feel the pressure to focus on end-of-year essay skills, but without strong sentence foundations, even the best essay instruction can falter. I’ll be sharing why it’s crucial to prioritize sentence writing with your students and how this focus will strengthen all areas of their literacy—from writing coherence to reading comprehension.

Teachers often wonder how many grades to take, what to grade, and the type of feedback to offer. In this episode we talk about balancing grading requirements with meaningful assessments, helping you reduce pressure while still providing valuable insights for your students. Our goal? To streamline your grading process so it’s not just about checking boxes but rather about fostering growth and understanding. Instead of letting grading become a burdensome task, let’s remember that it’s an opportunity to guide, encourage, and celebrate each student’s journey.

In this episode, I’m thrilled to bring you the best insights and takeaways from the incredible Reading League Conference, where a few teammates and I learned from some of the brightest minds in literacy education. If you’re unfamiliar, the Reading League is a powerful organization dedicated to helping teachers implement effective literacy practices rooted in the science of reading. I absolutely love their mission: “We believe all children deserve to learn to read, and all teachers can learn to teach them.” That vision aligns so well with what we strive for here on the podcast—empowering teachers to provide the best instruction possible.