Welcome to Season 6 of Together in Literacy! This season, Casey Harrison and Emily Gibbons are exploring how literacy experiences shape more than reading and writing skills. Together, we’ll look at how learning connects to confidence, identity, belonging, and self-advocacy, and how the experiences we create for students can influence the way they see themselves and their potential.

In this season opener, we share reflections on our own early reading experiences and explore how reading challenges or instruction that misses the mark can affect students’ confidence and classroom participation. We talk about why frustration and avoidance may be signs of an unmet learning need, not a lack of effort, and ways to help students build skills while feeling supported and capable. Join us for a new season of thoughtful conversations, research-backed insights, and practical ideas you can bring to your teaching. Together, we’ll explore how we can help students shape more positive stories about themselves as learners.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Nancy Young’s Ladder of Reading and Writing
A longitudinal study of beginning reading achievement and reading self-concept., Chapman, J. W., & Tunmer, W. E. (1997)
5.9 The Gift and Curse of Dyslexia with Deon Butler
5.18 Season 5 Finale: What Do Students with Dyslexia Really Need?

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For more from Emily, check out The Literacy Nest.

For more from Casey, check out The Dyslexia Classroom.

Let us know what you want to hear this season!

Together in Literacy

Episodes

6.1 The Stories We Carry: When Learning Feels Different