Melissa and Lori smiling

Hi Teacher Friends!

Melissa & Lori Love Literacy is a podcast for educators interested in the science of reading for students of all ages. Hear the latest research on teaching reading and writing and learn how to practically apply it in your classroom. Our guests include some of the most well-known literacy researchers and experts, as well as teachers and leaders doing the hard work every day.

We can't wait to keep learning with you!

Meet the Hosts    Our Story

We Wrote A Book!

The Literacy 50: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night will be available on June 5 and is part of Scholastic’s "The Science of Reading in Practice" series. 

Learn more about our book here!

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Latest Episodes

Listen on Apple Podcasts
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“Every Friday has been like a mini-PD with @literacypodcast.”

-Gina Sandrzyk @get_literacy


PODCAST PLAYLISTS

Podcast Playlists

We’ve taken our favorite episodes on a variety of topics and bundled them together for easy learning. Are you a primary teacher looking to learn more about the Science of Reading? We have a playlist for that. How about an upper elementary teacher looking to dive into fluency and reading comprehension? We’ve got that, too.

Listen to a playlist and head to the classroom next door to chat with your best teacher friend after listening. Or take this to a Professional Learning Community to complement a book study. We’re so glad you’re here to learn with us!

Meet the Hosts

Melissa smiling with laptop and podcast microphone

Melissa Loftus

Melissa is a National Board-Certified teacher who taught middle and high school ELA for nearly 15 years in New Orleans and Baltimore. She holds a BA in Education and English from Bucknell University and an MEd with Reading Specialist certification from Johns Hopkins University. She is currently a curriculum developer with Great Minds and lives with her son in Pennsylvania, where they spend their free time in their beautiful garden.

Lori smiling with laptop and podcast microphone

Lori Sappington

Lori is an energetic former elementary and high school teacher who taught for more than a decade in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds a BA in Elementary Education and English, an MEd with Reading Specialist certification, and an Advanced Leadership Certificate from Towson University. She currently executes the vision and alignment of multimedia content with Great Minds and lives in Maryland with her daughter and husband. They spend their free time playing sports of all kinds.

Our Story

In 2018, we were both working in Baltimore when the district adopted a new knowledge-building curriculum, Wit & Wisdom. We worked closely to learn about the curriculum and in the process also learned research-aligned ways to teach reading and writing. We had so many ''aha moments' together!

On a whim in 2019, Lori came to Melissa with an idea for a podcast that would give us a place to keep learning and share that learning with others who may have been going through similar mindset shifts. We wanted teachers to know that they weren’t alone.

In April of 2019, we recorded our first episode of the Melissa & Lori Love Literacy podcast in Melissa’s basement. Since then, we have interviewed nearly 200 literacy experts, teachers, and leaders. The experts we have interviewed translate research in an accessible way, while the teachers and leaders share practical application for the classroom.

Framed picture of Melissa and Lori talking on a couch
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Hey Literacy Lovers!

If you love our podcast, follow us on your favorite podcast app and leave us a rating and review. Be sure to share with teacher friends and tag us on social media!