EPISODE 2 There are so many important aspects of teaching literacy. There’s the different reading strategies, management, how to set up your reading workshop, launching book clubs, how to keep your kids engaged while reading, and the list goes on. At the end of the day, what we really want is for our kids to develop a true life-long love of reading.    The pressures of things like state testing and boxed curriculum can make it difficult to create authentic reading experiences. But friends, it absolutely can be done! There are several strategies we can use to have more authentic and fun experiences in our classroom without worksheets, textbooks, and activities that take forever to prep. It all starts with adjusting our pacing and selecting texts that reflect our student’s interests and needs.   In this episode I share: My first memories of reading 4 purposeful ways that you can create a love of reading in your classroom Examples of how you can ensure your students are the ones doing the work, rather than you How to make your reading block student centered     GIVEAWAY! To celebrate the launch of the Stellar Teacher Podcast, we are giving away three $75 gift cards to my TPT store! Entering is simple. 1. Subscribe to the podcast 2. Rate and leave a positive review  3. Take a screenshot of your review and send it to me in a DM on Instagram @thestellarteachercompany. 4. For a bonus entry, share a screenshot of one of the episodes you listened to in your stories and tag me @thestellarteachercompany. 5. Giveaway closes Friday, January 15th.    For full show notes and episode resources, head to stellarteacher.com/podcast/episode2