There's been no shortage of conversation about the science of reading over the past several years. But writing barely comes up, even though the two are deeply connected. That's what drew Melanie Meehan and Maggie Roberts to write their new book, Foundational Skills for Writing. The book breaks the larger task of writing into smaller skill categories, including transcription skills, oral language, and executive functioning. In this episode, they share eight of the strategies from the book. Each is from a collection they call "minute moves," quick lessons and exercises that can be done in just a few minutes to build different kinds of writing muscles. They're fun and engaging and if you're someone who teaches writing, I think you're going to love them.

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Thanks to Renaissance and Erikson Institute for sponsoring the episode. To read a full transcript or find links to Meehan and Roberts' book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/quick-writing-lessons.

To learn more about Grammar Gap Fillers, visit cultofpedagogy.com/grammar.

Have you ever watched students sit completely silent in math class, only to come alive the moment they're asked to share an opinion? That's what inspired my guest Chris Luzniak to start bringing debate into his math teaching — and the results have been remarkable. In this episode, Chris walks us through how he turns ordinary math questions into debatable ones, how he gets students making and defending arguments, and why he thinks this approach matters now more than ever. It's a conversation that will make you rethink what math class can look like.

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Thanks to Listenwise and Erikson Institute for sponsoring the episode. To read Luzniak's article about math debates, visit cultofpedagogy.com/debate-math.

To find Chris online, visit DebateMath.com.

To learn more about The Teacher's Guide to Tech, visit teachersguidetotech.com.

When our students face challenges in the classroom, some teachers double down on control and rigor: tighter rules, firmer consequences, higher demands. Others lean toward grace and flexibility: easing up, giving extensions, and softening expectations because they know our students are carrying a lot. But what if the answer isn't either/or? Warm Demander pedagogy is an approach that pairs genuine care and deep relationship-building with unwavering high expectations. It's the belief that students need to feel seen, respected, and valued — and that we honor them most by refusing to lower the bar. In today's episode, I'm joined by educators Marcee Harris and Dr. Wendy Amato. They explain what Warm Demander pedagogy looks like in action, how it supports student agency and productive struggle, and why it's especially relevant for teachers right now.

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Thanks to Renaissance and SchoolAI for sponsoring the episode. To read Amato and Harris' article about Warm Demander pedagogy, visit cultofpedagogy.com/warm-demanders.

To learn more about The Teacher's Guide to Tech, visit teachersguidetotech.com.