{"podcast":{"title":"play on words","slug":"play-on-words-6399561","podcast_index_feed_id":6399561,"rss_url":"https://feeds.zencastr.com/f/B4HeOMxA.rss","website_url":"https://www.bigcityreaders.com/","image_url":"https://media.zencastr.com/image-files/643d94b7e5cd786efbd7958c/e7504645-5337-4b02-8927-e5d3e551d61d.PNG","author":"miss beth","episode_count":83,"summary":"Learning to read starts with learning to play. This is the podcast for parents and teachers of kids ages 0-8 who want to have FUN learning evidence backed early development and literacy strategies in a short amount of time. This is the podcast for the teacher who needs a bestie to ask questions to and the parent who wants to know the best developmental practices to implement in the 3 minutes a day they have. You're not alone. Ask your questions here. If I can't answer them, one of my friends will be on to help! There are so many confusing parts about the learning to read journey. Miss Beth is here to simplify it, affirm you are the best person to teach your child, and give you the confidence you need in the early childhood education years. This podcast is for fun, community and confidence making tough topics more bite sized for every parent teacher and child.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T02:21:13.034856+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561"},"episode":{"title":"Understanding Your School's Reading Curriculum","slug":"understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum","published_at":"2026-03-20T15:03:49+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561","url":"https://zencastr.com/z/XvGM7mNC","audio_url":"https://redirect.zencastr.com/r/episode/69bd61d5f698baca1529261e/size/104712170/video-files/643d94b7e5cd786efbd7958c/a20458f4-3298-4f32-ad6d-9802eec5f8b9.mp4","summary":"Episode 87: In this episode, Beth answers one of the most common questions she gets from parents: What reading curriculum should I be looking for and how to I know what my school uses? She breaks down why reading is not a natural process, what phonological awareness really means, and what to look for in a strong reading curriuclum program (plus red flags that a curriculum may be doing more harm than good.) * Why curriculum matters and the different types of curriculum schools can use * What to do if your child's curriculum isn't working * What phonological awareness is and why it predicts reading success * How to evaluate your child's school reading curriculum * What parents of struggling readers and kids with dyslexia need to know * How fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary all fit together Topics science of reading · phonological awareness · structured literacy · reading curriculum · phonics instruction · dyslexia · early literacy · reading fluency · parent questions about reading Links Mentioned Kindergarten On-Demand [https://www.bigcityreaders.com/kindergarten-ready] First Grade On-Demand [https://www.bigcityreaders.com/first-grade-bootcamp] 2nd & 3rd Grade On-Demand [https://www.bigcityreaders.com/mastering-spelling-rules] Play on Words Episode 52: [https://tinyurl.com/n3b9nxkv] 3 Cuing and Reading Struggles [https://tinyurl.com/n3b9nxkv] About the Host Beth Gaskill (Miss Beth) is a reading specialist, early childhood educator, and founder of Big City Readers. She helps parents support their children's literacy development through research-backed, science of reading strategies. Follow Miss Beth on Instagram @BigCityReaders Browse Big City Readers resources at BigCityReaders.com","meta_description":"Episode 87: In this episode, Beth answers one of the most common questions she gets from parents: What reading curriculum should I be looking for and how…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1311,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/play-on-words-6399561/episodes/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}