One area lots of teachers across America have been focusing on is implementing a science-based approach to reading. But what about the importance of spelling and writing? How exactly do reading and writing and spelling all tie together? Teacher friend, if you’ve been starting to wonder about what we can gather from our students’ spelling […]
While the month of April may not feel as packed with fun holidays as some months, there are still a lot of holidays and themes we can bring into the classroom to integrate into science and social studies. There’s spring, Earth Day, and Easter (even if it’s in the form of bunnies and chicks). One […]
Learn how to use a science-based approach to teaching high-frequency words called “heart words”. Early in my teaching career, I can remember telling parents to practice high-frequency words at home. I told them to make flashcards and practice, practice, practice. I often explained that these words had “tricky parts” in them and that some of […]
No matter what grade you teach in elementary, helping students develop strong social-emotional skills is always a part of your unspoken curriculum. Helping our young students grow into confident, kind adults can be done in so many different ways. One of my favorite ways to do this is to use books to teach social skills. […]
When it comes to teaching students to learn how to read, there are so many different resources and tools for teachers. One of my favorite tools is a reading passage. You can pack so much teaching and practice into such a short amount of text with reading passages. But which kind should you use – […]
February sure has lots of fun holidays and events to celebrate – Groundhog Day, President’s Day, and Valentine’s Day. The list goes on. But do you know what we can celebrate on February 1st? World Read Aloud Day! World Read Aloud Day is a day to celebrate the power of reading aloud and sharing stories. […]
Interactive read aloud lessons were always one of my favorite times of the day. Not only do you get to gather your students together and help them develop a love for reading and expose them to a variety of books, but you get to help them strengthen their reading skills and strategies to build a […]
If you’re letting go of running records or wondering if they’re the best thing for your readers, but aren’t sure where to start, you are not alone, friend! Many of us have used running records and the MSV three-cueing system in our reading small groups. If you’re like me, I took many running records on […]
Are you looking for books for your January read alouds to help your students develop strong reading comprehension skills? If so, then you’re in luck! The good news is that the month of January easily lends itself to books with great themes. Some of them include winter, the new year, and Martin Luther King, Jr. […]
Use these making predictions activities and lesson plan ideas to help your students develop stronger reading comprehension. When you’re sitting and reading a book aloud to your students, how do you know they’re engaged and listening? How can you tell students are listening to learn and comprehend? One easy way is to find out if […]
If you hang around here often, you know that I love read alouds! Not only do you get to connect with your students and model reading with fluency, you can introduce and reinforce important concepts across all subjects. This includes math! I love using math read alouds to help introduce tricky topics to my students. […]
An important component of reading comprehension is the ability to synthesize or draw from multiple sources to gain new information. If you teach reading strategies, chances are you’ve heard this term before, but what exactly does it mean for our young readers? And how can you help students learn this skill? Learning how to teach […]
October is always such a fun time in the classroom! It starts to feel like fall (for the Texans at least), and there are so many fun fall-themed activities I loved to bring out for my students. One great way to bring in the season and holidays is with read alouds. October read alouds can […]
When it comes to the science of reading, we’ve all been hearing about the need to support our students with research-backed instruction. But what about pre-readers? How do we support pre-readers with the science of reading? When you’re meeting with your reading small groups, how can we continue to support pre-readers and move them towards […]
Sound walls are one of the big changes that elementary teachers are making to their classrooms. This change is happening for very good reasons that are backed up by research, too. (If you want to read more about this change, you can check out this blog post all about word walls vs. sound walls.) One […]
Elevate your teaching practices on how to teach high-frequency words with the science of reading in mind. During my first few years of teaching, I remember preparing flashcards each Monday with that week’s high-frequency words on them. We introduced them on Mondays and practiced them the rest of the week. We would spell the words […]
Check out these four science of reading books to add to your list of professional reading so you can start making changes towards better reading instruction practices. Over the last few years, we have learned more and more about how kids learn to read. Because of this, we know change is needed in how we […]
I remember seeing the decoding gaps of some of my students during my first year of teaching. A lot of them didn’t know their letter sounds, so they definitely didn’t know the different types of syllables. Goodness, I think I barely knew the six different types of syllables! If they did know their letter sounds, […]
