Most of us, as teachers, read aloud to our students. We love it! They love it! It’s a win! The science of reading research has shown us how children learn to read and the best practices for teaching reading. Reading aloud to kids is a powerful tool that aligns well with these evidence-based strategies. Today […]
Creating and maintaining organized literacy centers can be the key to a smooth and productive classroom. For kindergarten and 1st grade teachers, having a system that helps students find what they need, stay focused, and follow clear directions is crucial. Let’s explore three simple tips for organizing literacy centers and keeping them manageable! *Amazon affiliate […]
Have you heard the chant “when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking”? It is commonly used to help teach vowel teams. I remember teaching my students this refrain during reading small groups. A few of my students were struggling with words like peach, read, and pie. I don’t remember where I […]
Planning a reading small group can feel like a big task. It is incredibly important, and there are many pieces to consider, but it doesn’t have to be hard! Having a science of reading small group lesson template at your fingertips makes everything easier! I have been there–the end of a long day, cleaning up […]
A Kindergarten schedule is always jam-packed. I know it felt this way in first grade, too, but it was just a different level of “jam-packed” in Kindergarten. Not only are you constantly teaching them how to do school, but you also have so many core curriculum pieces to squeeze in. Among them were kindergarten reading […]
When you hear the phrases RTI, intervention activities, and reading intervention support, how do you feel? What comes to mind? I know when I was in my early years in the classroom, it hurt my brain. Managing RTI and intervention activities were just going to send me over the edge some years, but I really […]
Learn what the differences are between a sound wall and a word wall to help boost your readers with stronger phonics and spelling skills. A teacher friend shared this story with me and it’s too good not to reshare as we are diving into why we need word walls. She recalled a specific instance when […]
When it comes to using manipulatives in the classroom, we often think of math manipulatives. What about using literacy manipulatives in the classroom? Yes, friends! Literacy manipulatives are a great way to help readers develop stronger phonics, fluency, and comprehension skills. Chances are that you are already using some literacy manipulatives in your own classroom. […]
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 […]
