Have you ever wondered how young children become successful readers and writers? Well, it all begins with developing their phonemic awareness skills. One crucial skill to learn is onset and rime. But what exactly is onset and rime? Why are they so important? And how can we help our students learn these skills? In this…
Have you ever stumbled across a passage in a book that you just couldn’t get through? Or had a student who struggled to read fluently? Choral reading may just be the solution you’re looking for! Choral reading is a collaborative reading strategy that involves groups of students reading a passage or text together in unison….
Do you remember the first time you encountered a nonsense word? Perhaps it was in a Dr. Seuss book or during a game of Mad Libs. As an adult, you may wonder why anyone would bother with something so seemingly useless. However, there are important benefits to incorporating nonsense words into your reading instruction. In…
Are you a reading teacher looking to improve your literacy instruction? Perhaps you’ve heard about Orton-Gillingham and its potential benefits for struggling readers. But what exactly is Orton-Gillingham, and how can you become certified or trained in this approach? In this blog post, we’ll dive into the basics of Orton-Gillingham, explore the differences between certification…
As educators, we all know that working on letter knowledge with beginning readers is important, and alphabet arcs are a great tool for that. An alphabet arc can help develop students’ letter knowledge, sequencing, automaticity, and so much more. Read on to learn how you can use alphabet arcs more effectively in your literacy lessons….
You’ve probably heard of rainbow words or rainbow writing as a fun way for students to practice their spelling words. But if you want to use effective methods based on research, you should focus on matching the sounds to their graphemes when practicing spelling words. Rainbow words and rainbow writing just don’t do that. But…
Are you looking for Valentine’s Day ideas for school to use for a reading or language arts activity? In this post, I rounded up a variety of Valentine’s Day activities, worksheets, and printables that focus on reading skills from kindergarten through fifth grade. These are all great for classroom or homeschool use and most are…
Teaching the 2 sounds of C can be tricky for some readers. While some will naturally understand when to use the soft C versus the hard C sound, others will need to be taught explicitly, so that they understand why C can make two different sounds. In this blog post, I will share some tips…
The alphabetic principle is an important part of the reading process. According to Reading Rockets, “Children’s reading development is dependent on their understanding of the alphabetic principle”. But what do we mean when we talk about the alphabetic principle? And how can we develop it in beginning and struggling readers? What is the alphabetic principle?…