Viva Phonics: A Truly Research-Based Program Let’s delve into what reading research reveals about how children learn to read and how Viva Phonics aligns seamlessly with this research. Schedule a free reading screening The National Reading Panel Report When I began my journey in teaching children to read, I wanted to make sure I was using resources and methods proven to be effective. During this exploration, I came across the National Reading Panel Report. This pivotal document, released in 2000, evaluated research and evidence to investigate the most effective ways of teaching children t ..read more

How to Teach Sight Words to Struggling Readers Free reading screening What are sight words? Sight words are said to be words that are frequently used in written English and are often challenging to sound out.  Let’s look at the Dolch sight word list for kindergarten as an example. It includes words such as at and on. If the child knows the sound for each of the letters in at and on, they should be able to sound out both words and many more like them. Do you see a problem here? Viva Phonics Helps Struggling Readers We can help get your child on track for reading success. Learn ..read more

How to Help a Struggling Reader in 3rd Grade Free reading screening Reading is an essential skill that lays the foundation for a child’s academic success. When a child struggles with reading, it can significantly impact their self-esteem and academic performance. As a parent or teacher, it is important to provide support and guidance to struggling readers, especially in third grade when students are expected to read more complex texts independently. Here are some tips on how to help a struggling reader in third grade. Help Your Struggling 3rd Grader Improve Their Reading Skills 1. Identif ..read more

How Can I Help My Child Read Better? Tips to try at home Schedule a free reading skills check How do children learn to read? Reading is not a natural process that happens on its own. To help your child read better, you have to teach them how to read. Phonics is an excellent example of a skill that helps children know the relationship between letters and sounds. You can take a few steps as a parent to help your child learn how to read. Reading involves different skills. Five core reading parts are phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and fluency. Phonemic awareness ..read more

Is Your First Grader Struggling with Reading? Have you been told that your child is reading below grade level? Your first grader is struggling with reading. How can this be? The school journey has just begun. Then the line after that goes something like this, “Your child needs to read more.” One reason that your first grader may be struggling is that they haven’t been provided the skills needed to read words, much less work on comprehension. Viva Phonics Helps Struggling Readers We can help get your child on track for reading success. Learn more Does your child use pictures to “read” w ..read more

How to Teach Soft C What is soft c? The consonant letter <c> spells /s/ before <e, i, or y>. In this lesson, you’ll find a learning video and word lists. Schedule a free reading screening About Soft C Soft <c> comes about midway through the Viva Phonics program. I had originally placed it much later, toward the end, but since it is not the easiest concept, I figured I’d introduce it a bit earlier so that there was more opportunity for practice.  I first introduce soft <c> in words where Silent <e> marks the long-vowel sound. In these words, Silent <e&g ..read more

How to Teach the Short-Vowel Sounds 5 Activities to help you get started Adding letter formation practice helps! Schedule a free reading screening 5 Activities to Help You Teach the Short-Vowel Sounds When you are teaching your students the sounds for the short-vowels start with either the alphabet song or the letter sound song. I’ve included a letter sound song in this routine. You’ll also want to include letter formation or handwriting practice to help kids memorize the short-vowel sounds. In the Viva Phonics curriculum, we teach one vowel and a few consonants at a time. We do this ..read more

What Are the First Signs of Dyslexia? Learn how to spot the early signs. Schedule a free reading skills check What is dyslexia? The first signs of dyslexia can be visible as early as a child starts to speak. Dyslexia is a neurological condition that affects reading. Struggling to match letters and sounds or vocabulary and reading is one of the first signs of dyslexia. This struggle becomes more prominent when attempting to develop reading fluency, comprehension, and writing skills. In addition to reading slowly, a common part of dyslexia is skipping words or taking long pauses betw ..read more

How to Help a Child With Reading Comprehension When you search, how to help a child with reading comprehension, you’ll find suggested strategies for improvement. Some tips might tell you to ask your child to read aloud, provide books at their level, or ask you to get your child to talk about their reading. These surface activities might work for a moment. However, you’ll need to dig deeper to make lasting changes. What can you do to help your child improve their reading comprehension? Start with a few questions. Schedule a free reading screening Does my child know how to read? Do you ..read more

Double the Consonant Rules Should I double the consonant? Spelling doesn’t have to stump your readers. The key to elevate a student’s understanding is to explain the reason behind English spelling. Schedule a free reading screening Three rules to help your students understand when to double the consonant in words. 1. We expect content words to contain 3 letters. One of the first words you’ll see in the Viva Phonics program where the consonant is doubled is in the word “egg”. Why is the <g> doubled? The word “egg” has a specific meaning. It is a content word. A quick look in the dictio ..read more