Let’s have fun when teaching phonics with visuals! Have you been in the middle of a phonics lesson and it seems the students just can’t remember it from day to day? Teaching phonics with visuals can be a highly effective and engaging way to help students learn to read. Let’s make learning phonics for students! Visuals help students connect the sounds of letters and letter combinations with their written forms, making it easier for them to remember and recognize words. The Phonics Visuals will be a perfect addition to any early childhood classroom. The visuals represent the sounds being taught ..read more

Decoding skills are fundamental to reading success. They enable children to break down and understand words, enhancing their reading fluency and comprehension. Here, we delve into five effective strategies to improve decoding in young learners. These strategies are research-based, designed to bring more depth to reading instruction in classrooms. Clear Phonics Instruction Phonics is the relationship between sounds and their written symbols (letters). Clear phonics instruction is crucial in helping children learn how to decode words. It enables them to understand and use the alphabetic princip ..read more

Why the Science of Reading? The research behind the Science of Reading is so intriguing and I wanted to share how I incorporate it daily into my instruction. I wanted to make it SIMPLE for teachers to make this shift to teaching phonemic and decoding skills explicitly. Then, I will get to science of reading resources! The 7 key components will build the reading foundation that every student needs to become a successful reader. Phonological/Phoneme Awareness Word Identification: Phonics/Decoding Automatic Word Recognition (“Sight Words”) Reading Fluency (accuracy, rate, expression) Spelling ..read more

Science of Reading Goals & Awards will be a perfect fit into any early childhood classroom. Do you get excited when your students use a reading strategy you’ve been working on? I do…I love seeing their “lightbulb” turn on and they feel successful! Why not give them an award for all of their hard work?! First, What is the Science of Reading? Explicit teaching of reading skills is essential in every early childhood classroom. The Science of Reading is the research behind how we can best teach our students how to read. According to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the science of reading is informe ..read more

Let’s dig into the 7 types of syllables to rock your phonics lesson! To build strong readers, you have to teach the types of syllables!  It’s not too late to start!  We’ve talked about teaching phonics explicitly during reading instruction…it’s important! First…What is a syllable? According to Anna Digilio from Guided Readers, “You’ll start with the basics by giving your students a definition of a syllable: a word, or a part of a word, that contains one vowel sound. A word can have one syllable or several, but every syllable must have a vowel.   The first and most basic s ..read more

I Love O.G.! Orton Gillingham phonics program has made such a difference in my classroom.  It is a multi-sensory  phonics curriculum.  In the first grade curriculum it builds on the correct letter formation in handwriting and the sounds the letters make.  Keep reading for more Orton Gillingham phonics tips for primary grades.  What is Orton Gillingham? The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a  multi-sensory and structured to teach reading, writing, and spelling. It is commonly used for students with dyslexia, but can be used to help all students feel more conf ..read more

To build strong readers, strong decoding skills need to be explicitly taught, but what is reading decoding? We’ve talked about teaching phonics explicitly during reading instruction…it’s important!  What is Reading Decoding? Successful reading decoding is when a person uses knowledge of letter-sound relationships to accurately read a word. 3 Key Components: Phonological Awareness Letter/Sound Relationships Reading Fluency  The Literacy Nest explains it well, “Many teachers are familiar with decoding strategies that may emphasize the use of picture clues, meaning and self-monitoring ..read more

Teaching decoding strategies can be easy! Our goal is for students to feel confident in their reading decoding skills, so they can become fluent readers. What is decoding? Successful reading decoding is when a person uses knowledge of letter-sound relationships to accurately read a word. When a child can decode words with confidence, their reading fluency will improve. Remember…we want students to focus on the word…not the pictures or guessing! Why is decoding important? According to Reading Horizons, Decoding is important because it is the foundation on which all other reading instructi ..read more

We’ve talked about teaching phonics explicitly during reading instruction…it’s important! One concept that is tricky for many students is consonant blends. A few things to remember when you are teaching blends… Remind students that blends are made up of 2 or 3 different phonemes. (Blends are not 1 sound!) Blends will be represented in separate boxes when you are orthographic mapping. 3. Phonemic awareness will help students develop a deeper understanding of how blends work. (“/s//t//o//m//p/”) 4. Incorporate multi-sensory strategies when practicing words with blends. Use hand motions ..read more

Let’s chat about 5 easy short vowel activities that will pop in your classroom. I know sometimes these short vowel lessons can get a little boring in the classroom. Do you ever get bored teaching short vowel lessons? We’ve talked about teaching phonics explicitly during reading instruction…it’s important!  What is the Difference Between Short Vowels and Long Vowels? After reading the article from Classroom, they sum it well, “As the name would imply, short vowels have a much shorter pronunciation than long vowel sounds.” Short vowels will make a shorter sound, whereas long vowels have a ..read more