Reinforce blending and segmenting skills with engaging and easy-to-use compound word activities. Students will have to segment a word into its word parts or use word parts to blend a compound word. These are valuable phonological awareness skills that students need to develop in order to become readers and writers. I developed some activities to work on how to segment and blend compound words: Segment the Compound Word Using the compound word segmenting cards, students break the word apart into 2 parts. Then, on the recording page, students draw each individual word that makes ..read more

Playing games in kindergarten can help develop a variety of essential skills. There are so many great games out there, and I can always find one my students will enjoy playing. There are so many benefits of playing games with your students; here are a few: Problem-Solving Skills Educators know that developing problem-solving skills with their students is essential. I explicitly teach these skills to my students, but games in kindergarten are an excellent opportunity to allow students to practice problem-solving with their peers. While playing, they must maneuver through conflict, rule-follo ..read more

After teaching my students the phonics skills they need to start decoding words, I want them to use those skills to practice reading and writing decodable sentences. This is a big step for our young learners, and they need a lot of practice. Not only do I want my students to use the literacy skills they have been taught, but I also want to ensure that they are engaged and having fun while doing it! This is why I created my Make a Silly Sentence literacy center. Decodable Sentences A decodable text is something that students can read using the phonics skills that they have been taught. This m ..read more

Creating class books with your students is an amazing way to promote a love of reading and writing in the classroom. As I sought to find more ways to promote a positive sense of self with my students, I came up with some kindergarten book ideas that were a hit! (This post contains affiliate links) Who Am I? Eye Class Book After reading the book, Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, I wanted to encourage my students to look closer at their own eyes (the shape and colour). I set out some mirrors, an eye shape poster and a book page each student could complete. My students were encouraged to look a ..read more

As I have learned more about the science of reading and how to teach my students to read, decodable readers have become a powerful tool in my classroom. I want students to be using the skills that I am teaching them in order to read. That’s why I love these decodable readers so much – I can pick ones that focus on the sounds I have taught my students. What Are Decodable Readers? These are books that students can read using the phonics skills that they have been taught. They can decode the words because they have the knowledge needed to read them. If there are words that students need to gu ..read more

As educators learn more about the Science of Reading and implement a Structured Literacy program, we must develop new ways to keep students engaged and learning during a literacy lesson. You can find even more ideas in my Kindergarten Morning Meeting Ideas post! During the school year, I try out a variety of lessons that support the skills I am teaching my students. I ensure that my whole group lessons align with my scope and sequence and use assessment to guide my planning. These are a few of the things that I have tried: Word Chains Literacy Lesson Sound deletion and substitution in words ..read more

Teaching students how to read has many components that they need to master. One of those strands is knowing the alphabetic code (including phonics). Some students will quickly pick up on letters and sounds, but others will need more direct, small-group instruction. Using a multisensory learning approach can help target key skills. Since I learned that alphabet knowledge is one of the biggest predictors of future reading success, I wanted to create a resource to help me target that skill with students. Why use multisensory learning? Using different strategies to engage students while learning ..read more

Reading professional development books is one of my favourite ways to learn and grow as an educator. They allow me to pause and reflect on my practice as needed. I saw the book Literacy Instruction for English Learners (affiliate link) and knew I wanted to do a teacher book club series on it! This book has so much information in it, without being too overwhelming. The authors made sure to break the book into easily digestible chapters based on literacy skills. They give helpful background information for each skill, and then offer practical ways that you can teach that skill in the classroom ..read more

Click play to listen to more of my thoughts on using visuals in the classroom: https://anchor.fm/s/cfc3abc/podcast/rss SPOTIFY | APPLE | GOOGLE | AMAZON What This Episode is About: In episode 160 of the Creative Kindergarten Podcast, I talk with Krista about using visuals in the classroom to support students. We go through the what, where, how and who of using visuals so that you can feel comfortable using them in your classroom! Links I Talk About in This Podcast: Find Krista on Instagram Krista’s TPT store To Join in on the Conversation With me, You Can Find me on: Teachers Pay Teachers ..read more

Click play to listen to more of my thoughts on using a sound wall: https://anchor.fm/s/cfc3abc/podcast/rss SPOTIFY | APPLE | GOOGLE | AMAZON What This Episode is About: In episode 159 of the Creative Kindergarten Podcast, I answer all of your questions about setting up and using a sound wall in your kindergarten classroom. I go over the why, when, how and what of sound walls! Links I Talk About in This Podcast: Create a Sound Wall blog post  Sound Wall Posters and Headers Reading Rockets’ Sound Wall article To Join in on the Conversation With me, You Can Find me on: Teachers Pay Teacher ..read more