...because every child deserves reading success.
Phonics is NOT a Dirty Word Scientific, brain-based research supports explicit, sequential, and cumulative phonics instruction in the early grades. According to Louisa Moats, “[Phonics instruction] is so accepted in the scientific world that if you just write another paper about these fundamental facts and submit it to a journal they won’t accept it because it’s…
Decodable Texts are a Powerful Tool What’s the big deal about decodable texts? Approximately 20% of the population is prone to a language based learning disability. For these learners, reading does not come ‘naturally’. To meet with reading success, repeated opportunities to practice code are non-negotiable. Systematic, sequential, and cumulative practice with the alphabetic…
Helping Emergent Readers Understand the Difference How can I help my students learn the difference between decodable words and trick words? ***Updated 2021 to adhere to current research related to the Science of Reading*** After learning the letter names and sounds in isolation, beginning readers are often taught to decode closed syllable words (i.e….
Helping Students Make the Sound-to-Print Connection What is successive blending? Successive Blending is an instructional technique that provides a scaffold for students who are unable to sequence more than two sounds. For example, a student who would benefit from this technique might read the word “tag” as “tap”, “ag”, or “got”, among other possibilities. This…
Systematic, Sequential, Cumulative, Explicit Every year, we inevitably encounter students with a similar reading profile. These are the students who score within the independent range for comprehension. However, oral reading fluency scores tend to indicate a need for support. Closer examination of fluency will likely reveal decreased accuracy with minimal self-corrections. Rate, however, may falsely…