phonics

Back to School: Getting to Know Your Second and Third Grade Readers

Essential Assessments for Second and Third Grade Readers Second and third grade is where the ‘rubber meets the road,’ so to speak. Much of kindergarten and first grade reading instruction focuses on building phonological awareness skills and applying the alphabetic principle. Comprehension and vocabulary are addressed primarily through read aloud. In second and third grade, students are…

Instruction | Phonics

What is an Open Syllable and Why is it Important?

The open syllable is a great way to introduce beginning readers to the long vowel sound as it appears in print. Hopefully, you’ve continued to work on Phonemic Awareness with a variety of vowel sounds so when students begin to connect the sound to print, they will have had previous exposure to the long vowel…

Kindergarten | Reading Intervention

Is Early Intervention in Foundational Reading Skills Needed?

Case Study #1, Avery In this post we will take a closer look at Avery, whom we introduced on our Instagram page. We will explore whether or not early intervention in foundational reading skills is needed. Avery is a kindergarten student who has strong oral language skills, a robust vocabulary, a depth of background knowledge….

closed syllable exception | Phonics | syllable types | Word Study

What is a Closed Syllable Exception?

Before you can teach about a closed syllable exception, you first must understand what a closed syllable is. To learn about the closed syllable click here. A closed syllable exception is a syllable that contains one vowel, followed by one or more consonants. However, rather than a short vowel sound, the closed syllable exception has…

consonant digraph | digraph | Instruction | Phonics | Word Study

What Is a Consonant Digraph and Why Is It Important?

Consonant digraphs are two consonants next to each other that work together to make one sound. The most common digraphs that beginning readers need to recognize are wh, ch, ph, sh, th, and ck. Why do I need to teach about consonant digraphs if my students already know their letter names and sounds?

What is a Closed Syllable and Why is it Important?

Teaching beginning readers about the closed syllable is an important first step in reading success. Kindergarten, First Grade, and emergent readers benefit from lessons that include explicit, systematic instruction of the syllable type, both in isolation and in connected text (decodable readers).