...because every child deserves reading success.
Many parents have reached out to us with the question of, “How can I help my struggling reader at home?” You have probably heard ad infinitum, ‘be sure to read to your child.’ Reading to your child is lovely AND necessary for so many reasons. But, that’s a different topic. If you are reading this…
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…
Phonemic Awareness: A Prerequisite for Reading Success What is phonemic awareness? Phonemic Awareness is an oral language skill that includes a number of discrete skills: rhyming isolating beginning, middle, and ending sounds segmenting and blending phonemes manipulating phonemes Click here for more details on phonemic awareness. Why is phonemic awareness important? Phonemic Awareness is a…
Essential Decoding Assessments for Primary Readers Second and third grade is where the ‘rubber hits the road,’ so to speak. While much of kindergarten and first grade reading instruction focuses on learning to read through phonological awareness skills and applying the alphabetic principle, second and third grade begins the transition from ‘learning to read’ toward ‘reading to learn.’
It’s not too late to squeeze in a few more professional reads this summer! As mentioned in a previous book review post, teaching reading is an art-form. It is also a science. Here we discuss three more titles; each one addressing a different aspect of teaching reading: the art, the science, and the practical application.
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 successive blending might read the word “tag” as “tap”, “ag”, or “got”, among other possibilities. This…