Reading

Image of teacher teaching in front of a class. Text: Whole Group

Whole Group Reading Strategies and Phonics Instruction for Early Learners

Hey there, Teacher friend! Whole group reading strategies are essential for building foundational literacy skills in first and second-grade classrooms. Whether you are a new teacher setting up your routines or a veteran educator looking for fresh ideas, effective whole-group phonics instruction can make your lessons engaging and impactful. The Importance of Whole Group Phonics Instruction Whole group phonics instruction allows teachers to introduce and reinforce key phonics skills for developing reading fluency. Teaching all students together ensures everyone gets the same exposure to important concepts, creating a strong foundation for further learning. Whole Group Reading Strategies for Phonics Success

Helping Students Build Strong Foundational Reading Skills

Hey there, Teacher Friend! We know that teaching early readers to decode can be challenging. But, mastering foundational reading skills is vital for students as they build fluency and comprehension. Whether you have been around for a while or are just beginning your teaching journey, finding effective and engaging resources for this learning stage is essential. Supporting Struggling Readers Students often struggle to distinguish between short vowel sounds, such as “a” in “cat” and “e” in “pen.” These subtle differences can be difficult for young learners to grasp, especially when phonics practice feels repetitive or disconnected from meaningful content. Additionally,

Exploring Phonics Small Group Instruction with a Phonics Comic Decodable Reader

Hey there teacher friends! This post is to explore small group instruction for teaching reading using Phonics Comics. Phonics Decodable Readers with Lessons and Activities! We know that small group instruction is beneficial when teaching students how to read and has several benefits. Small group instruction is a more efficient use of teacher and student time. Students have more interaction with their classmates and teachers. It also increases opportunities for students to improve their reading and writing skills. So, what does small group instruction for teaching reading using Phonics Comics look like? Read on and see how you can try

Image of sight words activties: Pop!, Tic Tac Toe, and Bingo. Text: Playful Literacy: Creative Sight Word Activities.

Playful Literacy: 9 +1 Creative Sight Word Activities You’ll Absolutely Love

Fun Sight Word Activities with Sight Word Cards Learning “sight” words is an important part of students learning to read and to read fluently. These sight word activities will make learning sight words more fun and engaging! Students need a lot of practice with their sight words and these sight word activities are the favorites from my classroom. The best part about these fun sight word activities is that you can teach them to your students, and then let them play them independently during your word work time! Other Sight Word Activities Blog Posts You May Enjoy: Need sight word

Unleashing the Power of Books: Getting the Most from Your Classroom Library

Hey there Teacher Friends! Are you ready to embark on a journey through the world of classroom libraries? Buckle up, because we’re about to dive into some exciting tips and tricks to make the most of this treasure trove of knowledge in your classroom. Getting the Most from Your Classroom Library: Keep it Organized! When I first started teaching, I had my students help me organize my classroom library. We decided on organizing by categories. I had a fiction section and a non-fiction section with different colored book bins. I got all of my book bins from Really Good Stuff,

Image of a student dressed like a super hero with Speech Bubble saying :"YES!" Text: Teaching with Decodable Passages Just Got more fun with Phonics Comics!

Read and Write Phonics Comics: Teaching with Decodable Passages Just Got More Fun!

What in the world are Phonics Comics? Phonics comics are comics that are written for students to be decodable so that they can practice their reading skills! Once upon a time, when I was in college (a LONG time ago) whole language was the thing. Phonics was a dirty word. The main argument at that time was that decodable readers were contrived and boring. Think back to Dick and Jane. With the Science of Reading at the forefront of reading instruction today, decodables are back, but they can be so much more fun! So, get ready to rock your reading

Image of Water Slides with title: Tips for Preventing "Summer Slide". Preventing summer learning loss.

How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss: 5+ Tips for Beating Summer Slide

Summer is the best. Except for the dreaded “Summer Slide” or Summer Learning Loss. Read on for some tips to prevent summer learning loss! (This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you! Thanks so much!) Rather watch this post? Check out the YouTube Video: Prevent Summer Learning Loss Tip 1: Read! Encourage your child (or students) to read over the summer! Many libraries host summer reading programs, and children can earn prizes for their efforts. Our local library also has an amazing app that lets

Cover image: Helpful Everyday Word Work Ideas and Spelling Activities for Primary Students

Helpful Everyday Word Work Ideas for Primary Students

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by! I am a certified word nerd! I love words and working with words. Word work is an important part of our students learning to read and write! Here are some helpful everyday word work ideas and spelling activities to help your students! Word Work Idea: Word Sorts I love doing word sorts with my students! A word sort is a group of words that your students sort into groups using some sort of criteria. There are so many ways that you can do word sorts. My favorite is to start with an

Cover image of a child reading a book with the text: Improve Reading Comprehension Skills with Reading Responses.

How To Improve Reading Comprehension Skills with Quality Reading Responses

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by! So, how do you feel when you hear the words Reading Response or Respond to Reading? I’ll give you a minute… What is a Reading Response? A reading response is something you do after you read a text. It can be as simple as drawing a picture of a favorite part to a rhetorical analysis of the text. We all have some “response to reading”. I know as an adult, I LOVE to talk about the books I’ve read. I keep a list of the books I have read and what I

How Can Reading Logs for Reading Comprehension be More Fun? Cover with image of adorable smiling little girl reading.

How Can Reading Logs for Better Reading Comprehension be More Fun?

As a former teacher, I see value in Reading Logs for Reading Comprehension. But, I must confess. When my boys were in school I really disliked their reading logs. It’s funny though, my boys LOVED their reading logs. They even kept them after they got them back. Why you may ask? Both of my boys are huge readers, and they loved having a record of the books that they had read. They loved to show me their lists and talk about the books that they have read and are reading. Win-win! I am also a huge reader, and I love

How to Successfully Teach Sequencing with Fun Writing Mini-Lessons

Sequencing is the identification of the pieces of a story or event— the beginning, middle, and end. It also refers to the ability to retell the events in a text in the order in which they occurred. Sequencing and retelling are great ways to improve both your students writing and their reading comprehension! Read on for some fun ways to teach sequencing in your classroom! I liked to use the gradual release of responsibility model of instruction in my classroom. Basically, it boils down to “I do… We do… You do…” so in this post, I will be giving you some

5 Delightful Reasons to Hold One-to-One Student Reading Conferences

Reading with students is such an important part of teaching. We have such limited time during the day so we have to do what is super important. So, today I am giving you some reasons to try to fit one-to-one student reading conferences into your day! Building Relationships with Students Getting to Know Your Students as Readers Reading Goal Setting Plan Instruction Individual Student Reading Instruction Reason #1: Building Relationships with Students Most teachers that I know got into teaching because they love kids. We love the “lightbulb moment” when something clicks for our students. We love getting to know

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Reading

Whole Group Reading Strategies and Phonics Instruction for Early Learners

Helping Students Build Strong Foundational Reading Skills

Exploring Phonics Small Group Instruction with a Phonics Comic Decodable Reader

Playful Literacy: 9 +1 Creative Sight Word Activities You’ll Absolutely Love

Unleashing the Power of Books: Getting the Most from Your Classroom Library

Read and Write Phonics Comics: Teaching with Decodable Passages Just Got More Fun!

How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss: 5+ Tips for Beating Summer Slide

Helpful Everyday Word Work Ideas for Primary Students

How To Improve Reading Comprehension Skills with Quality Reading Responses

How Can Reading Logs for Better Reading Comprehension be More Fun?

How to Successfully Teach Sequencing with Fun Writing Mini-Lessons

5 Delightful Reasons to Hold One-to-One Student Reading Conferences

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