Topics
Word Mapping
Did you know word mapping is for ALL words, not just high frequency words? The goal of teaching words is to turn the words into sight words (words you know effortlessly & automatically without sounding them out or guessing). This builds automaticity and fluency.
So, one of my goals it to make it easy for you to implement word mapping in your classroom. I have created centers, whole group activities, and independent word mapping work.
Decodables
If you have been using Leveled Books for awhile like me, you might find it tricky to wrap your mind around making the switch to decodable readers and being able to tell what “level” a child is at.
Levels A-Z made it very easy for us to see “where a child is at” but it wasn’t always accurate. Many of the early leveled books are designed to have kids use the pictures to guess words. It is not a fair representation of what a child can or cannot do.
So, we know decodable readers are better but how do we organize them? How do we use them in small groups? How will we know what “level” a child is on?
Sight Words
A sight word is any word you know effortlessly without sounding out or guessing. (Adults know 30,000 – 70,000 sight words and all of the words on this website are likely sight words for you!)
Foundational Skills
Unfortunately, many of us are not aware of the science that exists and even if we are, find it too difficult to understand. I have spent countless hours researching what the science says and internalizing it to be able to share it in a way that makes sense for everyone.
I started phonological awareness with my son when he was 3 (almost 4). He is currently in preschool and is reading books. Was the goal to have him reading early? Not at all. The magical (or scientific) thing is that now reading almost just comes naturally to him since he has phonological & phonemic awareness.
Phonics
Phonics was identified as one of the FIVE pillars of reading by the National Reading Panel in 2000. Yet, many programs still do not teach phonics explicitly.
Phonics helps kids understand the structure of our language which helps with both reading and spelling. It is important to follow a scope and sequence when teaching phonics, however, there is no right or way to teach the skills. There is no research showing that one scope and sequence is better than another.
Spelling
So there are two different parts to this section. Many people ask how we should teach and/or test spelling words. Others want to know about all the spelling rules (most of which we were never taught). So let’s talk about both!
Alphabet
Get tips for effectively teaching letters and sounds and learn why teaching a letter of the week may not be the best option. There are videos in this section that show you how to say the letter sounds & resources to help you teach the alphabet!