What is the Schwa, and How Do I Teach It?
What is the Schwa? “Schwa” is such a funny sounding word to describe what’s actually the most common vowel sound in the English language. It
Want to learn about how to develop students' foundational reading skills?
Join this free, three-day email series to learn about word work tools, practice tips, and assessment.
Literacy
Literacy is my jam! Find strategies, tips, and resources to help support your foundational reading, comprehension, and writing instruction.
Featured Literacy Products
Latest Literacy Posts
Make Word Study Fun: Strategies For Playing With Words
Teaching children to read is perhaps the single most important job we have as elementary school teachers. Reading is the foundation for everything! There have
Everything You Need to Know About the “Three-Reads” Method for Benchmark Advance Reading
The “three-reads” method is something that I started implementing while planning for my Benchmark Advance reading lessons. This method actually became an integral part of
Why I Used to Suck at Teaching Phonics
I’m not too proud to admit it: I used to suck at teaching phonics. My less-than-effective strategies left me and my students frustrated more often than not. A lot of it came down to the typical learning curve felt by new teachers, but the more I’ve learned about literacy, the more I recognize the flaws in the old strategies I used. And I don’t think I’m alone in this, which is why I’m sharing a better way to teach phonics with you today.
4 Easy Ways to Simplify Your Close Reading Lessons
After a few years of using close readings with my students, I’ve finally gotten to what I believe to be the optimal way to use this teaching strategy. I’m excited to share what’s worked for me and my students!
How to Teach Students to Set Data-Based Learning Goals
Teach students to use their own data. This is one of the best ways to teach your students how to take ownership of their learning goals.
How to Teach Students to Write to Sources: Using Color-Coding to Analyze Writing Prompts
Do your students struggle to write content that actually follows the prompt? If so, you are not alone! It can be frustrating when students don’t comprehend the writing prompt, especially because the state tests are jam-packed with prompts that must be followed. In recent years, the Common Core writing standards have gotten laser-focused on writing to sources rather than process writing.
Upgrade Your Spelling Tests With Phonics Based Assessments
If you’re still doing spelling tests the traditional way—from a list of 10 words that you have students memorize each week before a Friday assessment, it’s time to let that go, my friend!
Replacing the Word Wall with a Sound Wall
Teaching the phonemes is essential in order to help students develop orthographic mapping. Following up with my last post about this, this next post includes a strategy you can use to explicitly teach the phonemes. Introducing… the sound wall!
The Science of Reading
I had the pleasure of attending the Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference in New Orleans, where I witnessed literacy heroes present on current research. What I learned there and what I continue to learn through my own exploration has expanded my understanding of the science of reading and how to teach children to read.
Engaging Strategies To Transform a Boring Unit
Do your students groan when it’s time to pull out their ELA texts? Get them excited about your next unit and what they will be reading by using these simple engaging teaching strategies.
Collaborative Peer Editing Activity
One of my favorite ways to teach students to edit their writing pieces is through a collaborative activity that I like to call Musical Papers. In my classroom, I really value student collaboration and I make opportunities for the kids to work together whenever possible. This activity can be done with any writing piece, and it’s great for teaching students how to hone in on their editing skills. It’s also super fun!
