by Melinda | Apr 18, 2022 | Literacy
Vocabulary instruction is essential. You may have seen the difference between students with a rich vocabulary and those without. And studies back that up. In a 2011 paper, Preventing a Vocabulary Lag: What Lessons Are Learned from Research, Sinatra, Zygouris-Coe, and... 
by Melinda | Apr 4, 2022 | Literacy
Synthetic phonics involves teaching kids to link sounds and symbols. In other words, students learn to connect phonemes to graphemes or sounds to letters. Synthetic phonics begins by teaching students to hear the sounds that make up words. Systematic synthetic phonics... 
by Melinda | Jan 24, 2022 | Literacy
Do you ever feel overwhelmed trying to figure out how to teach phonics? How do you decide what to teach when? How do you make sure you cover everything? What words do you use? And how do you find the resources you need, when you need them? A phonics scope and... 
by Melinda | Nov 29, 2021 | Literacy
Do you remember cootie catchers? Maybe you called them chatterboxes or fortune tellers. These folded paper playground games actually have a place in the classroom. Surprisingly, they are a great way to practice phonics skills. Cootie catchers are a win-win. Students... 
by Melinda | Nov 1, 2021 | Literacy
You know your students need explicit phonics instruction. You’re determined to keep them engaged and not sacrifice rigor … but also, you’re tired. It’s time to look for shortcuts, not ones that shortchange students or skimp on quality, but ones that save you time. ... 
by Melinda | Sep 20, 2021 | Literacy
Response to intervention (RTI) is a three-tier approach that can be used for any subject. This approach is designed to catch kids early and keep them from falling through the cracks. The tiered approach makes the most of school resources, by moving from whole-class to...