Phonemic awareness is being able to recognize and manipulate individual phonemes in words. Phonemic awareness is tied closely to reading, so it’s essential for kids to develop phonemic awareness. One way to develop phonemic awareness is to practice the skills of...
Are you collecting phonics progress monitoring data because you have to — or are you making the most of it? A good progress monitoring process makes data collection easy and efficient, but it goes beyond data collection sheets. You need a simple, consistent way to...
When we talk about words, we spend a lot of time on reading skills like segmenting and blending and on spelling, but meaning matters. Developing vocabulary through classroom vocabulary games and other vocabulary activities helps students master word meaning to support...
Sound walls, word walls … do you use them and what’s the difference? You may be more familiar with word walls, but sound walls are gaining attention as a useful teaching tool. If you don’t have either, we have tips for setting up sound walls. We also have ideas for...
Phonics word sorts are a great practice activity to use in the classroom or for students to use at home. Word sorts can give students practice spelling, noting spelling patterns, writing, reading, and more. There are different kinds of phonics word sorts—and multiple...
We talk about fun and games together, and sometimes games get a bad rap in the classroom. They’re seen as fillers, time-wasters, or a break from learning. Yes, sometimes games can be just for fun or used as a brain break, but games, like classroom spelling games or...
