Education resources for parents and teachers
So ... how do you feel about decodable books? I admit it. I avoided them for a long time. I felt that decodable books were boring, stilted, and would kill a love of reading. I preferred to use leveled books with beginning readers. I thought that if I taught them multiple ways to solve words, their fluency and comprehension would be better than if they learned to read using decodable text. But I changed ... Read More
I receive many emails from teachers and parents asking me how to teach sight words. Are you here to learn how to teach high frequency words? You're in the right place! What are sight words? Traditionally, when teachers say "sight words," they are referring to high frequency words that children should know by sight. We often define sight words as words that kids can't sound out - words like the, for ... Read More
In the past I was a strong proponent of running records. I used them every day as a first and second grade classroom teacher, and as an online educator I've often promoted their use. I felt that a running record - a visual representation of a child's reading - was a wonderful tool to see exactly where readers were struggling and to know where to take them next. But now that I've adopted a more structured ... Read More
Are you wondering how to teach a child to read? This short blog post and free ebook will get you started! I get many emails from parents wanting the answer to this question: How can I teach my child to read? It often takes me weeks before I reply to their message, because the answer is such a big one. For that reason, I decided to write this ebook. In it, you will learn the following: The essential components of ... Read More
Are you teaching young children to read using fiction and nonfiction readers? If so, it's imperative that your learners get lots of practice with decodable text ... text with words they can sound out and not guess using the pictures. In the past, I really resisted decodable readers. I was sure they made no sense, would kill a love for reading, and got in the way of comprehension. The fact is that there ... Read More
We're in the golden years of parenting. Right now, in 2021, our family is between diapers and dating. And I love it. Things are still wild and crazy (and LOUD), but that's to be expected with six kids ages 5-13. I admit that I don't miss the Exhausted Years ... the years I had a preschooler, baby, and toddler all at once. I can't count how many times I pushed a shopping cart with a baby seat in the cart, ... Read More
Are you teaching sight words to young readers? You're in the right place! In this post I'll show you exactly how to teach sight words using hands-on lessons and free printable sight word books. But first things first ... What ARE sight words, anyway? It depends whom you ask. When reading researchers use the term sight words, they're referring to the words that a reader recognizes instantly, ... Read More
So. These days I've been doing a lot of research into how our brains learn to read. In doing that, I've made a shift in how approach beginning reading. I used to ascribe to the three-cueing-systems model. It's the idea that kids solve unfamiliar words by using three cues: what looks right (phonics), what sounds right (syntax) and what makes sense (semantics). Here's the problem with the three-cueing ... Read More
Today I'm sharing a huge list of our favorite black history books for kids! Do your kids encounter a lot of racial diversity? We live near a major American city, full of people of all races. But our own little suburb is mostly white. Unless we go shopping, my children don't encounter a lot of faces different from their own during the school week. I can't begin to understand the racial struggles that African ... Read More
Can you believe it? The Measured Mom is celebrating 8 years! We're celebrating by giving eight people a full year's membership in The Measured Mom Plus ... The Measured Mom Plus is our membership site for Pre-K to third grade educators. Save time with our engaging, easy-to-use printables. Get no-print resources that you can use in Google Slides on a desktop, laptop, or tablet. Enjoy an ... Read More
