Education resources for parents and teachers
Welcome to the first post in our series about making the switch from balanced to structured literacy! Today we're tackling phonics. Specifically, systematic phonics instruction. Before we begin, let's be clear. I am not saying that balanced literacy teachers don't teach phonics. The concern I have is that this instruction is often neither systematic nor explicit. In other words ... a ... Read More
I was a committed balanced literacy educator for 20 years. To me, balanced literacy meant that I taught both basic skills and a love of reading. I put a greater emphasis on the activities - shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, read aloud, and centers - than on foundational skills. Sure, I taught phonics ... but I didn't want to overdo it. So I didn't use a phonics program; I taught phonics on ... Read More
Do you suspect that one of your students may have dyslexia? Here's what every teacher should know! As I look back to the students that I taught, I can picture one particular little boy who I'm sure had dyslexia. He was a bright, articulate, and kind first grader. On one particularly rough day of teaching, he gave me a little blue gem shaped like a heart. "This is for you, because you're the nicest ... Read More
How do you teach students with dyslexia? With explicit instruction. But what IS explicit instruction anyway? In their book, Anita Archer and Charles A. Hughes tell us that explicit instruction is systematic, direct, engaging, and success oriented. If you have a few minutes, check out this helpful video from Anita Archer. It feels a little weird to use the word explicit when talking about teaching because ... Read More
The science of reading is the body of research that has been conducted on how we learn to read and write. This research has been conducted over decades, but only recently has much of it been introduced to today's classroom teachers. It's important to note that as more research is conducted, we may need to revise our previous understandings. In addition, there is disagreement when it comes to translational ... Read More
Let's uncover the signs of dyslexia. So far we've addressed dyslexia myths and defined exactly what dyslexia is. Here's a quick refresher: Dyslexia is the most common learning disability. It is "characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of ... Read More
Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, yet many people know very little about it - dyslexia myths abound! Today we're going to do some dyslexia myth busting! Myth #1: People with dyslexia see letters and words backward, and people with dyslexia always write letters and words backward. This misconception may be the most common, perhaps because it's been around for so long. Dyslexia is not a ... Read More
I've written about different ways to structure your phonics lessons and meet the needs of all your students. One question remains ... what are the rest of the students doing while you teach small groups? Today I'm sharing ideas for phonics centers! These days I am seeing a lot of criticism of small group teaching, because there is concern about what the rest of the class is doing. There is (legitimate) ... Read More
We're nearing the end of our phonics series, and it's time to get down to the nuts and bolts. What exactly should phonics lessons look like in your classroom? Today we'll look at how to meet the needs of all your students using small group instruction. My first year of teaching first grade, I was required to use a very explicit, scripted phonics program. It was a fail. Full disclosure: At the time I ... Read More
Are you looking for a phonics assessment to help you determine your students' phonics knowledge? I'm sharing a free assessment in today's blog post! Today I'm sharing what I wish I had in my early teaching years ... a phonics assessment! While most of my teaching career was with first and second grade, the first few years I taught a combination class of third, fourth, and fifth graders. Looking back, I ... Read More
