A Primary Teaching Blog
Since the Science of Reading research has gained traction more recently, I have been discussing the difference between leveled readers vs. decodables (see my instagram highlights for some video details). These are important discussions for those of us who teach primary reading/phonics. It can be confusing to know the difference, but as we revamp and reeducate ourselves to align with Science of Reading, it’s… Read More
Blending sounds is when students fluently join phonemes together to make a word. Successive blending is the most effective blending technique (as research shows here). This is where students “stretch out” the sounds in a continuous manner instead of isolating each sound. Examples of blending with the word mat: Successive blending helps students “hold” the sounds in their brain, because how many times… Read More
Phonological awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate words (including phonemes-the smallest sounds) in a language. It is directly linked to decoding and in turn, the success of a reader (you can read more about that here if you want more scholarly work). The lovely thing about phonological awareness is, it only takes about 5-10 minutes a day… Read More
Research projects are a great way to introduce little learners to the world of non-fiction. Throughout first and second grade we enjoy many non-fiction texts. By the end of first grade, I had my first graders doing a research project practically on their own (in a small group). Here are some tips and even a research project template you can… Read More
Sight words are an essential component to reading instruction in all elementary classrooms. Sometimes sight words can feel overwhelming, and to be honest, not the most fun thing to teach. But I’ve got some sight words activities for you to add to your teacher tool-belt to make teaching sight words a breeze! Sight Word Color These sight words activities are great for practicing… Read More
Grammar is an important feature in reading skills, but sometimes it seems mundane to teach. There are some simple ways you can integrate grammar skills into your teaching, reading centers, or small group time. Somethings do need to just be taught directly, but the practice doesn’t have to be boring! Here are some ways you can sneak these skills into… Read More
Since I already have lots of math on the blog, I thought I’d focus in on easy to implement literacy centers. Here are some ideas of what you could use in your centers that students rarely tire of and have low prep for you! OrganizationLet’s start with organizing our students. I tend to do something similar to “Daily 5” literacy… Read More
Emergent Readers are a great way to build confidence in new little readers. The sentences are simple and repetitive. They include pictures for students to associate with words (and to color). These readers also include sight words. All these things wrapped up into a little book make these a must in primary classrooms. Here’s a freebie for you (click the… Read More
There’s a time and a place for leveled readers and independent reading, BUT there’s also a time and a place for reading aloud to your students for no other gain than being together and listening to reading. Here is a curated list of popular chapter book read alouds for your 1st or 2nd grade classroom. note: this blogpost contains Amazon… Read More
Congrats, you have little readers! They are always wanting to read chapter books, but some are just out of reach for independent reading. Here’s a curated list of beginning chapter books to boost confidence and get your students reading! Note: this post contains affiliate links to Amazon Mia Mayhem Everyone will love Mia Mayhem, a young superhero just learning to… Read More
