Are you working with your kids this summer to improve a skill? Maybe it\’s math facts (Try Tap Math. We love that app.!), or maybe it\’s spelling. Whatever the topic, here are some tips to make the practice both fun and effective: Schedule your activity time for when your children will receive it best. Make […]
After about 28 years of working with kids, striving to teach them to read and spell well, I’ve learned this: Our language is complicated . . . But it is teachable. We’ve all (if you’re reading this) learned to navigate the rough terrain of crazy word spellings, pronunciations, meanings, and usages. But, could you explain […]
Comprehension is understanding. If the boy in the picture above reads the word, making each sound, but has no idea that the sounds /s/, /a/, /p/, together, make the word sap and that sap is the often sticky liquid that is in trees and other plants, he’s not comprehending. However, if he doesn’t know the […]
Are you ready for a fun and productive summer with your kids? I’ll be posting fun-focused activities that both you AND your kids will enjoy! To get the summer started right, simply gather some tools and set a schedule for reading and writing. DO NOT read or write today! Put it off. Plan it for […]
Stone Fox By John Reynolds Gardiner No matter what grade I teach, I read this book aloud, and I usually begin on the first day of school. I love it that much. Reading Stone Fox is a great way to show kids a character with character. It inspires my students and me to become the […]
38% of our 80 survey participants believe that the parents of high achieving readers read to their children often. 34.2% believe that parents of high achieving readers impart a love for reading and value reading together. Those, admittedly, are very similar, and parents of high achieving readers DO both of those things, however, parents of […]
When I was six years old, I was going through a \”rough patch.\” I hated my first-grade life. My single mom had moved into an apartment building, and my bike was stolen during the first week we were there. I had a mean teacher who swatted me on the legs when I did something wrong, […]
Which ONE characteristic separates high achieving readers (By far!) from other readers? Parents of good readers tend to do all of the following, however, parents of the highest scoring readers tend to do this one thing far more often than parents of average and struggling readers. Which do YOU think it is? Parents of […]
Teaching kids to read? Do not use word families. Here\’s the problem: Let\’s say we have a teacher who is spending a whole week focusing on /at/ words. You know- hat, mat, fat… Next thing you know, the children see the words hated, mating, and father, and what children were taught is hindering them, not […]