Phonemic Awareness

Tear Down the (Word) Walls

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My husband and I had a flat tire, and both of our phones were dead. (Note to self: Next overnight camping excursion- Bring phone chargers!) And, we had no spare tire. When a police officer stopped to ask if we needed help, we could not recall a single phone number of someone who could lend […]

Phonemic Awareness

How Words Work

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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 […]

Phonemic Awareness

Say No to Word Families

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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 […]