Struggling to plan reading centers that are differentiated? This phonics game changes everything. 💡 The Center Struggle Is Real… Let’s be honest—managing reading centers can feel like herding squirrels hopped up on Skittles! You want to meet every student where they are, but prepping five different activities for five different skill levels? Nope. Not sustainable….
Learn exactly how to teach word chains with teacher scripts, lesson progression, and practical tips that help students become stronger readers and spellers. Quick Answer Word chains are one of the most effective science of reading routines for teaching phonics because they strengthen phonemic awareness, decoding, encoding, and orthographic mapping in one highly efficient activity….
If you have spent any time in science of reading circles, you have probably heard someone say that phonemic awareness should be done “in the dark.” Yet this message has created a tremendous amount of confusion for teachers. Some educators wonder whether they should avoid using letter tiles during phonemic awareness instruction. Others question whether…
Practical Fluency Activities that Actually Work Now that we understand the why from Part 1 of the Fluency blog post, let us talk about the how. The strongest fluency routines have three things in common: Below are classroom-ready reading fluency routines & structures grounded in research and real classrooms. 1. The 5-Read Fluency Cycle (Whole…
You are the teacher who wants independent work that actually teaches—not fluffy worksheets and not tasks kids can’t do alone. You need science of reading–aligned, independent ELA resources for 1st grade & 2nd grade that move the needle while you pull small groups. Skilled reading is not built by phonics alone. As Scarborough’s Reading Rope…
I still remember the exact moment I stood in the checkout line at the teacher supply store, sweating a little as I handed over my debit card. I had just spent over $250 on decodable books, games, and posters that I hoped would help my struggling readers. I wanted so badly to do right by…
Say Goodbye to Syllable Division Rules. Here’s a Smarter Way when Decoding Multisyllabic Words Let’s be honest—teaching students to divide syllables in multisyllabic words using rigid rules can feel like wrestling a word puzzle with no clear solution. And for many kids? It’s overwhelming. If your students can decode one-syllable words just fine but get…
There is a big myth out there: that the Orton Gillingham approach—and even the science of reading—are only about phonics. While explicit, systematic phonics is crucial, it is just one strand of the reading skills required for proficient reading. If you have ever played Wordle, the popular word-guessing game, you have unknowingly put Scarborough’s Reading…
Utilizing the Learning Space in an Orton Gillingham Lesson for Reading Mastery As educators dedicated to the Orton Gillingham approach, we understand that the journey from not knowing to knowing—the “learning space”—is often accompanied by frustration. Student errors in reading and spelling will occur in every lesson, and they can make the student feel overwhelmed….
Struggling to plan reading centers that are differentiated? This phonics game changes everything. 💡 The Center Struggle Is Real… Let’s be honest—managing reading centers can feel like herding squirrels hopped up on Skittles! You want to meet every student where they are, but prepping five different activities for five different skill levels? Nope. Not sustainable….
Let’s be real—parents want to help.But when it comes to supporting their child’s reading, many aren’t sure where to begin. What should they actually be doing at home? Flashcards? Memorizing sight words? Reading the same book over and over? As a teacher, you probably get asked these questions all the time: 👉 The truth is:…
How to Weave Tier 2 Words into your Orton Gillingham Lesson If you’re an Orton Gillingham tutor, reading specialist, or elementary teacher, you already know the power of phonics. But here’s the thing—phonics alone isn’t enough to create fluent, confident readers. The science of reading is about more than just decoding; it’s about comprehension, vocabulary,…