Currently, in many American classrooms, kids are expected to “pick up” on reading. They’re given repetitive books, asked to memorize them and guess at the words when they’re uncertain. This is called the whole language or balanced-literacy approach. Whole language professors believe that kids naturally learn how to read on their own without systematic, methodical […]
Archives for January 2019
When Do Kids Start Reading?
Kids learn how to read in K-3. It takes English-speaking kids 4 years to learn how to decode. Thus, kids learn how to read in a series of incremental steps. If you’re wondering when do kids start reading, the answer is almost immediately upon arrival in Kindergarten. After all, learning letter sounds qualifies as part […]
What are inflectional endings?
Inflectional endings include words with ing, ed, es/s and est at the end. Here are some examples: s as in cats ing as in swimming ed as in missed es as in catches est as in fastest Inflectional endings are a group of letters that change the meaning of the word. Inflectional endings can help […]
Early Literacy Intervention is Best
Many wonder if an early literacy intervention is best. There’s a widely circulating myth that struggling k-2 readers just “catch on” without any opportunity cost. However, learning to read is a process that requires over a decade of practice. After kids learn how to decode, they then have to focus on developing fluency (or reading […]