When you held your baby, you read her lots of books. All throughout her life, you showed her the value of literacy. You took her to the library often and let her flip through the board books. You held …
6 Year Old Struggling with Reading
When Damon read, he looked at the pictures often. He said each word in one utterance. Unlike other beginning readers, Damon rarely used sound-by-sound reading methods. If the picture proved unhelpful, …
My Child Can’t Read at 8 & I Don’t Know What to Do
The thought that her child was significantly behind in reading kept her awake at night. Hannah thought: my child can’t read at 8. She wondered if it was time to find help. Her daughter no longer …
Continue Reading about My Child Can’t Read at 8 & I Don’t Know What to Do →
Short Vowel Sounds in English
Short vowels are the most important sounds in early literacy. Young kids must master short vowels before learning all other vowel units. There are many vowel sounds in English. If a kid misses short …
Kindergarten Sight Words List & Game
A kindergarten sight words list should focus on words that truly break the phonetic code. Very few words should be taught as sight words. An English dictionary might contain 250,000 words, yet in …
Continue Reading about Kindergarten Sight Words List & Game →
Short Vowel Sounds & Free Short Vowel Game
Short vowel sounds contrast with long vowel sounds. Short vowels are: a_ as in apple e_ as in elephant i_ as in igloo o_ as in octopus u_ as in up Short vowels sounds are among the …
Continue Reading about Short Vowel Sounds & Free Short Vowel Game →
A Roadmap for Learning Phonics
If you have a struggling reader, you might wonder how to help them, when to help them and why they are in fact struggling. The following is a roadmap for educators of struggling readers. Learning …
How to Teach Reading & Help Struggling Readers
There is a lot of misguided information about how to teach reading. Many of these misinformed reading tactics are a strong part of our culture, yet can stall reading progress. Even worse, some tactics …
Continue Reading about How to Teach Reading & Help Struggling Readers →
Learn Phonetics With Fun Phonics Stories
I am happy to offer my phonics stories collection, which includes 20 individual stories. I specifically designed these stories to help struggling readers. They gradually progress in difficulty, …
Continue Reading about Learn Phonetics With Fun Phonics Stories →
What is Systematic Phonics Instruction?
Systematic phonics instruction is a method of teaching reading that introduces sound units and sight words one at a time. What does systematic phonics instruction look like? First, a child might …
Continue Reading about What is Systematic Phonics Instruction? →