Reading Elephant
Helping children reach their reading potential.
California’s history in K-2 reading instruction is a great drama worthy of an independent film movie script. The players are young idealists, policymakers blindly passing legislation and a …
Continue Reading about Has Whole Language Failed California? →
Jackie never predicted she'd be a mom of a struggling reader. She remembers the day she waved goodbye to her sociable, friendly five-year old son, Ashton. It was his first day of Kindergarten. He was …
Continue Reading about Mom of a Struggling Reader – Jackie’s Story →
Fluency is reading speed, the number of words a child reads correctly per minute. A fluent reader can read quickly, automatically and with expression. WHY IS FLUENCY IMPORTANT? Fluency effects …
Continue Reading about What is Fluency? How to Improve Fluency? →
Developing early literacy skills does not mean teaching an under five year old to read. Early literacy skills involve reading and talking to your child and (possibly) teaching letter sounds. SPEAKING …
The single most pervasive myth about learning how to read is that a struggling reader will eventually “catch on.” In fact, my most common client is a mid-second grade student who cannot read at all. …
Continue Reading about Learning to Read & Dyslexic Students →
When I get a new student, I immediately assess and start to develop his/her phonemic awareness. As I write about how the student is progressing in phonemic awareness, parents often ask perplexed …
Do you have a student with attention problems? Sometimes apps are a great way to teach those children how to read. Apps take on the burden of entertainment, while an educator can guide the student …
Sometimes children who struggle in spelling can excel in other areas of language including reading, speaking and listening. How to teach spelling is often overlooked, because many assume that spelling …
