by Jan and Kari | Jan 27, 2023 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, High-Frequency Words, Knowledge Building, Language Comprehension, Literacy Leadership, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Strategy Instruction, Vocabulary, Word Reading Instruction
Last week, we shared 5 adjustments that can help you bring small-group instruction for early decoders more in line with your other shifts to early literacy instruction. If you missed it, you can find that post here. We hope that you have taken some time this week to...
by Jan and Kari | Jan 20, 2023 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, High-Frequency Words, Knowledge Building, Language Comprehension, Literacy Leadership, Meaningful Independent Practices, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Strategy Instruction, Vocabulary, Word Reading Instruction
What about small-group instruction? What changes in light of new learning? What stays the same? If you’re like many of the educators we work with, questions like these are top of mind as you consider shifts to more brain-friendly literacy instruction for early...
by Jan and Kari | Oct 18, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, High-Frequency Words, Language Comprehension, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
Today’s post introduces the final component of our Explicit Phonics Lesson Template. Your readers have made it to the finish line. They’re ready to read connected text! Having navigated the previous components of the template, you’ve provided a supportive base for...
by Jan and Kari | Oct 7, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
We’ve all had them! The kind of days when you just need to call a teacher friend on the way home from school to talk to someone who just “gets it.”This is your person! The one who offers a listening ear, offering empathy, and encouragement. And the great thing about a...
by Jan and Kari | Sep 13, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, Literacy Leadership, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
The start of the 2022-2023 school year is here! One wonderful thing about being an educator is the gift of fresh beginnings that a new school year brings! If only we could bottle the special mix of emotions that accompanies the back-to-school season–excitement,...
by Jan and Kari | Jun 25, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, High-Frequency Words, Language Comprehension, Literacy Leadership, Meaningful Independent Practices, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
If you are a teacher or literacy interventionist struggling to: assess students in meaningful ways, provide more effective differentiated instruction, manage the diverse needs of your students with limited time, or find the instructional resources you need (like...
by Jan and Kari | May 21, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Literacy Leadership, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
What could be more fun than thinking about pups? We really can’t think of much.Speaking of puppies, if you’re familiar with our book, Shifting the Balance, then you know that Chapter 6 is about finding “aligned” texts for students. Aligned texts are more than...
by Jan and Kari | May 13, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Meaningful Independent Practices, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
Last week we offered seven ways to use our “Decodable Lists and Sentences” to supplement and support your phonics instruction. Based on the positive response from readers, we decided to add one more way to use these collections. Today’s idea is focused...
by Jan and Kari | May 6, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
Last week, we introduced you to our two sets of decodable word lists, and we even suggested you might want to organize them in a binder for easy access. And today, we share seven simple and practical ideas for using these two collections of word lists and sentences....
by Jan and Kari | Apr 30, 2022 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Fluency, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
Maybe you already knew about our Decodable Word Lists and Sentences. Maybe you didn’t. Maybe you saw the lists and weren’t sure what to do with them. Whatever the case, we want to offer seven simple ways to use these resources to enhance your phonics instruction and...