by Jan and Kari | Mar 9, 2024 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Literacy Leadership, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
Talk of decodable texts is everywhere these days. And if you’re like many educators we know, you might be working to sort through the hype to make sense of it all. We’ve written a lot about decodable texts—exploring their significance, selection criteria, creative...
by Jan and Kari | Aug 13, 2023 | Blog, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
We are glad you are here for this bonus blog as we reach the end (really!) of our six-part (turned seven-part) series on the ways that familiar prompts may or may not be good for students in the long run. As it turns out, some of the familiar prompts that we have...
by Jan and Kari | Aug 4, 2023 | Blog, Literacy Leadership, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
Over the last several weeks, we have taken a close look at some familiar prompts–along with their Beanie Baby mascots–that are often used in an attempt to support students when they are stuck on a word. Our journey through these common prompts has been...
by Jan and Kari | Jul 20, 2023 | Blog, Fluency, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
This is the fifth part of our series exploring how some of the ways we’ve been prompting readers can actually send them on unnecessary detours – or even worse, down dead-end roads – when it comes to developing reading fluency. If you’ve traveled with us...
by Jan and Kari | Jun 29, 2023 | Blog, High-Frequency Words, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
This is our fourth installment in a 6-part series about how practices for supporting readers when they are stuck on a word can either help them find their way or potentially set up roadblocks in the future. So if you are wondering, “How can I help my students learn to...
by Jan and Kari | Jun 26, 2023 | Blog, High-Frequency Words, Literacy Leadership, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
This post is our third in a 6-part series about how you can support readers who are trying to read a word they don’t know. Deciding how to prompt readers when they are stuck or uncertain is one of the most nuanced and critical jobs of literacy educators, and its...
by Jan and Kari | Jun 23, 2023 | Blog, High-Frequency Words, Literacy Leadership, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
In our last blog, we used a map-reading metaphor to introduce Linnea Ehri’s phases of word learning (1987, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2017). Today we take that conversation a step further by l unpacking a specific (and in many cases beloved) prompt that we’ve relied on to...
by Jan and Kari | Jun 16, 2023 | Blog, High-Frequency Words, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
It is summer! Perhaps you are traveling somewhere. While you probably rely on the little person inside your phone to tell you which way to go, we want you to think about how you navigate using a paper map–you know, like in the old days! In preparation for an...
by Jan and Kari | Apr 28, 2023 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
We love it when educators ask for something to simplify their busy lives, and we can find a way to make it happen! Since our Fall 2022 blog series highlighting our structured (but flexible) Phonics Lesson Template, we’ve had a number of people ask if we could offer an...
by Jan and Kari | Apr 14, 2023 | Blog, Decodable Texts, Literacy Leadership, Phonics, Prompting & Feedback, Word Reading Instruction
In this Decodable Text Series, we’ve been exploring questions about the place, the purpose, and the practicality of using decodable texts with beginning readers. You can catch up here if you’ve missed our previous posts. Today’s question: What are some other...
