RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT

The “Look Before You Leap” Routine: Problem-Solving Using V-MS

Beginning: K-2
Decodable Texts

This tool is designed to help you teach children to use visual information as a starting point for problem-solving words, relying on meaning and structure for cross-checking. This routine promotes orthographic mapping and the accumulation of orthographic knowledge while also supporting reading for meaning. Learn more about this important shift in balanced literacy instruction in chapter 5 of Shifting the Balance, “Reinventing the Ways We Use V-MS (3 Cueing Systems).”

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Blending Magic

Make blending easier to teach and easier for students to understand with visual tools designed for decoding success.

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Heart Word Success

Teach high-frequency words in a way that sticks using routines grounded in orthographic mapping.

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Ready to take word-level decoding to the next level?

Blending Magic transforms simple word lists into purposeful routines that connect decoding with writing, vocabulary, and language comprehension—helping students become confident, connected readers and writers.