If you teach kindergarten through 2nd grade, you know that guided reading is an essential component of literacy instruction. The way I’ve conducted guided reading has changed over the years and some people aren’t fond of the term guided reading, but small-group reading instruction is essential in order to differentiate and meet your students’ needs in reading. Planning for guided reading used to be very time-consuming. I found myself trying to find resources from different places in order to fill the gaps my students had. And sometimes I'd plan a lesson, then notice something else my kids needed while reading, so I'd want to teach that skill but didn't have a resource on hand to help. So I created guided reading warm-ups to help get my kids’ brains ready for reading, remind them of important phonics skills and reading strategies, and have everything I needed for any necessary skills that popped up during small-group ... read more
Stretching Words Out: Emergent Writing Strategy
It can be daunting for emergent writers to stretch out words, especially long words. Many kindergarten students are very artistic and can add details to their pictures, but when asked to add words, they sometimes hesitate or say they don't know how to, even if they do have some letter-sound knowledge. Writing Warm-Ups To get kids to see that they are able to write some words, I started doing writing "warm-ups" at the beginning of our independent writing sessions, and it has helped many of my students become more risk-takers with spelling. First, kids need to understand what saying a word slowly is. If you tell a student to stretch out a word, they may not understand what you mean. However, if you remind them of Dory in Finding Nemo and show them a clip of her "speaking whale," they'll be sure to quickly learn how to say a word slowly (and they'll likely not want to stop)! Here's an adorable clip: Dory Speaking ... read more
Top 8 Picture Books for Teaching Beginning Writers
Every teacher I know loves a good picture book, especially if it helps us to teach an important concept. When it comes to teaching beginning writers, I always use picture books! Picture books are perfect for supporting students in the drawing and storytelling stage. The Drawing Stage Oftentimes in kindergarten, students are rushed to write sentences and stories before they can even write their names! I think it is so important to nurture and support our students who are in the drawing stage. The drawing stage reinforces important skills like: Keep learning more about the drawing stage! Check out my 5 TIPS TO SUPPORT EMERGENT WRITERS IN THE DRAWING STAGE! Luckily, there are so many wonderful picture books that teach students strategies to help develop their drawing skills, which will help them with writing later on! Here are 8 Picture Books I Love Using to Teach Beginning Writers: Find every one ... read more
7 Key Components to Elevate Your Small Group Reading Lessons
Are you comfortable teaching small-group reading? Do you always know what you’re going to do and have no problem planning your lessons? Or, do you struggle to plan your lessons and visualize how they will work in your small groups? With the shift happening in guided reading to follow the research behind the science of reading, you might be wondering what a lesson should look like and what components should be included in a small group reading lesson. This is the third post in our Small-Group Reading series. Read part one, here, and part two, here. If you’re looking for a small group reading routine that works and incorporates all of the key components of reading, let’s go! P.S. If you prefer watching a video, you can scroll down to watch me explain my small group reading sessions in more detail! The Way Things Used to Be… I used to really dread guided reading. Back when I started teaching, over seventeen years ... read more
7 Steps For a Successful First Small Group Reading Session
Your first small group reading session is going to set the tone for the whole school year. So, it’s important to keep a few things in mind as you plan it! If you’re wondering exactly what I do the first time I meet with my small groups for reading, get ready for a peek inside my classroom! This is the second post in our Small-Group Reading series. Read part one, here, and part three, here. P.S. If you prefer watching a video, you can scroll down to watch me explain my first small group reading session in more detail! Goals for Your First Small Group Reading Session The first time you meet with your small groups for reading, your goals will be a little bit different than for a typical session. For the first meeting, your goals will be less about academics and more about… You want to teach your students the purpose of meeting in small reading groups, along with the routines you’ll follow and the ... read more
Setting Up Your Small Group Reading Corner: 5 Must Haves!
If you’re wondering how to set up your small group reading corner and what tools you’ll need to get started, I’ve got you covered! This is the first post in our Small-Group Reading series. Read part two, here, and part three, here. Kindergarten and first-grade teachers know the importance of minimizing waiting time for our students so that they don’t get distracted. If you have a reading corner but it feels disorganized and you can never seem to find the tool you need when you need it, you’re going to struggle to maintain your students’ attention during the lesson. The good news, you CAN set up your reading corner in a way that works so that your students stay focused and with you the whole time. I’ve got a few must-have tools and a few fun tools for you too! P.S. If you prefer watching a video, you can scroll down to watch me explain each section in more detail! But First, Let’s Find the Right Space When ... read more
End of Year Writing Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade
As the year comes to a close, it's the perfect time to review important skills. During the last month of school, I use these end-of-year writing activities to review the writing genres we covered throughout the year. Now, these have to be fun, because kids' attention spans and effort are often at an all-time low! So here are my favorite ideas to engage your students with end of year writing activities for each of the three main genres: Narrative, Informational, Opinion. The best part is, you can do these whole-group once, to review the genre, then place them at a writing center for kids to continue practicing! Informational Writing There are different types of informative writing, but in kindergarten and first grade, we usually cover How-to and All About books (books to teach all about a topic). Here are some fun activities to review these two genres. How-to Writing If you haven't tried how-to kits yet, definitely ... read more
How to Teach the Silent E Rule (or Magic E) to your students
Whether you call it VCE, Magic E, or Silent E rule, it's a phonics rule that makes a huge impact on decoding. It opens up SO many more words to decode for students used to reading simple CVC words. It's also my favorite phonics rule to teach! In this post, I'll explain what the Silent E rule is, an engaging way to introduce it, and some fun activities for extra practice. What is the SILENT E Rule? When students start to decode (read), they usually start with VC and CVC words, which are closed syllables. In a closed syllable, vowels usually make their short sounds: mat, pin, top. VCE stands for Vowel, Consonant, E. When a word ends in one vowel, one consonant, and the letter e, the E is silent and the vowel makes its long sound. This rule is often called the Magic E or Silent E rule and it creates a VCE syllable. For example: To learn more about syllable types, be sure to read this post: Tricks for Teaching ... read more
All About Decodable Texts: What They Are & How to Use Them!
Are you tired of watching your young readers struggle with reading like they're trying to decode hieroglyphics? For years, I used mostly leveled texts in my guided reading groups, before I learned about the power of decodable texts. When students are learning to read, they need decodable texts! Think of decodable text like a superhero sidekick for early readers. Batman has Robin, Iron Man has Jarvis, and early readers have decodable text. It swoops in and provides a phonetically controlled safety net to support students in applying phonics skills they learn. Providing your students with text they can read is the best way to help your students develop their decoding skills. So, grab your capes and let's dive into the world of decodable text! What are Decodable Texts Anyway? Decodable texts can be passages, readers, and chapter books. Each of these texts is written with a focus on a particular phonetic pattern or ... read more
How to Teach Digraphs: 8 Ways to Make it Fun!
I love cheese and I love salsa both on their own. Yum, yum, yum. BUT... when you put them together and make queso, it's a match made in heaven! The cheese and the salsa come together to make something even better together than they are on their own! That reminds me of digraphs! You take two things, put them together, and they make something completely new and different! Let's get into how to teach digraphs. What is a digraph? Digraphs are two letters that come together to make one new sound. That one sound is different from either of the sounds the two letters make on their own. There are two types of digraphs: consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs. Vowel digraphs are sometimes called vowel teams instead. For this post, I will be focusing primarily on consonant digraphs. Examples of the most common consonant digraphs: sh, ch, th, wh Most teachers will introduce digraphs to their ... read more
14 Fun and Engaging Phonics Activities for Young Learners (Part 2)
This is part 2 in a two-part series. To find the first seven activities, check out:14 FUN AND ENGAGING PHONICS ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG LEARNERS (PART 1)! In my last post, I shared with you seven fun and engaging phonics activities for young learners. Well, today, I’ve got seven more activities to share with you! We know phonics is one of the five key concepts at the core of early literacy and reading instruction, and we know we need to make phonics fun to keep our young learners engaged… However, one question that’s come up since I sent out my last post is this: When should I start with phonics instruction? Well, according to the experts, kindergarten is the most effective time to begin phonics instruction! Just know, phonics is not something that should be limited to kindergarten. It is just as important to continue phonics instruction in the older grades, too. What Phonics is not! In part 1 of this series, I ... read more
14 Fun and Engaging Phonics Activities for Young Learners (Part 1)
Ahhhh phonics. One of the keys to helping our young learners read is understanding phonics. The National Reading Panel lists five key concepts at the core of early literacy and reading instruction: And there's phonics... right at the top! Since phonics is so important to learning to read, it’s also important to make phonics fun! When learning activities are fun, we can more easily keep our students engaged, focused, and most important… learning! This is just part 1 in a two-part series. You’ll find the first seven activities in this post and then seven more activities in part 2! What is Phonics, anyway? Simple! Phonics is teaching kids to match sounds (phonemes) to letters or letter patterns (graphemes). For our students, phonics is the key to decoding new words. Breaking our words into sounds and syllables helps young learners connect the words they see on paper to the words they hear and ... read more