The literacy-rich environment emphasizes the importance of speaking, reading, and writing in the learning of all students. This involves the selection of materials that will facilitate language and literacy opportunities; reflection and thought regarding classroom design; and intentional instruction and facilitation by teachers and staff.
There are over two dozen individually administered screening tools produced for the primary grades. Considering their subject matter and purpose, schools must decide which assessment best fits their needs. This article gives an overview of the screening tools and the kind of information they provide.
Elkonin boxes are used to build phonological awareness skills by having children segment spoken words into their individual sounds (phonemes). To use Elkonin boxes, a child listens to a word and moves a token into a box for each sound or phoneme.
Our library provides effective, research-based classroom strategies to help strengthen your students’ skills in phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
Spelling is a challenge for people with dyslexia. The International Dyslexia Association provides a fact sheet explaining why people with dyslexia have trouble spelling, how to find out the reasons a particular child has this difficulty, and how to help children with dyslexia spell better.
Learn the common terminology of reading research and how to gauge if a strategy or intervention can be implemented in your classroom with fidelity and a measurable effect on your students’ learning.
Learn about the typical stages we see in children as they become readers, from pre-K through high school. Literacy begins with a strong foundation in oral language comprehension and word recognition (decoding).
Alphabet matching is an early literacy activity designed to help young learners recognize the uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet — a key skill for learning to read.
Handheld formative assessment technology provides teachers with a virtually real-time picture on which students need help, where they need it, and how the teachers can help best.
Children may struggle with reading for a variety of reasons, including limited experience with books, speech and hearing problems, and poor phonemic awareness.
While most parents take a dedicated interest in their children’s schooling, particularly the first few grades, many may not be aware of what is considered proper curriculum and whether their children’s schools are teaching at an appropriate level.
Teaching reading is a complex process that draws upon an extensive knowledge base and repertoire of strategies. This article argues that many novice teachers are underprepared to teach reading effectively, and examines some of the reasons why.
Children progress through certain stages of spelling development. Knowing this progression allows teachers to compel development through their instruction. Find out strategies for doing so in this article, such as promoting the use of invented spelling in the early stages.
Helping kids connect with what they read. Hosted by Frank McCourt, this episode highlights effective strategies to help kids understand — and care about — what they read, the ultimate goal of learning how to read.
