Over the last few decades, there has been a lot of research done that helps us understand the brain, how we learn to read, and how we, as educators, can best teach reading. This movement is known as the Science of Reading. 

This research has helped us recognize the necessary components of a reading & writing lesson, but, it can feel like a lot to dig through! In this blog, we discuss a few of the common research models and explain how they overlap to support truly effective reading (and writing!) instruction.

Is there anything worse than combing through piles of worksheets to find the ONE you’re looking for?

As a part of our organizational series, this week we are sharing our process for keeping all of our worksheets & full-page activities organized! Keep reading to learn our top 3 tips for keeping worksheets organized!

Have you ever tried to organize something and had NO idea where to start?

Making sense of our phonics patterns used to feel that way! That is until we started to understand the six syllable types. These provide us with an organizational system for our phonics rules and help make reading & spelling infinitely easier for our students. Keep reading to learn more AND to grab our free Syllable Type Anchor Charts.

Now, if you have been working with us for a while, you’ll know that we LOVE teaching with key images and phrases to help anchor skills for a student. For au/aw, we use the phrase “Yawn, I have to do the laundry.” This helps our struggling readers and spellers remember the rule. Keep reading for more tips, tricks and activities surrounding the au/aw vowel team.

OU has two sounds. To help our students remember these sounds, we use the key phrase “Trout Soup” because it can say /ow/ like in trout and /oo/ like in soup. The visual of fish soup is one the students don’t forget very easily! Keep reading for more tips, tricks and vowel team activities!

OO can be a tricky vowel team because it has two sounds. Click through to read about our tips & tricks for teaching this vowel team!

Vowel teams can be tricky for students, but we have found that teaching them in this way has made a massive difference. Keep reading for ideas for teaching the OA/OE vowel teams!

My name is Mackenzie, and I am dyslexic.

Some of my earliest memories of school are feelings of frustration, confusion, sadness, and feeling lonely. Another memory that still makes my stomach hurt today is trying to memorize math facts. I have a great memory for some things; song lyrics, things people say, and pictures. But, remembering letters and numbers is a totally different story.

Okay everyone, we’ve got some heavy stuff for you this Friday. But here’s the thing we are super amped up about it right now because we are at the International Dyslexia Association National Conference and just had the opportunity to present this information about our favorite thing since sliced bread.

Welcome to week 4 in our series of The Reading & Spelling Rules That Nobody Taught You. In this post, we are going to talk about the fourth syllable type we teach to our students, Open Syllables.

The Open Syllable is the opposite of a Closed Syllable. In an open syllable, you have a vowel left alone at the end of the syllable. Our students like to remember that when nothing is behind the vowel, it can go for a looooong run and say its loooooong sound.

So we’ve been talking all about the reading and spelling rules that were brand new to us when we began to learn about Structured Literacy and the “science” behind the English language. Today, we are going to talk a little about the “Bossy-R” or the R-controlled syllable type. This one is a challenge!!!

The second syllable type we teach students is our VCE (Vowel Consonant E) Syllable Type. Perhaps, if I told you it was also called the Magic E Syllable, it would sound familiar? Click through to read about VCE syllables and all of the rules we teach within this syllable type!

Closed Syllables are the first of the syllable types that we teach to our students. Within this syllable type we cover the -ck, FLOSS, -tch, and -dge phonograms as well as the 1-1-1 doubling rule. Do you know all of these rules? Click through to find out!

Explore effective comprehension strategies for beginner readers. Learn how to engage young learners with interactive reading using authentic literature. Discover key questions to enhance comprehension skills: What, Why, How, Predictions, and Moral of the Story. Foster early metacognitive skills and promote a love for reading!

Discover the balance between structure and flexibility in research-based reading intervention! Learn how to sequence lessons, track student progress, and adapt instruction to individual needs. Get tips for creative and engaging sessions while staying true to curriculum standards.

Unlock the power of multi-sensory instruction in reading! Discover how to engage sight, hearing, and touch to enhance learning. From air writing letters to spelling dictation, explore practical methods to make reading instruction more effective. Embrace multi-sensory techniques without the fuss – it’s about engaging multiple senses for better comprehension and retention!

Dyslexia is often referred to as a hidden disability because it can go undetected for so long. On the surface, everything looks fine. It has been my experience that dyslexic students are good at coping, they know how to play school. They work hard, they are highly verbal, love to answer questions in class, they are curious, can make the most amazing connections, and at an early age – when texts are predictable, repetitive, and have strong picture support – these students can look like readers. It’s not until you dig deeper and begin to analyze their phonemic awareness skills or their ability to rhyme and manipulate sounds that you may realize there is a hiccup.

Uncover the hidden challenges of dyslexia in students. Learn how to identify signs beyond surface-level reading abilities and understand the importance of ongoing progress monitoring for true reading development.