Route2Reading

Let's talk assessments and get straight to the point: We can't have meaningful, effective instruction without assessments.  If instruction is the sail of a boat, assessments are the winds that drive and guide it.  Before we can teach effectively, we need to know the needs of our students as well as their capabilities. Let's chat! Assessments are important because they: identify strengths and weakn...

The Importance of Phonics Instruction Phonics instruction, which teaches the relationship between sounds and letters, is a fundamental component of reading development. To ensure effective phonics instruction, teachers must follow a well-designed scope and sequence. When it comes to choosing or creating a phonics scope and sequence, there are many things we should consider.    In this blog post, w...

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Heather O'Donnell Former special education teacher who worked with kids with autism Dyslexia practitioner through Wilson Reading System Structured literacy dyslexia interventionist Started tutoring practice called New Paltz Multisensory in September 2018 Works with students not only with dyslexia but also with kids with special needs, autism, an...

Even though I'm now a literacy coach, I too have been caught teaching with leveled readers!  In my first-grade classroom, when my students came across an unknown word, I'd have them guess by looking at the picture or skipping the word.   I was creating a classroom full of great guessers - not great readers.  But as we always say here at Literacy Edventures - when you know better, you do better! I...

            Congrats!  You've got students who can decode words effectively.  This is half of the battle!  Now for the other half: Are they efficient yet?  This second part can take an ample amount of time, and students need plenty of practice building fluency.  Fluency is so important because it bridges the gap from decoding to comprehension, especially in the foundational years.  For our kinderg...

Wouldn't it be wonderful that as soon as students knew their letter sounds and could blend phonemes, blending CVC words would be a breeze?  We can dream, can't we!?  Sometimes it's not always that simple. We still need to explicitly teach them how to put all of the reading pieces together.  CVC instruction still needs to be systematic, logical, practiced in whole group and small group, and needs t...

These days, we're often told what not to do while teaching reading, but what we're often lacking is what we should replace those "don't do" activities with.  Well,  I have a list of don'ts that are accompanied by a list of do's when it comes to specifically teaching letter sounds Full Show Notes Here More of What You Need: Check out my other two podcasts that compliment this one and give you more...

  I don't know about you, but teaching blends can be tricky. Blends (also known as consonant blends) are two or three consonant sounds that appear together in a word without any vowel sounds in between. These are words like flip, stop, strip, help, desk and spring. When students begin learning blends, they struggle to hear both sounds at the beginning or at the end. They often leave out the second...

"Phonics instruction should be an essential component of a comprehensive reading program to ensure that children develop strong foundational skills necessary for reading success."  -National Reading Panel Report The Role of Phonics Instruction Phonics instruction plays a crucial role in developing strong reading skills in young learners. By teaching the relationship between sounds and letters, we...

Meet Chrissy Beltran Check her out! Website: Buzzing with Ms. B Instagram: buzzingwithmsb YouTube: Buzzing with Ms. B Podcast: Buzzing with Ms. B: The Coaching Podcast Courses: Instructional Coaching Courses   Three Moves Literacy Coaches Should Make at the Beginning of the Year The beginning of the year can be tough - there's lots to do, lots of overwhelm, and the tasks ahead seem daunting.  But...

Recap:  In today's podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Julia Lindsey, author of Reading Above the Fray. Julia is a literacy expert and reading researcher. In this episode, she helps us bust some common myths about decodables. Full show notes here.    

Meet Kaylee McCaslin: Currently teaching second grade in Washington 9th year of teaching Our very own Literacy Edventures member! Reach out to her!: kaylee.kinsey@gmail.com   We love to feature all kinds of people here on the LE Podcast, and we feel that teachers who are still in the classroom are so important to hear from because they're in the trenches with us.  Today, we're chatting with Kaylee...

Show Notes:  Michelle Sullivan, a literacy coach in New Jersey talks with listeners all about background knowledge. She shares what it is, why it's important, and five ways we can easily implement it in our classrooms. See full show notes here.

Meet Lindsay Kemeny: Currently teaching first grade Once a kinder teacher who taught balanced literacy, she went on a quest to find out what it really meant to teach reading when her son was diagnosed with dyslexia and depression. Author of Seven Mighty Moves Check her out! Website:  Lindsay Kemeny Podcast:  Literacy Talks Instagram: lindsaykemeny Facebook: Teaching with Lindsay Kemeny Book: Seven...

Full Show Notes Here: Automaticity of letter names and sounds is important because letter-sound correspondences are the foundation to phonics and decoding.  So the quicker they are, the faster they can decode.  When we help students connect the letters and sounds and help them both master and be automatic, we're giving them a strong reading foundation.

One common question that's always asked when talking about the science of reading is, "Where do I start my instruction?  What do my students need?"  The answer lies in assessments .   Four aspects to keep in mind when choosing assessments: Each assessment serves a different purpose.   The assessments we are using need to be closely linked to our instruction and should be the driving force behind o...

Dictation and its Importance: What Is Dictation: Dictation is an activity that provides students the opportunity to spell phonics patterns that they are currently focusing on, as well as the opportunity to practice previously-taught skills. What it Is Important:  When students practice dictation, they're connecting sound to symbol.  Many studies show that when students practice these letter-sound...

Full Show Notes Here The other day, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the one and only Sarah Paul, the mastermind behind Sarah's Teaching Snippets.  She's a current reading interventionist for K-3rd and a prior first-grade teacher.  As with many of the experts on my podcast, she too was a balanced literacy teacher who found that her students were struggling to read and wasn't sure why.  So,...

Savannah Campbell shares all about the importance of cumulative review! Full Show Notes Here Cumulative Review: Cumulative review is simply giving children enough practice in the skills that we have taught them, so they are able to read to automaticity. We do a great job teaching the "skills" from day to day, but what we don't do is give them multiple opportunities to practice. Automaticity is a p...

Many of us hear the words "science of reading" and automatically assume it's just about phonics.  While phonics is an essential part of learning to read - it's not the only thing.  Let's take a look at how phonics is related to another very important aspect of reading: comprehension. Full Show Notes Here   Additional Resources & References: Resources: Comprehension Visuals Mystery Words Phonics Ac...

Full Show Notes Here All About Jessica: Former elementary school teacher for 13 years, mostly in 1st grade Certified in reading grades K-12 Jessica learned about the science of reading in 2019 and although her heart sank with guilt at how she was initially teaching her students, she began to read and learn all she could about the science of reading.  Fast forward and she's now sharing Tik Tok phon...

Full show notes can be found here.  When we sit down to plan our small group time, we must keep the end goal of phonics in mind:  we want to produce strong decoders and strong writers.  When students are strong in decoding, they can become fluent.  And when they become fluent, they can comprehend - that is our ultimate goal!  I've put together a checklist of six things to keep in mind when choosin...

Full Show Notes Here With all of the rules out there on how to teach phonics, it can all feel overwhelming.  I've put together a reference of Do's and Don't's when it comes to teaching phonics so you can feel confident in your instruction. Additional Resources & References: Blog Posts: 5 Engaging Phonics Activities Phonics Routines That Work A Deeper Look at Phonics

  Full Show Notes Here We know that small group time is so important.  We have a group of students who have a need, and we want to be the ones to meet it!  Take a look at Part 2 of our phonics lesson to learn how.   Helpful Phonics Resources: Phonics Reading Roadmap: phonics instruction with the science of reading in mind.  Learn how to teach systematic and explicit phonics instruction. Kindergart...

  (Full Show Notes Here)   When preparing a phonics lesson, we need to be sure we're conducting it in three parts: a warm-up, explicit teaching, and application of skills.  Below, you'll find the first part of the lesson (the warm-up) and its four parts: a visual drill, an auditory drill, a blending drill, and a vowel intensive. Helpful Phonics Resources: Phonics Reading Roadmap: phonics instructi...