Beyond the ABCs: Teaching Phonograms in the Early Years
The Tradition of Teaching the ABCs
“Now I know my ABCs. Next time, won’t you sing with me?”
Did the tune of the ABC song pop into your head when you read those lines? That song is so ingrained in me that simply reading those words will likely have me humming the tune for the next three days. Understandably so, as the alphabet is often among the first and most emphasized lessons we learn in our early learning years. Yes, the ABCs have long been seen as basic building blocks of reading and writing.
Teachers
Jun 15, 2023
The Science of Reading and Early Childhood Literacy: Using Play and Games To Inspire Confidence and Curiosity
Early childhood is also an ideal time to introduce children to early decoding skills: phonemic awareness and systematic phonics. The goal is to spark their curiosity about written words, build a connection that all words are made up of sounds, develop an understanding that the letters on the page represent sounds and build their confidence that they will be able to decode the words to create meaning.
May 11, 2023
How To Guide a Summer Reading Camp Using the Essentials Reader
The phonograms and spelling rules will make a huge difference in students' ability to read and spell but if you approach it through fun and with doable expectations, you will also help students rebuild their self-confidence and hopefully reignite their love for reading and writing as well!
Feb 2, 2023
Response to Sold a Story: A Designer’s Perspective
Creating change doesn’t come from the outside in or the top down. Real change is made by truly adapting from the inside out. I feel so fortunate to work for a company comprised of passionate individuals striving to support accuracy and equity in reading education.
Dec 22, 2022
A Response to Sold a Story: Explaining Away the Evidence
Listening to Sold a Story, I have never been more hopeful; hopeful about our mission to equip every teacher and parent with this information; hopeful that we can move from talking about the research to implementing the research.
Dec 22, 2022
A Response to Sold a Story: Baubled Bangled Christmas Tree
I believe that when every parent and teacher can answer their students’ questions about words, we will see a dramatic change in literacy rates.
Sep 29, 2022
Ingrid’s Art: Where Any Child Can Feel Represented
She desires that when a child opens one of the books she has illustrated, they see themselves there. “A book where any child feels represented,” said Ingrid,...
Sep 8, 2022
An Effective Reading Strategy That Helped Me Learn to Read in Another Language
Even though my parents were not trained as reading teachers, their dedication and support taught me the skills needed to read in Spanish and later in English.
Aug 25, 2022
Five Phonics Myths
Phonics: A seven-letter word that can cause a ruckus in any room. Despite billions of dollars in reading research, this simple word has been at the center of an educational debate and a great deal of confusion. Much of this confusion is due to the persistence of five myths about phonics.
Aug 9, 2022
Let's GROW Emerging Reading Skills Over the Summer!
We know from research that when the brain is active and engaged while learning, learning moves to long-term memory, and it sticks. Why not take some time on the sunshiney summer days to review reading skills in a fun and active way and thus grow strong reading branches?
Aug 8, 2022
Word Callers: How To Stop the Guessing
I didn’t know then everything I now know about reading. It’s hard not to feel a sense of guilt when I realize how many students I might have been able to help had I known what I know now. But we can’t teach what we don’t know.
Aug 8, 2022
Uncovering the Logic of English: From Memorization and Repetition to a World of Sounds
Memorizing words, guessing definitions, looking for synonyms, and watching Netflix® (with subtitles, of course) should not be the only way children or adults learn English. For me, Uncovering the Logic of English was the missing piece of a forgotten puzzle.
Aug 8, 2022
3 Free Resources That Will Transform How You Teach Reading This Fall
Whether you are looking for innovative ways to introduce all the sounds of A-Z or need an accessible tool that contains R-controlled vowels, the Logic of English Free Resources are perfect for teaching phonics to anyone!