What is RTI/MTSS and How It Can Save You Time!

Are you feeling short on time in your classrooom? It this video we can help you solve that problem by helping use RTI or MTSS effectively in your classroom! Simply put, they are systems of support in our classroom that includes three tiers of instruction. Using data to determine the different tiers or levels of support help us determine what to teach, determine the progress, and allows us to make sure we are using effective teaching methods. Enjoy!

Sight words: What and Why

Let us clear up the confusion between "sight words", "high frequency words", and "irregular words".  We will make this clear and you will be on your way to choosing the right words to teach from great lists (like the Zeno 107) and from texts your students will be reading.

NEED Sight Word TEACHING RESOURCES? These might help!

Sight Word Games!

Need help knowing what words to teach as high frequency/sight words? We have a FREE sight word pack that includes everything you need to get started on teaching and assessing the BEST sight word list there is, The Zeno 107! 

We also have many games for you broken up into four different packs. These games will help your students learn these sight words in fun ways.  No more drill and kill!  These engaging sight word practice activities and games can be used in small groups, centers, or for fast finishers.

The 107 Zeno Words make up over 50% of all the words we encounter in the texts we read!  That is huge when it comes to impact on kids reading fluency.  Let us help you get started making that impact.

***VIDEOS COMING SOON***

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to not miss when we release our sight word videos! 

Comprehension Instruction: What is it and why do we teach it?

Let us help you understand what to do DURING reading to help you and your students make deep meaning from text!  Reading comprehension instruction is important to understand in order to help make your reading and teaching meaningful!  We include information about discussion, strategy instruction, metacognition, Jottings, and skills versus strategies.

Enjoy the video!

Jottings

Reading Components

Comprehension Lessons

Comprehension Resources

(Strategy Posters, Graphic Organizers, Trackers, and more!)

Literacy Grouping Quick Steps

Do you struggle getting your kids into groups for small group instruction? We are going to help you out with that! We will walk you through literacy grouping quick steps. These six steps will help you know how to group and what to teach in Tier I vs Tier 2/Tier 3 instruction!

 

FREE DOWNLOAD of the 6 steps of literacy grouping document.

How to Work SMARTER, NOT HARDER!

Enjoy our six tips of ways to work smarter, not harder!

Read! Read! Read! Ways to have your students practice the prosody fluency elements!

Let's Teach Fluency!

Let's Practice Fluency!

K & 1 Dibels Progress Monitoring

Oral Reading Fluency Progress Monitoring

Check out all our fluency resources HERE!

How to Teach Fluency Using the Prosody Elements

Do you want to get your kids to read faster? In this video we show you how!

Resources:
Reading Components
Let's Teach Fluency
Let's Practice Fluency
DIBELS Progress Monitoring
Kindergarten and 1st Grade Dibels Progress Monitoring

How can you increase your student's fluency rate?

We answer this question in today video!

Fluency: What is It and Why do We Teach It?

Let's Teach Fluency!

Let's Practice Fluency!

7 Tips for When a Lesson Goes Wrong

Everyone has those bad days when you get to the end of a lesson and the kids did not seem to have learned anything. It has happened to all of us! We have some tips for what you can do when this happens. These tips may even help prevent lessons from going wrong in the future! It is our hope that you can learn from our mistakes and don't have to learn the hard way.

Phonemic Awareness: What it is and Why do we teach it?

Phonemic Awareness, Phonological Awareness, Oh My!  We discuss the ins and outs of both phonological awareness and phonemic awareness and why they are so critical. Young children need to gain these foundational skills of literacy early on. This video will help make sure we are all teaching kids correctly to give them their best shot at gaining strong literacy skills for future reading success!

Letter/Alphabet Knowledge: What it is and Why do we teach it?

Letter or Alphabet Knowledge is a foundational skill of literacy that plays an important role in reading and writing.  We share information about it's critical role and how we as teacher's can be clear and intentional with our scope and sequence.

 

Print Awareness: What is it and Why do we teach it?

Print Awareness is a basic foundational skill for literacy. Many kids come to school with print awareness, but some do not.  Either way, it needs to be taught and learned by the end of Kindergarten.  We share more about what and why of print awareness for all you Kindergarten teacher out there!  Go Kindergarten!

How to Prevent and Fix Poor Reading Behaviors

Have you ever had kids in your class that struggled while reading text?  WE HAVE!  We have seen many poor reading behaviors and we have some solutions to help!  We also share some things to do to prevent these behaviors from ever becoming poor reading habits. This video will help you Prevent and Fix some of the most basic poor reading habits.

How to teach Consonant + le

The CONSONANT +LE rule is an amazing rule that helps with closed and open syllables! This is probably our favorite spelling pattern. It's simple and so super useful! 

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed & open syllables  variant vowels consonant +le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Teach Variant Vowels

Do you think variant vowels are tricky? We sure do. Hopefully the tips we give you in this video can help everyone. Enjoy!

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed & open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Teach Closed and Open Syllables!

Maybe you struggle teaching open and closed syllables. Or maybe you just need a simpler way to teach closed and open syllables. Today we share with you how to teach this important reading skill to give readers the tools to be a great reader! Like and share this video on social media or save this video to your "watch later" option on YouTube so you can go back to refer to the video when needed. Enjoy!

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Teach Other Long Vowels

"When a vowel team goes a walking, the first one does the talking," is not always the case. There are other vowel long vowel spellings that go against that chant. We show you how to explicitly introduce or reteach these "other long vowel" spelling. Check it out!

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Teach Long Vowels: Vowel Teams

Long Vowels: Vowel Teams can also help with eliminating spelling patterns with that "r" spelling. Watch the video to find out how!

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to teach vCe!

The fewer spellings we pack in our students' memory, the better!
Teaching vCe can help with commonly referred r-control spellings as well. You won't want to miss this video!

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Teach R-Control

R-Control, R-Controlled Vowels, Bossy R...no matter the name, as reading teacher we need to know how to teach this pattern! R-control spellings can sometimes cause students to struggle. We give you simple tips to help keep teaching and learning r-control as effective and simple as possible. Enjoy!

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Teach Digraphs and Trigraph

You'll want to watch our blending tip of how to teach students the digraphs and trigraph. Watch until the end to see how to blend words with digraphs and tripgraph. Enjoy!

Don't forget to click that subscribe button so you don't miss a video. Download the YouTube app on your phone for easy watching. Our videos make for great team & personal PD when your making dinner, on the go, or going to bed!

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and

WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Teach Schwa!

We have the simplest way to teach SCHWA in today's video!

Sometimes we as teachers over complicate things, so let's keep teaching schwa simple! We see tons of ways to teach SCHWA out there, most of which are all too complicated and even confuse teachers. If we are confused, odds are our students will be confused as well!

To teach schwa, you'll want to watch our
MULTISYLLABIC WORD READING STRATEGY videos HERE!
What and Why of Multisyllabic Word Reading Strategy
How to Teach Multisyllabic Word Reading Strategy
How to Plan Multisyllabic Word Reading Strategy

If you missed our video about WHAT the Sound-Spelling patterns are and
WHY we teach them, check out this video...

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

How to Get Kids Talking in Your Classroom

Drawing students' names from a "stick jar" is a common way to have one student talk. But, are you using "sticks" effectively in your classroom? Watch today's video to find out!

We all know that providing students the opportunity to talk in the classroom is critical. So, in today's video we give you some researched, effective, and simple tips to get your kids talking!

 

If you missed our, "3 Ways to Get Kids Quiet" video, check it out here!

How to Plan a Multisyllabic Word Phonics Lesson

Welcome to this week's Thursday video! In this video we go through the thinking process of how to plan a multisyllabic word reading phonics lesson so you can write them with any text your mid 2 to upper grade students will be reading. We walk you through the thinking of choosing the words to use when you prepare for multisyllabic word reading strategy instruction lessons.

Remember, these lessons could be used for a variety of text reading purposes to support their reading. For example: prior to reading a main selection, prior to math problems, prior to social studies learning, prior to science... the list goes on and on!

VIDEO What & Why of Multisyllabic Word Reading Instruction
VIDEO How to Teach Multisyllabic Word Reading Strategy
VIDEOS Sound-Spelling Videos
Let's Read Multisyllabic Words resource
Free weekly planning guide
Phonics Lessons and Decodable Text
Digital Phonics Lessons
Other Phonics Videos (YouTube playlist - we have other multisyllabic word reading videos!)

How to Plan a Phonics Lesson for K,1, or 2

Did you know we post two videos a week?! Every TUESDAY and THURSDAY!

The videos this week will be all about PLANNING! Today's video is about planning a phonics lesson for K,1,2. Thursday's video will be all about planning a multisyllabic word reading strategy phonics lesson for mid 2 - 6. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don't miss any video. Be the first to view the video by checking your subscriptions on the YouTube app or on your computer. Share these videos with your team and school - let's help each other teach our kids how to read!

In this video we go through the step-by-step process of how to plan a phonics lesson so you can write them with any decodable text. We walk you through the thinking of choosing the words to use when you write an effective phonics lesson using our free sample of a cvc text we have written.

Free text sample of a CVC lesson 
Free lesson card for you to do your own planning
Free weekly planning guide
Phonics Lessons and Decodable Text
Digital Phonics Lessons
Other Phonics Videos

How to teach Multisyllabic Word Reading Strategy

We are always asked to show how multisyllabic words reading lessons are to be taught, so here you go! We will show you using a fourth grade text from a student anthology.  We take you through the steps of the flexible multisyllabic word reading strategy and provide you with some of the thinking and prompts along the way.

Sound-Spelling FREE Chart
Sound-Spelling Resource
Sound-Spelling Videos (YouTube Playlist)
Phonics Videos (YouTube Playlist) - Find our other Multisyllabic videos!
Multisyllabic Word Reading Resource

What and Why of Multisyllabic Word Reading Instruction

Hey upper grade teachers, are you teaching phonics?! Yes, even upper grade teachers need to teach Phonics!!!  It is called Multisyllabic Word Reading Instruction.

All the words we read are made up of sound-spelling patterns, and these become increasingly difficult as text becomes more complex.  Upper grade teachers need to be proficient in teaching multisyllabic word reading strategies so students can be successful readers of complex text.  So students can basically read REALLY BIG WORDS!

In this video we go through the basics of this instruction and why it is important and help you all understand the what and why of teaching kids to read big words.

Sound-Spelling FREE Chart
Sound-Spelling Resource
Sound-Spelling Videos (YouTube Playlist)
Phonics Videos (YouTube Playlist)
Multisyllabic Word Reading Resource

How to Teach Phonics to K, 1, 2

We are always asked to model phonics lessons, so here you go!  In this video we teach a mixed vowel CVC phonics lesson using one of our explicit lessons (see links below).  We take you through the steps of the lesson and provide you with some of the thinking and prompts along the way.  Enjoy this teaching demonstration by Angie and Whitney!

Download our Phonics Resources:
FREE Mixed Vowel CVC Text and Lesson
FREE Phonics Lesson Card
Sound-Spelling Patterns
Digital Phonics with Decodable Text and Lessons! 
Decodable Texts and Lessons


If you missed our How to Plan a Week of Phonics, check out this video and previous post here...

3 Ways to Get Kids Quiet

As the school year gets started, we thought a quick reminder of 3 ways to get kids quiet might be helpful, especially to new teachers.  Enjoy and have a great start to your school year!

How to Teach Silent and Double Consonants!

Watch our YouTube video to see our tips and trick of teaching silent and double consonants! You'll want to watch clear to the end... Angie shares her favorite way to teach students how to read words. You don't want to miss the blending strategy!

If you missed our video about WHAT are the Sound-Spelling patterns and WHY we teach them, check out the video.

Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns is an effective way to teach the connection of the sounds and the spellings to children while learning to read.  This relationship between the sounds and the spellings of language is also called decoding.  Decoding our language is critical to being an adept reader.  Breaking the English language into the most common spelling patterns and teaching them explicitly in a clear scope and sequence is recommended.  You can follow our pattern or break this up to follow your Core Reading Program's scope and sequence.

In our Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets, we include the spelling patterns:

short vowels in cvc  consonants and blends  soft c and g  silent and double consonants  schwa  digraphs and trigraph  r-controlled vowels  long vowels: final silent e (vce)  long vowels: vowel teams  other long vowels  closed syllables  open syllables  variant vowels consonant-le

Sound-Spelling Patterns 

Sound-Spelling Posters and Reference Sheets
Reading A to Z Phonics Lessons Bundle

10 Phrases that Encourage Growth Mindset In Your Classroom

Watch the video to see what 10 phrases we suggest for encouraging growth mindset in your classroom!

Two New Back-to-School Comprehension Lessons

Try these new comprehension lesson plans during your first days of school. 

Two great texts: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneburg using Question and Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall using Summarize.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Day-Jitters-Question-Comprehension-Lesson-Plan-4785710

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Miss-Nelson-is-Missing-Summarize-Comprehension-Lesson-Plan-4785715

You can get a head start teaching these two important strategies or review them with your class using texts that also help you set up class expectations about behavior (Miss Nelson is Missing) or help build a classroom environment of understanding that we all feel nervous sometimes (First Day Jitters).

We hope you have a great first week back to school!

5 Tips for New Teachers!

As our new school year approaches for many teachers, we thought we'd share a video of some tips that we feel are important for all teachers, but especially new teachers.

5 Tips for New Teachers

#1 HP Instant Ink Printer (Get a FREE month with this code: try.hpinstantink.com/jQ9GQ)

#2 Ask for things before you buy them

#3 Plan for your week - not day by day (FREE Planning Guide HERE!) 

#4 Procedures - plan and teach them well

#5 Love your students