Blog

There is room for play in the explicit literacy instruction classroom.

Games are a great way to motivate and engage reluctant learners. Have you tried our Uno style phonics game called disCARD yet?

A sentence is only decodable if the student reading the sentence has had previous exposure to the sounds and spellings in the sentence....

Many children find writing difficult. Almost all children can write a sentence, yet even as they approach year 3, many of the children I meet struggle with the anguish of putting pencil to paper. The problem often starts with a blank sheet of paper. That space is a scary place for many. But that isn’t the only problem — many who struggle to write also struggle to decode and spell accurately. Peter Reynolds discusses this in his book, The Dot about Vashi and her lack of marks

Word chains are a fun activity that packs a punch. So much can come from this little activity. Word chains help build the skills of...

Word building is a fantastic activity that showcases how the initial sounds link to the letter symbols. The act of manipulating sounds to...

Learning to read takes time, repetition, and exploration to get to fluency. It can seem intimidating as a teacher or parent, especially...

The world of literacy learning is awash with jargon. Many buzzwords float around classrooms, and a discussion with your child or your...

Upskill your spelling instruction with these resources.

Do you sound the ‘R’ at the end? The topic of conversation when I connected with Nora from EBLI recently. It was a happy accident due to...

Have you tried partner reading in your classroom or group sessions? Read on to find out what it is and download free lists and sentences....

Learning to read is not as easy as ABC. Read on to discover why a systematic sequence is the best way to support phonics teaching and...

The first year of school is crucial for literacy development. It goes by so quickly. Term 2 starts tomorrow here in Western Australia....

Learning to read, how did you do it? Chances are, until you had a child start school, the thought never crossed your mind… If your child...

Segmenting sounds in words is the ability to separate the smallest units of sound or it could be syllables. Children who learn to read...

I recently shared a word-building sketch note , and many questions about segmenting and blending followed. How do you take the first steps in word building? Read on to learn more and download the free movable alphabet and Elkonin sound boxes from my shop. Check out my free movable alphabet, resources and posters here. Learning to read and spell starts with the sounds. Linking initial sounds to the letters on the page and teaching how to blend to read is the most effectiv

Word building primes little learners for print and engages older children in wordplay. A cost-effective, quick and efficient activity that

Decoding strategy bookmarks. A blog to support parents to help their child read at home.

To be effective and move ourselves and our students forward, we all have to ask–how can I do better with what I know? If you have ever...

Reading, spelling, and writing support each other, yet they are often taught as separate areas of the literacy curriculum. Linking them...