Parenting

What Parents Need to Know about ‘Book Language’–Next Steps for Children Part 2 (of 3)

2 Comments / Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Early Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain, Speech to Print, Your Journey / By

Prelude In January, I started writing about ‘Book Language’ and its importance in attaining school success. You can read this article here. To summarize, ‘Book Language’ differs from spoken language in significant ways. ‘Book Language’ is written using complete sentences including longer and more complex sentence structures. The vocabulary is far more descriptive and evokes […]

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What Parents Need to Know about ‘Book Language’–What’s That Anyway?? Part 1

2 Comments / Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Early Literacy, Education Equity, Executive Function & Literacy, Language & Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Librarians, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Science of Reading, Social Emotional Learning, Social-Emotional Health, Vocabulary Development, Your Journey / By

Introduction: Authentic Text Is Full of ‘Book Language‘ In my October blog, entitled, PART 2…Authentic ‘text’ Books for the Main Course/Dessert—IT’S TASTIER!, I write extensively on the importance of having student exposure to ‘authentic text’ as opposed to ‘decodable text’. In short, foundational reading students first need to spend time practicing the decoding skills they

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Sharing GRATITUDE…a Timely Topic to Discuss with Families and Students

Leave a Comment / Executive Function & Literacy, Language & Literacy, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Science of Reading, Social-Emotional Health / By

What is GRATITUDE? Gratitude is far more than being simply ‘thankful’. According to Brian Tracy, a Canadian-American motivational speaker, these are the “4 A’s of Gratitude”: Professor Andrea Hussong of The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, believes in the NOTICE-THINK-FEEL-DO method of practicing gratitude: Any time of year is a good time to teach

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Decodable Books on the Menu for Foundational ‘Readers-In-Training’ as an Appetizer (Part 1)—–YES, Please! HERE is PART 2…Authentic ‘text’ Books for the Main Course/Dessert—IT’S TASTIER!

2 Comments / Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, High Frequency Words, Parenting, Science of Reading / By

THE PRELUDE Everyone eats dinner…sometimes we eat at home without an appetizer, sometimes at home with an appetizer. Sometimes, especially to celebrate a special occasion or just to socialize with others, we dine out at a restaurant. Oftentimes, folks get an appetizer to share, but what folks look forward to the most is the main

Decodable Books on the Menu for Foundational ‘Readers-In-Training’ as an Appetizer (Part 1)—–YES, Please! HERE is PART 2…Authentic ‘text’ Books for the Main Course/Dessert—IT’S TASTIER! Read More »

Decodable Books on the Menu for Foundational ‘Readers-In-Training’ as an Appetizer—–YES, Please! (Part 1)…Save Leveled Books and Authentic ‘text’ Books for the Main Course/Dessert (Part 2)

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Back to School, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, High Frequency Words, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Resiliency / By

Let’s order from the same menu so we know what we are talking about from the outset! 3 Types of Books on the Menu When Teaching Foundational Skills to ‘Readers-In-Training’: Decodable Books Decodable Books are those targeting specific sound/symbol relationships and reliable phonics patterns such as short vowels and basic consonant sounds, etc. These books

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Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (June 2025),  Why It Is Important (July 2025), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand,  Part 3 (August 2025)

Leave a Comment / Back to School, Handwriting, Literacy & Technology, Parenting / By

Prelude: The Takeaways from Parts 1 and 2 I’ve written about pencil grip, letter formation instruction, and handwriting over the past two months. Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. The main takeaways: Now, About those Touch Screens – Swipe, Tap, Click, and Flash! The Younger Child Ages 0-5 As I wrote in Part

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (June 2025),  Why It Is Important (July 2025), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand,  Part 3 (August 2025) Read More »

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1),  Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 2

2 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Handwriting, Homework Help, Literacy & Technology, Parenting, Social-Emotional Health, Written Language / By

July (Part 2), Coming in August (Part 3) 2025  Introduction If you are just reading this article for the first time, I suggest you click back to my June 2025 article here, which explains the development of an appropriate pencil grip from birth to about age 5 prior to reading this month’s article. As a

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1),  Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 2 Read More »

Get a Grip! What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1), Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 1

2 Comments / Early Literacy, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, Language & Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Science of Reading, Written Language / By

(Parts 2 and 3 in the works!) How Does Your Child Hold a Writing Utensil? Ages and Stages…Pre-Writing Ages 0-4 Babies are born into a world in which they are totally dependent on their caretakers, most often their parents. Although their capacity for full sensory and muscle development is intact (in most cases), these skills

Get a Grip! What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1), Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 1 Read More »

What Parents Need to Know About Teaching Letter Names AND/OR Letter Sounds…and Which to Teach First…Get On the Train!

2 Comments / Decoding (Reading), Early Literacy, Handwriting, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain / By

The Train is in the Station –The Toddler The Question… As many of my readers are aware, I am a Moderator of the 242+K member FaceBook Group, Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College. So…I see, read, and respond to many questions on an almost daily basis. It is one way I can

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One Great Teacher + One Great Idea = Recipe for Change in the Right Direction

Leave a Comment / Early Literacy, Literacy, Parenting, Reading Brain, Science of Reading / By

Teachers who teach families about The Science of Reading are doing kids a lot of good. Even if it’s just one school at a time. Who Is This Great Teacher? Meet Rosemary Shaver One day last fall, I received an email from a teacher named Rosemary. She asked if I had a Study Guide for

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