Science of Reading

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 »

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 »

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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NAEP SCORES ARE ‘DOWN’ and ‘OUT’…WHY READ ‘Calling All Neurons!’ NOW?

2 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Education Equity, Literacy News, Parenting, Reading Brain, Science of Reading / By

The Prelude The results of NAEP 2024 (National Assessment of Educational Progress-otherwise known as the ‘Nation’s Report Card) for grades 4, 8 and 12 are now available. The 2024 scores provide nationwide information in the areas of reading, mathematics, and grade 8 science. For the purposes of this article, I focus only on the reading

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A Parent’s Plea: How Can I Help My Child With Reading At Home?

6 Comments / Dyslexia, Literacy, Parenting, Reading Brain, Resiliency, Science of Reading, Social-Emotional Health / By

Recently, I came upon a “not infrequently” posed question from a teacher on behalf of a ‘distraught parent’: “I work with a student whose parent was distraught after seeing the results of routine mid-year screening. As one can imagine, this student did poorly on the screening and reportedly has been diagnosed with dyslexia. The parent

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

4 Comments / 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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What Parents Need to Know About Literacy ‘Words’-It Can Be CONFUSING!?#@

4 Comments / Back to School, Decoding (Reading), Early Literacy, Handwriting, High Frequency Words, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Reading Fluency, Science of Reading, Sight Words, Spelling / By

The new school year is now pretty well underway, so many students have been screened, tested, assessed–whatever your child(ren)’s school(s) wish to call it. Getting the results, as well as the ‘plans’ for literacy instruction can be confusing–if not a bit overwhelming. You will likely receive, or have received, paperwork with these terms, as well

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What Parents Need to Know About “New School Year’s Eve”… and The Wizard of Oz!

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Back to School, Executive Function & Literacy, Parenting, Resiliency, Science of Reading / By

It’s All About YOUR Perspective… Are you the giraffe looking down on your primary age kiddos? You then might see the top of this model’s hat, although I doubt it very highly. Are you looking at your students from all dimensions? Are you looking at your child(ren) face to face, especially if you are a

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