“These decodables are the perfect addition to our ever evolving collection.” My name is Jessica Berg and this is my 3rd year serving as the instructional coach at Ellis Elementary. Ellis Elementary is one of 25 elementary schools in Rockford School District 205. We are an urban school with over 400 students K-5. We have…
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In this final instalment of a series of guest blogs Nora Chahbazi, literacy consultant (pro bono) via the John Corcoran foundation to The Truth About Reading documentary team and Founder of EBLI, talks about the impact of the documentary and offers insight into the making of the film. I was honored to be at the first private screening of The…
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We all mispronounce words from time to time, especially when they are unfamiliar to us. Speech and Language Pathologist, Miriam Fein, explores the important link between pronunciation and the development of vocabulary. Every once in a while someone starts a thread on Twitter about words that they mispronounced for a long time because they only…
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Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97-110). New York: Guilford Press. Teaching the Reading Rope The Reading Rope was developed by Dr. Hollis Scarborough to provide a framework for understanding the different…
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Over the holidays, we all need to take a break and enjoy time with family and friends. However, amongst the ribbons, reindeer and rejoicing, there may also be space for a little retrospection, reflection, reading… and even rereading. Reading specialist, Miriam Fein, explores the benefits of giving new consideration to an already well thumbed book.…
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What’s the best way to organize your decodables? There are many different ways to go about this. Here, K-5 reading specialist, Savannah Campbell, shares some helpful tips and tricks to make your classroom library user friendly. Now that you have decodables, how do you organize them? I’m lucky to live in a district that…
Read MoreIn the latest blog post in this series, Guest blogger, Faith Borkowsky discusses her observations and recommendations for any school district considering the transition to a Science of Reading based instruction practice. The importance of choosing a science-based reading program that is coupled with high quality, carefully aligned decodable books and resources and backed with…
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Happy Spring!! The weather is getting warmer, the flowers will be in bloom, and the Kindergarten Center teachers are wondering when it will be time to teach letter names! For those of you who did not read, “Lynbrook Takes the Lead on Long Island,” the Lynbrook School District is revamping its reading curriculum and is…
Read MoreRaise your hand if you’ve ever heard the phrase “some kids are just poor spellers.” I’ve got both hands and feet raised over here. Children are not destined to be poor or great spellers. All children can grow in their spelling, but we have to make sure we are giving them the proper instruction…
Read MoreAs conversations about effective literacy instruction continue in schools and on social media, questions about the definition, use, and purpose of decodable texts inevitably arise. I’ve even heard these books described as a “battleground”. I recently watched a presentation on literacy to the school committee in a local district, where phonics teaching is currently layered…
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