Syllable Types. What are they? How do I teach them? The most important thing is to know why teaching syllable types matters. In other words, why should I spend time teaching this skill? Here’s your answer: a child will remember word patterns and his decoding skills will improve once he can successfully break words into syllable types. What does this… Read More
Hot Tips for Teaching Sight Words
You know those pesky words that don’t follow conventional spelling rules…often referred to as sight words? Have you ever found yourself wondering what all the fuss is about? Well, mastering sight words is very helpful for beginning and striving readers. Students mastering sight words with automaticity drastically cut down on brain power needed to accurately read a passage. This means… Read More
8 Reasons to Use Boom Cards with Students
If you use task cards in your classroom, you will LOVE digital task cards, specifically, Boom Cards! Digital, self-checking task cards are my favorite way to differentiate learning and engage learners. These are the top 8 reasons I’m a fan (in no particular order): 1) DIGITAL No printing, laminating, and cutting out sets of paper task cards. Less prep = more… Read More
8 Back to School Picture Books and Activities (plus 2 books for you)
I can’t believe Back to School is so close! It really seems like we just started summer break. One of my summer goals has been to re-organize my teaching materials and picture books (in a more efficient manner), and well…basically put some “piles” away. In doing this, I have been sidetracked so many times! As you might guess, this classroom… Read More
Boom Cards Digital Resources are Easy to Master
You may have already jumped on the digital resources bandwagon and used Google Classroom? Maybe you’ve also heard of a digital resource called Boom Cards? Well, Boom Cards are digital task cards in an educational game format. Along with being no prep for teachers and self-checking, they are also FUN for students because they don’t realize they are learning. How… Read More
Boom Cards: Use the Latest Technology with a Small Budget
You’ve heard it a million times- money doesn’t grow on trees. This is especially true if you homeschool, tutor or work at a small, private school (I can relate). Even in a large district, it is still hard to come by extra dollars for technology or well…anything! So, how do you infuse new tech ideas into your curriculum when you… Read More