notebook icon
Literacy
ruler icon
Math
Paint icon
Arts integration
calendar icon
Seasonal
lightbulb icon
Tips & Strategies
Computer icon
Technology
Plant icon
Classroom
coffee mug icon
Teacher Shop
"How to use blending lines" next to a long i magic e blending line page. The page is resting on an orange colored page below colored spiral notebooks.

How to Use Blending Lines and Decoding Drills in the Classroom

I first heard about blending lines in A Fresh Look at Phonics by Wiley Blevins. He recommends them as a tool to practice blending with your current phonics skill during whole class instruction. He incorporates intentional, continued review, frontloading of words students will have within decodable texts, and challenging words for more advanced readers. Because I use blending lines solely within my small group instruction, rather than during whole group instruction, I use them a

Read this post »
Do 3rd graders need phonics instruction text with magnetic letters on left side of page

What Does Phonics in 3rd Grade Look Like?

By the time students reach 3rd grade, phonics is no longer a large part of typical classroom instruction. Third grade is the year that instruction shifts to more of a focus on morphology and understanding roots and affixes while incorporating some phonics review. It’s also the year that comprehension and written expression begins to take a larger focus.  But there’s still a place for phonics in 3rd grade. Every single year I’ve been a teacher

Read this post »
Top 6 Websites for Phonics Resources

6 Top Sites for Phonics Resources to Enhance your Instruction

If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for high-quality phonics resources to use with your students. I am hesitant to purchase so many commercial products because I’ve seen so many poor ones. I’ve purchased products that have “car” in the CVC words, or “giraffe” for initial work for the letter g. I’ve seen products that require no actual thought by the student and they just assemble. Finding high-quality phonics materials, that follow a logical

Read this post »
"The Best Free or Affordable Diagnostic Phonics Assessments" text on the right with printed individual student page that's color coded by score on the left. The student data is laying on colored pages.

The Best Free or Affordable Diagnostic Phonics Assessments

As a classroom teacher, reading interventionist, and member of my school’s leadership team, I have seen the need for diagnostic phonics assessments in elementary schools. These phonics tests identify students’ current phonics proficiencies to determine those in need of intervention as well as student placement for small group instruction. I believe every student should have grade level instruction, regardless of the grade level or student ability. However, I also believe that every student should also

Read this post »
What is successive blending text next to student tapping an ipad with cvc word web

Successive Blending: A Phoneme Blending Strategy

Successive Blending is a decoding strategy for students that struggle to blend more than two sounds when reading words. Many of these students add and omit sounds when blending. Some students even blend words that seem disconnected from their sounds. These are those students that say /m/ /a/ /p/ and then say “fat?”. It’s also a great instructional strategy for those students that add a schwa on to their letter sounds, both in isolation, and

Read this post »

▹FAVORITES ◃

▹ SEARCH ◃

▹ NEWSLETTER ◃

.
Scroll to Top

Let's keep in touch! Sign up for my newsletter!

.