When I began teaching, I would get SO frustrated because my students could decode words in isolation.. but while reading? Not so much. That’s when I discovered the benefits of using decodable readers in Kindergarten and 1st grade.When I began including decodable readers in both our guided reading groups and whole group phonics instruction, I quickly saw the benefits. Not only were my students increasing in reading fluency, but their confidence as readers was also growing!What Are Decodable ...
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What Does a Level A Guided Reading Lesson Look Like?
This blog post will walk you through the characteristics of Level A readers, what to include in a Level A guided reading lesson, and activities for emergent readers.It's such an exciting feeling - your kindergartners are ready to begin reading! But.. what do you do now? What are the best guided reading practices for working with Level A emergent readers?A level A guided reading lesson will include activities to build independent readers. You will teach your students reading strategies, decoding ...
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FREE Presidents’ Day Writing Activities for K-2
February may be the shortest month, but it comes packed full! It seems like every other day is a celebration or holiday. But no worries! These free Presidents’ Day writing activities are no prep and perfect for celebrating Presidents Day in the classroom.In Kindergarten, our students are just finding out what a president even is. This is always a fun discussion!So imagining what they would do if they were president? The answers are gold.This post contains Amazon affiliate links.Presidents’ Day ...
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6 Hands-On Blending and Segmenting Activities
In this blog post: Working on phonological and phonemic awareness? These 6 hands-on blending and segmenting activities will engage your students as they strengthen this key skill.If you are a kindergarten teacher or parent, you probably know how important a strong foundation in phonemic awareness is. It’s literally the foundation for success in reading and writing!One of the hardest phonemic awareness skills for our students to master is blending and segmenting words. Even once students master ...
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The Best Mentor Texts for How To Writing in Kindergarten
A list of the best children’s books and mentor texts for teaching how to writing in kindergarten and elementary classrooms.How To Writing is one of our favorite writing units in Kindergarten! Students love getting to be the expert as they teach others. These How To Writing mentor texts are the perfect addition to your procedural writing unit.This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.How To Use Mentor Texts in the ClassroomWe begin reading our writing mentor texts before we even begin a new ...
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How To Use Poems in Kindergarten for Shared Reading
I’m pretty sure, as kindergarten teachers, we have a poem for everything. From how to write numbers to our learning color words, we love poems in Kindergarten!If you’re a kindergarten teacher who doesn’t yet have that love for poetry in the classroom, I encourage you to give it a try. I think you’ll find that it will quickly grow on you.Why are poems important in Kindergarten?Poetry in Kindergarten is important because it helps our students naturally develop reading and phonemic awareness ...
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