Building Vocabulary
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a LETRS training. I am not going to lie, it was overwhelming! They give an enormous amount of information and tests! But, it changed the way I look at phonics, and struggling readers. Most of all the way I look at words.
Did you know that language comprehension and word recognition have to interrelate efficiently as a process in the reader's brain for him/her to be able to be a good reader? YES!
Vocabulary plays an important role in this process, however I do not think we put enough effort into teaching vocabulary effectively. According to Louisa C. Moats, "vocabulary is the most important single factor, once children have learned the alphabetic code". Children whose vocabulary is rich are likely to succeed as a reader and therefore in upper grades. If all of these wasn't enough, wait for it....an average kindergartner should learn 5-10 words a week! and by the end of the year they should have learned 4300 words. Students with language impediments will have to be spotted early, because those will be the ones at risk of being a struggling reader. Believe me! My own personal child had struggle with comprehension because of language development.
If we think about it, words gives us a ton of background knowledge; therefore, we can connect to stories better and understand what we are reading. So, they got my attention. I understood the root of the importance of teaching vocabulary effectively.
You know the rest...the TPTer in me had created a couple of "Vocabulary Maps" to ensure my students are not only decoding, but reading and understanding the words that we teach in the classroom. The maps are differentiated and they use them in the writing station. I also use them as assessment. Now, GRAB YOUR FREEBIE! by clicking below.
Did you know that language comprehension and word recognition have to interrelate efficiently as a process in the reader's brain for him/her to be able to be a good reader? YES!
Vocabulary plays an important role in this process, however I do not think we put enough effort into teaching vocabulary effectively. According to Louisa C. Moats, "vocabulary is the most important single factor, once children have learned the alphabetic code". Children whose vocabulary is rich are likely to succeed as a reader and therefore in upper grades. If all of these wasn't enough, wait for it....an average kindergartner should learn 5-10 words a week! and by the end of the year they should have learned 4300 words. Students with language impediments will have to be spotted early, because those will be the ones at risk of being a struggling reader. Believe me! My own personal child had struggle with comprehension because of language development.
If we think about it, words gives us a ton of background knowledge; therefore, we can connect to stories better and understand what we are reading. So, they got my attention. I understood the root of the importance of teaching vocabulary effectively.
You know the rest...the TPTer in me had created a couple of "Vocabulary Maps" to ensure my students are not only decoding, but reading and understanding the words that we teach in the classroom. The maps are differentiated and they use them in the writing station. I also use them as assessment. Now, GRAB YOUR FREEBIE! by clicking below.
MUST READ for parents and teachers!
We are always trying to fit in professional development books to read over the break and get that refreshing motivational boost we all need. Usually, we choose books that associate with our particular area of growth, and today, I want to share my list of top 10 professional development books.
What makes this list special is that I have read each one of these books. Each one has enriched my teaching views, practices, and benefited my students immeasurably.
This list contains affiliated links so you can check them out!
1. The First Six Weeks Of School: This book offers you a comprehensive guide for the beginning of the school year. It will show you how to set procedures and routines and create a positive atmosphere in your classroom.
2. What Great Teachers do Differently: Todd Whitaker describes the beliefs behaviors and attitudes of a great teacher. This book will help you reflect and take your teaching practice to the next level.
3. The First Days of School: This book will help you manage your classroom behavior by showing you strategies that can be used from kindergarten to college.
5. The Knowledge Gap: This book will positively challenge how you teach reading. It will inspire you to adopt a new approach based on the science of reading. It is a must-have! The importance of teaching phonics!
7. Shifting the Balance: This book clearly states balance literacy practices and provides easy ways to align them to the science of reading. It is an easy read, and the ideas provided are realistic. It will give you an idea how publics school used to teach (or still teach) and how they should SHIFT to Structured literacy and why. It will motivate parents to ask questions about what kind of instruction is offered at their particular school.
8. Know Better, Do Better: This book is about the importance of phonics instruction and why this is important to our children to be able to read. It gives good instructional ideas that could be applied right away into our classrooms. It has practical information about teaching the alphabet.
What makes this list special is that I have read each one of these books. Each one has enriched my teaching views, practices, and benefited my students immeasurably.
This list contains affiliated links so you can check them out!
1. The First Six Weeks Of School: This book offers you a comprehensive guide for the beginning of the school year. It will show you how to set procedures and routines and create a positive atmosphere in your classroom.
2. What Great Teachers do Differently: Todd Whitaker describes the beliefs behaviors and attitudes of a great teacher. This book will help you reflect and take your teaching practice to the next level.
3. The First Days of School: This book will help you manage your classroom behavior by showing you strategies that can be used from kindergarten to college.
5. The Knowledge Gap: This book will positively challenge how you teach reading. It will inspire you to adopt a new approach based on the science of reading. It is a must-have! The importance of teaching phonics!
7. Shifting the Balance: This book clearly states balance literacy practices and provides easy ways to align them to the science of reading. It is an easy read, and the ideas provided are realistic. It will give you an idea how publics school used to teach (or still teach) and how they should SHIFT to Structured literacy and why. It will motivate parents to ask questions about what kind of instruction is offered at their particular school.
8. Know Better, Do Better: This book is about the importance of phonics instruction and why this is important to our children to be able to read. It gives good instructional ideas that could be applied right away into our classrooms. It has practical information about teaching the alphabet.
Alphabet Orthographic mapping
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THE SECRET TO TEACHING YOUR CHILD TO READ: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE ORTON-GILLINGHAM APPROACHDid you know the brain learns to read in one way only! and there is a proven method that aligns with this process, it is called the Orton-Gillingham approach. Think of it as the secret to unlocking your child's full reading potential.
Why Orton-Gillingham works?
It works because it is multisensory, meaning that it uses the sense of sight, hearing and touch to connect letters to sounds. This process helps build neuropathways in the brain which will allow your child to commit information to long term memory. In this case, the information will be letters, sounds, reading and letter formation. The depth of this approach is highly effective in children who present oral language based deficiencies due to dyslexia, and it also benefits English Learners.
2 effective strategies to learn alphabet soundsThere are simple, easy-to-implement activities you can start today to give your child a head start!
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