Isabel Beck’s book Bringing Words to Life has been sitting on my “should read” pile for quite some time.  Well, honestly, quite some time is an understatement.  I’ve heard so many raves and reviews from co-workers, I certainly should have read this book long ago.  The title of chapter 1 is “Rationale for Robust Vocabulary Instruction.”  How cool is that word?- robust– love it!  Reading this chapter started me thinking… how exactly strong, or robust, is vocabulary instruction in our schools.  It seems as if so much of our efforts have focused on phonics and fluency, that vocabulary and comprehension have taken a back seat. In chapter 1, Isabel Beck argues three “conventional wisdoms” about vocabulary development and instruction. Conventional wisdom

Response to Intervention is the practice of providing high quality instruction and intervention matched to student need and using learning rate over time and level of performance to make important educational decisions. Schools who implement a RtI model use a tiered system of instruction and intervention.  The 3-Tier Model introduced by the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts in 2005 has been primarily the model that we have used to help us guide our RtI practices.   In a tiered system, students are provided with research-based core instruction and intervention.  Depending upon their response to that instruction, they progressively move though the tiers.   In a tiered system, research would indicate that 80% of the students in the classroom should

It’s always so much fun to add a holiday twist into center and small group activities.  The Pot O’ Gold activities have been a hit during the first few weeks of March.  When you download this activity you will receive 25 letters of the alphabet (omitting “x”) printed on golden pots and over 100 colorful beginning sound pictures printed on coins.  This activity is easily differentiated as you can choose which and how many coins to use.  The Pot O’ Gold Activities for Beginning Sounds can be found in my online Teachers Pay Teachers store. This activity is also available for Word Families, Short Vowels, Consonant Digraphs, and R-Controlled Vowels.

Click HERE to download 7 FREE sight word game boards. The St. Patrick’s Day sight word game boards and the Lucky You! games were one of the very first activities I made for digital download last year.  I thought I’d pull them out of the vault to share during the early weeks of March.  When you download the game boards, you’ll receive 7 free game boards containing words from the Dolch sight word lists 1-6.  I’ve included a blank game board so that you can even add your own words.  You can even use the blank board for reviewing math skills if you choose. The Lucky You! games are one of my favorites.  It’s a variation of Fiddle Sticks (my all-time

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here!  It’s the Teachers Pay Teachers site wide sale.  In honor of our hard work and dedication, TpT is having a sale on February 25th.  It’s a great time to stock up on those activities for your literacy centers and small group instruction.  Of course, you get the best bang-for-your-buck when you purchase the bundled activities.  Here are a few of my favorites: The File Folder Phonics Bundle and the Even More! File Folder Phonics Bundle contains hands-on activities for teaching targeted phonics skills.  These bundles include the templates for making your own file folder activities.  Just laminate the file folders and they can be used over and over again!  Love that! Just

Using a fly swatter to swat flies (with letters, words or math facts) during small group intervention or in literacy centers has been an all time favorite spring activity in our schools for years.  I only wish I knew who came up with this idea years ago- it’s brilliant!  To assemble the activity all you need to do is place a strip of velcro on a fly swatter, print and cut out the flies, and then place a small velcro dot on each fly.  Students take turns swatting flies and reading the word on the flies they catch.   Very simple, but guaranteed to keep them practicing those words for a long time. Click HERE to download Fly Swatting Sight Words Dolch Sight

As much as teachers love summer vacation, there’s always a little (actually, big) panic that sets in as we pack up the classrooms and send our children off during those three lazy months of fun in the sun.  What if they never pick up a book?  Oh, and they were so close in learning all their math facts- will they forget?  We’ve worked so diligently teaching skills and the kids have learned so much—what if when they return in September and they forget?  The loss of skills during the summer in the educational world is known as “The Summer Slide” and it is very real.   Research indicates that children who live in poverty consistently lose 2 months of reading performance

I just can’t wait til spring!  I found these adorable springtime containers at our local Walmart.  They are absolutely perfect for a seasonal sorting activity.  I wanted to give you the heads up before they fly off the shelf.  I made these vowel sorting discs just for these boxes.  Of course any type of container will do, but these are just SO cute!  They had butterfly, bunny and frog containers too! Simply print the activity on cardstock then cut out the vowels and the pictures.  Velcro (or tape) the letters to the center of the flowers and you are all set.  I also purchased prickely balls.  They came four in a package.  These can be used for students who need