Sarah's Teaching Snippets

16 hours ago

Something I think is really common (and I’ve definitely been guilty of this) is using an activity just because it’s helpful…without really thinking about who it’s helping.Sentence pyramids are a great example.They can be really effective, but they are not for every student. This may be a really unpopular opinion, but it’s based on experience and observation, so bear with me! 💕If a student is still decoding word by word, or doesn’t yet recognize words automatically, sentence pyramids give them repeated practice with those same words while building toward a full sentence. This IS helpful! But if a student can already recognize most words and is struggling more with phrasing or expression, this probably isn’t the tool they need. In that case, something like phrase scooping, repeated reading, or modeled fluent reading will be more effective. Sentence pyramids may improve rate but if they already have word recognition, I find that it just continues the same stilted reading. It’s not about the activity itself, it’s about matching the tool to the need. Plenty of kids still benefit from sentence pyramids and I am a huge fan! They have really helped my students who are intimidated by connected text but need that next step. But I don’t think it’s necessarily a whole class activity (except maybe in kindergarten or very early first if you have a whole group who is still decoding every word in a sentence) Do you have students who may benefit from decodable sentence pyramids? Comment “pyramids” and I’ll send you the resources I use for this 👇#ScienceOfReading #StructuredLiteracy ... See MoreSee Less

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

3 days ago

Dyslexia is not related to intelligence. When we suggest otherwise we’re reinforcing harmful assumptions that affect real students (and adults) every day.Dyslexia affects how someone reads, not their overall cognitive ability. People with dyslexia have a wide range of intelligence, including many who are highly capable and even gifted.As educators and parents, this is something we have to understand. Our job is to understand what’s actually happening, and teach accordingly. For the sake of our students, please spread the word. If you’re looking for accurate information about dyslexia, the International Dyslexia Association is a great place to start. You’ll find clear, research-based information grounded in what we know, not misconceptions. If you want to go deeper, check out Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz and Teaching Beyond the Diagnosis by @thedyslexiaclassroom . If you or someone you love is dyslexic, drop a comment and share a success you’ve seen or experienced. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

2 weeks ago

Can morphology be part of kindergarten instruction? Absolutely. Even before students are fully reading, they can begin developing morphological awareness, the ability to notice meaningful parts of words and how words relate to one another. In kindergarten, this often starts through oral language activities like exploring multiple-meaning words, building compound words, and talking about word families. These conversations help young learners grow their language in powerful ways.We can help students become aware that words can have more than one meaning, that they connect to other words, that they can combine to form new ideas, and that some words are made up of multiple meaning parts. As students begin noticing these patterns, they start building flexible word knowledge that supports vocabulary development, comprehension, and later reading and writing.We’re still adding to our K–2 course and curriculum, and we just released our first set of kindergarten activities focused on multiple-meaning words. These lessons are designed so there’s something for everyone. Much of the work can be oral, tapping into students’ current knowledge and helping them expand it. At the same time, print can be integrated at different levels to support differentiation.No matter where students are in their reading development, they can benefit from these lessons, growing vocabulary, strengthening language awareness, and making meaningful connections between words.Comment “K-2” to learn more!#logosliteracyacademy #morphology #kindergarten ... See MoreSee Less

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

3 weeks ago

Something I think is common (and I’ve definitely been guilty of it) is assigning a passage, having students read it, and then moving on. It becomes a race to just get through the text. But we miss so much when we do that.Is a first read valuable? Absolutely.But many of our beginning and struggling readers don’t just need decoding practice. They need to build fluency. They need automatic word recognition. They need repeated successful encounters with the same words in meaningful context.A “one and done” model doesn’t move the needle very far there.Research consistently shows that fluency and automaticity improve most when students engage in repeated, supported reading, not just one pass.A big challenge is getting students on board to reread. How many times have you heard the groan when you ask students to reread a passage. I get it! They finally got through something and now they’re being asked to do it again?! In many cases, we don’t need to reread the whole thing. Often in small groups, I’ll choose a section to reread. More often, I’ll find a purpose for that reread. It’s not just reread for the sake of rereading. So here’s my advice: instead of simply saying, “Reread it,” give them a reason to go back.Ask them to: • Show evidence • Scoop phrases • Reread to match a character’s feeling • Zoom in on one tricky sentence • Underline an answer • Find where the problem changesPlace that page in a plastic sleeve and give them a dry erase marker. Instead of just telling me the answer, go back and find it and underline it. The shift here is that the text is not the activity. Interaction with the text is the activity.I hope this is helpful! ... See MoreSee Less

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

4 weeks ago

Decodable practice doesn’t have to mean “read the list and move on.”Here’s how I make simple word lists more powerful:✨ Highlight the vowel soundHave students mark the letters that spell the vowel sound and say the sound as they highlight. Then go back and read the words. This keeps their attention on the grapheme–phoneme connection.🔦 Put a spotlight on a wordAfter one read-through, reinforce with a quick word hunt. This gets them rereading. You can simply say the word and have them find it or you can say a rhyming word or break it into sound parts. ⏳ Set a timer (but not for speed)Everyone reads the whole time. There’s no “I’m done.”Students work at their own pace. The goal is practice time, not how far they get.🧠 Connect to meaningGive a meaning clue.“Find something you can sit in and paddle.”Or try an oral fill-in-the-blank.We want decoding and comprehension working together.🧩 Incorporate morphology (orally)Say a word with a suffix (like peaches).Have students find the base word.Discuss what was added and why.Small shifts. Big payoff.Comment “decoding” for the link to these decoding pages.What did I forget? What do you like to do with your decoding practice? ... See MoreSee Less

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