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Sarah's Teaching Snippets

K-2 Science of Reading Educational Resources

Five for Friday

This week seemed to fly by! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for another Five for Friday.    Writing: Talking it out first I had fun with this little writing assignment. First, I modeled. I pre-drew three pictures of things I did at the pumpkin patch. I talked about each picture, then I glued them in order. I posted the word, Sequencing,  on the board and repeated ... Read More about Five for Friday

Apple Tasting Freebie

You already know I love me some apples! It is one of my favorite units ever! I've already blogged about my apple unit, but I had to add one more thing. This isn't part of my apple unit, but I'm giving it away as a freebie for you all today. I made a way less cute version of this my first year of teaching first grade. I think I even might have shared it here on my blog a few years ago. But that ... Read More about Apple Tasting Freebie

Chalk Talk Linky: Reading Room Tour

I'm linking up with my friends over at Primary Chalkboard for our new monthly "Chalk Talk". Today my video is a little tour of my classroom. I didn't show you my entire classroom, just parts of it. You will see my obsession with being color-coordinated. I teach k-3 reading, so I wanted to show you how I organize those different levels. My hope is that you will get some organizational tips for ... Read More about Chalk Talk Linky: Reading Room Tour

Five for Friday

It's been a while since I've linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. I finally have five things to show you! Ha, ha.  #1 Fall Fluency Cards I love using my fall fluency cards! There is so much you can do with such simple cards. First, I pass out the cards. The kids look at the picture on their cards and make a prediction.  Then they each get whisper phones to ... Read More about Five for Friday

September Freebie Hop

Hi everyone! I'm linking up with some of my favorite blogging friends for a September freebie hop! We are all taking samples from one of our September products to share with you all today.  Time to stock up on some great September activities!  I chose an activity from one of my best sellers: September literacy centers for 1st grade.  Match a Sentence has always ... Read More about September Freebie Hop

Apple Unit: Science Activities and a Close Reading Lesson

Happy fall! My apple unit has always been one of my favorites. I've had this apple unit out for a while, but I've recently added a bunch of pages to it! The biggest change is that I added a 3 day close reading lesson. Since I don't teach first grade in the classroom anymore, I don't get to do all of these fun activities. But I can do my close reading lesson with my reading groups! :)  My ... Read More about Apple Unit: Science Activities and a Close Reading Lesson

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

5 days ago

Sarah's First Grade Snippets
Happy Halloween! 🎃👻 Let’s talk about something that’s been haunting English spelling for centuries… GHOST LETTERS!Did you know that many of the letters we call silent today weren’t always silent?Long ago, the k in knee, the w in write, the g in gnaw, and the b in lamb were actually pronounced! Over time, pronunciation changed, but the spellings stayed. Those letters are like little ghosts of sounds from the past! 👻Some of these spelling patterns have fascinating connections to meaning.👻 kn: Notice how words like knee, knuckle, knit, and knife relate to joints or sharpness. 👻 wr: Many words beginning with wr involve twisting, turning, or bending. Think about how wrist, wring, writhe, wrench, and wreath relate to twisting.)👻 gn: Words like gnaw and gnash share a connection to biting or grinding. Even a gnat is an insect that bites! 👻 mb: These words have another interesting story! While the b in lamb was once pronounced, the b in words like thumb and numb was added to the spelling later, likely because of the influence of other words. (Source: etymonline.com)Of course, these aren’t “rules” that we should apply to every word. They’re fascinating patterns and interesting tidbits though! So these sounds may be gone, but the letters are still haunting our spelling! 👻Happy Halloween! 🎃If you’re interested in learning more about words and how to integrate morphology, phonics, vocabulary, and grammar, comment BEYOND. ...

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

1 week ago

Sarah's First Grade Snippets
When we teach spelling, are we just teaching students to put letters in the right order? There’s so much more to it! English spelling is influenced by both sound and meaningful structure. Words are made up of meaningful parts called morphemes. And when students begin to recognize those parts, they start to understand WHY words are spelled the way they are.One way we can help students notice this is by “spelling out” a word. When we spell a word aloud, we can help students notice how that word is built. Instead of just naming each letter, we say the letters in a way that highlights the word’s structure. (Check out the examples on the slide.)Michelle and I are so passionate about bringing morphology into our literacy instruction. 💗 That’s exactly the kind of teaching we explore inside our Beyond Phonics Club.We created this community to help teachers connect the pieces of literacy instruction, from phonics and spelling to morphology, vocabulary, and beyond. We have videos, a growing library of lessons and student materials, and monthly community calls. Teaching reading doesn’t stop at phonics, and neither should our professional learning!💗 Want to join us? Comment BEYOND and we’ll send you the details! ...

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

3 weeks ago

Sarah's First Grade Snippets
When you think of dyslexia, what comes to mind? 🤔A common misconception is that it’s mixing up letters or reading words backward. But those aren’t the signs we should be looking for!There are signs we might notice in a student’s reading, spelling, writing, and even before they start learning to read.And dyslexia doesn’t look the same in every child! It exists on a continuum, with varying degrees of difficulty and different patterns of strengths and weaknesses.So what should we do when we notice these signs?Screeners like DIBELS and Acadience can help us identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulties. From there, we can dig deeper to understand exactly where a student is struggling and what instruction they need.And remember, we don’t need to wait for a dyslexia diagnosis to begin providing targeted intervention!The more we understand what dyslexia can look like, the better equipped we are to recognize students who may need extra support. 💗Save this one to refer back to! Want a copy? Comment DYSLEXIA and I’ll send the link to this free download along with a few others. ...

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

4 weeks ago

Sarah's First Grade Snippets
If you’re looking for a quick reference guide and visuals like this one to post around your school, comment “dyslexia” and I will send you the link to a free resource. Every October, we talk about dyslexia awareness, but awareness is just the first step. What truly changes outcomes is understanding how to teach, support, and empower these students day to day.Students with dyslexia process language differently, so reading requires intentional, structured instruction that helps build the pathways fluent readers use automatically.If you’re looking to learn more: 📚 Casey Harrison 🦋The Dyslexia Classroom®️ has a wonderful new book full of insight and practical guidance. 📚Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz is a must-read!🎧 Listen to Michelle Sullivan • Science of Reading • Literacy Podcast October podcast series on dyslexia awareness.🌐 Visit your local Decoding Dyslexia chapter to connect with advocacy and resources in your state.💡 Explore The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) website for definitions, fact sheets, and training opportunities. ...

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Sarah's First Grade Snippets

1 month ago

Sarah's First Grade Snippets
Your students know the phonics skills…so why are some of them STILL struggling? Maybe they can read the simpler words, but things start to fall apart as the words get bigger.Maybe they know a phonics pattern during the lesson, but you’re not seeing it transfer to their reading and spelling.Maybe they can decode the word…but have no idea what it means.Or maybe YOU can see where your students are getting stuck, but you’re not always sure what to point out or say in the moment.That’s exactly what we’re talking about TOMORROW. 🎉Join us for our FREE Masterclass! We’ll show you how understanding just a little more about how words actually work can change what you notice, how you respond when students get stuck, AND help you do more with the literacy instruction you’re already providing.And yes—this is for K–5. 🙌📅 September 30
⏰ 7 PM ET
💻 Live on Zoom
🎟️ 100% FREETag a teacher friend who needs to come with you! ❤️Comment JOIN and we’ll send you all the details!Logos Literacy Academy • Beyond Phonics Club • Morphology Sarah Paul | Science of Reading Michelle Sullivan • Science of Reading • Literacy Podcast ...

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