Providing plenty of practice is vital for all new readers. Decodable text allows you to give targeted practice on the phonetic concepts you are teaching. I love to use pages of sentences in every lesson. I also send them home for extra practice. These are some of my favorite ways to use the pages of… Continue reading Decodable Sentences
Category: Teacher Hints
10 Ways to Make Learning to Read a Priority in Your Homeschool
Make 2020 the year your struggling reader took off! You have hired a tutor or are using a high quality Orton Gillingham based program, but your student's progress isn't as quick as you'd like. It may be time to take a serious look at your homeschool environment. There are ways to make sure that your… Continue reading 10 Ways to Make Learning to Read a Priority in Your Homeschool
Decodable Readers
New readers need lots of practice. Most "easy readers" are really not very easy. They throw in all sorts of patterns that students who are being taught with a structured approach don't know yet. The numbering or letter system is all over the place. A student may think they can read "level one" books but… Continue reading Decodable Readers
Tutoring Tote Tour
My tutoring totes are an organizing sanity saver! I tried a number of bags, boxes and other systems before settling on this. I tutor away from the office 90% of the time these day. Some days I see as many as 6-7 students before getting back to the office. These totes help me keep everything… Continue reading Tutoring Tote Tour
Syllable Segmenting and Blending
I had a conversation with a student the other day. It was very similar to one I've had many times with many students over the years. "Today we are going to be working on dividing words into syllables. Do you know what a syllable is?" "It's when you clap while saying a word." "Can you… Continue reading Syllable Segmenting and Blending
Bookmarks
I hate waste. I dislike it for environmental reasons and I dislike it because I'm frugal! I use a lot of paper, colored ink and laminating film. It adds up to a significant expense. One of my favorite thrifty ways to use up scraps is my bookmark jar. The laminated strips I cut off printables (especially… Continue reading Bookmarks
Blue Cottage Tutoring 