Hi Friend, Have you ever had a student who knew their phonics skills but still struggled to read smoothly? That's where fluency comes in. In this week's episode of The Education Connection, we're continuing our Science of Reading series by exploring fluency and why it is such an important bridge between phonics and comprehension. You'll learn:⢠The five key components of the Science of Reading⢠The three parts of fluency: accuracy, rate, and prosody⢠Why fluency is about more than reading...
19 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hi Friends, Today I'm kicking off a brand-new Science of Reading series on The Education Connection podcast! We're starting with one of the most important foundational reading skills: phonemic awareness. đSimply put, phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sounds in spoken words. Before students can connect sounds to letters, they need to be able to hear those sounds. A few examples of phonemic awareness activities include: ⢠Blending: What word do these sounds...
26 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hi friend, Have you been hearing the term "Science of Reading" and wondering what it actually means? You're not alone. In this week's episode of The Education Connection, I share my thoughts as a first-grade teacher and explore what the Science of Reading is and how it connects to the five essential components of reading. When I first looked it up for myself a year or so ago, I was happily surprised to see it is all 5 components of reading! ⢠Phonemic Awareness⢠Phonics⢠Fluency⢠Vocabularyâ˘...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hey friends, Is anybody else physically done with school⌠but mentally still in the classroom? Because honestly, I think that first week after school ends can feel really strange for teachers. Our bodies may finally slow down, but our brains are still running at full speed. After spending months:⢠solving problems⢠managing behaviors⢠watching schedules⢠making constant decisions⢠answering questions⢠handling interruptions⢠thinking ahead all day long âŚitâs hard to suddenly switch into ârest...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hey friend, We officially made it to the final stretch of the school year! If your classroom feels a little louder, your students feel extra emotional, and youâre trying to finish report cards while keeping everyone engaged⌠you are definitely not alone. In this weekâs podcast episode, Iâm sharing how I personally survive the last week of school in first grade without completely throwing out our routines and structure. Inside the episode, I talk about:⢠Why I keep our classroom schedule...
about 2 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hi teacher friend, Can you believe we are down to the final days of school? At this point in the year, students are excited, routines are falling apart, and teachers are simply trying to make it to summer break with their sanity still intact. In this weekâs episode of The Education Connection, Iâm sharing one of my favorite low prep end of year traditions: a simple balloon countdown. These activities are easy, inexpensive, fun for students, and realistic for exhausted teachers. No complicated...
about 2 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hi there, I just shared a brand new episode of The Education Connection, and this week weâre talking all about prefixes and suffixes in first grade. If this is a skill that ever feels tricky to teach, this episode keeps it simple and very doable. In the episode, I walk through:⢠What prefixes and suffixes are in a first grade-friendly way⢠How to introduce them without overwhelming students⢠And 3 easy activities you can start using right away 3 Simple Prefix & Suffix Activities to Try Here...
2 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hi there, I want to share something with you that has quietly changed the way I teach. For a long time, I believed that if I explained something clearly enough, my students would get it. But over time, I realized something important⌠Teaching is not the same as learning. So I began building a system in my classroom to make sure every student actually understandsânot just the ones who get it the first time. In this weekâs episode, I walk you through that process step by step. Itâs inspired by...
2 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
Hi there, This week in my classroom, weâve been working on contractions, and I wanted to share some of what that has looked likeâbecause this is one of those skills that seems simple, but students really need to see it, hear it, and practice it in multiple ways before it clicks. What I Tell My Students I explain contractions like this: We take two words and push them together to make a shorter word. But we donât just smash them togetherâwe take letters out and replace them with an apostrophe....
3 months ago â˘Â 2 min read