Sorry about that first post in the series! I got a bit carried away with phonogram a and didn’t have time to dive into c, d, and f. But not to worry—this one will be shorter, as these three phonograms aren’t quite as exciting. At least, I’ll give c a bit of credit. It has […]
I’ve been a huge advocate of parents teaching their children to read for decades now. But I rarely find parents who are willing to undertake the huge but rewarding task of teaching a child to read. I’ve often questioned, “Why don’t they understand how easy it really is using the phonograms and spelling rules.” I
Phonogram Series Part 1: The Foundation of Teaching Reading – Introducing Phonogram a Read More »
As a reading evangelist, I’m always thrilled to hear about the positive impact of effective reading instruction. Recently, a mother shared her experience with my tutoring program, and her story is both inspiring and enlightening. The journey began when her son finished third grade reading below grade level. Despite their efforts at home, progress was
A Mother’s Journey: Transforming Reading Struggles into Success Read More »
I’ve always suggested to parents that are teaching their children to read or when I’m tutoring their children that they should use Bob Books for beginning reading. They are great stories for children who are just beginning to sound out words using the phonograms they just learned. I recently found that many of them are
Bob Books and Sam Books for Online Reading Read More »
Recent literature on learning challenges the conventional wisdom about failure. While I’ve traditionally advised my students against reading material significantly beyond their level to avoid frustration and potential aversion to reading, emerging research suggests that failure may be a powerful learning tool. This counterintuitive concept has prompted a reevaluation of how I approach the learning
Failure Isn’t Always Bad Read More »
I’ve told the story many times about how I discovered the world of the phonograms. In this blog post I’ve gone back to 1996 and pulled out some evidence of what drove me to start using the phonograms. This is a long post because I am sharing a long post from the misc.education newsgroup. I’m
How I “Got” the Phonograms Way Back in 1996 Read More »
I’ve been reviewing my posts from the 1990s in a newgroup called misc.education the last few days. It has been interesting to read the discussions about reading back then. That was the heyday of the “reading wars” and people could get pretty wound up. It was all about phonics vs. whole language. My plan is
Newsgroup Post November 1997 Read More »
I want to share two resources that even after 30 years of teaching reading reinforced my beliefs and taught me some things that I did not know. I’ll share each of them and include a few comments. I hope you listen to the first one and watch the second one. First is the podcast Sold
Resources About the History of Teaching Reading and How We Have Botched It Read More »
I’ve written a lot of stuff over the years related to teaching reading. I’ve noticed a push lately to discuss how teachers aren’t really taught in teacher school how to actually teach reading based on research. I think I’ll start sharing some of my writing and some links. To start it off, here is a
Let’s Discuss Reading! Read More »
I recently came across an article about The Matthew Effect as it applies to reading for beginning readers. This effect explains a lot of my beliefs about the importance of teaching your child to read. I’ve shared many reasons for parents to teach their children to read. This summary of the research by AI tool
The Matthew Effect in Reading: Why Early Success is Crucial Read More »
