SLP Literacy Corner Blog
Welcome to the blog! Read more about literacy instruction and activities.
Bringing Words to Life - Book Summary
This post summarizes what I learned while reading Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan.
One Task, Many Literacy Skills
Did you know that is it beneficial for instructional activities to work on multiple literacy skills simultaneously rather than in isolation? It’s true! Check out how I integrated multiple important literacy skills into one spelling activity.
SLP Corner - Podcast Guest Ep. 137
I was invited back as a guest on the SLP Corner podcast, and the new episode is out now! I’ve linked all the resources and references we mentioned in the podcast here in this blog.
Free Decodable Texts
FREE digital and PDF decodable texts to help beginning readers develop the skills and confidence necessary to become strong readers!
Long Vowel Sound Spellings
A quick reference for “long vowel sounds” and their many spellings.
SLP Coffee Talk - Podcast Guest
I had the pleasure of being a guest on the SLP Coffee Talk podcast, and the episode is out now! This blog includes links to listen to the podcast and all the resources we mentioned.
Big Words For Young Readers - Book Summary
This post summarizes what I learned while reading Big Words for Young Readers: Teaching Kids in Grades K to 5 to Decode―and Understand―Words With Multiple Syllables and Morphemes by Dr. Heidi Anne Mesmer.
Animated Shorts for Literacy
Have you used animated shorts in your literacy lessons? Here are 5 reasons you should consider using them! Check out the animated shorts for literacy handouts in my freebies library for a growing list of links to all my favourite animated shorts.
Speechie Side Up - Podcast Guest
I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Speechie Side Up podcast, and the episode is out now! This blog includes links to listen to the podcast and all the resources we mentioned.
The Writing Rope - Book Summary
This post summarizes what I learned while reading The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects by Joan Sedita.
What The Research Does Not Tell Us…
While the research on literacy development and instruction is certainly growing, there are still a lot of questions that have not yet been answered…
Suffix Spelling Rules
Morphology includes the study of word parts - prefixes, suffixes, roots, and base words. Explicit morphology instruction should include teaching these spelling rules for adding suffixes.
De Facto Leaders - Podcast Guest
I had the pleasure of being a guest on the De Facto Leaders podcast, and the episode is out now! We discussed: what it’s like to be a struggling reader, why evidence-based reading instruction is not just another trend, reading as a basic human right, and more.
The Schwa Vowel Sound
Do you know about the schwa vowel sound? And are you explicitly teaching this vowel sound to your students? Read this blog to learn about why and how you should teach this vowel sound.
What in the Word?!
Decodable words, heart words, high frequency words, sight words… What do all these words mean and how should we teach these different words? If you’ve ever felt confused about this, keep reading!
The Reading Comprehension Blueprint - Book Summary
This post summarizes what I learned while reading The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning from Text by Nancy Lewis Hennessy.
Writing Assessment
Writing assessments allow educators to better understand a student’s current spelling and writing abilities so that they can provide instruction specific to the student’s needs. A thorough writing assessment should address word, sentence, and paragraph level writing.
Benefits of Audiobooks
Audiobooks are books, and listening to audiobooks still counts as reading! Yes, it is a different reading experience than reading paper books, but there are many benefits to audiobooks including accessibility, building vocabulary, and modelling reading fluency.
Websites for Literacy - Pink Cat Games
Pink Cat Games offers a large library of over 200 games (4 are free!) and questions. Games can be customized to embed your desired target words, sentences, pictures or other targets within a game.
Websites for Literacy - Zoo Live Cameras
Have you tried going on virtual field trips with your students? Many zoos, such as the San Diego Zoo, have live cameras on their website so that you can watch the animals. Go on virtual field trips to get students engaged in a variety of literacy activities!