The Reading Wars
You’ve probably heard of the age-old “reading wars.” This refers to the debate around how kids best learn to read. On one side are proponents of the whole-language approach. They believe kids learn how to read best through frequent exposure to various aspects of books and language. In this approach, kids learn words as separate […]
Our Guide to the Best Phonics and Reading Resources
Parents know how important it is to supplement their kids’ reading at home. But aside from picking up a good old-fashioned paperback, what other tools are out there? How do you distinguish great resources from mediocre? We’ve got your back. Here’s a guide to our favorite phonics and reading resources. Digital Resources Freckle ends up on […]
What is the Science of Reading?
You may have heard the buzz around the “Science of Reading” lately. New and trendy movements in education take off almost daily, but this one is worth paying attention to. For many years, even the most proactive and conscientious teachers have taught reading using a “Balanced Literacy” approach; that is, using a combination of explicit […]
The Five Elements of Reading Instruction
Through decades of research into how kids learn to read, most experts have reached a consensus that there is a right way to teach reading. Now called “The Science of Reading,” these best practices are becoming more and more widespread. Lots of people associate the science of reading with phonics instruction, or teaching kids how […]
Building Phonemic Awareness: Blending and Segmenting
Blending and segmenting are two crucial skills that are part of phonemic awareness, one of the building blocks of reading. Let’s review what exactly phonemic awareness is. Phonemic awareness occurs when a student understands that words are made up of individual sounds, and can manipulate those sounds. The term comes from the root word ‘phoneme,’ […]
Syllable Types and Why They Matter
Are you a passionate educator who loves helping kids understand syllable types? Join our team and become a Braintrust tutor today! An important component of any structured literacy program is teaching kids about the different types of syllable. This comes as a surprise to some. Why do students need to know something as specific as […]
Phonics Terms and Lingo Defined
Finding your way around the world of phonics jargon can be intimidating. And it can feel daunting for any parent to try to support their child with reading when they don’t know the terminology to use! Here are the most important phonics words and phrases and what they mean in layman’s terms. While this list […]
Rules for Adding Suffixes
Sometimes it feels like all those phonics rules never end! But the silver lining is that there is rhyme and reason for almost every spelling rule out there–keyword, almost. And when it comes to adding suffixes to words and all the rules involved, there’s no exception. What are the suffix rules kids need to learn […]
Sight Words vs. Decodable Words
What are Sight Words? Sight words are words that students need to be able to recognize instantly (or within just a few seconds). Some words are sight words because they appear in text so frequently that students should learn to recognize them without much effort. Other words are sight words because they do not fit […]
Multisensory Phonics Instruction
Learning should happen through all five senses as much as possible. When learning is multi-sensory, it becomes deeper and lasts longer. It also provides learners with multiple modes of working with the content. Many of us associate learning phonics with seeing and saying individual letter sounds, then combinations of letters, and eventually full words. While […]
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