In Part I of Unlocking the Mystery of Schwa, we talked about the WHAT of schwa. This post will provide a follow-up to Part I and will get into the HOW. Specifically, we’ll be looking at how to teach students to identify schwa within a word and how to spell this unstressed sound using common schwa patterns. Suggestions for both… View Post
Schwa – It’s funny to say, tricky to teach, but important to know and understand. “Schwa” is defined as the most common sound of spoken English. It is the relaxed vowel sound that is often found in multi-syllable words and function words. It often sounds like “ih” or “uh” and can take the place of any vowel. Many students will… View Post
Are your students active readers? Active reading is the process of thinking and reflecting about a text while you are reading. For many students, it’s a natural process, but for most students, it needs to be taught explicitly. Struggling readers have an especially hard time with active reading. Often students who struggle with decoding have difficulty with active reading, as… View Post
Do your students suffer from “bouncing brain” syndrome when retelling a non-fiction text? This year, I discovered that SO many of my students struggle with retelling informational texts using any kind of sequence and order. During my winter assessments, students would just recall and retell facts in whatever order that popped into their heads, with no regard to chapters, sections,… View Post
Students around the country love learning about the legendary groundhog popping out of his hole to look for his shadow on Groundhog Day. This infamous groundhog gets a lot of attention on February 2nd, but put yourself in his shoes for a day. How do you think the groundhog feels on Groundhog Day? Better yet… How do you think he… View Post
Guess what?! Clothespins are not just for laundry! Clothespins are one of my go-to teaching tools for my reading groups! They’re cheap and have so many instructional possibilities. Plus, they’re easy for students to manipulate when used for literacy centers and word work. No matter what strategy or skill I’m teaching, you’ll always find clothespins at my reading table. Keep… View Post
