Reading and writing are companion activities. Learning to be successful at each involves learning many of the same skills. Children who develop effective early reading skills are primed to become successful writers. … [Read more...]
About Joelle Brummitt-Yale
Joelle is a certified teacher (BA in English and a M.Ed. in Middle Grades Language Arts) and has 10 years experience in public school education. She is also currently working on a certificate in academically gifted education.
How Spelling Instruction Relates to Reading Ability
Spelling instruction is not only an important part of the Language Arts classroom’s writing program, it also benefits students’ reading abilities. Because both spelling draws on the cornerstones of effective reading (phonemic awareness and phonics), instruction in this area helps children become stronger readers as well as making them more proficient writers. While many educators know this to … [Read more...]
4th Grade Sight Words Instruction
Undeniably the early years of a child’s education are critical to her development as a reader. During preschool and the primary grades she is building the foundations for a lifetime of reading. One of the building blocks of a strong foundation in reading is sight words. The ability to easily identify and understand high frequency words in texts helps the young reader move efficiently and … [Read more...]
Vocabulary Basics
Knowing the meanings of words on the page is essential for reading comprehension. While few would deny this fact, the role that vocabulary plays in reading is often ignored or overlooked in reading education. A strong vocabulary is one of the pillars of reading comprehension. What Exactly is Vocabulary? In its simplest terms vocabulary is words. Your vocabulary is the words you know and can … [Read more...]
10 Great Word Wall Strategies for Classrooms
Word walls have become a mainstay in elementary classrooms. They are not only a great tool for the early grades, but can be used all the way through high school. Word walls are an excellent way for any teacher or parent to help the young people they are working with develop and reinforce their vocabularies. They provide subtle reminders of new and important words. As a new word is learned it … [Read more...]
What is Content Area Reading?
Every time you read a text you read it the same way, right? Novels, textbooks, magazine articles and Internet web pages are all the same if they are written in the same language, aren’t they? The answer to both of the questions is “not really”. Readers employ different reading strategies and prior knowledge based on the genre (type of reading) and topic of the text. … [Read more...]
Helping Students Develop Strong Content Area Reading skills
Content area reading refers to the reading that someone needs to complete and understand in a particular subject area. The content areas typically included disciplines like science, social studies/history and math, but any area outside of English literature instruction constitutes a content area. … [Read more...]
What is Phonemic Awareness?
Phonemic awareness is the only aspect of reading that is essential for children to develop before they can begin learning to read. Based in oral language, phonemic awareness serves as not only the foundation for reading it is also the strongest indicator of a child’s potential for learning to read. … [Read more...]
What is Reading Fluency?
Fluency is the most overlooked of the five essential aspects of reading. Because it is usually measured through oral reading, many do not consider it important to silent, independent reading. However, fluency plays an important role in a reader’s ability to comprehend texts. … [Read more...]
What is Phonics?
Phonics is one of the primary building blocks of reading. Without an understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds, reading cannot occur. This multifaceted connection between print and pronunciation is an important component of any instructional program in reading because it provides readers with tools for discovering new written words. … [Read more...]
When is the Right Time to Hire Your Child a Reading Tutor?
Working one-on-one with a tutor is an extremely effective and beneficial way to help your child make strong academic progress. It can also be a significant investment of time and money. So, when is it worth it to hire your child a reading tutor? … [Read more...]
Helping Your Gifted Reader
Some children seem like they are born to read. They devour books and seem to understand them with ease. They may even be able to read texts that are well above grade level. While parents and teachers may be inclined to “not worry” about these children because they are well above where they should be for their age, it is important to provide them with reading experiences that help them to … [Read more...]
Steps a Parent Can Take to Help Their Struggling Reader
Every parent wants what’s best for his or her child. We all know how important reading ability is and therefore we want our children to succeed at reading. When children have difficulty with reading parents can become frustrated because they want to help them but do not know how. If your school-aged child is having trouble with reading here are some steps you can take to help his or her … [Read more...]
Boys and Reading: Strategies for Success
Over the last several years an alarming trend has developed regarding our children’s reading abilities. Nationally there is a significant discrepancy between our nation’s boys and girls reading scores. Boys routinely perform at much lower levels than girls on standardized reading assessments. … [Read more...]
Why Read 20 Minutes a Day?
Let’s face it…parents (and kids) are busy! It is difficult to “fit in” all that needs to be done in a day. We are often faced with having to make choices about what stays and what goes in our schedules. So, why is it so critical to include 20 minutes of reading in your child’s daily schedule? … [Read more...]
