Matching texts to readers is a common strategy in many classrooms and school libraries, with some teachers spending significant amounts of time, money and energy organising books according to a level. The concept of levelling can be traced back to … Continued
Often when students are struggling to master a particular concept, multiple opportunities to practise the concept are required. However, here is the problem. Firstly, how do we keep students engaged so they will continue to practise? Secondly, how do we … Continued
Writing to a pen pal is often recommended as a way of engaging children in writing and reading. However, after a few letter exchanges the correspondence tends to dwindle and die. Rather than setting up a peer pen pal, make … Continued
The Dolch word list is a list of the words most frequently used in English. It was compiled by Edward Dolch in 1936, based on children’s books of his era. The list contains 220 ‘service words’ that have to be easily recognised in … Continued
It is not uncommon for children to confuse p/d/q/b. There is a great video clip in which an educator holds up a watch by one end of the band and asks his audience of teachers what he is holding – … Continued