Decodable vs. Leveled Readers: Which Belongs in Your Child’s Hands
Walk into any kindergarten classroom, and you will see two very different books being handed to children learning to read. One says, “Sam can tap. Sam can nap.” The other…
Your family plays a big role in helping your child learn to read and write. With the right phonics activities at home, you can support your child’s literacy development and academic success. The more you understand how and why phonics instruction works, the better you can facilitate effective and meaningful learning experiences with your family.
To help your child practice phonics at home, read our insights for parents below! You can also browse our phonics program reviews for more.
Your child confidently identifies the letter M on Monday. By Wednesday, they stare at...
January brings fresh energy and clean slates. You’ve organized closets, cleared out old toys,...
New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for adults. January offers the perfect opportunity to set...
The new year brings more than just resolutions and fresh calendars. For parents of...
Family literacy traditions work because they remove the daily negotiation. When reading becomes “what...
Many parents watch their children’s hard-won phonics skills fade during extended school holidays, but...
Your child watches snowflakes drift past the window, clutching a mug of warm apple...
The menorah glows on the kitchen counter. Your preschooler watches the first candle flicker...
New Year’s brings fresh starts, new goals, and celebrations around the world. You pull...
You open a picture book with your four-year-old. The words dance across the page...
Walk into any kindergarten classroom, and you will see two very different books being handed to children learning to read. One says, “Sam can tap. Sam can nap.” The other…
When a child learns the short /a/ sound on Monday, blends CVC words on Tuesday, tackles digraphs on Wednesday, and then never returns to short /a/ again, something strange happens.…
Imagine handing a child a jigsaw puzzle with no picture on the box and no guidance about where to begin. A few kids might figure it out eventually, but most…
Here’s something that might surprise you: the order of a phonics lesson matters almost as much as the content inside it. A child who sits down for 20 minutes of…
Most parents only hear about reading problems when it’s already late in the game. A vague comment at a parent-teacher conference, a worrying score on a state test, a teacher…
Walk into any effective elementary classroom during literacy time, and you’ll likely see something that looks a bit like organized chaos. A teacher works intently with four students at a…
If your child’s school sent home a note about an upcoming “phonics screener,” you might have felt a flash of worry. Is it a test? Will my child pass or…
Here’s something most parents don’t realize: Two five-year-olds sitting side by side in the same kindergarten classroom can be months apart in their reading readiness, and both can be perfectly…
Your child has been learning letter sounds for weeks. They can tell you that “s” says /s/ and “a” says /a/ and “t” says /t/. Then you hand them a…
Right now, you’re reading these words without thinking about how you’re doing it. Your brain is instantly converting letters into sounds and sounds into meaning, all in milliseconds. But there…
