Building a strong classroom community starts with planting the right seeds — and what better way than with a Friendship Garden? Friendship gardens are real spaces that bring people together to celebrate kindness, teamwork, and caring for others. Imagine bringing that same spirit into your classroom — with crafts, discussions,
Small group reading time is powerful, but keeping students engaged can be tricky! Hands-on activities for small group reading make learning fun while building fluency, comprehension, and phonics skills. From word-building games to interactive story retelling, these easy ideas will keep your readers excited and learning. Let’s dive in! Before
In the primary grades, we often focus so much on teaching key reading skills that we sometimes overlook the importance of nurturing a genuine love of reading. While decodable phonics texts are great for teaching sight words and sound-based patterns, they may not always offer the thematic engagement that helps
Several of my students needed extra support with fluency this year, so I began using quick warm-ups during small group sessions. These short fluency phrases have helped build word recognition and confidence while keeping our routine simple and effective. Let me share some of my top tips to incorporate fluency
Do your students need a quick, structured way to build phonics fluency every day? Using Reading Warm-Ups as part of your morning routine, small group instruction, or phonics practice can help young learners build confidence, improve decoding skills, and develop strong reading habits! Last year, I noticed that my students
Get this monster reading passages freebie! Our Fluency & Comprehension Freebie Sample Pack is here to help teachers of early readers out with a nice variety of passages kids will love to read! With 10 ready-to-use reading passages on fun topics, it’s designed to save you time while building fluency
Have you noticed a change in your primary students’ ability to socialize and cope with big emotions? The upheaval from the pandemic might be to blame. Teachers are sounding off about a universal need for social-emotional learning in tandem with academics. And since our students have faced a lack of
Helping young students recognize high-frequency words is one of the best ways to build strong early readers. But let’s be real—just handing out flashcards doesn’t always do the trick. If you’re looking for strategies to teach sight words in K-2 that actually stick (and don’t require hours of prep), this
Struggling with reading fluency? Let’s make it fun! The key to successful reading fluency intervention is finding the perfect balance between keeping students engaged and ensuring they make real progress. A supportive, pressure-free environment helps build confidence and fosters growth. Start strong with fun, engaging activities that support reading fluency
I’m always looking for new ways to integrate technology into my daily classroom routines. Brainstorming ways to revamp “blah” activities into new and improved ones has become something I love to do. This time, I decided to switch out my old paper flashcards for digital ones. Why print, laminate, and
