The Academic Gym Literacy Skills

The fifty-year reading war over whether phonics or whole-word language should be taught as the foundation for literacy is over. Phonics, supported by science and common sense, has won. And now, under increasing bombardment by the science of reading coalition consisting of families, courts, reading researchers, teachers, state governments, and national legislators, remnants of the so-called “balanced literacy” and the “See Jane run” whole language approaches are beating a rag

The Fry Words are a list of the 1,000 most frequently used words in English, compiled by Dr. Edward Fry. They’re foundational for literacy instruction because they represent the words children encounter most often in reading and writing.

Spelling rules can be used as reading tools because spelling skills support reading skills. Here are seven reasons spelling skills support reading skills. 1. Words consist of sounds. 2. Each letter in our alphabet represents a distinct sound. 3. To spell, students must hear spoken sounds and "see" them as printed letters. 4. To read, students must see printed letters and "hear" them as spoken sounds. 5. Spelling requires students to listen and to think carefully about alphabe

Many kids confuse the speech sound for the short vowel /i/ like in the word "bit," with the speech sound for the short vowel /e/ like in the word "bet." Use the sound-picture chart below to help them create the right mouth positions to make the correct sound. This will keep them from confusing /i/ with /e/.

Blended words are words that begin with sounds that flow into each other such as the first letters in the word "glad." Here's a list of them that your kids can practice spelling and reading this summer.

Writing skills improve reading skills. When kids understand how to write sentences, they learn how to read sentences. One of the best ways to help kids write better sentences is to have them use sentence starter cards to create their own thoughts. Click below to download a printable set of ten sentence-starter cards that can make sentence creation easy and exciting. Just ask your child to create a sentence with each noun. Have fun doing this together.

Here are two important summer spelling lists for your kids to practice spelling the sounds that will help them decode and read words quickly and accurately.

Spelling is the key to reading.

Writing is spelling and automatic, accurate spelling from spoken sounds is the key to fluent reading and writing. To read fluently, kids must automatically and accurately convert visible words into invisible sounds. To write fluently, kids must automatically and accurately turn invisible thoughts into visible words. In other words, to read, kids must see and hear symbols as speech sounds; to write, kids must see and hear speech sounds as symbols.

he most effective way to analyze and spell spoken words is to segment them into syllables.

The best way to remediate toddlers struggling with reading is to merge language learning with musical rhythm.

Here are six reasons why multisensory or whole-body learning is beneficial.

Exercise helps kids with ADHD organize and improve classwork and homework, manage mood swings, make and keep friends, and optimize their brains for learning.

Watch the brief video below to see how a third-grader with ADHD uses simple syllables to decode a multisyllabic word he had never seen before. Then, watch how he struggles (and overcomes) to spell the word without looking back at it even once.

Does your child have symptoms of ADHD? If you have a child or student that is constantly fidgety, inattentive, impulsive, and unfocused in a manner that's inappropriate for their age or development, they may have ADHD--especially if it runs in their family. If you think that your child or student might have ADHD, you should know about the natural chemicals (or neurotransmitters) that can misfire in the brain.

We think of grammar as dusty books filled with parched rules and moldy conventions about commas, semicolons, and (heaven forbid) soporific arguments regarding the impropriety of prepositions at the ends of sentences. Unfortunately, to some extent, this is true. But grammar is much more than dead, dogged rules. When taught with passion and explained as the means to creating beautiful, concise, creative, and coherent expressions, grammar becomes a collection of powerful, transf

Spelling is a great tool to use for reading instruction. To spell complex words, students must study phonics, grammar, vocabulary, and background knowledge, which are the keys to reading comprehension and writing skills. This process of spelling complex words is a powerful tool in developing a deep knowledge of words.

Our scaffolded analytical spelling system begins with larger units, such as simple syllables. It's easier for kids to hear and pronounce vowel and consonant sounds by saying, spelling, and segmenting them within syllabic units such as "ab, eb, ib ,ob, and ub." These simple syllables help students develop phonemic and alphabetic awareness, making it much easier to segment whole words and match their speech sounds to corresponding graphemes (letters and letter combinations that

Our scaffolded analytical spelling system begins with larger units, such as simple syllables. It's easier for kids to hear and pronounce vowel and consonant sounds by saying, spelling, and segmenting them within syllabic units such as "ab, eb, ib ,ob, and ub." These simple syllables help students develop phonemic and alphabetic awareness, making it much easier to segment whole words and match their speech sounds to corresponding graphemes (letters and letter combinations that

Have you ever felt discouraged and frustrated about your child’s behavior or academic performance? Don’t give up: there’s hope. Your child can change because their brain is built to keep growing and learning how to overcome social, emotional, and academic challenges.