Kindergartners come to school with a fear of writing, and we did it to them. As classroom teachers, we need to break down the insecurities and build their independence. It’s easy, if we start from the beginning. From the first day of school, providing clear and concise writing instruction with step-by-step supports, the fear will fall, and the student will soar.

Moving from classroom Language Arts teacher to K-5 District ELA Specialist my first order of business was to gauge where we were with reading scores when compared to the rest of the state. We fell well below the state average in Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature, and Language subtests.

Discover a 5th grade teacher’s journey using Greek and Latin roots switch to a morphological approach helped his students improve their reading level.

The five principles that can be used to help design effective word study instruction are not just based on opinion, they are grounded in research by recognized experts in the field, done in thousands of classrooms nationwide. Learn more about the five principles that can be used to help in designing effective vocabulary instruction.

Wordless books can be enjoyed by all levels of emergent readers. They encourage children to apply critical visual literacy skills, which are important for today’s focus on visual images. Wordless books provide scaffolds for storytelling, vocabulary use and fluency, and language learning. Opportunities for creative dialogue and characterization abound when children “read” these stories.

Have you ever wondered why some kids become voracious readers and others avoid reading like it’s a laundry basket full of stinky socks? We asked top literacy experts around the country what they feel is the key to building a love of reading in students. Here is what they had to say.