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Reading matters! There’s no argument: Reading is the single most important skill your child can learn in school. After all, it comes into play in virtually every other subject he studies. Science. Math. Literature. Social Studies. They all involve reading. And, studies have shown that a strong reading proficiency translates…

When you read a book— who is telling the story? Is your narrator a character in the story or some unknown person? Does the narrator know the feelings and thoughts of all characters? Just one? None? All these questions can be answered by knowing the point of view! So let’s…

Sight Words and Reading readiness! As your child approaches kindergarten age, she is about to take a giant step in her young life. One that can affect every other aspect of her life for years to come. What’s that step? Learning to read. And, if you have a child in…

Do you know the feeling when you are reading a book, it’s getting so close to the end and you can’t stop reading because you just have to know what happens! We all hope for a story where all the characters live “happily ever after” but will it happen?? The only way…

This article explains context clues, describes the different types of context clues, and provides some helpful examples.  Put it into context Whether you’ve ever heard the term before or not, you probably use context clues all the time – maybe without even realizing it. Think about the last time you…

Reading is not like walking — it’s not an immediate, natural thing that most children just do. And once you walk, you continue walking (for the most part), whereas there are four distinct levels of reading comprehension to learn before a child is considered an expert reader. These are: Moving up to…

While there are many ways to go about writing, there are two really distinct kinds of writers: those who get started without any planning, and those who think about what to write for so long that they never actually get their story started. But there’s an easy way to keep…

If a piece of text is a destination, text features are the map and the direction signs. While a destination exists on its own, you need to use use a map and signs to get to that destination. While a piece of fiction or informational text exists on its own,…

From the moment we can string words together, we can tell stories. Young learners may not realize how often they tell their own stories. When they talk about their day, recount a TV show or video they saw – even when they tattle on a sibling or classmate – they…

It’s a jungle out there! To understand the Charlotte’s Web reading level, it’s important to understand the story! Wilbur the pig is born the runt of the litter; his short life destined to end before it’s barely begun. A hard fact of farm life. But, young Fern is determined to…