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Fluency is such an important aspect of reading. The more fluent the reader, the better they can understand the meaning behind the text. Oftentimes we get so caught up in teaching phonics skills that we often forget to practice fluency. But fluency truly is the bridge that allows students to access the text. With good fluency, students are better able to understand the text that they’re reading because their brain is freed up from sounding out each letter of each word.

A really fun way to practice phonics skills is to use picture puzzles! In this activity, students will form pictures of images that they are sounding out. One particularly great aspect of this is that students who are early in their understanding of encoding can arrange the pieces of the puzzle together based on the image, then sound it out and decode it with confidence. These puzzles are great at building that confidence in young or struggling readers.

I don’t know about you, but phonics instruction is not something that has always come easily to me. There are so many moving parts. It can be hard to know what to do and when to do it. BUT… Phonics instruction plays a crucial role in developing strong reading skills in young learners. Which is why figuring out the best way to teach it is important. By teaching the relationship between sounds and letters, we can equip students with the necessary tools to decode words and comprehend texts. To ensure effective phonics instruction, it is essential to incorporate explicit and systematic teaching methods into our instruction. In this blog post, we will explore five powerful strategies that can boost phonics instruction and promote reading proficiency in your students.

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letter fluency freebie

Fluency is hard, isn’t it? Readers have so much they need to do - they’re looking at a word, realizing all of the sounds for each letter, decoding it, and then they have to understand the word’s meaning. It can take quite some time to get the hang of fluency, and we must be patient with our students as they make their journey to fluency. So how do we get our students there? Secret Sentences is a great way to encourage fluency in our readers - especially those that are struggling.

Some students need that extra practice with fluency. This Secret Sentences activity is great for that because instead of asking the student to read the entire sentence, rather, it allows the student to read a sentence slowly, word by word. These Secret Sentences also cover a variety of phonics skills - from short vowels to digraphs to blends to vowel teams and more! So no matter where your students are in their reading journey, you’re sure to find a phonics skill that’s right for them.

As teachers, we are always looking for resources that we can easily differentiate. We all know that at the beginning of the year, our students come in with an array of reading skills. One student could be just learning the short vowels, while another is one or two reading levels above their grade. This can feel overwhelming, so it’s important that the resources we use can be used by each child in the classroom. Enter: Criss & Cross!

Is there anything better than finding an activity that makes reading fun? Nope, I didn’t think so either! This alphabet Roll & Review game is sure to be a game you’ll want to laminate and use over and over. We love it because it’s a FUN and ENGAGING way to review uppercase and lowercase letters and is a wonderful alternative to quizzing kiddos with flashcards (but there’s a time and place for those, too!) Plus, it’s an activity that can be done independently or with or without partners which makes it great for a literacy center while you’re working with your small groups.