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Literacy is a civil right. We're here to support the journey of learning how to read.

Literacy Misconceptions

This is a pie chart showing that 25% of students learn to read with intensive support and 35% of students learn to read with significant support. Only the remaining 40% learn to read easily.
This image shows a child frustrated with reading. There is text, which reads: Would independent reading help a struggling student? The NRP (National Reading Panel) maintains that independent reading alone may not be effective for developing reading skills, especially for students who haven't developed word reading skills.
This image shows a frustrated teacher and has the following text: MYTH: 3-5 grade teachers will be able to catch kids up who are not reading proficiently by the end of 2nd grade. There’s still so much time. The reality is 3-5 grade teachers have mandated curriculums that rely on proficiency in foundational skills. The amount of time and individual support required to diagnose, intervene, and assist struggling readers overwhelms the capacity of most classroom teachers.
This image features a child flexing his biceps underneath a large illustrated brain drawing. The text on the image reads: Learning to read does not “just happen” for anyone. Our brains don’t work that way. Unlike spoken language, reading is not a skill that can be acquired by exposure or immersion. Reading must be explicitly taught. While we learn to read, our brain forges new neurological pathways to connect recognition of letters with sounds and meanings.

You can Make a BIG Difference at Home

Guided reading is an incredibly important component of reading instruction. Ironically, in most current educational curriculums and programs, it's also the most underutilized instructional activity.

A study in 2012 reported that at-risk readers in kindergarten read orally on average for just over one minute per day. The results also showed that 5% did not read at all, and 50% read less than a minute per day.

“Reading takes time, dedication and a supportive learning environment for most people to master”

So what is "Guided Reading"?

When you take time to assist your child as they attempt to read aloud, and provide feedback in the moment to help them be successful, this is the practice of guided reading. Click the button to view a quick and simple tutorial on how to make the most of this exercise.

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What are letter-sounds?

A letter-sound is the distinct sound that a letter makes in spoken language. This is not to be confused with the name of a given letter. There is only one name for each letter (for example: 'A'), however there can be several letter-sounds for a given letter. Listen to how the sound of the letter 'A' changes in each of these words as you say them: apple, clay, talk.

Phonemes vs Graphemes

A phoneme is a small unit of sound, based on letter pronunciation, that helps differentiate words. For example, only the ending phoneme of these words has been swapped: car, cat, can, cap. There are 44 phonemes in the English language.

When a phoneme or group of phonemes are in written form, they are displayed as a symbol known as a grapheme. All of the following words are an example of the phoneme for a hard 'F' letter-sound, or the grapheme /f/: fun, phone, frog, fast.

Helpful Resource: For the proper pronunciation of each phoneme (and more), consult the free app "Phonogram Sounds".

What the heck are phonics, and why should my kid(s) get hooked on them?

Phonics involves matching letters or groups of letters with their sounds in spoken English. When a word is decoded, phonics knowledge is being used. Learn more about phonics here.

Decoding? I thought we were trying to read, not solve puzzles?

Decoding is the ability to translate written letters into speech. Phonics knowledge is utilized to connect letters with their sounds to help with pronunciation. Segmenting words is a useful way to explore how each part of a word sounds.

How does blending work?

Blending utilizes decoding skills to combine letter-sounds into complete words. Check out this quick and easy tutorial for excellent guidance on blending.