Category · 319 articles
Spelling & Vocabulary
Educational Fads
Teaching is, by its very nature, experimental. We teachers are just as susceptible to snake-oil sales pitches, fads, and cultural pressures as any professionals. Educational fads…
How Not to Teach Context Clues
Most teachers are familiar with and teach context clues as an important reading strategy to define unknown words; however, fewer teachers are familiar with the debate…
Visual Spelling Strategies
Spelling is primarily an auditory skill; however, when used as an appropriate instructional component of a comprehensive spelling program, visual spelling strategies, such as these “picture…
Don’t Use Round Robin and Popcorn Reading
Round robin and popcorn reading are the staples of reading instruction in many teacher classrooms. However, these instructional strategies have more drawbacks than benefits.
How to Teach Reading Comprehension
Teachers struggle with how to teach reading comprehension. The implicit-instruction teachers hope that reading a lot really will teach comprehension through some form of osmosis. The…
Top Twelve Spelling Trends and Fads
A dozen of the most popular instructional spelling trends and fads over the last thirty years are described and rated as “TRUE” or “FALSE,” in terms…
How to Teach Syllables
The Syllable Transformers is a quick, whole-class instructional strategy that teaches students to properly pronounce and spell the basic syllable patterns. Download FREE this five-week unit.
Why Daily Oral Language (D.O.L.) Doesn’t Work
Daily Oral Language is the most popular instructional technique for teaching grammar and mechanics? But is it effective? No. The article lists 16 reasons why D.O.L.…