You've probably heard a young child say, "I can do it all by myself!" in one breath, and then in the next breath they are asking you for help. As children make sense of the world and learn how to do more things for themselves, they crave structure and support from adults. Providing children with a variety of tools and resources and teaching them how and when to use them, supports students in developing a sense of "big kid-ness" and agency over their own writing.
Category: high frequency words
Favorite Ways to Teach Foundational Skills in the Primary Grades: Expanding the Reach with Small-Group Work Blog Series
This post covers the how, the why, and the what of introducing stations or centers to support small group work on foundational skills in the primary grades.
The Snap Word Train
Over the years, kindergarteners have shown me that the kinds of environmental tools that they will actually use are: ones which are at their level, ones which they have meaningful memories (or ownership) creating, ones which they can see themselves in (via photographs or interests), and ones which they can touch and interact with. Such… Continue reading The Snap Word Train
Finding Purpose: The Key to Making High Frequency Words Stick
By paying close attention to the words kids are writing most in each genre, we can shift the motive of teaching and learning high frequency words from “have to” to “want to.”