The Blog

               I have to be honest:  I am a full-on history nerd.  As an undergrad, I was a religious studies and history major.  I always knew I would end up a teacher, but I was 19 and loved learning about history.  Perhaps not my smartest move, but it was definitely an interesting time as a student.  Several years ago, my

Synthetic phonics is more effective than embedded phonics. Phonics is ubiquitous. You honestly can’t read an education article or listen to a podcast without hearing about the importance of phonics. But what does the research actually suggest concerning phonics instruction? I believe that knowledge is power, and today I want to give you key points about the effects of phonics

   I am the queen of simplicity and anti-hoarding.  If I haven’t used it in the past year or two, it’s going in the trash or the recycling bin.  I don’t get attached to objects in my classroom just because money has been spent on them, especially if they are not aligned with best practices.  I don’t keep stinky books, outdated

When I first heard from the author of “Monster and Friends,” I didn’t really think much about it. The author wanted to send me a book, and I agreed. I’m uncertain what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I got. I opened the book and fell in love. After looking through it, I immediately sent a message to the

This is one of the decodable texts I use from The Literacy Nest.                Do you want your students to become more proficient, automatic readers?  We all do, right?  This may sound like an oversimplification, but the one thing I suggest we all need a lot more of is practice.  If we want our children to become more automatic word