In my previous post, I shared the importance of building and strengthening connections between knowledge my students learned in earlier grades to what they will learn this year.

I identified three concerns about my students’ prior knowledge:

1. Their retention of knowledge learned in earlier grades.

2. Their ability to learn new knowledge in third grade depends on what they have learned and remembered in previous grades.

3. Their knowledge of each civilization is isolated, and they are unaware of the connections across the content. This also increases the likelihood they will forget what they have learned.

To address these concerns, I will consider these guidelines as I develop my lessons.

1. Intentionally review content they have learned in earlier grades.

2. Explicitly connect third grade content to content learned in earlier grades.

3. Design learning experiences that advance students towards the generalization and adaptation phases of the instructional hierarchy so they can build connections across content.

First, let’s consider concern #1 and its solution.

Concern #1:

Solution:

This applies to all content, but I will give examples related to knowledge building.

But first, I think it is important to acknowledge that I have a couple of advantages that many teachers do not have. At my school, K-3 uses the same knowledge-building curriculum, Core Knowledge, that is aligned across grade levels. Additionally, our school is not very transient; we have a very small number of students that move in or out every year. Because of these two factors, I know what most of my students have been taught in K-2. For teachers who do not have this advantage, building background knowledge will be necessary. I had this same struggle the first year our school started using Core Knowledge. For example, because my second grade students hadn’t had the first grade content, I had to teach a condensed version of the first grade unit on the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence in order to teach the Constitution and War of 1812 to my second graders. At the end, I will share an alternative for teachers who use other curricula.

Because each grade at our school builds on the content from the year before, it is important that students retain knowledge from previous grades. However, it can seem a little daunting to review previous content and find the time to embed it into the curriculum. Last year, I would haphazardly make reference to prior content when it would come up in a lesson. For example, “Remember in second grade when you learned about Mohenjo-daro?” But it wasn’t sufficient. They seemed to vaguely remember, but it was not solid in their memory. Efrat Furst described what my students may have been experiencing as shallow prior knowledge:

When prior knowledge is shallow, we only have a surface layer of facts and ideas - not well connected or organised, and crucially, not practised. It might be what was learned in the last lesson, or even a year ago, without much depth.

When we encounter such concepts as learners, we may recognise them as familiar but struggle to recall the exact meaning, and be unsure of how and when to use them.

I had assumed if I just randomly pointed out a connection to what they had learned last year, they would immediately recall the information and connect it to their new learning. But that was not happening, most likely because my students’ knowledge, especially after such a long period of time, was shallow. (Efrat explains this in more depth in her article When Prior Knowledge Helps, and When It Doesn’t.) To deepen shallow knowledge, Efrat recommends:

“Therefore, as teachers, it is our responsibility to plan an activity that would:

• Focus attention and activate prior knowledge, step by step if needed

• Make sure that the relevant part is activated (and not remotely related associations that may interfere)

• Check for accuracy in the context

• Connect properly and meaningfully to the new idea we are teaching.”

This is where the brilliance of Core Knowledge comes in. For third grade, the first Core Knowledge History and Geography unit is about World Rivers, which cleverly includes review of first and second grade content. It is the perfect way to start third grade. Students start the year with familiar content while also learning about the major rivers of the world. This unit creates a virtuous cycle of introducing new content about rivers and reviewing content from earlier grades.

The unit on world rivers “focuses attention and activates prior knowledge” that is relevant to what students are learning about rivers. Instead of reviewing everything they’ve previously learned, students are encountering prior content that is specific to what they are learning about rivers. This connects the prior knowledge “properly and meaningfully” to the new content.

Here are some excerpts taken from the World Rivers student text that relate to what students learned in earlier grades (emphasis added):

First Grade

Ancient Egypt: Nile, pyramids

The Nile River is a wide and powerful river. It carries Ahmed’s boat as if it were a feather. Suddenly you see something familiar in the distance.

“Do you see the Great Pyramids?” Ahmed says, pointing to them proudly.

“Thousands of people worked for many years to build those pyramids,” you say. “They brought huge blocks of stone to build them. They used boats on this river to carry the stone.”

Second Grade

Ancient China: Yellow River, Yangtze River, Great Wall of China

Another river that brings water to farmers’ fields is what the Chinese call Huang He, the Yellow River. This river is in China on the continent of Asia, and its name comes from the yellow color of its water. That color comes from the tons of silt in the river.

Have you ever read about the Great Wall of China? Well, the dam on the Yangtze River is sort of like the Great Wall built in water.

Ancient India: Indus River, Mohenjo-daro, the Great Bath

Some 4,500 years ago, people living near the Indus River in present-day Pakistan built the city of Mohenjo-daro. This well-planned city had many amazing buildings and spaces. One of the most interesting is called the Great Bath.

Americans Move West: Mississippi River, steamboats

Each of these examples are short paragraphs or images embedded in the content and are relevant to understanding rivers.

These excerpts are a good start to activating and reviewing prior knowledge; however, I don’t think this is sufficient to ensure students will remember what they have already learned. While students may have developed a strong understanding of the content when they first learned it, the year or two lapse in time most likely means that knowledge has faded and will need more explicit and thorough review than what is provided in the Core Knowledge student text.

Sarah Cottinghatt explains in her book, Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning in Action, “Students can’t build a body of knowledge if new meanings are allowed to regress into existing knowledge: they’ll be left with ghosts of ideas rather than the ideas themselves.” To counteract this, students should “engage in cognitive tasks that tell their minds that these memories must remain stable and accessible.” One way I do this is to provide more interactions with prior content through articles or short excerpts about the content. (ReadWorks is a useful resource to find relevant articles. See resources below for links to sample texts.)

How can this be replicated?

But how can teachers, who do not use Core Knowledge, replicate this with their content? While it will require intentional planning, I believe there are simple ways to imitate what Core Knowledge has done without having to build an entire unit. Instead, find opportunities in the content you teach to refer back to relevant knowledge students have learned in prior grades. Include a short article, image, or video that quickly recaps the prior content. This is also beneficial for students who are new to the content to build their background knowledge. Other effective reviews include having students fill in a partially made concept map, or engage in one of the many retrieval activities recommended by Kate Jones such as a brain dump, picture prompts, List It!, and more.

Next Time

In the next article, I will address my second concern:

Resources

When Prior Knowledge Helps, and When It Doesn’t by Efrat Furst

Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning in Action by Sarah Cottingham

Concept Maps | Reading Rockets

Retrieval Practice: Resources and research for every classroom by Kate Jones

CKHG Grade 3: Unit 1—World Rivers

Sample ReadWorks articles used to review prior first and second grade content:

• Egyptians and the Nile River

• The Geography of China

• The Mighty Mississippi

Other sources for articles include CommonLit and Newsela.

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Part of my summer professional learning is spent building my content knowledge. Traditionally, I would build my content knowledge specific to the content I teach for my grade level. For example, when I taught second grade, I focused on building my knowledge of Ancient Greece, Ancient China, Ancient India. When I moved to teaching third grade, I read texts about Ancient Rome and the Vikings.

But this year, I was really interested in attempting Ted Gioia’s 12-week humanities course to expand my overall knowledge, not just what was specific to the content I teach. But there was a surprising correlation between that humanities course and Ausubel’s meaningful learning.

Gioia has the course set up to read 250 pages a week and engage with a selection of related music and art. The reading selections were mostly a variety of texts from the ancient world, including ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome, India, Mesopotamia, and the Middle East.

So how does this relate to meaningful learning? While I wasn’t looking to focus specifically on my grade-level content, the humanities course turned out to be an in-depth review of all the content I had learned related to second and third grade content. It also developed my knowledge of the content students at my school learn in first grade. It took that knowledge I had acquired over several years, which had been somewhat isolated bits of knowledge, and connected it all into one schema. It made that knowledge stronger and deeper, and gave me a better picture of the ancient world as a whole. I also better understand the interplay of those civilizations with each other and their influence on modern civilizations and events.

More importantly, though, it made me aware of how important this is not just for my own learning but also for my students’ learning, and that I need to make similar connections for my students. Through my own summer learning experience, I realized that I need to intentionally design my lessons to build and strengthen connections between knowledge my students learned in earlier grades and what they will learn this year.

My students will be coming to me having been taught about the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India, and Greece. Ideally, they will have a basic understanding of these civilizations, but my concerns are:

1. Their retention of knowledge learned in earlier grades.

2. Their ability to learn new knowledge in third grade depends on what they have learned and remembered in previous grades.

3. Their knowledge of each civilization is isolated, and they are unaware of the connections across the content. This also increases the likelihood they will forget what they have learned.

To address these concerns, I am considering these guidelines as I develop my lessons.

1. Intentionally review content they have learned in earlier grades.

2. Explicitly connect third grade content to content learned in earlier grades.

3. Design learning experiences that advance students towards the generalization and adaptation phases of the instructional hierarchy so they can build connections across content.

In upcoming posts, I will go more in depth on what this looks like in my lesson design.

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Culture is something I’ve been thinking about more and more, especially as I prepare for the new year in a few weeks. Culture in the classroom and culture in a school has a huge impact on the success and well-being for students, teachers, and staff. Often I think it is left to chance, but as you will see in the resources below, there are ways to build a positive culture explicitly and intentionally.

Podcasts

Ep 002: From Compliance to Buy…–Operation Education with Pritesh Raichura and Neena Sharma

I’m loving this new podcast from Pritesh and Neena. This episode is especially pertinent for thinking about how to develop a classroom culture of buy-in as you begin the new year.

S02E01 - Dr. Ray Boyd on Leadership, Vision, and School Culture with Brendan Lee

A great interview from a school leader, and his journey to create a strong culture of success for students, teachers, and staff at his school.

Articles

Attention by Design: Why I Refuse to Gild My Teaching and My Classroom by Brett Benson ​​SoL in the Wild

More than just classroom set up, Brett shares how the classroom decor (or not to decor) has an impact on classroom culture. This is an excellent read.

Building Culture: how to shape character through daily interactions | Bunsen Blue by Pritesh Raichura

Pritesh focuses on explicitly teaching and practicing values to create a strong culture of character in his classroom. This post really shows how teaching culture is just as important as teaching academics.

Bootcamp by Joe Kirby

Joe Kirby writes about “Bootcamp” at Michaela that includes teaching “pupils the mindset and habits to succeed at school” and the why behind everything they do.

Making everyday excellence ‘routine’ by guest contributor, Sara Dower

Sara shares practical ways to teach routines explicitly based on the experience of her school and classroom.

How Teaching Happens by Paul Kirschner, Carl Hendrick, and Jim Heal

Section 5 “In the Classroom” includes some interesting research on relationships in the classroom and the impact on student success. One of the articles is listed next.

The Key to Classroom Management by Robert J. Marzano and Jana S. Marzano

This article shares how with “appropriate levels of dominance and cooperation and an awareness of student needs, teachers can build positive classroom dynamics.”

The hidden curriculum for adults: Why school norms shape teachers more than policies by Dr. Haili Hughes

This post is geared more toward teacher culture. Dr. Hughes has been writing amazing Substack posts, and I would recommend them for any teacher wanting to refine their practice.

Blogs with Video

The ‘What To Do’ Cycle and Other Secrets of Positive Classroom Culture (w/ video) | Teach Like a Champion

This is a post on the highly impactful “What To Do” Cycle from TLAC with classroom video (of course!). This was one of the best professional development trainings I have attended.

Culture Onboarding and Habit Assemblies (with video) from Peps Mccrea’s Evidence Snacks

Peps shares some simple but powerful ways to build culture and norms whole school. Habit assemblies bring the whole school (or certain grades) together to practice school routines, giving everyone a common language and clear examples. Culture onboarding helps integrate new and upcoming students to the routines of the school to keep the school culture strong.

Book

How the Other Half Learns by Robert Pondiscio

A look into Success Academy, charter schools that provide high-quality education for low-income students of color. He self-described it this way: “I intended my book about Success Academy to focus on curriculum and instruction. It ended up being, almost by accident, more about school culture. It matters a whole lot.”

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Guest Post! with Jonathan Regino. We switch now from the Resources for Parents math series back to the Knowledge-Building for Teachers. (You can find all the guest posts from Jonathan Regino for the Resources for Parents series here: Preschool, Elementary, Secondary, and Instructional Resources.)

In part 2 of Anna Stokke’s Mailbag episode with Jon, one of the questions they discussed was how to help teachers increase their content knowledge to be able to teach math at their grade level. Unfortunately, teacher colleges don’t necessarily prepare elementary teachers with the content or pedagogical knowledge to teach math well. To remedy this at his school, Jon provides professional development using many of the resources shared below to support his teachers. If you are seeking to become more confident in your math content and instructional knowledge, Jon and I have curated a variety of resources that should support every teacher’s needs.

Math Summit this August!

Global Math Intervention Summit August 6-8, 2026! This free virtual math conference features “leading experts in dyscalculia, systematic instruction, explicit teaching, mathematical language, and the Science of Learning with practical strategies you can apply immediately.” I will be presenting on the effectiveness of Facts on Fire for math intervention.

Math Development for Teachers

Podcasts

Chalk & Talk with Anna Stokke

Every episode is like a mini college class! A teacher wanting to build their math knowledge will find Anna Stokke’s podcast a valuable resource.

Knowledge for Teachers Podcast - Learning with Mr. Lee with Brendan Lee

Brendan brings the perspective of a primary teacher to support teachers building their math knowledge through his podcast. He also writes an excellent blog and provides trainings and other resources.

The Mr Barton Maths Podcast with Craig Barton

Craig Barton’s podcast gets into the nitty-gritty of all things math. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the podcast; they are well worth the listen.

Online Modules and Videos

Math Academy

Math Academy is probably the simplest and most accessible way to build your own content knowledge. After taking a placement test, the program adapts to provide a customized learning experience.

Primary Mastery Professional Development | NCETM

This site features training videos and materials for teachers that “will assist you in your professional development and enable you to deliver teaching for mastery with confidence.”

Expert Instructional Videos for Every K–5 Math Skill by SpringMath

SpringMath developed videos that cover “nearly every K–5 math skill in SpringMath: from sums and fact families to fractions, division, and beyond. Teachers can use the videos to build their own instructional confidence.”

Math Instruction

Quick Guide

10 Key Mathematics Practices for All Elementary Schools - The Meadows Center 10 Key Mathematics Practices for All Elementary Schools

Blog

A Systematic and Structured Approach to Teaching Primary Mathematics (Part 1) - Learning with Mr. Lee

Brendan shares a lesson structure and resources for systematic math instruction.

Online Modules and Videos

Kansas Math Project Check out free modules about the teaching of math, then access grade-level modules (PK-2, 3-5, and 6-12). “We believe that every math teacher in Kansas should have a strong understanding of evidence-based teaching strategies, and that all teachers of math should have an equally strong understanding of math content.”

Learning Trajectories Birth to 3rd grade by Drs. Julie Sarama and Douglas H. Clements

This site does a really nice job of showing the sequence of skills at the earliest of grades. They have videos of children at the specific age completing activities so you can see what it looks like to complete a skill at each age and level. Not all of the activities are great but it is a really good starting point.

Math Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) Videos PaTTAN CRA Videos

PaTTAN shares a collection of videos on how to teach using the concrete-representational-abstract approach for a variety of math concepts.

Conferences

Teaching the Succeeds Summit - Math by Elana Gordan, Kata Solow, and Holly Korbey

This is the math playlist from this summer’s inaugural Teaching that Succeeds Summit featuring teacher success stories.

PaTTAN Math Conferences:

All PaTTAN presentations are filmed and shared online for free.

2023 PaTTAN Math Conference - YouTube

2025 PaTTAN Math Conference - YouTube

The next one will be in June of 2027.

Books

The Tips for Teachers guide to... (16 book series) by Craig Barton

How I Wish I Had Taught Maths by Craig Barton

How Children Learn Math by Nancy Krasa, Karen Tzanetopoulos, Colleen Maas

Teaching Math With Examples by Michael Pershan

Traditional Math: An effective strategy that teachers feel guilty using by Barry Garelick (Author), J. R. Wilson (Author)

Math Intervention

Online Courses and Resources

Texas Special Education Support: Instructional Routines for Mathematics Intervention

“The purpose of these mathematics instructional routines is to provide educators with materials to use when providing intervention to students who experience difficulty with mathematics.”

National Center on Intensive Intervention National Center on Intensive Intervention Math Course. Here is a free, self-paced course about providing intensive intervention in math.

Books

Blind Spots by Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens

Dr. Berens takes a behavioral science approach and uses an instructional method called Technology of Teaching to support “every type of student - average, struggling, gifted, or those classified as learning disabled.”

Effective Math Interventions: A Guide to Improving Whole-Number Knowledge by Robin S. Codding, Robert J. Volpe, and Brian C. Poncy

An excellent book on math intervention that “presents step-by-step guidelines for designing and implementing . . . interventions for mathematics difficulties.” The book also includes effective assessment procedures and reproducibles.

Direct Instruction Mathematics by Marcy Stein, Diane Kinder, Jerry Silbert, Douglas Carnine, and Kristen Rolf

This book can be used as a reference for lessons and instructional strategies on any math topic. Well-designed Direct Instruction scripts are included. This is an invaluable text that teachers can use to supplement any math curriculum.

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Math: Building Teacher Content and Instructional Knowledge

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Knowledge-Building for Teachers Series Image: Johnson, Crockett. Simple Equation (Descartes). 1966. National Museum of American History

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Guest Post! Part 4 and final post in the series for parents featuring instructional resources for parents. (You can access Part 1: Preschool Edition here, Part 2: Elementary Edition here, and Part 3: Secondary Edition here ) Inspired by the interview with Jon Regino on Anna Stokke’s Chalk and Talk mailbag episode, Jon has graciously contributed an amazing collection of resources that are very accessible for parents to use to support their children at home.

I would once again like to give a huge thank you to Jon for his inspiration and support in creating this series. If you know of a parent that is searching for resources to help their child’s math learning, please share this series with them.

Intensive Interventions

National Center on Intensive Interventions

NCII has a bank of math lessons and resources designed to supplement the curricula a child is already being taught.

Intensive Intervention in Mathematics Course Content

NCII has also developed a set of teaching modules for instructors and parents to build their own knowledge to support student interventions.

Parent Alliance for Students with Exceptional Needs

PARENS provides advocacy support and resources for students with exceptional needs.

Executive Functioning

Executive Functioning Implementation Guide by Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan

A handy guide to get started on understanding executive functioning and what it means for a child’s learning.

Executive Functions for Every Classroom, Grades 3-12: Creating Safe and Predictable Learning Environments by Mitch Weathers

The first book in the series on executive functions for upper-elementary and secondary students.

Executive Functions for Every K-3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start by Mitch Weathers and Dr. Sarah Oberle

Newly released book on executive functions focused on early elementary students.

Behavioral Science

Blind Spots — Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens

Dr. Berens shares a behavioral science informed instructional method called Technology of Teaching to support “every type of student - average, struggling, gifted, or those classified as learning disabled.”

Effective Math Interventions: A Guide to Improving Whole-Number Knowledge by Robin S. Codding, Robert J. Volpe, and Brian C. Poncy

An excellent book on math intervention that “presents step-by-step guidelines for designing and implementing . . . interventions for mathematics difficulties.” The book also includes effective assessment procedures and reproducibles.

Explicit Instruction

Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching by Zach Groshell

An accessible book on explicit instruction that is easy for parents to read and implement.

Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching (What Works for Special-Needs Learners) by Anita Archer and Charles A. Hughes

A practical guide on how to deliver explicit instruction. Anita Archer has also created free training videos demonstrating explicit instruction for elementary and secondary levels: Explicit Instructions

Mini Series

The Tips for Teachers guide to... (16 book series) by Craig Barton

Craig has written 16 mini-books on a variety of instructional topics that he has seen used effectively in real classrooms that can be implemented right away.

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Math Resources For Parents: Instructional Resources

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Resources for Parents Series

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Guest Post! Part 3 in the series for parents featuring math resources applicable to secondary-age children. (You can access Part 1: Preschool Edition here and Part 2: Elementary Edition here. ) Inspired by the interview with Jon Regino on Anna Stokke’s Chalk and Talk mailbag episode, Jon has graciously contributed an amazing collection of resources that are accessible for parents to use to support their children at home.

Math Facts

M.I.N.D. 2.0 - FACTS ON FIRE Dr. Brian Poncy

Developed by Dr. Brian Poncy, M.I.N.D is a free fact fluency program with video lessons and printable workbooks. Also included is a scope and sequence, mastery criteria, and intervention resources. Podcast: Facts on Fire with Brian Poncy - Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works.

Worked Examples

Math by Example Worked Examples

Worked Example worksheets give children practice with common misconceptions and encourage critical thinking. Resources can be downloaded for free or preprinted materials can be purchased.

“Within each MathByExample assignment, students:

• analyze correct and incorrect examples;

• explain the thinking of “other” students’ work; and

• solve problems that are similar to the examples.”

Intervention Supports

Delta Math RtI (Tier 2 and 3 supports) by Mike Klavon

Delta Math has developed free screeners and intervention lessons for parents to use at home to help get their children caught up with any missing essential skills and to ensure they are prepared for the next grade level, Kindergarten through Algebra 2. Delta Math RtI Program At A Glance

Texas Special Education Support: Instructional Routines for Mathematics Intervention

Modules for grades 2 through 8. These modules feature:

• “Step-by-step routines for explicit teaching of the mathematics content

• Vocabulary Cards with visuals that can be easily displayed in the classroom

• Problem Sets with greater than 50 ready-to-use problems for each module.”

Mr Barton Maths Craig Barton

Craig Barton has designed an extensive website with a variety of free resources for parents and students to find support for any math topic they are struggling with.

PaTTAN - Mathematics Pennsylvania Training and Technical Network

PaTTAN provides a bank of free videos, articles, and resources on almost any math topic.

Online Learning Platforms

Math Academy Grades 4 and up

Math Academy is an online learning platform that allows students to accelerate at their own speed or master gaps in their learning. Podcast: Math Academy: Optimizing student learning with Alex Smith and Justin Skycak (Ep 42) - Chalk and Talk.

The Math Book

Direct Instruction Mathematics by Marcy Stein, Diane Kinder, Jerry Silbert, Douglas Carnine, and Kristen Rolf

This book can be used as a reference for lessons and instructional strategies on any math topic. Well-designed Direct Instruction scripts are included. This is an invaluable text for every parent to support their child’s learning.

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Math Resources For Parents: Secondary

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Resources for Parents Series

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Guest Post! This is Part 2 in the series for parents featuring math resources applicable to elementary-age children. (You can access Part 1: Preschool Edition here.) Inspired by the interview with Jon Regino on Anna Stokke’s Chalk and Talk mailbag episode. Jon has graciously contributed an amazing collection of resources that are very accessible for parents to use to support their children at home.

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Math Facts

M.I.N.D. 2.0 - FACTS ON FIRE Dr. Brian Poncy

Developed by Dr. Brian Poncy, M.I.N.D. is a free fact fluency program with video lessons and printable workbooks. Also included is a scope and sequence, mastery criteria, and intervention resources. Podcast: Facts on Fire with Brian Poncy - Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works.

FactFreaks Steve Hare

This is a handy free online fact fluency program that doesn’t require a login and can be done easily on a phone or tablet. Podcast: Fact Freaks and Building Math Fluency with Steve Hare.

Times Tables Rockstars Bruno Ready

Times Table Rockstars is a fact fluency platform available through an app or website. It does have an annual fee, but it is very affordable for families. Podcast: Rocking the times tables with Bruno Reddy (Ep 51) - Chalk and Talk.

Word Problems and Worked Examples

Pirate Math Equation Quest: Single and Multi-Step Word Problems by Katherine A. Berry and Dr. Sarah Powell

An amazing free resource, Pirate Math is an intensive intervention for children struggling with solving word problems. Lessons and printable materials are included. Videos: Pirate Math Equation Quest - YouTube.

Math by Example Worked Examples

Worked Example worksheets give children practice with common math misconceptions and encourage critical thinking.

“Within each MathByExample assignment, students:

• analyze correct and incorrect examples;

• explain the thinking of “other” students’ work; and

• solve problems that are similar to the examples.”

Resources can be downloaded for free or preprinted materials can be purchased.

Intervention Supports

Delta Math RtI (Tier 2 and 3 supports) by Mike Klavon

Delta Math has developed free screeners and intervention lessons for parents to use at home to help get their children caught up with any missing essential skills and to ensure they are prepared for the next grade level, Kindergarten through Algebra 2. Delta Math RtI Program At A Glance.

Texas Special Education Support: Instructional Routines for Mathematics Intervention

Modules for grades 2 through 8. These modules feature:

• “Step-by-step routines for explicit teaching of the mathematics content

• Vocabulary Cards with visuals that can be easily displayed in the classroom

• Problem Sets with greater than 50 ready-to-use problems for each module.”

Mr Barton Maths Craig Barton

Craig Barton has designed an extensive website with a variety of free resources for parents and students to find support for any math topic they are struggling with.

PaTTAN - Mathematics Pennsylvania Training and Technical Network

PaTTAN provides a bank of free videos, articles, and resources on almost any math topic.

Online Learning Platforms

Math Academy Grades 4 and up

Math Academy is an online learning platform that allows students to accelerate at their own speed or master gaps in their learning. Podcast: Math Academy: Optimizing student learning with Alex Smith and Justin Skycak (Ep 42) - Chalk and Talk.

Beast Academy Art of Problem Solving

Beast Academy is an elementary math curriculum that focuses on developing problem solving skills and skill mastery. They also offer live virtual instruction.

The Math Book

Direct Instruction Mathematics by Marcy Stein, Diane Kinder, Jerry Silbert, Douglas Carnine, and Kristen Rolf

This book can be used as a reference for lessons and instructional strategies on any math topic. Well-designed Direct Instruction scripts are included. This is an invaluable text for every parent to support their child’s learning.

Math Resources for Parents: Elementary K-6

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Happy 250th Birthday to this great nation! I have loved seeing the country and the world coming together for the World Cup as we celebrate this momentous occasion.

Enjoy this collection of some of my favorite speeches, events, and stories from America’s founding and journey.

Famous Speeches and Articles

Gettysburg address delivered at Gettysburg Pa. Nov. 19th, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln

A speech worthy of memorization, Lincoln captures in a few words the sacrifice made to found and preserve America, and our sacred obligation to protect our freedoms. The Gettysburg Address

“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass

One of my American heroes, Frederick Douglass’s speech is a compelling reminder of the evil of slavery and the fragility of freedoms granted in the founding documents. You can also hear the majority of the speech read in full On House Floor by Rep. Pressley.

Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Speech on American Rhetoric

This version has the audio and transcript of King’s iconic speech.

Who Were the Signers of the Declaration of Independence? | American Battlefield Trust

ABT shares a short article summarizing the backgrounds of the men who sacrificed so much by signing the Declaration of Independence.

Reenactments of Famous Events

Washington Crosses the Delaware River: The 2020 Reenactment from Washington Crossing Historic Park

An event that turned the tide in the Revolutionary War is reenacted in this annual event at Washington Crossing Historic Park.

Relive the Boston Tea Party 250th Anniversary from Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

A phenomenal reenactment celebrated in December 2023 of the famous tea party. My students loved shouting “Huzzah” with the patriots as they tossed the tea overboard!

Podcasts and Webinars

Founding Fathers: An American Dream | Noiser History Podcasts

A new podcast series that documents the American journey through excellent story telling.

Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution | Hillsdale College Online Courses

I would recommend this class for anyone who wants to learn the principles of the American founding embodied in the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution.

The Story of America – The White House

Hillsdale College brings together an excellent series of videos retelling stories of the founders and key events of the American founding.

Independence Day at the National Archives

This site has a variety of activities for families including crafts, recipes, articles, videos, and more.

Happy 4th of July!

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Guest Post! This post features guest writer Jon Regino. I recently listened to Jon on Anna Stokke’s Chalk and Talk mailbag episode answering listener questions about math. In that episode, the topic came up about parent support guides for math, and it inspired me to create a series of posts for PARENTS. So I am delighted to bring you a collection of resources curated by Jon and me to support parents as they help their child develop foundational math skills.

Children’s Video

Number Blocks (Netflix Show)

This is a fun show about Numberblocks that solve math-related problems, focusing on basic foundational math skills. The 5-minute show has catchy little songs and cute animations. I will definitely be recommending this for my nieces and nephews.

Text Message

PAL.guide sends text messages to parents with math activities they can do anywhere. Parents input how their child did, and the program suggests next steps. Activities are “five-minute moments at the kitchen table, on a walk, or at bedtime” with no worksheets and no extra screen time. This is a really simple way to get started with embedding math moments into the regular day.

Website

Learning Trajectories Birth to 3rd grade by Drs. Julie Sarama and Douglas H. Clements

Developed by professors at the University of Denver and Marsico Institute of Early Learning, Learning Trajectories provides a bank of resources organized by specific skill with videos, lesson activities, and games. The website also offers resources for families that include: tips for supporting math at home, books and read-alouds, and articles about early math. This site is very parent and family user friendly.

Webinars and More

PaTTAN - Mathematics Pennsylvania Training and Technical Network

PaTTAN is an amazing collection of excellent webinars and resources covering all things math. The website can be a little overwhelming, but they have provided a parent guide video that gives an overview of how to navigate PaTTAN resources.

IES Guide

WWC | Teaching Math to Young Children by Institute of Education Sciences

If you want to go a little more in-depth, the IES guide offers “recommendations for teaching math to children in preschool, prekindergarten, and kindergarten.” and the research supporting the recommendations. Each recommendation includes examples of developmental progression, how to carry out the recommendation, activities to develop specific skills, and how to detect and correct common errors.

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Math Resources For Parents: Preschool

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Resources for Parents Series

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Registration Is Open!

I am delighted to announce that registration for the upcoming Wyoming Science of Teaching and Learning Collaborative conference is open! It is being held Saturday, October 10, 2026, in beautiful Cody, WY. We have an amazing line up of presenters, including teachers and experts, sharing on a variety of topics centered around the science of learning. We would love to have you join us. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity to learn from some of the best teachers and experts in the country!

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And if you’ve never been to Cody or Wyoming, this is your chance to experience some amazing country. As Sean Morrisey put it,

“I am beyond excited to present at the Wyoming Science of Teaching and Learning Collaborative conference! Saturday conference & Sunday at Yellowstone is what I call a terrific weekend.”

Word Mapping Project: A Chance to Win!

We are also excited to announce that Sean Morrisey has generously donated TWO license subscriptions to the Word Mapping Project to support the conference!

Enter now to win!

Even if you are not a teacher, this would make a great gift to a teacher or parent.

We would love to have you join us this fall! And please share this with a colleague, teacher friend, or school leader who you think would love to join us as well.

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Sarah Cottinghatt explains meaningful learning simply in this quote:

Ausubel says that meaningful learning happens when some relevant existing knowledge connects to the new information that you’re teaching and a new meaning is born.

Before I understood meaningful learning principles, I had instinctively thought it was important that knowledge should be cumulative and connected, but I had never intentionally designed my instruction to include explicit connections to previous learning. Meaningful learning now underpins all my instructional design and delivery.

I’ve organized this post by the practical application categories outlined in Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning in Action by Sarah Cottingham. All quotes are Sarah’s taken from her book or from her webinar Kickstart Meaningful Learning with Sarah Cottinghatt.

Meaningful Learning - Start here

Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning in Action by Sarah Cottingham

Sarah’s book is an excellent distillation of Ausubel’s work on meaningful learning. It is the perfect blend of theory and practical application. (You can also find an excellent book summary by here.)

Kickstart Meaningful Learning with Sarah Cottinghatt

This webinar combined with her book is the perfect way to learn about and get started with meaningful learning.

Designing the Curriculum

Teach Fast: Focused Adaptable Structured Teaching by Gene Tavernetti

Teach FAST is an excellent resource for designing instruction around meaningful learning. Every stage of the FAST framework addresses each principle of meaningful learning.

Organise Ideas: Thinking by Hand, Extending the Mind by Oliver Caviglioli

This is a helpful book for creating a visual map of the subsumers and ideas to focus on in the content.

Here is an example of how I have mapped out these ideas. I first extracted the key ideas from each of my units. I then identified the common connections between them to develop my subsumers. Finally, I filled in the details from each unit. I also included relevant learning from previous grades. This is a sample of some of those connections.

Prepare Students

The use of advance organizers in the learning and retention of meaningful verbal material. by David P. Ausubel

This paper is also discussed in Chapter 11: “What You Know Determines What You Learn” in How Learning Happens by Paul A. Kirschner and Carl Hendrick.

The prior knowledge paradox: what to do with what they know by Sarah Cottinghatt

Sarah has a useful explanation of the purpose of advance organizers and examples of how to use them.

Advance Organizers for Deeper Learning – TCEA TechNotes Blog

This had some useful resources. Caution: Some of these resources could lead to lethal mutations, so be careful to understand their purpose and how best to design them.

Explicit Connections

Here is an example from one of my own lessons of how I will make connections to relevant, existing knowledge in the moment:

Students had learned about Lief Erikson discovering Newfoundland in a previous unit on the Vikings. I had originally included this review in the Do Now. But Sarah points out that these connections need to be made in the moment so that the relevant knowledge is in the forefront of their minds when new information is introduced.

The Power of Examples and Non-Examples - by Carl Hendrick

Sarah talks about how examples and non-examples are really helpful for understanding ideas that can easily be confused. The seminal work on this is Engelmann’s and Carnine’s Theory of Instruction: Principles and Applications: Engelmann, but Carl’s explanation does a nice job of making this concept more accessible.

Meaningful Processing

Strengthening the Student Toolbox by John Dunlosky

Sarah particularly brings up the importance of self-explanation for students to explain what they already know and how it connects to the new learning.

(Original paper: Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266. The paper is also discussed in Chapter 26: “Learning Techniques That Really Work” in How Learning Happens by Paul A. Kirschner and Carl Hendrick)

Concept Maps

How and Why to Use Concept Maps | Cult of Pedagogy with Dr. Kripa Sundar and Dr. Pooja Agarwal

Concept Maps: A Tool for Strengthening Background Knowledge and Boosting Comprehension - Scientists in the Making) by Marcie Samayoa

Concept Mapping A Powerful Tool for Learning by Dr. Kripa Sundar

Concept Maps by Reading Rockets

Check for Meaning

Instructional Hierarchy infographic by MTSS Center

This is a useful infographic to understand where a student may fall in their understanding of the instruction. Meaningful learning is also very useful in advancing students into the generalization and adaptation phases.

The Four Question Method: 4QM

Designed specifically for history content, questions 2-4 are excellent for checking if students are connecting new ideas to what they already know.

Here is an example of how I’ve connected the Instructional Hierarchy and 4QM:

Hinge Questions: Identify and Respond to Common Misconceptions by Jamie Clark

From Jamie Clark’s DistillED, this is a short guide to developing targeted questions at key points in the lesson that aid in responsive teaching and knowing if students are relating new ideas to existing knowledge.

Robust Comprehension Instruction with Questioning the Author: 15 Years Smarter by Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, Cheryl A. Sandora

This is a must-have reference for designing well-crafted questions that probe students’ connections to existing knowledge.

Keep Meaning Alive

The Hidden Lives of Learners by Graham Nuthall

What Helen Reynold’s calls the “Rule of three,” Nuthall found that if a learner has three exposures to a concept, he could predict with 80% accuracy that learner would have successfully learned the content. The beauty of meaningful learning is it makes those three exposures almost seamless.

Nuthall’s Hidden Lives of Learners in Action by Bennie Kara

Another excellent in Action book on how to interpret and integrate Nuthall’s work into your instruction.

An Annotated Forgetting Curve | Teach Like a Champion

TLAC has created a helpful visual with annotations to understand the forgetting curve.

Motivation

KBCP - Knowledge, Belief, Commitment and Planning Framework from InnerDrive

Dr. Claire Badger has written an excellent article explaining KBCP and has included examples and sample resources for implementation.

A conversation with Professor Mark McDaniel (Washington University in St Louis) – How do you train students to self-regulate their learning through the use of effective and efficient strategies – A Learner’s Toolkit

This is a video interview with Mark McDaniel who developed the KBCT framework with his colleague Gil Einstein. (Mark McDaniel is also a coauthor of Make it Stick.)

How Do We Learn?: A Scientific Approach to Learning and Teaching (Evidence-Based Education) by Hector Ruiz Martin

Hector has an entire section dedicated to motivation that he explains theoretically and practically. I recommend the whole book, and I love that it includes motivation, something that is often overlooked in books on learning.

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Guest Post! This post features guest contributor Brett Benson from .

In a recent post, Brett posed the following questions:

Do [students] know the standard for how we create a flashcard? The how and why behind turn-and-talks? Keeping eyes on the speaker during cold calling? Starting class quietly with the Do Now in progress? Cleaning and holding up mini whiteboards correctly? Transitioning from one activity to another?

In Precision Teaching, these might be considered tool skills or “prerequisites for teaching other skills.”

Brett argues that if these prerequisite skills aren’t

explicitly taught, consistently reinforced every single day, and students redirected when they fall short . . . then the content standards ultimately matter far less. Because achieving those content standards becomes far less efficient, and in some cases, nearly impossible.

Brett shared in an interview with some of the routines he teaches his students, so I asked if he would share some of those resources that inform his instruction here on the Knowledge Exchange. He has generously curated the following list (preceded by a few of my own), and it does not disappoint!

Classroom Structure

Season Two, Episode 5: The choreography of learning with Hannah Pointon on Chalk Dust

This is the most recent episode from Chalk Dust showing how to explicitly teach classroom routines. I also really love the title “choreography of learning”!

Silent Entry

One of the most impactful routines I implemented this year, inspired by another Chalk Dust episode, was silent entry and silent transitions. Before this, it would be a somewhat chaotic entry, and it almost became a safety issue as the children jostled each other for space or clamored for my attention. I also found it very difficult to get them settled and on task efficiently. Now my classroom is safe and predictable, and it is more mindful of all student needs.

Brett’s List

Mini Whiteboards

Mini-whiteboards: go deep on the routine (inspired by Dani Quinn) - Tips for Teachers by Craig Barton

Think-Pair-Share

THINK, PAIR, SHARE by Jamie Clark

Hinge questions

Hinge Questions: Identify and Respond to Common Misconceptions [FREE GUIDE] by Jamie Clark

Behavior

Episode 2 — Teaching Behaviour | Steplab

Checks for Understanding

Lesson planning: check for understanding - Tips for Teachers by Craig Barton with Craig Latimir

Do Now

Solid Entry Routines: Designing the Conditions for Calm, Focus, and Learning from the First Minute [FREE ONE-PAGER] by Jamie Clark

Participation Routines

Securing 100% Student Attention with Pritesh Raichura on Tips for Teachers - YouTube

Cold Calling

Cold Calling: How to Make Every Student Think, Every Time [Free Guide & Resource] by Jamie Clark

Harnessing Attention

Episode 1 — Harnessing Attention | Steplab

Whole class feedback

Whole Class Feedback by Jamie Clark

Choral Response

Choral Response: Maximising Participation, Accuracy, and Fluency [FREE GUIDE] by Jamie Clark

Explicit instruction

Great Teaching, Unpacked - Episode 3 — Securing Success by Steplab

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As we finish up our state and district end of year assessments, climate surveys, and final data deep dives, I thought this would be a good time to refresh on the who, what, why, when, where, and how of all things data.

Podcasts

Measuring Data-Based Decision Making with Dr. Katie Wolfe on Glean Education Podcasts

Dr. Wolfe discusses her research article Training Preservice Practitioners to Make Data-based Instructional Decisions. The study also includes a decision-making flow chart that guides data analysis.

Effective Use of Data from Education Scotland podcast

This is a series of ten episodes about using data in all areas of education including PreK to administration.

Effective Classroom Data Use with Dr. Matthew Courtney — The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast

Dr. Courtney discusses how to effectively use the data that teachers are already collecting and his book Exploratory Data Analysis in the Classroom.

App

Teacher Tapp

Teacher Tapp is a teacher survey app for teachers to share what is really going on in the classroom and in their schools. Three questions are asked daily about all things education and then the results are shared later. It is really interesting to see how teachers across the country are answering in relation to your own context. Teacher Tapp originates from England, but it does have a US version that you can choose when you download the app.

Flowcharts

A Flipbook to Support Use of the Problem-Solving Model for Individual Students from MTSS Center

This is a really thorough flow-chart of how to analyze student performance and make next-step decisions to inform instruction and support.

M.I.N.D 2.0 Facts on Fire: INTERVENTION RESOURCES by Dr. Brian Poncy

On the intervention resources page on M.I.N.D 2.0, there is an excellent decision making flowchart specific to math facts fluency and accuracy. There is also an intervention checklist to help decide the next intervention based on where a student is in the instructional hierarchy.

Substacks

Data: Moving Beyond the Colors by Elana Gordon from Voices from the Field | Substack

What I love about this piece is it brings to light what the data is and is not telling us and that things may not be as good as they seem. As an example, a student may be proficient or advanced on an end-of-year Kindergarten assessment, but when you look at the benchmark and what is really being tested, that student may not actually be ready for first grade rigor.

Why We Don’t Talk About Summative and Formative Assessment by Becky Allen and Matthew Evans from 100% Assessment

This is an interesting and somewhat provocative take that all tests are formative and summative and should be used to both shape learning (formative) and surmise what a student can do (summative).

Webinars

My 4-Step Process for Analyzing Acadience Data with Stephanie Stollar at Reading Science Academy - YouTube

Stephanie Stollar has a whole playlist of data analysis videos for reading assessments that are extremely helpful in understanding how to really dig deep into what information these tests are giving us.

Using Data for Impact with Dr. Selena Fisk on Think Forward Educators

Known as the data storyteller, Dr. Fisk shares what to do with data and how to use it for change. She also has a Substack focused on data that I’m excited to dig into.

Graphing and Analyzing Academic Progress Monitoring Data from MTSS Center

This is part of a self-paced course on progress monitoring from the MTSS Center “intended to help educators learn how to set goals, collect data, and make decisions using academic progress monitoring data”

Practical ways to collect and use student behavioural data with Dr. Russ Fox on Think Forward Educators

This webinar from Dr. Fox is intended to provide “teachers with the knowledge and tools to engage in behavioural data collection that matches the needs of their students and context in the most practical ways possible.”

Responsive Teaching: The Science of Instructional Agility with Carl Hendrick on Think Forward Educators

Data analysis can also happen within a lesson. Responsive teaching is responding to data and pivoting instruction within a lesson. Hendrick shares “how teachers can use real-time feedback to guide their teaching, making learning more effective and targeted.”

Articles

Using Diagnostic Data to Inform Intervention Planning from National Center for Intensive Intervention

This article includes five recommendations on how to use data to inform interventions.

Michigan Department of Education (MDE) Multi-Tiered System of Supports Practice Profile

In this article is a section on Continuous Data-Based Decision Making that outlines “research base for the essential component, definition of the essential component, contribution to the desired outcomes of MTSS made by the essential component, and key actions taken by educators and leaders within the component along a developmental continuum from expected behavior, to developmental, and unacceptable use”

Books

Leading Data-Informed Change in Schools by Dr. Selena Fisk

Dr. Fisk’s book “introduces a 10-step process for leading data-informed change comprising measurable steps for action supported by connections to relevant literature and practical examples showing what the process looks like in schools.”

Handbook on formative and summative evaluation of student learning by Benjamin S. Bloom, J. Thomas Hastings, and George F. Madaus

This book is highlighted in How Teaching Happens in Section Six, Chapter 26: “The Many Faces and Uses of Assessment.” It’s pretty dense, so you can read the section about it in HTH; however, if you want to dive deep, read the original.

Website

Data-based Decision Making | MTSS Center

This is an amazing collection of articles, pdfs, and courses centered around data.

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Data, Data, Data

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I hesitate to share this post because I am still very, very novice in my knowledge of Precision Teaching and how to use Standard Celeration Charts. However, I have had so much success in such a short amount of time with my novice attempt, that I thought we could all be novices together. For the experts out there, I defer to your expertise if I incorrectly represent something.

I started using a Standard Celeration Chart with two of my students a couple of months ago. Both were struggling with reading fluency, and I wanted to start setting a daily goal of improvement and give them a visual to see their growth. I wrote about the experience and success of one of those students here. The other student was also struggling with accuracy, averaging 85% and not growing. About a month after using the Standard Celeration Chart, he started scoring in the high 90% range on his Acadience progress monitoring. He was also reading 70-80 words per minute, up from 40-60 words per minute. This student has more growth to make, but it was surprising how quickly growth started happening in such a short amount of time.

There is so much more I need to learn about PT and SCCs, including how to break down goals into composite, component, and tool skills and the interventions that support each. I would also like to explore using PT and SCCs in a whole group setting with ORF and math facts. In the meantime, here are resources to begin your own knowledge-building about Precision Teaching and Standard Celeration Charts.

How To Guide

Charting Introduction - The Standard Celeration Society (SCS)

This site has a collection of introductory videos explaining Standard Celeration Charts and how to record data on them.

Podcasts

Brendan Lee and Elana Gordon recently posted interviews about Precision Teaching that are excellent. It’s exciting to see the growing interest in this field.

S04E06 - Dr. Kent Johnson and Andrew Kieta on the Morningside Model that Guarantees Two Years of Growth in One - Learning with Mr. Lee

Something I found very interesting in this interview was how Morningside Academy uses a combination of Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching, Behaviorism, Constructivism, and more to create a cohesive whole of the best of all learning sciences. What is used when is dependent on where the student is in the instructional hierarchy. It was especially interesting how and when they use inquiry or discovery learning. Brendan Lee also wrote a great article about discovery learning here.

S04E05 - Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens on Applying the Science of Behaviour and Precision Teaching to Accelerate Learning - Learning with Mr. Lee

S4E21: Precision Teaching with Daniel Carroll with Elana Gordon on The Road to Reading Podcast

Article

The Precision Teaching System: A Synthesized Definition, Concept Analysis, and Process by Amy L. Evans, Andrew J. Bulla, and Andrew R. Kieta

This is a succinct summary of Precision Teaching that “includes (a) an updated definition of PT, (b) a concept analysis of PT, and (c) a set of synthesized steps that comprise PT.”

Video/Webinar

Precision Teaching Webinar Recording – Education Rickshaw with Daniel Carroll and Zach Groshell

This was my introduction to PT. Right after I watched it, I implemented daily goal setting into my math facts routine, encouraging my students to make a goal to solve 1-2 problems more than last time. Stagnant scores began to grow and students were so excited to beat their daily score.

The Morningside Model of Generative Instruction created by Ryan O’Donnell, MS, BCBA, Behavioral Scientist and Filmmaker

If you want to see Precision Teaching in action, this documentary gives an inside look on the incredible success of Morningside Academy.

Books

Response to Intervention and Precision Teaching: Creating Synergy in the Classroom by Kent Johnson and Elizabeth M. Street.

This book is an excellent introduction to Precision Teaching and Standard Celeration Charts. It explains the principles of PT, instructional design for PT, and how to put PT into practice in reading, math, and writing.

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However, I had one student that showed minimal progress on the end of year reading assessments. After second grade, I started tutoring this student through the summer and all through third grade. His reading journey has been slow, and he has had many reading challenges to overcome. I have had to utilize multiple interventions to address each challenge. But with each intervention, he has made steady growth.

Challenge #1: Decoding and Accuracy

The first time I listened to this student read, I could tell immediately that reading was painful for him, not only cognitively but also emotionally. As a second grader, he labored over first grade level words. He also got discouraged easily when reading and had very little confidence in his reading ability. If he came to a word he did not know, he would either guess or would not even attempt to sound it out, and he would almost shut down and give up reading the rest of the passage.

On the beginning of the year Acadience benchmark, my student read 19 words correctly at 86% accuracy. Some of his reading challenges included:

• A lack of basic decoding skills

• Slow to orthographically map words, often forgetting words he had just read

• Unable to try decoding an unknown word

• Poor reading habits, such as guessing

• Severe lack of confidence in his reading ability, especially when reading independently

Intervention Resource: Reading Mastery Signature Edition

My student needed decoding instruction, and he needed to feel success. Reading Mastery was ideal for this because reading instruction is atomized into discreet skills and practiced to mastery through highly interactive student application and immediate feedback. Skills are also interleaved and practiced systematically through spaced retrieval. Because skills are taught in discreet units, he experienced a high success rate that started to build his confidence. The systematic practice and retrieval helped him develop and master decoding skills.

Results

Second Grade Acadience Benchmark Scores:

He ended the year reading 41 words correct at 85% accuracy. Because so much of instruction was focused on breaking poor reading habits and developing strong basic decoding skills, growth was minimal when assessed on grade level text. However, his basic decoding skills were stronger, and he was beginning to attempt unknown words independently. He was also beginning to orthographically map more words and read them automatically. His confidence was growing, and he was beginning to attempt decoding unknown words independently.

Challenge #2: Accuracy on Grade Level Text and Multisyllabic Words

His next challenge was reading multisyllabic words and grade level text accurately and fluently. His confidence was still fragile, and his decoding independence was growing but not strong. If he began to struggle, he would fall back into old habits, staring at a word or guessing rather than trying to sound it out.

Intervention Resource: EBLI (Evidence Based Literacy Instruction)

Over the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade, I started using EBLI with him. EBLI is a sounds-first approach that encompasses all aspects of literacy. It is also curriculum agnostic, giving me the flexibility to apply the strategies to any text. It also introduces students to grade level (and above) vocabulary and text, accelerating their growth. The EBLI multisyllabic split-word reading and spelling strategies helped my student recognize common spelling patterns that developed his accuracy when reading multisyllabic words. The EBLI oral reading practice strategies helped him develop his accuracy and fluency when reading grade level text.

Results

Third Grade Acadience Fall to Winter Benchmark Scores:

By the middle of year benchmark, his accuracy was 92% and climbing. He had also made small gains in fluency. He was recognizing spelling and sound patterns when reading and spelling. He was no longer paralyzed by an unknown word, instead using his skills to break down the word and sound it out independently. He was reading grade level text and even reading aloud in class.

Challenge #3: Fluency

While his fluency had improved, his average fluency rate based on his Acadience progress monitoring from September to early February averaged 53 words correct. He was stuck at 50 +/- words correct and not making progress.

Intervention Resource: Precision Teaching and Standard Celeration Chart

To help improve his fluency, I decided to use principles of Precision Teaching and start a Standard Celeration Chart.

I began daily oral reading fluency timings using DIBELS 8 passages. Before each timing, we would look at his fluency goal based on the aimline on the Celeration Chart. I would mark the word on the passage so he would know how far to read to meet his goal. After the timing, we would mark the words correct on the chart and compare his progress to the aim line and to his earlier scores. The daily goal setting gave him a concrete goal that showed him what he was aiming for and feedback that motivated him to improve. Seeing his daily success and growth toward his goal empowered him to keep improving.

Results

I started the Celeration Chart in February, and by the end of March my student made a breakthrough and began to improve.

Acadience progress monitoring after implementing the Celeration Chart:

On the end of the year benchmark, he read 76 words correct at 94% accuracy. This was a huge win for him!

Third Grade Acadience Benchmark Scores:

Next Steps

Fluency and accuracy are still the goal, and EBLI and Precision Teaching principles have given me the tools to help him continue to grow. A next step with Precision Teaching will be slicing back or breaking down the more complex skills of accuracy and fluency and mastering or refining parts of those skills that are making progress difficult. EBLI will continue to support access to grade level text.

Key Takeaways

My biggest takeaway: If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to bring in something new. All three resources—Reading Mastery, EBLI, and Precision Teaching—are valuable on their own, but combined, they are very powerful in helping a student become a successful reader. (Elana Gordon wrote an interesting piece on the combination of Reading Mastery and EBLI that is worth a read.) Elements of these programs will also be powerful tools to embed into my Tier 1 instruction.

What I See Now

I see a child that came to me barely able to decode, paralyzed by an unknown word, with no skills to break down the word, and minimal confidence in his reading ability, transformed into a confident reader. He is reading grade level chapter books and vocabulary. He’s reading out loud in class. He’s happy and proud. His journey has been long and slow, but each new intervention has helped him get over the next hurdle and continue to progress.

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The resources I’ve shared here cover a range of behavioral topics, including simple routines, classroom management, whole school behavior plans, and executive functions. Most new teachers are not prepared to teach and manage behaviors in their classrooms, and they are often left to figure it out on their own, leading to frustration and discouragement. It can feel overwhelming to tackle behavior management, but small changes in routines, such as implementing silent entry into the classroom, can make a big impact right away. Behaviors also seem to escalate the last few weeks of school, so these resources can be a helpful refresher or give new ideas to finish the year strong.

Podcasts

Episode 5: Start the Way You Mean to Finish with Mark Dowley, Rebecca Birch and Dr. Nathaniel Swain on Chalk Dust

This simple routine to start the day calmly can make a huge difference that sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Shaping Behavior with Tom Bennett and Doug Lemov on Sweat the Technique

This is a great interview with Tom Bennett sharing his knowledge and passion about behavior management.

The Connection Between Executive Functioning and Student Behavior with Mitch Weathers and Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck on The Language of Behavior

The executive functions guru, Mitch, shares how impactful knowledge about executive functions can have on creating systems to support students. The Language of Behavior podcast also has many other great interviews covering a range of topics on behavior.

Mitch Weathers and Sarah Oberle: Executive Functions in K-3 with Tim Cavey on Teachers On Fire

Mitch and Sarah share highlights from their new book linked below. An interesting part of this conversation was Sarah clarifying misconceptions between behaviors and executive function.

Behaviour Management Archives - Learning with Mr. Lee This is a link to a collection of podcasts on behavior management recorded by Brendan Lee.

Articles

The ‘What To Do’ Cycle and Other Secrets of Positive Classroom Culture (w/ video) | Teach Like a Champion

This article from the Teach Like a Champion blog touches on four parts of the ‘What To Do’ strategies found in the Teach Like a Champion book.

Everything’s fine - by Tom Bennett - Running the Room

This is a much-needed post on how important it is for leaders to develop and implement clear structures for managing behavior, especially to support new teachers.

Handbooks

Foundational classroom management resources handbook | Australian Education Research Organisation

This is an excellent resource from AERO on behavior management structures with clear and practical applications.

Planning for classroom management | Australian Education Research Organisation

This is a helpful checklist from AERO to implement behavior management structures in your classroom.

The Classroom Management Handbook: A practical blueprint for engagement and behaviour in your classroom and beyond by Dr. Mark Dowley and Oliver Lovell

I love the scripted “if this, then this” style of how to implement and handle behavior in the classroom. This is a great go-to resource for any teacher to have on their bookshelf.

Webinars

Executive Functions Webinar - Organized Binder with Mitch Weathers

A free webinar for teachers on May 20! I’m excited for this webinar with Mitch Weathers and to learn more about the importance of executive functions.

Leading a Whole School Approach to Classroom Management with Cate Whiting

Cate goes over the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) Whole School Classroom management resources linked in the Articles section above. AERO also has a huge bank of classroom videos, articles, handbooks and more on behavioral management here.

Books

Running the Room: The Teacher’s Guide to Behaviour by Tom Bennett

The Gold Standard on behavior management and creating safe, calm classrooms and schools for successful learning.

Executive Functions for Every K-3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start by Mitch Weathers and Sarah Oberle

I’m excited for this new book by Sarah and Mitch on executive functions for early elementary students. It has been an enlightening read about and something that has really opened my eyes to its implications for student success.

Executive Functions for Every Classroom, Grades 3-12: Creating Safe and Predictable Learning Environments by Mitch Weathers

The original book on executive functions for upper elementary and secondary on what teachers and schools can do to support it through the MTSS model.

How Teaching Happens by Paul Kirschner, Carl Hendrick, and Jim Heal

Section 5 “In the Classroom” has several chapters on studies about classroom management that are useful and valuable for any teacher.

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I recently completed the Hillsdale College Online Course on American Paintings with Sam Knecht. It was a lovely way to learn about history through art. It reminded me of how important it is to introduce children to fine art and how powerful art can be to support learning. Even from a science of learning perspective, visuals can enhance rather than interfere with instruction. I have embedded fine art images into my booklets for our current unit on the Thirteen Colonies, and I will be adding fine art images to my booklets this summer when I refine them for next year.

Visuals and the Science of Learning

Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching by Zach Groshell

Zach dedicates a chapter to the power of visuals and how to use them effectively to enhance instruction.

Curriculum

Core Knowledge Foundation Visual Arts

Core Knowledge Foundation just recently finished building their visual arts curriculum that includes a slide deck of the images taught for each grade. This is an amazing resource, especially to have all the images available in one place. Full page color reproductions of the works of art are also in the student activity book, giving each child their own copy of the images. I am so excited for this new resource to use next year!

Printed Images

Art Cards & Posters from Memoria Press

This is an excellent collection of fine art in 11x17 posters and 5x7 post cards. I bought an 11x17 frame and will frequently trade out the posters to display in my classroom. To encourage interaction with the paintings, I also bought wooden rings for my students to use to explore and focus on specific parts of the painting.

Adolphe Millot Animal Posters: Mammals, Reptiles, Fish, Insects

This is a beautiful set of Adolphe Millot posters. These are my students’ favorite images to explore.

Digital Images

Free Images and Open Access | National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art has over 60,000 images available for free download. The museum also has a broad collection of Educational Resources.

Mathematical Paintings of Crockett Johnson

I’m still fascinated by this collection of paintings inspired by mathematics and mathematical physics. I originally featured this collection in my post on math.

Teaching | MoMA

The Museum of Modern Art also offers a variety of classroom resources and training videos for teachers.

Louvre Kids

The Louvre has a collection of stories and videos to go along with famous works of art. My favorites are the collection of tales paired with a famous work of art. The stories are told in French with English subtitles.

Rijksmuseum in the classroom

The Rijksmuseum has a beautiful online platform to view and explore its collection of paintings.

Art Gallery Interactive Virtual Tour

Journey into Art - Buffalo Bill Center of the West

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming has an excellent interactive virtual field trip of their Whitney Western Art Museum.

Books for the Classroom Library

Children’s Book of Art by DK

This book has wonderful images of art from all over the world.

Name That Style: All about Isms in Art (Bob Raczka’s Art Adventures)

This book explains the “basics of fourteen different art styles, spanning the 1430s to the 1970s.”

What Makes A Monet A Monet?

Using Monet as a guide, this book explains style, composition, color, and subject matter in art.

The Birds of America: Audubon, John James, Sibley, David Allen

This is one of my favorite collections of art with full color images of North American birds.

Build Your Own Knowledge

Expeditions: Art — Google Arts & Culture

This is an amazing collection of virtual field trips of works of art and art movements to grow your own knowledge of fine art.

American Paintings | Hillsdale College Online Courses

Hillsdale College offers a free online course on American paintings taught by Sam Knecht. Knecht shares a finely curated collection of American art featuring American heroes, landscapes and cityscapes, everyday Americans, and battle scenes.

The New Criterion

The New Criterion is a “monthly review of arts and intellectual life” offered in print and digital form. It’s a real treat when I get a subscription to this excellent publication.

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Fine Art

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Welcome to part two of Opportunities to Respond. Part one was all about building in opportunities for verbal responses. This post is all about written responses. When I taught second grade, most of the responding was verbal, so it has been an adjustment to build in more writing opportunities for third grade students. I also think they can go farther and faster than I originally thought, and I will be increasing the writing rigor for next year. The biggest support for me has been The Writing Revolution and several of the Teach Like a Champion writing techniques. As I wrote about in the last post, I recently attended the Science of Reading training put on by Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs, and the TLAC team. Writing opportunities are embedded throughout their reading lessons, (and in their trainings!), and I was struck by how the learning became more meaningful when I (acting as a student) was given the opportunity to express in written form my understanding of the content. After that training, I have now added in more opportunities for writing in the booklets I create (you can read Doug’s post about my booklets here).

Stop and Jot

Taken from Teach Like a Champion, Stop and Jot is one of the first opportunities for students to write during the lesson. I consider it a sort of writing and thinking warm up in preparation for an independent writing piece at the end. Students only have to write key ideas, not full sentences. It is also a way to give a variety of opportunities to respond verbally and in writing. I have been combining Stop and Jot with a Silent Solo reading to provide students independent reading opportunities. The Stop and Jot gives a purpose for independent reading and helps keep students accountable for their reading. After giving students a specified amount of time to read and write, usually 1-2 minutes, I will cold call a few students to share their responses.

Resources:

Using Writing in The (Reading) Classroom–The Amazing Success of First Year Teacher Emily Fleming | Teach Like a Champion

Stop and Jot - The Teacher Toolkit

Sentence Expansion

The Writing Revolution sentence expansion activities are essential for retrieval practice and consolidating understanding. I use them for Do Nows to retrieve prior learning and to intentionally connect what they have learned previously to what will be taught in the new lesson. I also use them during the lesson to help them consolidate what they are learning in the moment. A few of my go-tos are expanding with the 5 Ws’ and H or because, but, so. The example above is from a Do Now for the first lesson on a unit about the English Colonies. It is meant to help retrieve what they have learned in a previous unit about the Spanish and French explorers, the locations of their colonies in North America, and their motivations for setting up a colony to give the students context for our study of the English colonies.

Resources:

Filling The Pail Podcast | Dr. Judith Hochman & Greg Ashman - The Writing Revolution - Empower teachers to help students

read2Learn — Think Forward Educators by Nathaniel Swain, Samantha Charlton, and Melanie Hart. Read2Learn Core Knowledge lessons was the inspiration to include The Writing Revolution sentence expansion activities into my reading lessons.

Crafting sentences: Four simple writing techniques to elevate your students’ learning - Teach Well by Ingrid Sealey

To Boost Learning, Weave Writing Activities Into Regular Instruction by Natalie Wexler

Because, But, So — The ‘washing hands’ of writing? What I’m learning from TWR: Part Two | by Kristian Shanks

Mini Whiteboards

One of my routines is to read a portion of the reading as a class (see my first post here), then capture the key ideas on a chart on the whiteboard. Then after we have read the entire text for the day, students will reread key portions of the text and write the key ideas themselves. Something new I have added in is having them write these key ideas on their mini whiteboards so I can see if they were able to identify the key ideas. It is always surprising to me (even after everything I know about how learning happens), how this really stretches students. Even though we have already done it together as a class and recited it verbally, when they are asked to write it themselves, it still requires them to think hard about the learning.

In the example below, we had read this portion of the text as a class, and through a combination of choral response, turn and talk, and cold calling, pulled out the reasons people settled in the English colonies. I then captured those ideas on the whiteboard. However, when they were asked to repeat this exercise again independently (with the ideas still written up on the board) it was striking to me how effortful it was for them to complete the exercise. It was also a testament to me how we can kid ourselves into thinking “Oh yeah, they’ve got this”, when really, students need multiple opportunities to grapple with new knowledge before they begin to learn it.

Resources:

Mini-White Boards: Where They Maximize Student Learning, Where They Don’t with Jon Harper, Brett Benson, Amber Haven, Andrew Watson, and Dylan Kane

You Should Use Mini Whiteboards by Dylan Kane at ​​Five Twelve Thirteen

The Tips for Teachers guide to Mini-whiteboards by Craig Barton

Concept Map

Using concept maps in my instruction is new for me. At first, I wasn’t sure if this would be effective for third grade students who are still building their knowledge. But they have a lot of knowledge from second and third grade that does connect. We are still in the building- them-as-a-class stage, but they are getting the hang of it, and they really enjoy creating them. I have used them as a final activity for a unit or for a preteaching opportunity using a knowledge organizer to introduce a new unit.

Resources:

How and Why to Use Concept Maps | Cult of Pedagogy with Dr. Kripa Sundar and Dr. Pooja Agarwal

Concept Maps: A Tool for Strengthening Background Knowledge and Boosting Comprehension - Scientists in the Making) by Marcie Samayoa

Concept Mapping A Powerful Tool for Learning by Kripa Sundar

Concept Maps by Reading Rockets

Single-Paragraph Outline and Paragraph Writing

I have been gradually increasing the complexity of independent writing opportunities at the end of a lesson. At the beginning of the year, I would have students fill in a sentence stem:

Then the sentence stems to fill in were replaced with sample sentence stems to help them get started for a longer writing piece.

These scaffolded independent writing pieces have culminated in being able to write a single paragraph outline (SPO) from The Writing Revolution. When I first introduced the SPO, we would build the outline together. The goal is that they will be able to fill out the SPO on their own when they are ready. Another scaffold I provided when first introducing the SPO is verbally creating model sentences from the key words as a whole class before having them write the paragraph on their own. I also circulate while they write to check they are writing complete sentences. At the end, I will share model sentences and paragraphs with the class.

Resources:

AI and English teachers: pens and a (writing) revolution by Nick

Applying techniques from The Writing Revolution to support answering GCSE History exam questions | by Kristian Shanks

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Opportunities To Respond Pt 2

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An integral part of my reading lessons is that every student gets an opportunity to read aloud and to answer a cold call question. Additionally, there are many, many other opportunities built in for responding verbally and in writing.

I recently attended the Science of Reading training put on by Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs, and the TLAC team. It was invaluable training, and I would highly recommend it! One of the (so, so many) takeaways for me was refining and building in even MORE opportunities for my students’ to respond during a lesson and in their booklets (you can read Doug’s recent post about my booklets here).

This is a two-part post. Part One will focus on verbal responses and Part Two will focus on written responses. The post is organized by strategy with resources listed in each section.

I Say You Say

for pronouncing difficult vocabulary and phrases

I use I Say, You Say as a quick way to help students pronounce difficult vocabulary or phrases. If this is the first time saying the word, I may also give a quick definition and have them repeat it as a choral response, but I mainly use it to support students saying an unfamiliar word or words. For example, we are currently learning about Spanish explorers, and there are many unfamiliar Spanish names and words in the lessons. While we are reading, if we come to one of those words, I will say, “I say, you say, ‘conquistador’” and then the students immediately repeat, “Conquistator!” I do not give a signal or anything, they just automatically say it chorally.

I also use it to support students who may be struggling to read a word. If a student gets stuck on a word while reading aloud, instead of telling that one student the word, I will say “I say, you say: ____” and then the whole class will say the word together. That way the reader doesn’t feel like they are the only one who struggled to read it, and it gives the whole class another opportunity to say the word as well.

Resources:

Choral Response and ‘I Say You Say’ | Bunsen Blue by Pritesh Raichura

Erica Woolway: Borrowing from a TLAC Video to Build Vocabulary At Home | Teach Like a Champion: This is a really interesting twist on the I Say, You Say routine using synonyms.

Choral Response

whole class response to quick questions or during teacher read aloud

I use choral response extensively in a reading lesson. This gives my students many opportunities to engage and to keep their attention on the reading. While we are reading aloud, I will stop often after we have read something interesting or something that is part of the focus of the lesson and ask them either a quick question or have them repeat what we just read. For example, the other day we read this sentence, “Spain also expanded its empire by moving north from Mexico into the American Southwest.” Then I stopped and asked, “Where did Spain expand its empire?” The students responded in unison with something like, “From Mexico into the American Southwest.” Then we moved on. (This question was revisited again later in the lesson and students located the area on a map.)

After I pose a question, I will often pause a couple seconds, then signal with “go” to give students a chance to think of the answer and to respond in unison. I only use choral response for short responses.

I also use choral response to keep students attentive during Teacher Read Aloud. If I am reading aloud, I will stop once or twice per sentence and students will chorally read the next word.

Resources:

Choral Response and ‘I Say You Say’ | Bunsen Blue by Pritesh Raichura

Choral Response: Maximising Participation, Accuracy, and Fluency by Jamie Clark

Choral Response by Peps Mccrea

Additionally, if you want to really hone your choral response skills, I highly recommend taking a Direct Instruction class. They are masters at the pause, signal, respond sequence.

Fluency Read

practice prosody

Before reading the text, I often select a few strong sentences from the read-aloud that naturally lend themselves to expressive reading. The fluency read happens before we start reading the text to get them warmed up to reading with prosody. I start by reading it aloud to model the expression. I then ask them why I am saying it with that kind of expression and what words in the text told me to do that. For example, I might read the passage below more slowly, stretching some of the words out, and with awe and wonder and delight in my voice. They might give me words like “dark and cold”, “gleams”, “shimmer and arc”, and “twinkle” as words that told me how to express myself. Next, they will take turns with their partners reading the passage with prosody. After they have practiced, I will call on one student to perform for the class. I keep track of who has performed so every student eventually gets an opportunity to do it.

Resource:

Primary Reading Simplified: A Practical Guide to Classroom Teaching and Whole-School Implementation by Christopher Such. If you want to look at how to implement a fluency lesson, read Chapter 8, “Fluency Reading”. What I do is not exactly a fluency lesson, but I follow many of the routines.

Teacher Read Aloud

model fluent reading, set the pace

One of the most valuable parts of the TLAC training was the three ways of reading a text, such as reading silently, students reading aloud, and being read to. I especially appreciated the breakdown of the benefits and limitations of each type, and that they can be used interchangeably in a lesson to keep the lesson more interesting.

When reading the text, I will read first to model fluent reading and to set the tone and pacing for the text. One of the drawbacks of teacher read aloud is that students can check out and not pay attention. There are a couple things I do to keep their attention. One is I have all students following along in their own copy of the text. I will also have my copy under the document camera with my finger following along as I read so students can easily see where we are in the text if they get lost. A second strategy I use is to stop often to have students chorally read the next word.

Before we begin reading, I remind them to follow along and be ready to fill in the word or be ready to read. I have found this to be really helpful in keeping them engaged while I am reading to them.

Resource:

The Power of Read Aloud & Come See Us in Denver | Teach Like a Champion

Student Read Aloud

practice reading

As soon as I have set the tone for reading, I will hand it off to the students to read. I will just say their name, and they will begin reading. I have them read a few sentences to a paragraph. If a student struggles with a word, I will tell them the word or do I Say You Say to have the whole class read the word together. Students don’t know the order they will be chosen, which helps them follow along in the text and stay engaged. For my striving readers, I strategically choose passages I know they can read successfully. I keep track of who has read on a little paper, and I make sure that every student is given the opportunity to read. All my students love to read. Once in a while, I will have to do all the reading for time’s sake, and they get very sad that they didn’t get to read that day.

Resource:

FASE Reading: Bringing Reading Back to the Center by Teach Like a Champion

Silent Reading

foster independence

This is new for me, but even at third grade, I think this is a highly valuable part of a reading lesson. Here is how I plan to implement this. After we have read the text in full for the lesson (we usually read a chapter a lesson), I will have students reread specific portions of the text that I have put in their booklets. Students will usually read the excerpt with a partner then answer a quick question about it. My plan now is to use the TLAC Silent Solo routine to have students read and answer some of the parts independently. This way the independent reading is short with a purpose so they stay engaged with the reading.

Resources:

An Excerpt from Chapter Five of Reading Reconsidered | Teach Like a Champion. This excerpt covers the FASE, Read aloud and Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) reading strategies.

The Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of Reading: Translating Research to Reignite Joy and Meaning in the Classroom. It is also covered in depth in TLAC’s fantastic book!

Turn and Talk and All Hands Up Cold Call

more opportunities to respond

I punctuate my lessons with regular turn and talk and cold call. In fact, I’ve found it is important to do this after almost every paragraph because they forget so quickly what was just read.

Resources:
Think, Pair, Share Forensics. – teacherhead by Tom Sherrington

Checks for Listening: 100% Participation | Bunsen Blue by Pritesh Raichura

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Opportunities To Respond, Pt 1

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Linguistic Phonics is getting a lot of attention right now. When I first heard of it, I was very skeptical. The approach was foreign to me and did not make sense compared to the OG-based phonics programs I had used. But after hearing about the success of other educators and out of a need to support my own students who continued to struggle, I am now a huge advocate. I recently completed my EBLI training and have seen incredible growth in my students. Some of these resources were also featured in my recent post with Elana Gordon on Reading Interventions.

Podcasts

Is Linguistic Phonics the New Gold Standard in Structured Literacy? with Jennifer Newman and Svetlana Cvetkovic The Literacy View - Podcast

Jennifer and Svetlana discuss their new paper “Re-examining Foundational Literacy Instruction in the United States: A Case for Linguistic Phonics” and clarify what linguistic phonics is. See Harriet Janetos’ article below discussing their paper.

21. John Walker and Dr. Jan Wascowicz -- Speech to Print Approach to Phonics and Spelling Instruction

This is a dual interview about the Sounds-Write and SPELL-Links linguistic phonics programs.

S3E18: The Power of EBLI or S2P with Nora Chahbazi with The Road to Reading Podcast

This is an interview to learn more about the EBLI approach to literacy instruction.

120. Reading Simplified: Help Struggling Readers Crack the Code with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg with Stellar Teacher Podcast

This is a podcast to learn more about the Reading Simplified program.

Informational Video

Linguistic Phonics with Ann Sullivan

This is a quick informational video explaining simply and concisely what Linguistic Phonics is. This is the perfect place to start if you are new to linguistic phonics.

Articles

Data Deep Dive: Did I Avoid the Summer Slide? & Accelerating Student Progress with EBLI: Student Data Profiles with Science of Reading Classroom

Elana Gordon’s work is what convinced me to look into linguistic phonics. Her data is so compelling and the students she is able to exit out of interventions is incredible. These two articles feature her work and success.

A Speech-to-Print, Linguistic Phonics Approach: What Is It and How Does It Compare to Orton-Gillingham? by Miriam Fein, MS, CCC-SLP

This article compares the different approaches of Linguistic Phonics and OG. It also gives a lot of great information about what linguistic phonics is.

The phonics wars by Holly Korbey at The Bell Ringer

This is an amazing piece on linguistic phonics with an interesting look at its connection to the science of learning. She interviews many of the teachers, creators, and researchers highlighted in this post.

Rethinking Reading: A Look at Linguistic Phonics by Harriet Janetos Making Words Make Sense

Harriet discusses in this article a paper published in 2025 “Re-examining Foundational Literacy Instruction in the United States: A Case for Linguistic Phonics” written by Jennifer Newman and Svetlana Cvetkovic making the case for the linguistic phonics approach.

Teachers to Watch

Meet four educators, all Goyen Fellows 25-26, who are using linguistic phonics programs. I have linked their Substack and YouTube video playlists below.

Tal Most is a Deputy Director and reading interventionist for ColoREADo. She uses the EBLI program.

Stephane Bolton is a first grade teacher in Alabama and a Goyen Fellow 25-26. She uses the EBLI program.

EBLI Playlist from Science of Reading Classroom - YouTube featuring the classrooms of Tal Most and Stephane Bolton.

Tara Hess is a second grade teacher in Colorado. She uses the Reading Simplified program.

Victoria Ochoa Rodriguez is a dual language kindergarten teacher in Colorado. She uses the Reading Simplified program.

Reading Simplified Playlist from Science of Reading Classroom - YouTube featuring the classrooms of Tara Hess and Victoria Ochoa Rodriguez.

Programs

Reading Simplified created by Marnie Ginsberg

Reading Simplified is a linguistic phonics approach to teaching literacy. It is a streamlined vision for accelerating decoding, word ID, and fluency created by a researcher and practicing teacher.

EBLI Evidence Based Literacy Instruction developed by Nora Chahbazi

EBLI is a linguistic phonics approach to teaching literacy through integrated instruction. Teachers have the tools to teach reading, spelling, writing, and handwriting simultaneously, using vocabulary and texts for student groups of all sizes and ability levels- from large classrooms to intensive intervention.

Learning By Design and SPELL-Links created by Jan Wasowicz

SPELL-Links is a speech-to-print approach combined with multi-linguistic word study.

Sounds-Write written by John Walker

Sounds-Write is a “speech-to-print phonics program” grounded in the science of learning. The program is designed to be taught whole-class but also serves intervention and small group settings.

Book

Why Our Children Can’t Read and What We Can Do About It: A Scientific Revolution in Reading by Diane McGuinness

The book that started it all. Diane McGuinness’s work is the go-to reference for linguistic phonics.

Webinars

A Structured Linguistic Literacy Summit

This is a free virtual summit held each summer. Presentations and panel discussions include preeminent reading and cognitive science researchers, thoughtful practitioners who have shifted their instructional approaches, and many other brave literacy champions who aim to promote better student outcomes.

Linguistic Phonics

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