Frankly Freddy
Knowledge Building for Beginning Readers
September 19, 2022
Young children are bursting with curiosity about the world around them. A flock of birds flying overhead, the sound of a train, the taste of a kiwi–almost anything can ignite young children’s curiosity. Through answers to their questions and experiences, young children amass a treasure trove of knowledge.
Read-Alouds That Inspire
March 9, 2021
As students return to school, there’s been pressure from parents, administrators, and others to make up for what students may have missed during their absence from the classroom. Everyone is anxious that students get back on track. But what about the stress in children and adults from concerns about health, lost jobs, and recognition of social injustice?
Results May Vary: Do First-Grade Reading Curriculum and Instruction Need to Be Adapted?
January 25, 2021
Beginning readers have different levels of proficiency, but many may follow a similar path as they learn new words and orthographic patterns. This may not be the case for those with the lowest levels of ability, so curriculum and instruction should take into account the needs of those who depend most on their in-school literacy experiences.
Feature Presentation: How Familiarity and Concreteness Can Help Beginning Readers Learn New Words
January 5, 2021
Teachers can help beginning readers master more than half of the 2,500 most frequently occurring word families by focusing on words they have already acquired in oral language and words with high concreteness ratings.
What is the Best Way to Teach Vocabulary?
November 18, 2020
With over 600,000 words in written English, which ones should English Language Arts teachers teach, and how?
Teaching Networks of Words
August 13, 2020
Students have trouble learning and retaining lists of unconnected words. Teaching words in networks helps students form connections among the words, bolstering their understanding.
Getting Back to the Page & Staying There
July 16, 2020
Reading is all about knowledge; it’s not just for practice.
Bad with Names: Why Proper Names Deserve Instructional Attention
January 28, 2020
Rare words typically make up only 5% or less of the total words in texts, but it’s often these words that get students anxious about reading.
A Whole New World of Vocabulary Instruction
January 21, 2020
Words are not only a means of communicating, but a foundation of learning.
Not All Rare Words Are Sesquipedalian!
January 15, 2020
A small part of the English vocabulary accounts for the majority of the words in the texts students read across the grades – but some of the words may surprise you.