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5 Tips to Accelerate Summer School Learning with the Science of Reading
As educators, the mission to combat illiteracy becomes even more pressing during the condensed time frame of summer school. With the sun high in the sky, we're presented with a...
Structured Literacy: What It Is and Why It Matters
As educators, we know how important it is to develop strong reading skills early on. We are always on the lookout for how to support striving readers better and inspire a...
Building a Supportive Partnership through Blended Professional Learning
INTRODUCTION Imagine you are in a room full of peers desperate to improve students’ reading skills and test scores. Your district has adopted a new foundational literacy program;...
My Why | Bridging Passions: The Perfect Blend of Literacy and Technology
As I embark on this new phase of my professional journey, I find myself reflecting on the path that has led me to Reading Horizons. In early October, I had the privilege of...
Revolutionizing K–3 Literacy
Collaborating with Educators to Overcome Classroom Challenges and Help All Students Achieve Reading ProficiencyThe story of how teachers and education leaders helped shape the...
Empowering Striving Readers for Academic Success
A Life-Changing Phone Call I received a phone call 20 years ago from the parent of a striving reader in Centerville, Utah. I wasn’t available, so she left a voicemail that I wish...
10 Must-Haves for Your Science of Reading Classroom
Have you heard the buzz around the science of reading (SoR) lately? Actually, it’s less of a buzz for many of us and more like the roar emanated by a turbo jet. There’s no...
Dr. Anita Archer’s Five Favorite “Archerisms”
The internationally recognized literacy leader shared words of wisdom on a recent episode of the Literacy Talks podcast. During her distinguished career, Dr. Anita Archer has...
The Science of Reading: How to Eliminate Grade Retention
Grade retention came up in a conversation with one of my school’s administrators last week. Like many states, hers requires a student to repeat third grade if they are not...
How a Classroom Sound Wall Boosts Early Literacy
Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker said, “Children are wired for sound, but print is an optional accessory that must be painstakingly bolted on.” A lot goes into how people...
5 Transfer Tips from Science of Reading Educators
We must teach our students how to read to have option-filled lives. Developing lifelong readers means teachers provide opportunities for their students to apply what they learn...
Aligning IEP Goals with the Science of Reading
Research shows that 95 percent of third-graders are cognitively capable of reading proficiently (Torgesen, 2004). The most effective action education leaders can take to ensure...
Addressing Unconscious Bias with Active Listening
“Equity” has always been more than just a trending buzzword. It’s an ideal to aim for, and educators and district leaders often know the “what” but not necessarily the “how.” A...
Teaching High Frequency Words: The Science of Reading’s Breakthrough Instructional Practice
There have been major breakthroughs in instructional practice that we’ve seen as the science of reading movement builds, but one that I hear educators get most passionate about...
Impacting Reading Proficiency
The word impact has various meanings, but the one best fitting for why we, as educators, do what we do is to powerfully affect or influence someone or something. As educators, we...
Enhancing Foundational Reading Skills Through Small Group Centers
The research is clear: students need systematic, explicit phonics and phonemic awareness instruction that is sequenced from simple to complex. As a Senior Facilitator, my role...
The Five Must-Know Phonetic Skills
When children are young, they often rely solely on phonetics to read and spell. Phonetics is the study of speech sounds. When novice writers spell phonetically, they “sound out”...
Why and How to Use Nonsense Words When Teaching Reading
By the time most of us first encountered Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, we were fluent readers. However, I am sure...
8 Classroom Accommodations for Dyslexia (That Benefit ALL Students)
Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference that manifests in a cluster of symptoms. Students with dyslexia have challenges with reading, spelling, writing, and pronouncing...
14 Activities That Increase Student Engagement During Reading Instruction
Research shows that students whose teachers spend too much time talking are less likely to be engaged during classroom instruction. Luckily, reading instruction can be so much...
Nurturing the Social and Emotional Needs of Students with Dyslexia
After working for Reading Horizons for nine years, I found out one of my nephews was struggling with reading. Having been trained in our method and having access to our...
How is COVID-19 Impacting Literacy Instruction this Fall?
Reading Horizons recently conducted a national survey about literacy instruction in the age of COVID-19 and how schools are planning to address reading skills in the coming...
Teachers Share Their Secrets for Engaging Students in Virtual Reading Instruction
Teachers across the country are coming up with brilliant and creative ideas for connecting with their students during school closures. Here’s what a few of our customers...
14 Tips for Fine-Tuning Your Virtual Reading Instruction
With the unexpected COVID-19 school closures, many teachers had to convert their classrooms into a virtual learning environment quickly. This isn’t an easy switch overnight, yet...
Ideas for Home Learning and Reading Practice During COVID-19 School Closures
With COVID-19 spreading around the world, it’s important to do what we can to keep each other safe and healthy. But it is also important to stay hopeful and keep moving forward....
A Simple Intervention That Makes Middle School Less Awful for Students
When most people consider the middle and junior high school years, they often think of one word: awkward. Luckily, research from Dr. Geoffrey Borman and his colleagues at the...
10 Apps That Facilitate Communication and Language Skills in Special Education Classrooms
This blog post summarizes and compiles the tools and strategies developed by Dr. Wendy Thompson shared on an episode of Podclassed titled: Game-Changing Resources for Special...
Choosing the Right Reading Curriculum for Students in Special Education
In a recent webcast, education specialist Laura Axtell, M.Ed. Special Education discussed the challenges and needs of reading instruction in special education settings. She...
Modifying Reading Instruction to the Needs of Various Special Education Students
Teaching students in special education classrooms can be a complex task with varying needs and challenges. Here are a few quick tips from Special Education expert Laura Axtell,...
Teaching Students to Transfer Decoding Skills to Writing
Writing is an excellent place for students to apply and transfer what they have learned in Reading Horizons Discovery® and Reading Horizons Elevate® reading curriculum. Here are...
Improve Student Performance with Parent-Teacher Engagement
"When parents are heavily engaged or connected to the school and their students’ work in school, we see an increase in attendance, behavior, and course performance." —Dr. Nikole...
Boosting Student Engagement by Creating a Culturally Competent School or Classroom
Have you ever wished you could know what your students are thinking? How they wanted to be taught? What they want to get out of your class? In a recent episode...
Pacing Your Reading Curriculum to Student Mastery Instead of a Calendar | Q&A
We sat down with Implementation Coach Chloe Rhea Beauford to talk about the unique philosophy behind Reading Horizons pacing. Q: Chloe, what do you tell districts that are...
5 Ways to Prevent Struggling Readers from Experiencing Shame & Anxiety in the Classroom
“Horrified,” “brutal,” “nerve-wracking,” “awful,” “fear every moment” are a mix of terms and phrases used by struggling readers with dyslexia to describe their school experience...
How to Identify Dyslexia in the Classroom
The sooner you identify which students show the signs of dyslexia, the sooner you can intervene. When remediation is conducted early and appropriately, students who demonstrate...
7 Ways to Support Students with Dyslexia at Your School or District
Now that almost every state has passed legislation that classifies dyslexia as its own category of special needs, more districts are working to identify and accommodate students...
3 Lessons Learned from Implementing Evidence-Based Literacy Practices
In a recent episode of Podclassed titled “Putting Evidence-Based Literacy Initiatives in Action,” Laura Axtell interviewed an expert and two educators about...
What Program Is Best For Elementary Reading?
Are you looking for a new reading program for your elementary students? Wondering what the best elementary reading curriculum is? We're a little biased, but our customers aren't....
5 Ways to Break the Mold of Traditional Spelling Instruction
The content in this article is based on an episode of Podclassed—a podcast sponsored by Reading Horizons. The tips in this post are combined and rephrased from the interview...
The Ideal Response to Intervention (RTI) Implementation—Tips From the Experts
This blog post combines tips from three experts as expressed on Podclassed—a podcast sponsored by Reading Horizons. The experts include Jim Wright, trainer, consultant, and...
17 Rules for Making Your Reading Curriculum More Helpful for Struggling Readers
As a kid, school is your life. You spend more time there than in any other setting except your home (if that). For many students, school gives them a sense of purpose and...
From Good to Great: 9 Ways to Boost District-Wide Literacy Performance
"One of our challenges was how to make us great. We had a hodgepodge of good reading teachers and good things going on, but nothing in common. As Lucy Calkins says, 'When we...
Beauty in the Scar: Unraveling My Struggle with Dyslexia as an Adult
It wasn't long after I started working at Reading Horizons as an educator that we launched a Facebook community page that I managed to help teachers using our program. We needed...
Using Universal Screening for Dyslexia to Improve Reading Performance District-Wide
In a recent panel discussion with dyslexia experts Donell Pons, M.Ed., and Shantell Berrett, M.A., the what, why, and how of universal screening for dyslexia were discussed in...
Changing Student Perceptions About Dyslexia to Reduce Bullying [Lesson Plan]
What would be your ideal solution for improving the educational experience of students with dyslexia? This is a question we asked when we recently interviewed the parent of a...
4 Key Differences in Teaching ESL to Adults vs. Children
By Guest Writer, Lauren Bailey For several years now, I’ve actively participated in a local literacy organization, which aims at teaching reading to recent immigrants. Although...
Approaches for Teaching ESL Students: Prediction vs. Decoding
One of my biggest character flaws is definitely impatience. One way I’ve discovered this is through my drive to complete other people’s sentences. I usually do this when I want...
Supporting ESL Students: 10 Tips For Mainstream Teachers
From the 1997-98 school year to the 2008-09 school year, the amount of ESL learners enrolled in U.S. public schools increased from 3.5 million to 5.3 million, a 51% increase...
Five Effective Motivation Strategies for Struggling Readers
What do you find to be the most difficult thing about teaching beginning and struggling readers? We asked this exact question to educators as they registered for a webinar. Of...
ELL Instructional Strategies: Improving Vocabulary Improves Reading Fluency
Non-native speakers of English who are in an ELL classroom face struggles with reading in English even if they are already strong readers in their native language. The natural...
6 Elements of Effective Differentiated Reading Instruction
Is differentiated reading instruction really necessary? The answer is no. Differentiated reading instruction is not necessary UNLESS… you want success and growth for each of your...
How to Make ESL Reading Instruction Effective
Guest Post by Dr. Eugenia Krimmel As is made clear when working with a struggling reader or English Language Learner—reading is a complex language skill. Each aspect of reading...
21 Tips from Teachers on Using Reading Horizons
Earlier this year we asked for teaching advice from members of the Reading Horizons Teachers League. If you have ever implemented a new reading curriculum, then you know that...
Assistive Technology for Students with Dyslexia—22 Apps and Resources
During our webcast, Don’t Stop the Learning: Assistive Technology in the Classroom, Eric Price, M.Ed., talked about the importance of using technology to improve learning for...
5 Time-Saving Tips for Reading Horizons Lessons
When I was working in the classroom, I would often say that I could sleep over at school every night and still not feel caught up. What’s even worse is that the moments with our...
21 Helpful Books About Dyslexia for Parents and Educators
Our Reading Horizons dyslexia experts, Donell Pons, M.Ed., MAT, SPED, and Shantell Berrett, MA, share their favorite books about dyslexia for both educators and parents: 1....
Learning the Value of English as a Computer Science Major
In July, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Thailand as part of my senior project in computer science. As a Web developer at Reading Horizons for the last two years, I...
6 Ways to Motivate Reluctant Readers to Read
1. Build their self-efficacy toward reading. Self-efficacy is defined by Albert Bandura (1986) as “the beliefs that we have about ourselves that cause us to make choices, put...
Shifting from a Teacher-Centered Classroom to a Student-Centered Classroom
I used to have a student’s grandmother volunteer in my classroom each week. She was a retired university professor, a mentor of teachers, and a well-educated woman. I loved...
Inside Dyslexia: What You Need to Know About 20% of Your Students
What is Dyslexia? The word dyslexia is derived from the Greek words “dys” (meaning poor or inadequate) and “lexis” (meaning words or language). This implies an inadequacy only in...
Building Motivation in Students Who Have Dyslexia or Other Reading Difficulties
What leads to reading success? In 2000, the National Reading Panel labeled the five critical components of reading instruction for developing strong readers: phonemic awareness...
Developing a Growth Mindset in Struggling Readers
Creating a Motivating Classroom Environment We know that struggling readers are more motivated when they value reading as something that is important to their success in life....
8 Ways to Celebrate “Get Caught Reading Month” in Your Classroom/School
The end of the school year is fast approaching and students and teachers are looking forward to summer. May is the perfect month for teachers to engage students in reading and...
10 Book Memes for “Get Caught Reading Month”
It’s Get Caught Reading Month! As an educator, we know how exciting is for you to catch one of your students reading. But, we also know that there are some students you wish you...
Irlen Syndrome: A Surprisingly Common Cause of Reading Problems
As a former special education teacher working with students from kindergarten to 12th grade, I spent a great deal of time attempting to stay current with educational research and...
How to Help Students Find Books That Match Their Level and Interests
There is a proclivity among middle schoolers to do what their friends are doing. Shocking, I know. But I didn’t realize how this proclivity also shows up in their choices of...
Going Beyond Thanksgiving: Reading Activities for Native American Indian Heritage Month
November is Native American Indian Heritage Month in the U.S. Often, the only activities related to this month honoring Native Americans are some variation of the Thanksgiving...
10 Fun Reading Activities for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a great time to think about what we’re grateful for. But it’s also a time to enjoy great food! In that spirit, here are some reading passages that you can use to...
Building Parent-Teacher Relationships to Boost Student Reading Ability
Parents, how well do you know your child’s teachers? Teachers, how well do you know your students’ parents? How does the relationship between your child’s teachers affect their...
What’s the Difference Between ESL, EFL, ESOL, ELL, and ESP?
Even those of us within the teaching profession may not be clear on the different acronyms that have surfaced to describe our jobs. When I first heard about the career of...
Learning to Read from the Brain’s Point of View
My daughter, Mairead, was born in Indonesia and we lived there until she was 8 years old. By age 3, she could speak three languages: English, Indonesian, and Sundanese. She...
What Is the Best Way to Teach ESL Students? Submersion vs. Immersion
There has long been a debate on the best way to teach ESL students. Some people believe that submersion (sink or swim) is best because it is the fastest way to get ESL students...
Using Blended Learning to Differentiate Reading Instruction
Each year, teachers welcome a diverse group of students into their classrooms. Some students are high achievers, absorbing everything they read and hear and performing well at...
Why There Is Often a Disparity Between Reading and Spelling Ability
A student who has learned basic phonics from an effective reading instruction program such as Reading Horizons Discovery™ has the word attack skills he needs to read the majority...
How to Increase Student Reading Over Summer Break
The advantages of students reading over summer break are well known. Here is how one teacher encourages her students to read: Before they are let out for the summer, I always...
9 Lexile® Reading Passages: Inventors and Scientists
When you think of scientists and inventors, you may think of silly, white-haired men with eccentric ideas. But the truth is that they are just like you and me. They have hopes...
Using the DIBELS Assessment to Differentiate Reading Interventions
For the last few weeks we have been testing all of the students in our school. We give each child a DIBELS test to help predict his or her reading success. This test is the...
10 Reading Passages in Honor of Women’s History Month
By david.clark@readinghorizons.website No Comments Follow ReadingHorizons Women’s History Month is a time to learn not only about influential figures in the women’s...
12 Ways to Celebrate Read Across America Day / Dr. Seuss’s Birthday
March 2nd is Read Across America Day, as well as the birthday of Dr. Seuss! It’s amazing how often I am reading a Dr. Seuss book and find inspiration for my own life! The impact...
Using Word Sorts to Help Students Recognize Word Patterns
In the book Words Their Way, authors Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston explain that humans have a natural interest in finding order, comparing and contrasting, and paying...
Six Reading Passages in Honor of Black History Month
Black History Month is not only a time to learn about influential figures in the war against racism, segregation, and voting inequality, but also a time to celebrate those who...
Scaffolding Reading Instruction Using Fountas and Pinnell, Reading Horizons, and Other Techniques
What do English Language Learners (ELLs), dyslexics, and struggling readers all have in common? They are among the 30% of all students who require direct, explicit instruction to...
10 Qualities of Effective Teachers that Help Students Improve Their Reading Skills
Think back to the very beginning of your teaching career. You were full of excitement (and energy) as the new school year approached. Instead of learning behind a desk, you...
Growing Up with Dyslexia: Additional Insight for Teachers, Parents and Students
Hello readers! As the new marketing content manager for Reading Horizons, I’ve been writing on the blog for the past few months and I know that I am just barely introducing...
10 Tips for Aligning Your Curriculum to the Common Core State Standards
Change is good. But change can also be hard. It can be challenging to adjust to new demands and create new habits that support a change. Depending on your state, you may be...
How to Help Students With Dyslexia—Insights from a Mother and Her Dyslexic Son
I often get asked why I do what I do for work and why I travel. When I’m sitting in another airport with a level of exhaustion difficult to describe due to the juggling act of...
3 Tips for Teaching Phonics Exceptions
***This content is based on an interview with Reading Horizons Director of Training and Dyslexia Specialist, Shantell Berrett.*** Many teachers successfully teach the rules of...
10 Fun Halloween Reading Passages for Your Classroom
Halloween can be such an exciting time for your classroom. Halloween themed activities are not only fun but can also increase student engagement. And while...
Reading Activities: Mastering Vowel Sounds
Over the decades, as a first-grade and ESL teacher, I have sifted numerous reading strategies through the instructional sieve. I will share two strategies that remain the most...
5 Ways to Help Students with Dyslexia Improve Their Spelling
***This content is based on an interview with Reading Horizons Director of Training and Dyslexia Specialist Shantell Berrett.*** Despite their many strengths, students...
10 Powerful Quotes About Reading, Literacy, & Good Books
Reading is powerful. Words truly have the power to change our perspective and transport us to another place and time. Books can change our lives. Here are ten quotes about...
Components of an Effective ESL Reading Curriculum—Insights from Former TESOL President
Have you ever been conflicted by two opposing opinions? Both opinions had merit and seemed logical—but—they also seemed to contradict each other. One of the most pervasive...
How to Promote Metacognition in the Classroom
By Guest Writer, John Mendes, Ed.D. A crucial component of learning is being aware of our own thought processes and consciously understanding how we filter new information. This...
The 4 C’s of Effective Phonics Instruction that Boost Student Engagement
When I do classroom observations, I truly don’t even need to watch the teacher to evaluate instruction; I watch the students. If the processes are consistent and the instruction...
What is the Difference Between RTI and MTSS?
The phrases “Response to Intervention,” commonly referred to as RtI, and “Multi-Tiered System of Supports,” understandably shortened to MTSS, are used interchangeably among most...
Misconceptions About Phonics Instruction – #4 – College Prepares Teachers to Teach Reading
It is probably bad form to start a blog post with a disclaimer but I feel that it is necessary. Let me go on record saying that collectively, teachers are not to blame for the...
Misconception About Phonics Instruction #3 – The English Language is Inconsistent
Anyone who has ever put together a large jigsaw puzzle knows the level of commitment it takes to accurately combine what may initially seem like a million little pieces into a...
Misconceptions About Phonics Instruction – #2 – Phonics Instruction is Boring
In honor of football season, I will begin this post with a lesson from one of NFL’s most memorable coaches. Vince Lombardi was the head coach for the Green Bay Packers and the...
Misconception About Phonics Instruction #1 – Most Children Learn to Read Naturally
How would you answer this question: What causes seasons to occur? If your answer referred to the distance between the sun and the earth, your answer is the same as these Harvard...
Seven Ways to Increase Student Engagement in the Classroom
It is probably not surprising that one of the most consistent findings in educational research demonstrates that the more time students spend engaged during instruction, the more...
Avoid This Common Mistake When Selecting a Core Reading Program
As the smells of sunscreen and chlorine start to give way to the smells of new textbooks and freshly sharpened pencils, teachers are shifting their focus to planning for the new...
How Have Books Influenced Your Life?
Since the end of another school year is approaching, you may be expecting an annual post about the importance of summer reading as it relates to student progress. As a proponent...
Top 3 Challenges Facing Teachers & Educators
For 29 years the insurance company MetLife has been surveying teachers across America to identify challenges involved in public school education. In the fall of 2012, one...
4 Tricks for Helping Students Correct b/d Letter Reversals
This blog post is brought to you by the lowercase letters b and d. They look so similar that you can see where confusion occurs for beginning readers and writers. Letter...
4 Tricks for Helping Students Correct b/d Letter Reversals
This blog post is brought to you by the lowercase letters b and d. They look so similar that you can see where confusion occurs for beginning readers and writers. Letter...
Six Characteristics of Effective Reading Teachers
It seems like there has been a lot of talk lately about measuring ‘teacher effectiveness’. In fact, some organizations are spending a lot of time and money trying to identify...
7 Ways Teachers’ Reading Habits Influence Students’ Reading Habits
Do you have to love reading to teach reading? To some, that may seem like a rhetorical question. But ... if you are like most teachers, you spend no more than 10 minutes daily of...
The Four Keys to Motivating Struggling Readers
During a recent ‘organization spree’, my mom unearthed a pile of report cards from my elementary through high school years from the depths of the basement. On my first-grade...
3 Key Factors that Contribute to the Literacy Deficit
With all the talk in the news about politics and education, it's good to look at what is really going on in regards to education and literacy: These statistics expose...
How Should Sight Words Be Taught? With Phonics or Memorization?
How many words are there in the English language? A question with a complicated answer. Depending on your criteria, the answer can range from somewhere around a quarter of a...
5 Fun Classroom Reading Activities for Engaging English Language Learners
By Guest Writer, Robin Merrill People learn to read better when they’re having fun. They relax and lose some of the anxiety that often comes with learning to read a new language....
5 Fun Classroom Reading Activities for Engaging English Language Learners
By Guest Writer, Robin Merrill People learn to read better when they’re having fun. They relax and lose some of the anxiety that often comes with learning to read a new language....
How Does Cursive Fit Into The Common Core State Standards?
How do you approach phonics instruction? Join the Reading Horizons Reading Workshop and learn our method for free from home. By Guest Writer, Jamie Menard, M.A. Reading Where...
Four Tips for Teaching Students with Behavior Issues
I’ll never forget being in my 4th-grade classroom when out of nowhere one of my peers started yelling, shoved his desk to the floor, and then hit at my teacher as she tried to...
How Art Education Can Help Students Improve Reading Comprehension
By Guest Writer, Clara Richman No, art may not solve any of the world's problems. It's not a cure for cancer. It's not a means of solving world hunger. And it's certainly not a...
Using Theme-based Projects to Motivate Reluctant ESL High School Students
By Guest Writer, Dr. Eugenia Krimmel In the inner city high school setting I found many unmotivated students who were talking about dropping out of school. Some English Language...
What’s the Best Way to Pace Students’ Reading Instruction?
Have you ever asked someone a question or started discussing a topic and were shocked by the level of passion that comes out of the other person? You think you are asking a basic...
Five Ways to Create an Optimal Learning Environment for Students
By Guest Writer, John Mendes, Ed.D. Reticular Activating System (RAS)—Learning Applications Reticular Activating System (RAS) The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is a critical...
The Importance of Assessing Students Reading Ability Individually
Guest Post by Jamie Menard, MA in Reading Over the years, most elementary schools have made it a priority to assess students' reading skills and, if students are below...
How Should You Teach Exceptions to Phonics Rules?
One of the most difficult things about teaching the English language to beginning readers, struggling readers, and ESL students is that there are exceptions to many of the rules...
The Importance of Reading Aloud to Students of All Grades and Levels
“If we are always reading aloud something that is more difficult than children can read themselves then when they come to that book later, or books like that, they will be able...
The Secret to Helping Students Improve Reading Skills During the Summer Break
Let’s compare a classroom to a ship. There are about 20 passengers (the students) and usually only 1 captain (the teacher). The ship is small and modestly equipped, often...
The Unknown Rules of the English Language
“No. Crème brûlée can never be Jell-O. YOU could never be Jell-O!” As Julia Roberts perfectly explains to Cameron Diaz in My Best Friends Wedding. Sometimes people want things to...
What is the Best Way to Teach Students with Autism How to Read?
There is a lot of information about helping students with processing disorders (such as dyslexia) with reading, but what about other conditions that can make reading difficult?...
The Essential Need for Orton Gillingham Based Reading Instruction: Webinar Q&A
We were so excited to have reading expert Kathy Chappell-Muncy present a webinar for us! She presented on “The Essential Need for Orton Gillingham Based Reading Instruction” and...
Reading Research: The Educational Benefits of Fiction-Based Texts
Lately, with their strong emphasis in the Common Core State Standards, there has been a lot of talk about informational texts. But, their cute little cousin, fiction books, are...
Four Ways to Get Your Students Attention During Reading Instruction
Today’s students are surrounded by distractions in the classroom: friends, cell phones, social media, computers, books, and papers that are screaming to be doodled upon. Not to...
Dramatically Improve Spelling & Vocabulary Test Performance With A Simple Process
Every teacher wants their students to succeed. Not one teacher out there hopes that their students will perform poorly. So… if there was a simple, easy to implement process that...
How Long Should Struggling Readers Practice Reading Each Day?
There’s nothing more painful than making someone do something they don’t like to do. When a student absolutely loathes reading… even though you know they need to practice, you...
Differentiated Reading Instruction for Multilevel Adult ESL Classrooms – Webinar Q&A
Dr. Robin Lovrien Schwarz recently presented a wonderful webinar for Reading Horizons titled: “Using Learning Centers to Meet Needs in Multilevel ESL Classrooms.” The webinar...
One 2-Minute Task That Can Drastically Boost a Struggling Reader’s Success
There is a simple 2-minute task you can have your students do each day, that, if repeated for 21 days researchers have found brings the following results: “Your intelligence...
How Does Dyslexia Affect Individuals Throughout Their Lifetime?
Many teachers and parents, perhaps including you, worry about the future of their dyslexic students. Because reading and other language skills are difficult for these students it...
Three Critical Progress Assessments for Reading
Teachers depend on assessment tools to help them determine the reading abilities of students in their classrooms. Administrators depend on assessment tools for making decisions...
How Does Gender Affect Student Reading Ability?
As you have taught over the years, have you noticed a difference in the performance among your male and female students? Have you found performance gaps more of an individual...
Recognizing the Warning Signs and Compensation Strategies of Struggling Readers
Sometimes it is obvious that a student is struggling with reading. However, some struggling readers are very good at covering up their weakness—after all, reading is often...
The Controversy Surrounding the DIBELS Literacy Test
DIBELS is a literacy test that is an acronym for the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills. The test was developed by a federally funded group at the University of Oregon....
Best Practices for Teaching Reading to Students with Autism
We are learning that there are certain reading strategies that have been proven to work best for students with autism. For example, students with autism need: Instant Feedback...
Dyslexia: Separating the Facts from the Fiction
There are many myths and misunderstandings about dyslexia in both the private and educational sectors. A large number of these misconceptions persist in spite of recent research...
Poor Reading Skills Lead More Students to Dropout of School Than Poverty
It’s amazing how large of an impact struggling with reading has on students’ education. It’s just one skill, but it affects everything. A recent research study from the American...
Orlando Bloom Discusses His Struggles with Dyslexia
I recently watched an interview on dyslexia with Orlando Bloom that was hosted by the Child Mind Institute. This interview was part of the Adam Jeffrey Katz Memorial Lecture...
Five Myths About Response to Intervention (RTI)
Excerpts from Myths About Response to Intervention (RTI) Implementation by Bill East, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Special Education 1) Myth:...
Top 5 Ways to Adapt Instruction for Struggling Readers
Up to 20 percent of students have reading difficulties. You can help these children and young adults by reexamining how you approach and adapt your early reading...
Decoding Long Words: The Multisyllabic Dilemma
When a student is taught how to read with explicit phonics instruction, they learn how to breakdown, spell and pronounce any word—no matter how long it is. These easy-to-learn...
3 Criteria for Identifying Tier II & Tier III Students for RTI Interventions
The RTI model helps educators know how to organize interventions, but it can be difficult to decide which students should be placed in each of the three tiers. Author, Dr. Jack...
The Real Reason Struggling Readers Get Tired of Trying
For our Reading Horizons Book Club we have been reading: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. While reading it, this statistic sent me into a thinking frenzy:...
The Importance of Efficient Reading Interventions
Remedial reading teachers all share the same instructional goal: help students become fluent readers who understand what they read. The idea is to reach this goal as quickly as...
Different Strategies for Teaching Sight Words to Beginning Readers
By guest writer, Mark Pennington, MA Reading Specialist Most reading teachers place some importance on the teaching of sight words. However, what each teacher means by sight...
Does Writing Cursive Make Better Readers?
Cursive isn't taught in many of our schools today. You would be hard-pressed to find good examples of cursive in everyday writing. We can text, email, and Facebook our little...
Are Dyslexics Better Listeners?
I’m the first to admit it… I blurt out a comment, think ahead, and interrupt. It’s a bad habit that I’ve been trying to overcome my entire adult life. I really want to be a...
Obstacles to Reading
When I was a fifth-grade student, my teacher, Mrs. Pezzapone, taught us that reading would reward us with new adventures and opportunities that we might never know without...
What Causes Dyslexia? An Overview of 5 Theories
As you may know, dyslexia is a learning disability that causes reading and language difficulties. These difficulties are the result of the way the brain with dyslexia processes...
5 Elements of Effective Reading Instruction
One outcome of the "reading wars" between the phonics and whole language advocates was the tremendous growth of research in the area of teaching young children how to read...
12 Terms Every Reading Teacher Should Know
Reading is not a skill that comes naturally to every student. Even highly skilled readers needed guidance and direction at some point as they learned to read. Simply showing a...
5 Warning Signs That a Student Is Struggling With Reading
When a student is struggling with reading there are certain signs or symptoms that show up consistently. Everyone can struggle over unfamiliar words at times, so we are looking...
Four Essential Skills of an Effective Reading Teacher: Do You Have Them?
Even if a school is fortunate enough to have an excellent reading curriculum in place, several other factors play a large role in whether students will be able to meet their...
20 Tips for First Year Teachers that Will Make You the Rookie of the Year
Just landed a new teaching job? Congratulations! If you’re like most of us, there comes a point when the excitement leads to at least a small amount of insecurity as you prepare...
How Reading Horizons Intervention Program Meets the Needs of All 3 RTI Tiers
Response to Intervention (RTI) is an early intervention model used to help teachers and schools like yours, prevent long-term academic failure. The following outlines how you...
3 Ways Teachers Can Help Students with Dyslexia: Pt. 2 – Overcoming Reading Difficulties
This post is part of a three-part series which discusses tips for helping teachers reach dyslexic students. To read the first post of this series, visit the link next to #1....
Optimal Silent & Oral Reading Rates By Grade Level
Dr. Neil J. Anderson, professor of Linguistics and English Language at Brigham Young University, presented at the Reading Horizons distributor seminar in Salt Lake City, Utah. He...
3 Ways Poor Reading Skills Impact 68% of 4th Graders
According to a recent report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 68% of America’s 4th graders read below grade level last school year. The necessity of literacy skills in today’s...
5 Easy Steps to Reach Reluctant Readers and ESL Students
There are few things more challenging than motivating a student who doesn’t want to learn. But as all good teachers know, no such student really exists. After working with...
3 Ways Literacy Skills Improve Society
Although literacy skills are beneficial on an individual level—enhancing one’s psychological well-being and the knowledge one can gain from being able to read. However, literacy...
Three Reasons Multisensory Phonics Instruction is Effective for Dyslexics & Struggling Readers
Multisensory explicit phonics instruction is effective for struggling readers and dyslexics because it helps students: 1. Create a Solid Reading Foundation Imagine you were...
How Teaching Reading and Improving Literacy Can Fight Crime
This is one of the best stories I have ever read about literacy: “Preventing Violence By Teaching Literacy.” The story was written by a girl who lost her sister to violence in...
Reading Program Product Review: Discover Intensive Phonics (Reading Horizons Discovery®)
Reading Horizons Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself (now called Reading Horizons Discovery®) reading program was recently reviewed by Old Schoolhouse Magazine. ***After you...
30 Reasons Reading Should Take Priority Over Technology and Social Media
The internet and technology haven’t only impacted the way we read, but it has also created several distractions and alternatives to reading. We are still reading via technology...
The Connection Between Music, Reading, and Language Development
According to recent research, music can improve speech and reading skills by increasing one’s ability to distinguish between different sounds and understand the patterns of...
What Role Does Psychology Play in Learning and Reading Difficulties?
Today I read an article about children and aggressive behavior and the factors underlying such behavior. The article described how it is usually the home environment that is...
My Story: How I Gained a Passion for Literacy
Hi, my name is Angie and I am the Public Relations Assistant for Reading Horizons. I have been with the company for just over 6 months and I have learned a lot in my time here. ...
8 Benefits of English Language Learning (ELL/ESL)
A recent study titled: “The Contribution of Multilingualism to Creativity,” has proven there are many benefits for the brain gained through learning an additional...
8 Benefits of English Language Learning (ELL/ESL)
A recent study titled: “The Contribution of Multilingualism to Creativity” has proven that the brain gains many benefits through learning an additional language. English Language...
Impact of the Internet on Critical Reading and Writing Skills
If you are reading this article—you, like many others, probably spend a lot of time on the internet. But what is this habit doing to you and your literacy skills? Recent research...
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