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(K) Writing · First Grade · Kindergarten · Pre-K

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playdough2plato

Quick phonics hack!⚡️If the /ow/ sound comes at the beginning of a word (but not before the letters L, N, EL or ER), it’s spelled OU like in OUT and OUCH…

If /ow/ is at the end, it’s usually spelled OW like in COW and HOW…

But if /ow/ is in the middle, it can be either OU or OW like in LOUD, PROUD, TOWN and BROWN.

👉 Follow @playdough2plato for more phonics hacks!

#phonicsfun #phonics #teacherhack #firstgradeteacher

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playdough2plato

Sprinkling in questions during class read alouds is a quick and simple way to build students’ language comprehension skills.

But just in case your mind goes blank when you’re trying to think of something great to ask like mine does, I pulled together a list of 20 Qs that work with almost any book under the sun.

👉 Comment QUESTIONS below and I’ll have our friendly Plato-Bot send you the freebie. ❤️

#readingcomprehension #scienceofreading #scienceofreadingteachers #scienceofreadinginaction

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playdough2plato

Pick your teacher gift!👇

Comment 123CURE to unlock 4 game-changing teacher trainings that will help you melt away some of your biggest school stressors once and for all.

#scienceofreading #phonics #phonologicalawareness

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playdough2plato

I’ll pick INTERACTIVE anchor charts every. single. time. You too?? 😍 This one’s a fun way to practice the Y that says /long i/ at the end of words and its cousin: the Y that says /long e/!

I recommend starting by having kids sort some pre-written words like the ones in this example so that you can intentionally talk about the two different Y sounds.

(Research has shown that for many students - especially our struggling readers - need us to explicitly connect the letter-sound dots for them instead of expecting that they will make those connections on their own so working through specific examples is really important.)

Then invite students to add other words to the chart!

This would be a great activity to add onto as students are reading and writing over time too... Each time they come across a word that ends in Y, they could write a new post-it.🥳

If you’d like help teaching phonics skills, I pulled together a f-r-e-e training breaking down my favorite phonics tips & tricks for you.

👉 Comment PHONICS below and I’ll send you an invite.

#phonicsfun #anchorcharts

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playdough2plato

Fun fact: Phonics and spelling rules explain 98% of English words. Yep! You read that right. Words we used to call “rule breakers” like HAVE & THE can actually be explained. 🤯

But first, we have to learn the rules so we know how to explain them!

That’s why my team and I were so excited to pull together these 17 spelling rule posters for you…

👉 Members, as always, you can grab the bundle (and thousands of other brain-friendly teaching tools!) from the vault.

👉 If you’re not a member yet, just comment RULES below and I’ll send over the 🔗 to the shop.

#spelling #phonics #kindergartenteacher #firstgradeteacher #secondgradeteacher

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playdough2plato

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playdough2plato

Need a fun way to practice reading and spelling silent E words? This quick center does the trick every. 👏 single. 👏 time! 👏 It’s easy to prep and super fun to play.

Here’s the 411:

1️⃣ Use a black marker to write one CVC word on each index card. A few of my favorites are:

Kit
Tub
Can
Hop
Cap
Cub

2️⃣ Add an E with your white crayon.

3️⃣ Have students read the CVC word out loud and then color over the hidden E to make it magically appear. Now that the word has changed, have students read it again! 🥳

👉 Save this so you can find the directions when you need them again.

👉 Follow @playdough2plato for more simple, brain-friendly ways to teach reading.

#phonicsfun #phonicsforkids #jollyphonics #scienceofreading #learningthroughplay

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playdough2plato

Steal my recipe for the perfect phonics lesson! 🎁 (Just remember to hit “save” so you can find it again. 😂)

#phonics #iteachk #iteachfirst #kindergartenteacher #firstgradeteacher #secondgradeteacher #weareteachers

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playdough2plato

Help kids memorize sight words 10X faster with this simple little tweak…

Trade your sight word flashcards (which rely on students’ VISUAL memory) for sound maps (which help kids connect the word’s SOUNDS to the letters used to spell them).

Humans have a natural superpower for spoken language so we can use that strength to help brains connect the dots more quickly.

👉 Comment 10X and I’ll have our friendly Plato-Bot send you this pumpkin sound map so you can see the difference for yourself!

#orthographicmapping #sightwords #scienceofreading #learningtoread #kindergartenteacher #firstgradeteacher

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playdough2plato

Knowing these 13 words is handy, but the sorting trick on slide four is GAME CHANGING.🔥

#phonics #orthographicmapping #scienceofreading

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playdough2plato

Fun CVC Post-it game coming in hot! 🔥 To play, students simply swap out vowel Post-it notes to make new words. Here’s a handy list to get you started:

B_D
P_N
L_T
P_T
B_G
T_B
F_N
D_D
S_B
T_N

And don’t worry if students end up making nonsense words – research has shown it’s important for them to practice reading those too.

👉 Save this so you can easily find it again later!

#scienceofreading #thescienceofreading #readingteacher #literacycenters #learningthroughplay #playfullearning

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playdough2plato

Post-it word chains! 🥳 It’s an easy prep, addictively fun way to practice CVC words.

Here’s how to prep it:

1. Write beginning sounds on one stack of post its…

2. Middle vowels on a second stack…

3. And ending sounds on a third…

4. Then read, pull, and read again!

📌 Make sure to save this so you remember how to play!

#phonicsfun #playfullearning #learningthroughplaying #scienceofreading #cvcwords

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playdough2plato

Do you know the CH versus TCH rules? 👇

CH comes…

1️⃣ at the start of words (chop, chin, chat), and

2️⃣ after any sound except a short vowel (bench, coach, lunch)

TCH is used…

1️⃣ at the end of a word or syllable AFTER a short vowel (fetch, watch, pitch)

Like so many words in English, it’s important to know that there are some exceptions including such, rich, much and which.

👉 Make sure to save this and tag a friend who would love it too!

#phonicsrules #scienceofreading #phonicsfun

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playdough2plato

World’s best literacy center!🥳 Write one word on each sticker dot (I used -AT words but you could pick anything under the sun: CVCe words, digraph words, blends…)

Then attach a dot to every counting chip.

As kids race to be the first player to have four counting chips in a row, they will read and write their words along the way.

It’s a simple little twist but it makes phonics practice addictively fun.

👉 Be sure to save this!

#scienceofreading #phonicsfun #phonics #literacycenters #literacymatters #playfullearning #learningthroughplay #thereadingroadmap

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playdough2plato

This phonics hack makes it sooooo much easier to learn the soft G and C sound! 🏆 When the letters C & G come before the letters E, I or Y, they change to their soft /s/ & /j/ sound. For example…

CENT
GIRAFFE
CYCLE
GENTLEMAN
CIRCLE
GYM

👉 Follow @playdough2plato for more helpful teaching tips!

#phonicsfun #phonics #scienceofreading #scienceofreadinginaction #iteachfirst #firstgradeteacher

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playdough2plato

Let’s be honest… It’s a whole lot easier to just keep teaching the same way we’ve always been teaching.

In fact, when it comes to teaching reading, there are lots of reasons NOT to make the switch to brain-friendly, research-based teaching strategies and tools...

😩Learning new things can feel hard…

😭Discovering that some of our favorite teaching strategies are actually ineffective for kids feels icky…

😮‍💨Hunting down trustworthy, research-based lesson plans and activities takes time…

The list goes on and on. But here’s the thing:

The longer we wait, the more kids will slip through the cracks. And that’s just unacceptable.

So I created a shortcut that makes it easy for you to go all-in on the science of reading in your Pre-K, Kinder, or 1st Grade classroom right away. (You can literally cross off tons of the things on the “hard stuff” list!)

👉 Comment EASY below and I’ll have our friendly Plato-Bot send you the info.

#kinderchat #earlylearning #kindergartenteacher #prekteacher #firstgradeteacher

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playdough2plato

Calling all Matchbox Car fans… Or basically anyone who loves fun learning.🤸‍♂️

This center makes practicing phonics & decoding skills a blast. But what makes it even better is that you can use it to work on any skills under the sun: digraphs, short vowel CVC words, blends, etc.

👉Be sure to save this!

#phonicsgames #phonicsfamily

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playdough2plato

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that pack the biggest learning punch. Case in point: spoon word families! 🚀 With just a few basic supplies, you can practice any phonics skill under the sun: beginning digraphs, middle vowels in CVC words… even word endings like -ING and -ED.

Wondering what phonics skill you should work on first? I’ll give you a quick phonics assessment that makes it easy to pinpoint exactly where students need to start inside my four week course called The Reading Roadmap. It only opens twice a year and the next round kicks off on Sunday!

👉 Comment ROADMAP down below if you’d like me to send you an invite!

#phonics #phonicsfun

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playdough2plato

You’ve gotta’ add this phonics anchor chart to your collection! 🤸‍♂️ It’s a handy way to help students remember that the long O can be spelled with OW at the end of a word or OA in the middle.

Bonus tip: When long O comes at the end of a word, it can also be spelled with OE as in TOE, FOE, and JOE.

You’ll learn TONS of helpful phonics tips just like this one inside The Reading Roadmap. And I’ll give you the step-by-step lesson plans, centers, and decodable passages you need to actually practice them too!

Enrollment only opens twice a year and this round closes on Sunday so, if you have your eye on a spot, it’s go time.

👉 Comment ROADMAP below and I’ll send you an invite!

#phonics #anchorcharts

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playdough2plato

📣 PSA: As fluent readers, our default setting is to focus on the letters we SEE in words instead of thinking about the sounds we HEAR. But when we’re practicing phonemic awareness with students (the most important foundational reading skill kids need), we have to turn that default off so we can correctly home in on the individual sounds we hear like this:

SHIP—> 4 letters but just 3 sounds /sh /i/ /p/

BOX—> 3 letters but 4 sounds /b/ /o/ /k/ /s/

👉 Share this to help other teachers too!

#phonemicawareness #phonologicalawareness

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Playdough to Plato

2 days ago

Sprinkling in questions during class read alouds is a quick and simple way to build students’ language comprehension skills.

But just in case your mind goes blank when you’re trying to think of something great to ask like mine does, I pulled together a list of 20 Qs that work with almost any book under the sun.

👉 Comment QUESTIONS below and I’ll have our friendly Plato-Bot send you the freebie. ❤️

#readingcomprehension #scienceofreading #scienceofreadingteachers #scienceofreadinginaction ... See MoreSee Less

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