There are four main types of sentences that we use in the English language, but before we jump into the different sentence types, let’s review independent and dependent clauses. Independent Clause Dependent Clause Sentence Type #1: Simple Sentences Sentence Type #2: Compound Sentences Sentence Type #3: Complex Sentences Sentence Type #4: Compound-Complex Sentences
What is Bossy R? A Bossy R is an R that comes after a vowel in a word. The addition of the R changes the sound the vowel makes. Bossy R Song: There are a lot of Bossy R songs on YouTube. This one happens to be my favorite. AR AR is the pirate sound.…
The “schwa” sound sounds like a short vowel u. It is often referred to as the lazy sound (uhhh…). Read the following words: Now read these words: And these: Uhhh…. what’s going on here? Welcome to the “schwa” sound. The schwa sound sounds a lot like short vowel u, but it can make a short…
What is best guess spelling? Best guess spelling simply means that the child does his/her best to write down all the sounds he/she hears in a word. Best guess spelling, invented spelling, and approximate spelling all mean the same thing. I often tell my students that reading is looking at each letter in a word…
Spelling Tool #1: Letter names and sounds: Reading is the ability to go letter by letter in a word and say the sounds for those letters. Writing is the ability to go sound by sound in a word and write the letters down that make those sounds. Recognizing letters and knowing their sounds is essential…
1. If your child does not have any sentence writing skills: 2. If your child isn’t sure how to spell a word: Here are links to my previous posts about sound boxes and syllables: 3. If your child has spelling errors: 4. If your child forgets to start the sentence with a capital letter and/or…
Supporting young writers through scaffolding: The word “scaffolding” in education refers to providing guided support to a child as he or she is developing new skills and working toward independence. Just like scaffolding in construction is a temporary structure that helps workers safely get their jobs done, educational scaffolding is temporary as well. Skills needed…
The Golden Vowel Rule: The Golden Vowel Rule is the most important rule. There are a lot of reading and spelling rules, but all of those rules get broken frequently. This rule is the one rule that hardly ever gets broken. Rule #2: The second rule forces kids to slow down and listen carefully in…
Learn to Read: Step One: I want to help my child learn to read and learn to spell. Where do I start? Yes: Go to number 2. No: Start with Name Games Step 2: My child can recognize and spell his/her name. What is next? Yes: Go to number 3. No: Start with short vowel…
1. Letter Tracing I highly recommend starting early with three lined printing paper. If you don’t have access to dotted letters for tracing, using a highlighter is just as easy. 2. Rainbow Words: Write your child’s name with a highlighter and let him or her use multiple colors to trace the letters. 3. Letter Scramble:…