*READ TO THE END FOR THIS WEEK'S LITERACY TIP OF THE WEEK!*
 
Hey First name / There!
 
Did you know that reading is the most studied aspect of human learning?
 
It’s true!
 
Learning to read is not a natural process.
 
Human brains are wired for speech, but not for reading.
 
Over the past 40 years, scientists from many different fields, including developmental psychologists, educational psychologists, developmental linguists, & cognitive neuroscientists, have studied how humans learn to read.
 
Because of its volume, nature, and consistency, this science has been compiled into a body of work called “The Science of Reading,” which is the roadmap for how humans learn to read.
 
 
The Science of Reading has debunked many myths about how kids learn to read, but unfortunately, this research hasn’t made its way into all of our classrooms.
 
Because of this, many kids continue to struggle with learning to read, but it doesn’t need to be that way!
 
As preschool teachers & early childhood educators, WE lay the foundation of reading development for our students and impact their later success in school, and WE are the ones who educate their parents on the importance of early literacy skills.
 
What we do in these early years MATTERS!
 
When we're intentional about literacy development in the younger years, our students will have more success in kindergarten and beyond.
 
And that’s what we all want, right?! 
 
 
BUT WHERE DO WE START?
Teaching early literacy skills can feel overwhelming, especially since many of us were not taught this in our teacher prep classes.
 
There are SO many opinions out there about what to focus on, and the terminology can get confusing:
  • What’s the difference between phonological & phonemic awareness?
  • Should I teach letter names or letter sounds first?
  • Should I teach uppercase or lowercase letters first?
  • Does memorizing the Alphabet Song matter anymore?
  • Should I be pushing my students to memorize sight words?
 
After hearing from overwhelmed teachers over the past year, I created a framework for planning literacy lessons and activities based on the Science of Reading. 
 
And the best part? You just have to PLAY!
 
PLAY FOR READING SUCCESS
If you want to prepare your students for reading success, just remember to PLAY:
 
P: Phonological & Phonemic Awareness
L: (Oral) Language
A: Alphabetic Principle & Print Knowledge
Y: Yet…the Magic Word!
 
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The first three letters (P L A) represent the foundational areas that teachers should focus on according to the 2008 National Early Literacy Panel (NELP):
  • Phonological Processing
  • Oral Language
  • Print Knowledge
 
The last letter (Y) is the magic that holds it all together…teaching our kids about the power of YET will impact them in all areas of learning!
 
These are the areas that we should dedicate our time & attention to, and we can do that all by PLAYing with our students!
WHAT'S AHEAD
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be diving into each one of these foundational areas so you have a better understanding of where to spend your time during your literacy lessons.
 
Intentional instruction & guidance are key to facilitating learning in our students. And this intentionality starts with educating ourselves on the Science of Reading.
 
If you have specific questions about any of these areas, respond back to this email and let me know. I’ll make sure to include that information in my upcoming emails!
 
LITERACY TIP OF THE WEEK
This week's tip is similar to last week's tip:
 
The letter G represents the /g/ sound MOST of the time:
  • before the vowels A, O, U:
    • gap
    • goat
    • begun
  • before a consonant:
    • glad
    • magnet
  • and at the end of a word:
    • bag
    • leg
However, the letter G may soften to represent the /j/ sound when it's before an E, I, or Y (*but not always)
  • germ vs. get
  • ginger vs. gift
  • biology vs. gynecology
 
Even though this isn't an absolute rule, it's still helpful since G will ONLY represent /j/ if it's before an E, I, or Y.
 
Some other interesting things to note about this tip:
  • Italian words insert a silent letter H to separate G from an E or I to retain the hard /g/ sound, forming the phonogram “gh”:
    • ghetto
    • spaghetti
 
  • French & Spanish words insert a silent letter U to separate G from an E or I to retain the hard /g/ sound, forming the phonogram “gu”:
    • plague
    • guitar
In preschool, we teach that G represents the /g/ sound. Students usually learn that G also represents the /j/ sound in 1st grade. 
NEXT WEEK
See you next week for our first letter in the PLAY for Reading Success method:
  • P (Phonological & Phonemic Awareness)
 
Until then, have a great week!

HAPPY LEARNING!

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Password: Lovetoread123
 
P.P.S. What's your theme this week? Don't forget to head to our THEME page and see all the resources available for your current theme!
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