Vocabulary is responsible for 70% of reading comprehension problems in elementary schools. And while the research is clear on what most students require to build vocabulary (12 spaced multimodal encounters with a word), many schools ignore the research and reading scores suffer.
Our Journey to VocabularySpellingCity
SpellingCity’s Journey to VocabularySpellingCity At VocabularySpellingCity, we went through a transition, moving from being a spelling program to one focused on vocabulary-building and reading comprehension. Here’s our story from the beginning. I had a few goals in 2010 when I was starting SpellingCity, as I called
Building Phonological, Phonics, and Early Reader Skills
VocabularySpellingCity is broadly used in upper elementary grades (over 10% in the US!) and now has added Sound It Out, which strengthens our offering for primary grades. Sound It Out uses the Interactive Sound Boxes, a powerful learning tool invaluable to primary grade teachers and, not
Elementary Students: Owning the Learning
One of the brightest trends that I see in education today is a broad nationwide move to have students own their learning and to adopt a growth mindset. I’m particularly encouraged to see that this is a distinct trend in elementary schools. In
Coding Careers in Action: Kids tried professional life, and I felt like a kid again.
We were excited to welcome Somerset Academy Davie students into our offices on Dec. 7 for our first day of Coding Careers in Action. In conjunction with the Hour of Code movement, our teams at Science4Us and VocabularySpellingCity invited local
Educational Tech Career Days: Building on the Hour of Code Movement
In my visits to elementary schools, especially the Title I schools with deeply disadvantaged students, I often wonder what more we can do for the students who are not getting the broad exposure and stimulation that will prepare them for success. One
Insights from Literacy Expert Tim Rasinski on Vocabulary and Comprehension
VocabularySpellingCity sponsored a webinar Dec. 1 with one of my favorite literacy heroes, Dr. Timothy Rasinski. His message on the importance of automaticity in word learning, and its connection to comprehension, is one that all educators can learn from. And
Cursive Instruction is Disappearing. Is There a Compelling Case to Save It?
This is a tough one to answer. While an overwhelming amount of evidence shows the benefits of writing by hand, few studies differentiate between print and cursive, and even fewer come to definite conclusions about which should be taught. But we
Making new friends at ARA Literacy Conference: ‘A great event’ from the start
VocabularySpellingCity literacy experts Barbara Kruger and Laura Kupres found the Nov. 17-18 Arkansas Reading Association Literacy Conference rewarding before they arrived: On the shuttle from the Little Rock airport, they met the conference keynote speaker, Valerie Ellery, who comes from
At Broward Ed Talk, Students Take the Lead in Exploring ‘Courageous Conversations’
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie opened a discussion forum with the promise “to educate all students to succeed in tomorrow’s world.” “This is our moment to move from rhetoric to action,” Runcie said on Saturday, Nov. 5, addressing