Ellen's Educational Services

10/16/2026

Systematic + Cumulative Instruction 💙

What do these terms mean in Structured Literacy?

🔹 SYSTEMATIC means teaching follows a logical, intentional sequence—from simpler concepts to more complex ones. Teachers check prerequisite knowledge and skills, using assessment to guide pacing and review.

For example, children can begin blending and reading simple words once they know a few letter–sound relationships. They don’t need to learn every correspondence before putting that knowledge to use.

🔹 CUMULATIVE means new learning builds on previous learning. Lessons include opportunities to practice earlier skills alongside newly taught skills.

Learn something.
Practice it.
Revisit it over time.
Connect it with new learning.

Practice and review spaced over time support retention and recall. Teachers check understanding and provide additional teaching when needed.

This does not mean postponing language or comprehension until decoding is mastered. Vocabulary, discussion, knowledge-building, and understanding develop alongside word-reading skills.

Planned teaching. Connected learning. Ongoing practice.

10/14/2026

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It’s that time of year for parent-teacher conferences! 🍎
Do you suspect your child may have dyslexia?
Parent-teacher conferences are a great opportunity to ask questions and share concerns.
What is the teacher noticing in the classroom? Is your child struggling to connect letters with sounds, decode unfamiliar words, read fluently, or spell? Is reading taking significantly more effort than it should?
And parents, what are YOU noticing at home? Homework frustration? Avoiding reading? Difficulty remembering words they’ve practiced over and over?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
Ask about your child’s reading progress, assessment data, and how their skills compare to grade-level expectations. If concerns exist, ask what interventions are being provided and whether a dyslexia evaluation is warranted.
Remember, good grades do not rule out dyslexia. Some children work incredibly hard to compensate for their difficulties.
You do not have to wait for your child to fail before requesting an evaluation.
Parents and teachers working together can make all the difference. ❤️

10/14/2026

I am such a HUGE proponent of structured literacy!
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What Is Structured Literacy?

You may have heard the phrase Structured Literacy.

So what does it mean?

Structured Literacy explicitly teaches the structure of spoken and written language.

Instruction is:

🔹 Explicit
🔹 Systematic
🔹 Cumulative
🔹 Diagnostic and responsive

And it integrates important areas of literacy such as:

🔹 Speech sounds
🔹 Sound-symbol relationships
🔹 Syllables
🔹 Meaningful word parts
🔹 Vocabulary
🔹 Sentence structure
🔹 Written language
🔹 Comprehension

Structured Literacy isn’t simply “doing more phonics.”

It’s intentionally teaching children how our language works.

10/12/2026

Explicit instruction is so important!

They are not lazy. They are not trying less. They need explicit instruction, but what does explicit instruction actually mean? It means we don't leave learning to chance. We don't expect students to learn to read through osmosis, simply by being surrounded by books or exposed to print.

We teach the skills directly.

We explain and model. We provide guided practice. We check for understanding, give corrective feedback, and gradually move students toward independence. In reading, that means explicitly teaching how sounds connect to letters, how to blend sounds to read words, how spelling patterns work, and how words are structured.

And importantly, explicit instruction is not just for students with dyslexia. All students can benefit from clear, systematic teaching, and for many struggling readers, it is essential.

Exposure to print is important. Reading practice is important. Repeated reading helps build fluency. But exposure alone is not the same as instruction.

When a child struggles to read, the answer isn't always more motivation, more effort, or more time with a book.

Sometimes, what needs to change isn't how hard the child is trying. It's how we are teaching. Children shouldn't have to guess their way into literacy.

If you're an educator or parent, please share. We need to keep moving the conversation from motivation to instruction.

10/09/2026

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Dyslexia Doesn’t Disappear After Third Grade

In older students, dyslexia can look different.

Watch for:

🚩 Slow, effortful reading
🚩 Avoiding reading aloud
🚩 Difficulty reading unfamiliar or multisyllabic words
🚩 Persistent spelling difficulty
🚩 Taking much longer than peers to complete reading assignments
🚩 Difficulty taking notes while listening
🚩 Stronger understanding when material is read aloud
🚩 Avoidance of reading-heavy classes or activities

Sometimes older children have become incredibly good at compensating.

That doesn’t mean reading suddenly became easy.

It may mean they’ve spent years learning how to hide how difficult it is.

10/08/2026

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First Grade Red Flags 🚩

First grade is when reading difficulties often become much easier to see.

Watch for a child who:

🚩 Guesses words from pictures
🚩 Uses the first letter and guesses the rest
🚩 Struggles to sound out unfamiliar words
🚩 Has difficulty blending sounds
🚩 Reads the same word correctly on one line and incorrectly on the next
🚩 Struggles significantly with spelling
🚩 Avoids reading aloud
🚩 Memorizes books instead of actually reading them
🚩 Has difficulty developing automatic word recognition

One of the most important questions we can ask is:

Is this child actually reading the word — or have they learned how to compensate for not being able to read it?

10/08/2026

🍂 Day 5 of 31: Dyslexia Facts 🍂

One of the most common myths about dyslexia is that it means seeing or writing letters backward. It doesn’t!

Letter reversals can be a normal part of learning to read and write and, by themselves, are not a sign of dyslexia.

💛 Parent takeaway: Look at the bigger picture—persistent difficulties with decoding, word reading, fluency, and spelling tell us much more.

10/08/2026

FYI

Phonemic Awareness ≠ Phonics

These two terms are often used interchangeably.

They’re related — but they’re not the same.

👂 PHONEMIC AWARENESS = SOUNDS

Can a child hear and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words?

CAT → /k/ /ă/ /t/

👀 PHONICS = SOUNDS + PRINT

Can a child connect those sounds with written letters?

C → /k/
A → /ă/
T → /t/

Then blend them:

C-A-T → CAT.

Children need to understand both the sound structure of language AND how those sounds connect to print.

That’s how we begin building readers.

10/06/2026

Perfect for this time of year! 😀🍂🍁

10/04/2026

Early intervention is critical!