Ka Blooey! Onomatopoeia in Dog Man by Dav Pilkey

Hi! I'm Erin. I love to teach all things reading! My goal is for my students to fall in love with reading, but it's unlikely that children will love something that is difficult and frustrating for them. I want to help them get to the point where they don't have to struggle and can finally enjoy reading! 

There are many components to reading, and I know how to narrow down which ones students need the most support with in order to become proficient readers. I am a licensed Reading Specialist who is a full time teacher in a public school. Currently, I teach in a middle school where I work with students with varying needs, including learners with language-based learning disabilities. I am certified as a Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner. Wilson is a program based on the Orton-Gillingham approach that directly teaches the structure of the English Language. I use Wilson with many of my students in grades 5-7. I am also trained in Visualizing and Verbalizing, a program that teaches students how to visualize what they read to increase comprehension. In addition, I use the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness curriculum for those students who need training in breaking down the sounds of spoken language. In the past, I have worked as a Reading Specialist in an elementary school, where I provided small group reading instruction for striving readers in grades 3-5. Prior to becoming a Reading Specialist, I taught as a Grade 3 Classroom teacher. As you can see, I have a wide variety of experience in age and abilities and can meet the needs of many, many readers!

For some people, the process of learning to read seems happens easily and naturally. For many others though, reading is something that needs to be broken down and taught directly. Components of reading include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. I enjoy teaching foundational skills of reading through direct phonics instruction. Many students need to be taught  how the sounds we hear in speech relate to letters on a page. They need to be taught the rules of the English Language - they don't figure it out on their own. Fluency is another component of reading that can be broken down and taught directly. Many students need to be taught different components of fluency, including phrasing, attending to punctuation, and expression. Ultimately, the goal is for students to comprehend what they read. There is no use in reading something, if you can't understand what you read! Students can be directly taught comprehension skills and strategies including visualizing, identifying key details and main ideas, self-monitoring, and summarizing. When students understand how to fit all of the pieces of the puzzle together, then they can fall in love with reading!

In addition to teaching, I am a mom to 2 little boys - Eddie, who is 4, and Patrick, who is almost 2. We live in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and our favorite thing to do is find different places to go for walks. When I have free time to myself, I enjoy yoga and tap dancing!