Fluency starts with confidence, and confidence starts with sight words! In this episode of The Education Connection, Robin Wilson shares practical ways to help young readers recognize high-frequency words instantly, freeing their brains to focus on comprehension and meaning.

You’ll learn how sight words support fluency, how many to focus on each year, and why those little words make a big impact. Robin also shares her favorite classroom-tested activities and a free resource to help you put it all into practice.

🧠 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why sight words are the key to building fluent, confident readers
• The difference between Fry and Dolch lists (and how to start if you don’t have a program)
• How the first 100 words make up about 50% of what kids read — and the first 300 words cover 65%

🎯 Try This in Your Classroom:

Sight Word Parking Lot Write words on index cards and let students “drive” toy cars to the ones you call out. This quick, movement-based activity builds instant recognition while keeping learning playful and fun!

Grab Robin’s Free Spelling Practice Pack, perfect for reinforcing sight words and phonics patterns through editable weekly templates. 👉 Download it now at Robin Wilson First Grade Love Spelling Practice First Grade

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9 Every sight word you teach is a seed of confidence that will grow in your students over time.

If this episode encouraged you, please share it with a teacher or homeschool mom—it helps more than you know! And when you leave a 5-star rating and review, you’ll be entered into a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway.

Subscribe to The Education Connection so you never miss a new episode filled with practical classroom ideas and heart-centered teaching inspiration.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Coaching

Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers:

Find Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle

Find Genesis Bible Stories Bundle

Your students can decode words — but something’s still missing. They’re reading words but not books, and it’s choppy, slow, and uncertain. That’s where fluency comes in, the bridge between sounding out and real reading.

In this episode, Robin Wilson shares:

• What fluency means
• Why 20 minutes of daily reading changes everything
• Three simple ways to build fluent, confident readers
• How to keep reading time fun with variety and choice

🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download Robin’s The Read Everyday Challenge. 10 fun ways to practice reading every day! 👉 Click here to download the free guide

⭐ ENTER TO WIN! Leave a 5-star review of The Education Connection on Apple Podcasts, and you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. It’s my way of saying thank you for supporting the show and helping other teachers find it too! 💛

🎧 Listen now and discover how to turn decoding into joyful, fluent reading — one day at a time.

This week on The Education Connection, we’re moving forward on our phonics journey by exploring plurals — when to add s and when to add es to show “more than one.” We’ve already built strong foundations with letter sounds, CVC words, blends, and digraphs. Now, we’re helping our students apply those skills in real reading and writing.

In this episode, I share simple language to teach the rule, plus three easy activities you can use right away:

• “One or More?” oral practice game
• s/es sorting activity
• Plural Detective reading activity

These can be done whole group, small group, or in literacy centers.

We’ll wrap up with a scripture reminder that small steps matter and a prayer of encouragement for your week. Tune in — let’s grow confident readers together.

If The Education Connection podcast is encouraging you, helping you in the classroom, or giving you something to think about each week, I would be so grateful if you would take a moment to leave a positive review for the show. Your kind words truly mean the world to me. 💛

Leave a 5 star rating and a positive review on this podcast and you will be automatically entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card as a thank you. 🎉

Connect with me on any of these Social Media Platforms.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Coaching

Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers:

In this episode of The Education Connection, Robin Wilson explores the power of word families—focusing on am, at, and an to strengthen early reading skills. Discover three engaging, low-prep activities that make decoding fun and meaningful for young learners. Plus, learn how to apply these same ideas across all the basic word families in first grade. Scripture and prayer close out this episode with encouragement for teachers guiding little readers each day.

Get Ready for next year with these ultimate resources.

Get Ready for Kindergarten

Get Ready for First Grade

Get Ready for Second Grade

Connect with me on any of these Social Media Platforms.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Coaching

Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers:

Find Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle

Find Genesis Bible Stories Bundle

Today we’re learning the FLOSS rule — when to double the final letter in short words!

✅ Discover what the FLOSS rule is

✅ Hear easy examples like hill, miss, and buzz

✅ Try 3 fun activities: word sort, “Double It!” build game, and word hunt. End with Scripture and a simple prayer to remind us that learning brings wisdom.

Connect with me on any of these Social Media Platforms.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Coaching

Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers:

Find Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle

Find Genesis Bible Stories Bundle

In this episode, we take the next step in our phonics journey by introducing silent e words—also known as Mommy E if you're using Secret Stories in your classroom. After reviewing letter sounds, CVC words, blends, and digraphs, it's time to help students understand how a silent “e” changes everything.

I’ll explain how I introduce this concept using a fun and meaningful story students love, and I’ll walk you through 3 engaging classroom activities that make the “magic e” stick:

✨ Magic E Wand Words

🔄 Flip & Match Word Cards

🧠 Silent E Sorting Mats

Whether you're teaching whole group, small group, or intervention, these simple ideas will help your students confidently decode long vowel CVCe words like make, Pete, poke, and rule.

🎧 Listen now and grab some fresh inspiration for your phonics block!

Connect with me on any of these Social Media Platforms.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Coaching

Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers:

Find Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle

Find Genesis Bible Stories Bundle

In this episode, we continue our phonics journey by introducing consonant blends paired with short vowels. After reviewing CVC words and digraphs the last two weeks, we dive into how blends work, why they matter, and how to teach them effectively. You'll walk away with three engaging classroom activities—Blend & Match Cards, Scoot & Blend, and Blends Bingo—that make learning blends fun and memorable for your students.

Get Ready for next year with these ultimate resources.

Get Ready for Kindergarten

Get Ready for First Grade

Get Ready for Second Grade

Connect with me on any of these Social Media Platforms.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Coaching

Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers:

Find Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle

Find Genesis Bible Stories Bundle

In this episode of The Education Connection, we continue our phonics journey by building on last week’s CVC word practice and diving into digraphs — ch, sh, th, wh, ph, and ck. You'll learn how to teach these essential sound chunks alongside short vowels using fun, simple activities that keep young readers engaged. Whether you’re introducing digraphs for the first time or reinforcing them with hands-on practice, you’ll walk away with practical strategies you can use in your classroom tomorrow.

🎒 Perfect for K–2 teachers 📚 Includes ready-to-use activity ideas ✏️ Builds confidence in early decoding.

Get Ready for next year with these ultimate resources.

Get Ready for Kindergarten

Get Ready for First Grade

Get Ready for Second Grade

Connect with me on any of these Social Media Platforms.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Coaching

Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers:

Find Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle

Find Genesis Bible Stories Bundle