If you’ve ever been stuck on how to structure a literacy small group lesson, I’ve put together a sample lesson structure for an “on grade level” group (with differentiated ideas for a lower and higher group as well). This simple structure can be used during all of your small groups (no matter their level) as an easy way to meet students where they are in their literacy journey.

If you’ve picked up a pack of Reading Rods from Hand2Mind and thought they were neat but weren’t sure how to use them, I’ve got you covered! I’m sharing three fun, low-prep ways to put them to use so that students are using them as an effective way to practice phonics skills.

Not enough curriculums come with engaging, hands-on activities and resources that allow students to apply and practice what they have learned from those lessons. I’ve spent tons of time creating resources that are more appropriate for busy little hands and I’m sharing a few of my favorite low-prep here!

For a long time, I struggled with wanting my word work options to be engaging and hands-on, but also low-prep. Over the years I came up with several word work options that meet all of my qualifications: engaging and standards-based, hands-on, and low-prep. Read about some of my fave options here.

Wondering what tools to keep in your literacy small group caddy? These are a few of the things that I am constantly reaching for during small group literacy instruction, so I keep them all handy in a little caddy that I can easily move around.

Have you seen any of the fun-shaped Easter eggs in your local Walmart, Target, or Dollar Tree? I’ve seen everything from Lego-shaped “eggs” to flower-shaped “eggs” and I think they’re so much fun! There are so many ways that you can use the shaped “eggs” without making the activity seem like an Easter activity.

love paper centers just as much as the next person because I love the hands-on approach to learning. What I don’t love is spending hours of my personal time cutting and laminating hundreds of math centers, just to have to redo them all in a few years because of wear and tear.