Do you ever look back at your early teaching years and think, "If only I knew then what I know now"?

I sure do.

And today, I want to share a story about one of my biggest teaching regrets – one that you can easily avoid.

Picture this: It's the early 2000s, and I'm a fresh-faced teacher with a combination class of third, fourth, and fifth graders. I'm full of enthusiasm and determined to help every student become a better reader.

But here's where I went wrong...

I had two struggling readers in my third-grade group. Instead of assessing their phonics skills, I assumed that with enough reading practice, they'd naturally improve.

Oh, how I wish I could go back in time and shake some sense into my younger self!

You see, it never crossed my mind to check if these students were struggling because of gaps in their phonics knowledge. (Looking back now, it's painfully obvious that this was likely the root of the problem!)

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If I could hop in a time machine and revisit that classroom, here's what I'd do differently:

1. Find a quality phonics assessment.
2. Use it to pinpoint exactly what these students could (and couldn't) read and spell.
3. If phonics was the issue, I'd carve out 15-20 minutes a day for explicit Tier 2 instruction, starting with the skills they lacked.
4. I'd send home games for extra practice to reinforce these skills.

But here's the good news – you don't need a time machine to avoid my mistake!

I've created the tool I wish I had back then: a comprehensive, easy-to-use phonics assessment. And the best part? It's completely FREE.

This assessment includes both real and nonsense words. Why? Because only nonsense words can truly reveal if kids understand and can apply phonics skills.

Here's a sneak peek of what you'll get:

With this assessment, you'll be able to:

• Pinpoint exactly where decoding instruction needs to begin for each student
• Identify gaps in phonics knowledge that might be holding readers back
• Tailor your instruction to meet each student's specific needs

Don't let struggling readers slip through the cracks like I did. Grab your free phonics assessment today!

​Click here to get the free assessment​

Anna Geiger, M.Ed.

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P.S. Ready to make every minute of your phonics block count? Sign up for my 5-day Invigorate Your Phonics Instruction challenge! Early bird pricing is just $15. Sign up here.​

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