Episode 254

In this episode, we sit down with kindergarten teacher Anjanette McNeely to take a close look at one powerful instructional routine: word chaining.

Anjanette walks us through exactly what word chaining looks like in her classroom, from the materials she uses to the language she says, and explains why this routine is such an effective way to build both phonemic awareness and phonics at the same time.

We also explore how word chaining supports orthographic mapping, why connecting sounds to print matters, and how small instructional shifts, like continuous blending and interleaving, can have a big impact on student learning.

Whether you're new to word chaining or looking to refine your practice, this episode offers practical ideas you can try right away.

Resources

Word Chaining: An Efficient and Effective Alternative to Oral Phonemic Awareness by Anjanette McNeely: Blog post about word chaining and a video of Anjanette's classroom in action
Word Chaining: A Simple Routine for Reading and Spelling (printable) You can see a picture of Anjanette's word chaining tray here
Word Chains for Decoding and Encoding Practice: An overview on how to make and use word chains to teach decoding and encoding (from UFLI)
44 Phonemes (video): Learn how to pronounce the 44 phonemes in the English alphabet (from Rollins Center for Language and Literacy)

Looking for more literacy support and resources? Explore all of our podcast episodes, free listening guides, and classroom tools at literacypodcast.com.

Interested in bringing Melissa & Lori Love Literacy to your school or event? Email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org.

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