Get Teaching Tips and Effective Literacy Resources for the Primary Grades
Here at The WISE Owl our mission is to help young readers develop DECODING STRATEGIES FLUENCY WRITING SKILLS to flourish as skilled readers for life.
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teaching tips for primary teacher

Heart Words, Sight Words, High Frequency Words: What’s the Difference
Heart Words, Sight Words, High Frequency Words, Red Words, Snap Words, Flash Words…what else have you heard? I know there is a lot of confusion about Heart Words, Sight Words, and High Frequency Words. Let’s talk about each one. (Hang

Poem of the Week: 5 Powerful Benefits for the Teacher
Poem of the week is an integral part of my day in kindergarten. Let’s be real teachers don’t have time to do any program that makes their day harder.
Teachers need a process for making their lives easier while enriching the lives of their students.

10 Benefits of Using Poem of the Week
Using a “Poem of the Week” in kindergarten can offer numerous benefits for young learners, fostering their language skills, creativity, and emotional development.

Learn about 4 square writing with a Lesson on me!
At its most basic, 4 square is a template for writing. It asks the student to move from topic (center box) to details (top to bottom, left to right). It can be differentiated and easily scaffolded.
If this sounds like something you can use, join my WISE Owl community to learn more. I’ll send you this resource to get you started.

Hi! I'm Cathy,
author of
The WISE Owl
Hello and Welcome to Cathy Collier’s The W.I.S.E. Owl. I am a Reading Specialist and Literacy Advocate for more than 30 years. BUT I was born to be a teacher. I am blessed with a very supportive husband and two grown boys. I am a teacher, talker, trainer, and passionate presenter. I’d love to talk about Reading and Writing for the Emergent Learner with your class, your school, your division, or your council. Invite me!