Nellie Edge writing-to-read “heart words” invite kindergartners to write heart-connecting sentences such as “I love you…” early in the year to build circles of writing mastery! (I see the…, I like my…, I can …, I have a …) When several sentence starters are automatic (with good handwriting), the brain has the memory space to fearlessly encode sounds to print for unknown words. Building engaged and motivated writers supports phonics proficiency.

• Writing provides powerful, authentic phonics practice
• The best way to assess phonics knowledge? Look at student writing