We all hope to see our children progressing confidently in all areas of learning. Yet even when we have the best intentions, we often become frustrated and hopeless—giving them the right words instead of the right tools—when our children are struggling to read. But there is hope. Learning to read is a science, and with the right kind of instruction, achieving literacy is possible.

Many kids (and adults!) become anxious the moment they open their notebooks to a blank page. And while they surely have fresh, creative ideas, they might find it difficult to connect, focus, or expand them. Yet, with tools to plan and stretch their thinking and support throughout the writing process, students will grow confident in their unique voices and find success while writing for creative and academic purposes.

We’ve probably all once found ourselves hesitant to try something new, fearing we’ll make mistakes or fail while trying. But this fear has no place in language learning. When you experiment with language, the only mistake is never going out on a whim to use it. With opportunities to explore and practice authentically, students build knowledge of so much more than vocabulary and grammar; they learn how to express themselves in different settings and for various purposes, becoming more confident as they move closer to fluency everyday.