Category: Resources

Expository Writing-Sequence: Mat 4a (Intermediate) and 4b (Advanced)

May 9, 2024

Handwriting practice and development can be fun! With this downloadable resource from TRRC Project Collaborator Dr. Pamela Bazis and the accompanying instructional video, you can encourage and support students as they practice their narrative writing.


Mat 4a builds on skills from Mats 1, 2, and 3. With Mat 4a, use a specific structure to write sentences about a sequence of events happening in a specific order. The directions and mat are identified by the star symbol, meaning it is for young writers with intermediate abilities.

Mat 4b builds on skills from Mat 4a. With Mat 4b, use a specific structure to combine multiple sentences that explain a sequence of events happening in a specific order. The directions and mat are identified by the sun symbol, meaning it is for young writers with more advanced ability.

Use the key on the left to navigate through each Writing Mat released.
Access Mat 1 (Beginner): Sentence Writing Mat
Access Mat 2a (Beginner) & 2b (Intermediate): Narrative Writing (Beginning, Middle, End)
Access Mat 3a (Beginner) & 3b (Intermediate): Narrative Writing (Solving a Problem)

Summer Reading Tips & Programs

May 8, 2024


Summer is an ideal time to supplement reading efforts for your student at home. From the comfort of your home to the support of your community, there are literacy programs across the nation that offer resources. Our flyer can be downloaded and posted to inspire your family to foster an increased love for reading.

We couldn’t possibly list all the programs available, so email your favorite to trrcinfo@utk.edu for a reshare!

Multimorphemic Word Reading: Lesson 2 (-ive and -en)

April 15, 2024

Teaching students to find and spell the morphemes, or meaningful parts, of long words can help students to read those words.

The following resources are intended for instructors and tutors working with elementary students in Grades 3-5 who are experiencing difficulties reading long words. Unit 1 includes five lessons that focus on teaching suffixes and using the peel-off strategy to pronounce and spell multimorphemic words.

Lesson 2. In the second lesson, the teacher will introduce the meanings of the suffixes -ive and -en and demonstrate how to use the peel-off strategy to break orally stated words into parts. Next, students will practice using the peel-off strategy to read multimorphemic words with the suffixes -ive and -en. Then, students will build words with the target suffixes. Finally, students will spell multimorphemic words with the –ive and -en suffixes. After the lesson activities are completed, the teacher will assess students’ ability to read and spell multimorphemic words in a list before reading a connected text that contains the same words. After the lesson activities are completed, the teacher will assess students’ ability to read and spell multimorphemic words in a list before reading a connected text that contains the same words.

Demonstration of Theory of Mind in a Kindergarten Classroom

March 19, 2024

Understanding how others think and feel (a.k.a. Theory of Mind) is a developmental milestone that supports children’s academic and social success. Watch a kindergarten class participate in a read aloud and answer questions related to Theory of Mind.

Many thanks to the East Tennessee PBS for recording this project and the Early Learning Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville director, faculty, students, and families!

Download Theory of Mind resources (for families and for teachers and other instructors) via our website and get prepared to follow along:

Narrative Writing-Main Character Solves A Problem: Mat 3a (Intermediate) and 3b (Advanced)

February 6, 2024

Handwriting practice and development can be fun! With this downloadable resource from TRRC Project Collaborator Dr. Pamela Bazis and the accompanying video of instructions below, you can encourage and support students as they practice their narrative writing using a beginning, middle, and end sentence structure.


Mat 3a builds on skills from Mats 1 and 2. Mat 3a uses a specific structure to write sentences about a main character solving a problem (intermediate ability).

Mat 3b builds on skills from Mat 3a. Mat 3b uses a specific structure to combine multiple sentences about a main character solving a problem (more advanced ability).

Use the key on the left to navigate through each Writing Mat released.
Access Mat 1 (Beginner): Sentence Writing Mat
Access Mat 2a (Beginner) & 2b (Intermediate), Narrative Writing

Dyslexia Overview: For Educators & Families (Infographic)

January 9, 2024


Classroom educators and families know their students with dyslexia need support and know the challenges of trying to find reputable resources for this support.

Fortunately, we have gathered some information to help!

The two downloadable infographics, created by TRRC Faculty Fellow, Dr. Alexis Boucher, offer a description of the reading disability and some trustworthy sources of materials and other information.

Multimorphemic Word Reading: Lesson 1 (-ity and -ful)

December 4, 2023

Teaching students to find and spell the morphemes, or meaningful parts, of long words can help students to read those words.

The following resources are intended for instructors and tutors working with elementary students in Grades 3-5 who are experiencing difficulties reading long words. Unit 1 includes five lessons that focus on teaching suffixes and using the peel off strategy to pronounce and spell multimorphemic words.

Lesson 1. In the first lesson, the teacher will introduce the meanings of the suffixes -ity and -ful and demonstrate how to use the peel off strategy to break orally stated words into parts. Next, students will practice using the peel off strategy to read multimorphemic words with the suffixes -ity and –ful. Then, students will build words with the target suffixes. Finally, students will spell multimorphemic words with the –ity and -ful suffixes. After the lesson activities are completed, the teacher will assess students’ ability to read and spell multimorphemic words in a list before reading a connected text that contains the same words.

Narrative Writing-Beginning, Middle, End: Mat 2a (Beginner) and Mat 2b (Intermediate)

October 24, 2023

Handwriting practice and development can be fun! With this downloadable resource from TRRC Project Collaborator Dr. Pamela Bazis and the accompanying video of instructions below, you can encourage and support students as they practice their narrative writing using a beginning, middle, and end sentence structure.


Mat 2a builds on the sentence writing skills from Mat 1 by having students write sentences to create a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

With Mat 2b, combine multiple sentences to form a longer story. Include a beginning, middle, and an end to your story.

Use the key on the left to navigate through each Writing Mat released.
To access Mat 1 (Beginner): Sentence Writing Mat, click here.

Theory of Mind Overview: Teachers and Other Instructors (White Paper and Infographic)

October 2, 2023

K-3rd educators, looking for ways to assist students in language development? We have a Theory of Mind (ToM) resource for you.

With practical classroom application to help your students, ToM, or understanding how others think and feel is a developmental milestone for students. This sets students up for academic and social success!

This resource coincides with the family ToM resource we released in August, and both were written by TRRC faculty affiliate, Dr. Kristen Secora.


Download today:

Sentence Writing: Mat 1 (Beginner)

September 14, 2023

Handwriting practice and development can be fun! With this downloadable resource from TRRC Project Collaborator Dr. Pamela Bazis and accompanying video of instructions, you can encourage and support students as they practice their writing.

Use the key on the left to navigate through each Writing Mat released.
To access Mat 2a (Beginner) & 2b Intermediate), click here.