Teaching Directional Tracking to Foster Literacy Development

January 20th, 2026

Have you ever needed to use your finger to help you focus on letters and words while you are reading? This small finger movement helps with a key process in reading development:  directional tracking .  Miscese Gagen from Right Track Reading  explains, “We read and write English from left-to-right. This left-to-right horizontal arrangement of print is an essential component of the written English language. Proper directional tracking is looking at and processing all the letters in order from left-to-right. Proper directional tracking is essential for reading success.”

Directional tracking is a process that experienced readers take for granted. We know that we are supposed to read English from left to right and process letters and words in that order. However, these concepts about print can be a difficult concept to explain to young children just learning to read or English language learners (ELLs) using home languages that do not follow left-to-right, top-to-bottom ordering in writing. That’s why it is important to demonstrate directional tracking as you read with these young learners. By showing them how to track the letters, words and lines of text, they can see and begin to understand the correct way to read.

Mr. Jason, from Timothy’s Angels Child Development Center in Louisville, Kentucky, helps a 4-year-old student use his GrapeSEED book for the first time.

Children love to move – they learn through moving. It may sound like such a small, simple movement, but having children use a finger or pointer to follow along as they read text can have a major impact on their literacy development.

GrapeSEED Student in Southern Huntingdon County School District in Pennsylvania

Without learning directional tracking early on, children may struggle with reading and fall behind. Gagen explains, “Poor readers have frequent tracking errors where they improperly process letters out of order. Poor readers often exhibit erratic eye movement as they look around for ‘whole words’ or jump around searching for familiar hunks or word families. These incorrect tracking strategies contribute to reading difficulty.”

In addition to helping children focus on and process letters in the correct order, directional tracking helps them with phonological awareness, or the ability to hear the sounds that make up words. As they track each letter, they can speak and process its sound, putting all the sounds together to form the word.

GrapeSEED encourages young learners to track letters and words while reading. One student from Clintondale Community Schools explains why it’s important. “Because GrapeSEED is about school language and you get to be better readers and writers. The more you touch the words and the more you look at them, the more you can learn trickier words.”

GrapeSEED Student at Robbie Hall Parker Elementary, Clintondale Community Schools

During GrapeSEED Foundation Training, new GrapeSEED teachers are instructed to model directional tracking for students and to encourage them to use their finger or a pointer for reading the GrapeSEED materials.  Directional tracking is also demonstrated in GrapeSEED videos.

New Year, Clearer Path: Decluttering for Stronger Language Learning

January 20, 2026
January is the season of decluttering, but in schools, it’s about clearing space for what truly matters! This month’s blog explores how thoughtful organization supports multilingual learners and why strong language systems are worth keeping. A little clarity now can create momentum that lasts all year… and beyond!

Midyear Glow-Up: Refreshing Routines in Your Classroom!

December 11, 2025
The new year is a perfect time for reflection and renewal—not just for us, but for our students, too. After a long winter break, January offers a natural opportunity to revisit and reinforce classroom routines and procedures, especially in multilingual classrooms where clarity and consistency are key to helping all students feel secure and successful. For multilingual learners, routines are more than just classroom management—they provide language-rich structures that support understanding, reduce anxiety, and foster confidence. Whether students are newcomers or have been learning English for years, a clear and predictable environment helps them focus on learning rather than guessing what’s expected. Start the month by gently reviewing procedures: entering the classroom, transitioning between activities, participating in group work, asking for help, and using classroom materials. Model each step and invite students to demonstrate, using visuals, gestures, and multilingual supports when possible. Pair verbal directions with pictures or sentence stems to help students connect words with actions. This not only aids comprehension, it builds community and shared responsibility. Remember, reviewing routines isn’t about enforcing rules—it’s about resetting the tone for a peaceful, productive, and joyful classroom. Make space for students to share what helps them learn best and celebrate the positive habits they already bring with them. By investing time in January to revisit expectations with warmth and intention, you're setting the stage for a second half of the school year filled with growth, laughter, and learning—for every student, in every language.

Meet AI, Your New Teaching Assistant!

December 2, 2025
In today’s classrooms, elementary school teachers juggle countless responsibilities—planning engaging lessons, managing behavior, communicating with families, and differentiating instruction for every learner. Fortunately, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening up a world of support tools that can help educators reclaim valuable time while still meeting the diverse needs of their students. Lesson Planning, Simplified AI tools and other educator-focused platforms can generate customized, standards-aligned lesson plans in minutes. Whether you're teaching reading comprehension, performing science experiments, or developing math centers, AI can help you brainstorm activities, create differentiated tasks, and suggest formative assessments—all tailored to your students’ grade level and learning goals. Behavior Intervention Plans Made Easier Creating thoughtful, individualized behavior intervention plans (BIPs) often requires collaboration and time that’s hard to find. With the right prompts, AI can assist by generating plan templates, suggesting positive reinforcement strategies, and even helping you write goal-specific language that’s clear and professional. This allows for quicker implementation and better support for student growth. Boosting Communication with Families Need to send home a weekly newsletter, a classroom update, or a quick note in family-friendly language? AI can help you write clear, respectful, and engaging messages in seconds—and even translate them into multiple languages. This promotes stronger school-home connections without adding to your workload. More Than Just Words AI isn’t just about writing. It can generate visual aids, adapt texts for different reading levels, offer creative ideas for classroom themes, or even draft rubrics and anchor charts. When used responsibly, AI becomes a teaching assistant in your pocket—offering fresh ideas and saving you time. A Word of Caution—and Empowerment AI isn’t a magic wand, and it doesn’t replace the care, creativity, and wisdom that teachers bring to the classroom. But when used thoughtfully, it can remove some of the mental load and help you focus on what matters most: building relationships, inspiring learners, and making a lasting impact. AI can be a game-changing tool for educators—not by replacing the human touch, but by enhancing it. With the right approach, you can use AI to create, communicate, and collaborate more efficiently—without sacrificing quality. Just as AI can support teachers in the classroom, GrapeSEED does the same. From intentionally designed lesson plans to materials at your fingertips, to a results driven, joy filled curriculum for your language learner students, GrapeSEED has it all. Click here to learn more !

Finding Balance in a Too-Much-to-Teach World

November 3, 2025
If you’ve ever looked at your lesson plans and thought, “There’s no way I can fit all this in,” you’re not alone. Teachers today face an ever-growing list of standards, assessments, and initiatives, all while striving to create joyful, meaningful learning experiences for young children. The struggle is real! So how can we honor curriculum expectations without overwhelming ourselves or our students? Read on for ideas and strategies! Start with What Matters Most Not everything carries equal weight. Identify the skills and concepts your students truly need to succeed, both academically and developmentally. Prioritize depth over breadth when possible. A well-understood concept is more valuable than one that’s been rushed and checked off a list. Integrate Across Subject Areas Look for ways to blend content. A science lesson can include reading comprehension. A writing activity can connect to social studies. Integration allows for richer, more efficient learning and saves time while deepening student understanding. Protect Time for Play, Talk, and Joy Children learn best when they are engaged and emotionally connected to content. Carve out time for class discussions, movement, and creative exploration. These “non-academic” moments often bring about the deepest learning and are critical for social-emotional development. Be Realistic, Not Perfect It’s okay if not every lesson goes as planned or every objective is met on the first try. Focus on consistent growth, not perfection. Trust your professional judgment. After all, you know your students best. Support One Another Collaboration is key. Talk with teammates about what’s working, what can be scaled back, and how to share the load. A balanced curriculum starts with a balanced teacher, and that balance often comes from working together. Remember, you aren’t just covering content, you’re helping to shape children’s lives. When we prioritize purposeful, joyful learning over packing it all in, we give students (and ourselves) what truly matters most.. To learn how GrapeSEED English for Children saves teachers time so that they can focus on what is important, click here today!
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