1. Grade 1: Phonics and Word Study
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2. Survey of Knowledge Decoding Decodable texts Graphophonemic knowledge
Handouts 1 & 2
Activity
Decoding
Decodable texts
Graphophonemic knowledge
Instructional level
Irregular words
Morphemes
Orthography
Phonics
Rime
Sight words
Sounding out
Syllable
Materials:
Handout 1: “Survey of Knowledge”
Handout 2: “Answer Key – Survey of Knowledge”
Activity: Survey of Knowledge
Objective: Become familiar with key terms related to phonics and word-study instruction.

3. Components of Effective Reading Instruction

4. What We Know From Research
Especially when introduced in kindergarten and first grade, explicit, systematic phonics instruction is significantly more effective than alternative programs that provide unsystematic or no phonics instruction
Systematic phonics instruction improves kindergarten and first grade students’ word recognition and spelling skills

5. North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Activity
Goal 1:
The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
1.02 Demonstrate decoding and word recognition strategies and skills:
Use phonics knowledge of sound-letter relationships to decode regular one-syllable words when reading words and text.
1.04 Self-monitor decoding by using one or two decoding strategies (e.g., beginning letters, rimes, length of word, ending letters.)
Materials:
North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Activity: North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Objective: Become familiar with state curriculum standards that address phonics and word study.

6. Letter Recognition
Recognizing, naming, and writing the letters of the alphabet
Identifying and distinguishing both uppercase and lowercase letters

7. Letter Recognition Activities
Alphabet Mats
and
Alphabet Arcs
Help first graders learn:
letter names
the sequence of letters in the alphabet
Materials:
Laminated Alphabet Mats and Arcs
Alphabet Mat and Arc Masters

8. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Alphabet Activities
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
M N
Materials:
Laminated Alphabet Mats and Arcs
Plastic uppercase letters
Handout 3: “Model Lesson for the Alphabet Arc”
Activity: Alphabet Mat and Arc
Objective: Become familiar with the Alphabet Mat and Arc A Z
Handout 3

9. Phonics and Word Study Students should come to understand:
Sounds can be represented by a single letter or combination of letters
Some letters can represent more than one sound
Different word-study strategies can be used to decode and read unknown words
Generalizations (or rules) may help determine the correct pronunciations of words but may not apply to every word

10. Letter-Sound Knowledge and Phonics
VIDEO
4:24
Activity
Letter-sound knowledge involves learning the common sounds of letters, letter combinations, and spelling patterns
Explicit and systematic phonics instruction teaches students a carefully selected set of letter-sound correspondences and spelling patterns that are organized into a logical sequence
Materials:
Video (TIME – 4:24)
Activity: “Letter Knowledge and Letter-Sound Correspondences” Video
Objective: Identify ways to help students learn the letters of the alphabet and their sounds.

11. Grouping for Instruction
Teach phonics and word study in small groups, one-on-one, or with the whole class, depending on students’ abilities and needs

12. Explicit and Systematic Instruction
Teach more-frequently used letters and sounds before teaching those less frequently used
Begin with letter-sound correspondences that can be combined to make words students can decode and understand
Introduce only a few letter-sound correspondences at a time
Present each individual letter and its most common sound
I do it. We do it. You do it.
Handouts 4 & 5
Materials:
Handout 4: “One Example of a Sequence for Introducing Letter-Sound Correspondences”
Handout 5: “Words Using First 11 Letter-Sound Correspondences”

13. Letter Combinations Common letter combinations include:
Handout 6
Common letter combinations include:
Consonant blends
Consonant digraphs
Vowel combinations (vowel pairs, vowel digraphs)
Materials:
Handout 6: “Letter Combinations”

14. Word Study Strategies
Identifying and blending together the letter sounds in words
Recognizing high frequency and irregular words
Using common spelling patterns
Using common syllable patterns
Using structural analysis
Using knowledge of context and syntax to support pronunciation and confirm word meaning
VIDEO
9:22
Activity
Materials:
Video (TIME – 9:22)

15. Decoding
Handout 7
Model how to blend the individual sounds from left to right without stopping between them
Follow “sounding out” with a fast pronunciation of the word
Help students to move from orally “sounding out” words to silently “sounding out” words as they read
Materials:
Handout 7: “Blending Activities”
Plastic lowercase letters
Activity: Blending
Objective: Become familiar with examples of blending activities to help students read words.

16. Irregular Words
Handout 8
Contain some letters that do not represent their most commonly used sounds
Tend to be high frequency words that students encounter often in their reading and writing
Can be partially decoded
Materials:
Handout 8: “Teaching Irregular Words”

17. Making Analogies
Handout 9
Helps students remember words with sounds or spelling patterns that they already know and apply this knowledge to read and spell unknown words
Includes explicit teacher modeling
Materials:
Handout 9: “Common Spelling Patterns”

18. Open Sort Activity Place the blank heading cards across the table
Shuffle the deck of word cards
Sort the words by commonalities
Create your own category for each set of words
Label the heading cards after you’ve determined the categories
Materials:
Word sort cards
Blank index cards
Activity: Open Sort
Objective: Become familiar with the practice of sorting words using an open sort.

19. Making Analogies: Common Syllable Patterns
Handouts 10 & 11
Activity
Closed syllable (CVC)
ends in at least one consonant; the vowel is short
Open syllable (CV)
ends in one vowel; the vowel is long
Vowel-Consonant-e (VCe or CVCe)
ends in one vowel, one consonant, and a final e; final e is silent; the vowel is long
Vowel + r syllable
has an r after the vowel; the vowel makes an unexpected sound
Vowel pair syllable
has two adjacent vowels; each vowel pair syllable must be learned individually
Final stable syllable
has a final consonant-l-e combination or a nonphonetic but reliable unit such as –tion /shun/; accent usually falls on the preceding syllable
Materials:
Handout 10: “Common Syllable Patterns”
Word sort cards (used in Open Sort activity)
Laminated answer keys
Handout 11: “Two-Syllable Word Puzzles”
Pocket Chart
Closed sort heading cards
Activity: Closed Sort
Objective: Become familiar with the practice of sorting words using a closed sort.
Demonstration Activity: Two-Syllable Word Puzzles
Objective: Become familiar with using an activity that helps reinforce students’ knowledge of syllable patterns.

20. Structural Analysis
Helps students analyze words, or break them into parts they already know, to help them read and spell unfamiliar words
Compound words
Base (or root) words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Inflectional endings

21. Using Context and Syntax
Knowledge of context and syntax can support word identification and confirm word meanings
“Does that sound right here?”
“Does that make sense?”

22. Scaffolding Instruction
Adjust instruction to meet the specific needs of students
Teacher
Materials:
Handout 12: “Scaffolding Instruction”
Activity: Scaffolding Instruction
Objective: Determine how often different types of scaffolding are usually provided during reading instruction.
Amount of Support
Independent
Introduction
Mastery
Concepts

23. Scaffolded Practice
Provide students with immediate feedback during practice
Have students practice new sounds with previously taught letter-sound correspondences
Provide support as students read text
Help students “sound out” and blend letter sounds to read words
Provide opportunities for independent practice
Materials:
Chart paper or dry-erase board
Marker
Demonstration Activity: Scaffolded Practice
Objective: Become familiar with practice opportunities to reinforce letter-sound knowledge.

24. Making Words Lessons These lessons:
provide opportunities for students to make, sort, and read words
include teacher modeling and scaffolding

25. Making and Sorting Words
Handouts 14 & 15
VIDEO
8:12
Activity 1
Activity 2
Create a graphic organizer that illustrates the steps on the handout “Making and Sorting Words Lessons”
Display the organizer on the wall
With a partner, use the letter cards at your table to practice the lesson on the handout “Reviewing Letter Sounds to Blend Sounds and Read Words”
Materials:
Handout 14: “Making Words Lessons”
Video (TIME – 8:12)
Handout 15: “Reviewing Letter Sounds to Blend Sounds and Read Words”
Letter cards: a, m, t, r, f
Chart paper
Markers
Tape
Individual pocket charts
Activity: Making and Sorting Words Graphic Organizer
Objective: Become familiar with the step-by-step procedures of Making and Sorting Words lessons.
Activity: Making and Sorting Words Practice
Objective: Implement Making and Sorting Words Procedures in a small-group lesson for struggling readers.

26. Sight Words Sight words are words that are recognized immediately
Handout 16
Sight words are words that are recognized immediately
The ultimate goal is for all words, regular and irregular, to be read automatically with little effort
Materials:
Handout 16: “Ways to Support the Development of Sight Words”

27. Teaching With Word Walls
Handout 17
VIDEO
6:03
Group words in different categories to help students learn to read and spell words independently
Select words from a variety of sources
Limit the number of words that are added
Categorize words in a variety of ways
Provide many opportunities for word-wall practice
Materials:
Handout 17: “Using Word Walls”
Video (TIME – 6:03)
Activity: “Word Walls” Video
Objective: Identify ways to use word walls to enhance first graders’ reading and writing.

28. Consider Diversity: Limited English Proficient Students
Help students use their understanding of the alphabetic principle to decode words
Teach students how to transfer what they know in their native language to English
Take particular care to teach letter combinations and sounds that do not occur in the students’ native languages

29. Monitoring Students’ Progress
Regularly monitor students’ phonics and word-study knowledge
Listen to students read aloud instructional-level texts
Materials:
Handout 18: “Letter Names Progress Check”
Handout 19: “Letter Sounds Progress Check”
Handout 20: “Blending Sounds to Read Words Progress Check”
Handout 21: “Sample Letter-Sound Knowledge Checklist”
Handout 22: “Short Vowel Words”

30. Taking a Closer Look
Handouts
23 & 24
Activity
Review the elements of effective phonics and word-study instruction on the handout “Elements of Effective Instruction: Phonics and Word Study”
Find a lesson that focuses on phonics or word study
Complete the handout “Taking a Closer Look”
Discuss the lesson and its elements
Materials:
Handout 23: “Elements of Effective Instruction: Phonics and Word Study”
Handout 24: “Taking a Closer Look”
Teacher’s Edition of reading program
Activity: Reading Programs
Objective: Examine reading programs to determine how phonics and word-study instruction are addressed.

31. Remember . . .
Explicit and systematic phonics and word-study instruction is an important component of a beginning reading program.
“The goal [of systematic phonics instruction] is to enable learners to acquire sufficient knowledge and use of the alphabetic code so that they can make normal progress in learning to read and comprehend written language.”
-National Reading Panel, 2000, p. 2.99
Materials:
Handout 25: “Understanding Beginning Reading: A Journey through Teaching and Research”