Equity in education begins with good phonics instruction in the early grades; it doesn’t end there, but it begins there.
Emily Hanford
I cannot stress enough the importance of phonics instruction. This should be the bread and butter of education in the primary grades. Without a solid foundation of both phonological awareness and phonics, students will not be able to decode or become fluent readers.
As is emphasized in the Science of Reading, there are so many facets to reading, and comprehension simply can’t happen without being able to read the words on the page. Before any meaning can be made from words, students must be able to decode them.
Cue this post…
Today, we will review the order in which phonics should be taught and explore some easy-to-implement center ideas for your primary grade classroom. From differentiated printables to seasonal activities to small group instruction, you will leave with all the activity/lesson ideas you need and more!
An Introduction to Phonics Instruction
You may be wondering…who is this blog for? Honestly, it is for every teacher! If you are a primary grade teacher, you are probably all over this!!!
You upper grade and middle school teachers…don’t you fret! This post is also for you!!! The difficult part about teaching upper grades and beyond is that your curriculum depends on students being able to decode independently. But what if they can’t?
The strategies covered in this post can be used for any text, not just decodables. If you teach upper grades, for step number 5, choose a text from your grade level material. With support, students can practice their phonics skills in those texts, as well.
1) TPR: Total Physical Response
Whenever introducing a new phonics skill, I always start by assigning a motion to that new sound. We then brainstorm words that include that sound and every time we say a word with that sound, we make the motion while emphasizing the new phonics sound.
TPR, or total physical response, was developed by Dr. James J. Asher, and it was created for vocabulary instruction, especially with language learners. However, this engaging teaching strategy does not need to be limited to vocabulary instruction. Its benefits are many, including the fact that it is engaging and allows for natural “brain breaks” or “movement breaks” in your lessons, reaches kinaesthetic learners, and involves both sides of the brain when learning. For these reasons, students are better able to remember new phonics skills when they can associate a movement with these new sounds.
TEACHER TIP: Introduce this teaching strategy during the first two weeks of school. You’ll thank me later!
Differentiation Idea: Have your students, especially your advanced learners, help you create the motions. Try to choose a motion that will help students remember either a word with the sound or the sound itself.
2) Elkonin Boxes and Spelling
After practicing with the new sound in single-syllable words, it is time to use Elkonin boxes! These sound boxes are not just beneficial when building phonemic awareness, they are also helpful when teaching phonics and spelling.
It is important to note that each box should represent one SOUND rather than one LETTER. For example, the word sheep (pictured below) has 3 boxes since SH makes one sound and EE makes one sound.
TEACHER TIP: Introduce this strategy in small groups. Start by counting the number of sounds. Then, practice writing the sounds in the boxes. Last, spell the word independently. Learn how to teach using Elkonin boxes here.
3) Challenge Time: Multi-Syllable Words
This may be a bit of a shocker, especially to you primary grade teachers out there, but I whole-heartedly believe that multi-syllable words should be taught right away! (The exception is for Kindergarten, unless your students are advanced.)
One thing that I learned from my time as an intervention teacher for grades K-2 was that students can learn to read multi-syllable words quickly once a phonics skill has been explicitly taught and practiced. This leads students to be able to read actual books faster since most books have both single and multi-syllable words in them.
After practicing decoding single syllable words with a specific phonics skill, teach students how to break apart a multi-syllable word (as shown below).
To learn more, make sure to follow me on Instagram. I use my stories and reels to give teaching tips!
4) Real Words in Real Text: Decodables
Once your students have practiced, they are ready to start reading! Notice that I DID NOT say they need to master the phonics skill before beginning to read. We want our students practicing these skills in actual decodable text as soon as possible!
I would recommend having students highlight the sound in the text on the first read. Then, I would teach them to draw scoop lines under multi-syllable words during their second read. Finally, if they have trouble with any words in the text, you may want to have them circle those words as a reminder.
The most difficult part?! Prepping the passages takes a very long time! The important thing to remember is that the passage should mainly target the phonics skill you just practiced. The good news is that I have made decodables for every phonics skill!!! Save your teacher time. There is a resource for every month of the year, and each resource includes a passage for each phonics skill. The passages are themed for the season, including various holidays.
WAIT!!! There’s more!!! Every passage includes 4 levels so that you can meet the needs of every learner in your classroom. How’s that for differentiation made easy?
5) Fluency Practice
Now, last but not least…fluency practice! Gone are the days when fluency simply meant how fast you can read. It is more about phrasing and reading with expression than mere speed.
For this reason, I would highly recommend that your students read in front of you in during small group instruction. Although the differentiated passages can be used for morning work, homework, and independent work, it is critical that you hear each of your students read out loud so they may receive feedback from you.
Another option is to have students record themselves reading. This allows them to not only hear themselves read after recording but it allows for you to track their progress over time! Need ideas on which programs to use to record your students? Ask me how!
Differentiation Idea: For your intervention students or students who are below grade level, start them with a shorter passage and work their way up. For example, in this resource, start them with the red passages and then have them work on the orange, and so on. The more they read out loud, the better!
Phonics in a nutshell…We could talk on and on about phonics instruction. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to cover it all in one post! Have no fear…we are going to continue to dive into phonics centers later in November.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or simply want to brainstorm some ideas together, DM me on Instagram or feel free to email me! Until next time, always remember to keep learning!!!
