Kindergarten - Gateway 1
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Alignment to Research-Based Practices
Alignment to Research-Based Practices and Standards for Foundation Skills Instruction| Score | |
|---|---|
Gateway 1 - Partially Meets Expectations | 74% |
Criterion 1.1: Alphabet Knowledge | 9 / 10 |
Criterion 1.2: Phonemic Awareness | 10 / 16 |
Criterion 1.3: Phonics (Decoding and Encoding) | 24 / 32 |
Criterion 1.4: Word Recognition and Word Analysis | 9 / 12 |
See Alignment Summary.
Criterion 1.1: Alphabet Knowledge
Materials and instruction provide systematic and explicit instruction and practice for letter recognition.
The materials include a defined sequence for letter recognition instruction to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. Weeks 1–11 focus on sounds with limited letter recognition. Additional lowercase and uppercase recognition occurs in Weeks 13–20. Instructional lessons utilize an Alphabet Bridge, Letter Sound Posters, Letter Cards, and a Sound Wall Chart to support teachers in providing systematic and explicit instruction for students to recognize and name all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters. The materials also include a defined sequence for letter formation aligned to the scope and sequence of letter recognition.
The materials include three assessment opportunities over the course of the year that assess Alphabet Knowledge; however, these assessments do not assess students’ progress toward mastery and independence of letter formation.
Indicator 1a
Alphabet Knowledge
Indicator 1a.i
Materials provide systematic and explicit instruction in letter names and their corresponding sounds.
The materials include a defined sequence for letter recognition instruction to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. Weeks 1–11 focus on sounds with limited letter recognition. Additional lowercase and uppercase recognition occurs in Weeks 13–20. Instructional lessons utilize an Alphabet Bridge, Letter Sound Posters, Letter Cards, and a Sound Wall Chart to support teachers with providing systematic and explicit instruction for students to recognize and name all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters. The instructional design of the materials consistently follows the same order, moving from the oral introduction of a targeted sound, followed by articulation with a Sound Wall Card, Sound Poster sound identification practice, and letter formation practice in the READ Book.
There is a defined sequence for letter recognition instruction to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Kindergarten Scope and Sequence includes a column titled Phonics Concept: Letter Names & Letter Sounds that details each week and which letters will be practiced, including letter names and corresponding sounds. Weeks 3–11 focus on introducing letter names and sounds. Weeks 12–20 focus on letter identification.
Week 3: /m/, /s/, /a/
Week 4: /n/, /f/, /v/
Week 5: /b/, /t/, /i/
Week 6: /k/, /p/, /d/
Week 7: /g/, /k/, /o/
Week 8: /h/, /r/, /l/
Week 9: /w/, /j/, /e/
Week 10: /z/, /k/, /s/, /y/
Week 11: /kw/, /u/, Review of all letter sounds
Week 12: m, s, p, short a
Week 13: m, s, p, short, a, t, n, plural ending s
Week 14: b, c, f, short i
Week 15: b, c, f, short i, h, r
Week 16: d, g, l, short o
Week 17: d, g, i, short o, j, k, -ck
Week 18: w, z, v, short e
Week 19: w, z, v, short e, x, y
Week 20: qu, short u, Review of all letter names and sounds
Materials contain isolated, systematic and explicit instruction for students to recognize all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 3, Day 3, the teacher displays the Sound Wall Card for the short /a/ sound, focusing on placement, manner, and voice. The teacher says, “Listen as I read the A Sound Story. Listen for words that begin with the /ă/ sound.” Students then complete their work with the letter Aa by tracing the dots to form uppercase and lowercase Aa on page 24 of the READ Book and then identifying other words that begin with the short /ă/ sound as indicated on page 24.
In Week 12, Day 1, the teacher displays the Sound Wall Card for the letter M and says, “This is the letter Mm.” The teacher then displays the back of the M Sound Poster while pointing to the uppercase and lowercase Mm. The teacher says, “This is the uppercase and lowercase Mm.”
In Week 20, Day 1, the teacher introduces the letter name for Qq and the letter sound for Qu/qu. The teacher states, “When the letter q is in a word, it cannot stand alone. It is always with the vowel u.” During instruction, the teacher uses several visual scaffolds, including the Sound Wall Card /kw/, the Letter Card Qu, and the Q Sound Poster. The teacher reads the Q Sound Story, which is found on the back of the Q Sound Poster. The teacher prompts the students to “listen for words that begin with /kw/.”
Indicator 1a.ii
Materials provide opportunities for student practice in letter names and their corresponding sounds.
The materials include sufficient practice opportunities for students to recognize all 26 letters. The materials focus mainly on lowercase letters and uppercase letters. The materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce alphabet knowledge.
Materials include practice opportunities for students to recognize all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters accurately and automatically. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 4, Day 1, students use the Alphabet Chart to practice identifying the letters Ss and Aa. During this drill, the letter identification process does not specify if students should refer to uppercase or lowercase letters.
In Week 7, Day 5, students use the Alphabet Bridge to identify the letters Gg, Kk, and Oo. After the teacher says the letter sound, the student identifies the letter on the Alphabet Bridge and shares a word that begins with the sound. Students repeat with the letters Kk, Oo and review the letters.
In Week 18, Day 1, students say the letter name and letter sound as the teacher holds up alphabet cards for all vowels and the consonants c, g, s, and y in random order.
Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) alphabet knowledge. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 2, Day 5, students practice matching upper and lowercase y, p, b, i, x, and v by circling the corresponding lowercase letter in the READ book.
In Week 6, Day 2, students point to a letter on the Alphabet Chart they have learned and say the name of the letter, the sound of the letter, and a word that begins with that sound.
In Week 8, Day 5, students verbalize the sound /r/, then share a word that begins with Rr. Students also listen for words that start with the sound /l/ as the teacher reads the Ll Sound Story. Students say the sound /l/ as they sky write the uppercase and lowercase letter Ll in the air.
Indicator 1a.iii
Materials provide explicit instruction and teacher modeling in printing and forming the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase).
The materials contain a defined scope and sequence for letter formation of all 26 letters. Each letter and its associated lowercase and uppercase form are introduced in a sequence consistent with the Scope and Sequence. The teacher introduces each letter formation activity by finger-tracing the lowercase and uppercase letter on a Sound Poster while verbalizing the sequential steps of how to form the letter in both its forms. Materials include teacher guidance on corrective feedback for students when needed.
There is a defined sequence for letter formation, aligned to the scope and sequence of letter recognition, to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Kindergarten Scope and Sequence includes a column titled Phonics Concept: Letter Names & Letter Sounds that details each week and which letters will be practiced, including letter name and corresponding sounds and letter formation.
According to the Kindergarten Scope and Sequence, Weeks 3–11 focus on introducing the sound of all 26 letters, after which the teacher displays the letters and models the letter formation of the uppercase and lowercase letters. The materials repeat modeling and practice of letter formation for each letter in Weeks 12–20.
Week 3: m, s, a
Week 4: n, f, v
Week 5: b, t, i
Week 6: k, p, d
Week 7: g, k, o
Week 8: h, r, l
Week 9: w, j, e
Week 10: z, k, s, w
Week 11: Review
Week 12: m, s, p, a
Week 13: m, s, p, a, t, n
Week 14: b, c, f, i
Week 15: b, c, f, i, h, r
Week 16: d, g, l, o
Week 17: d, g, i, o , j, k
Week 18: w, z, v, e
Week 19: w, z, v, e, x, y
Week 20: q, u, Review of all letter names and sounds
Materials include clear directions for the teacher concerning how to explain and model how to correctly form each of the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The materials include a Sound Poster for each letter of the alphabet. Each sound poster shows both the uppercase and lowercase letter, with a number one showing where to start forming the letter and arrows showing which way to go. The back of the poster also has step-by-step directions for the teacher to say and follow when forming both the uppercase and lowercase letters.
In Week 5, Day 2, the teacher provides explicit instruction on how to print uppercase and lowercase Tt as outlined on the back of the Sound Poster card. The materials state, “Trace the letter as you explain how to form it. Model skywriting with uppercase and lowercase letters from the starting dot of the letter. Invite children to copy your model of skywriting each letter. Repeat several times.”
In Week 7, Day 3, the teacher traces the letter Oo, while explaining how to form it. The teacher models tracing from the dot of the letter and then invites students to copy their model by skywriting the letter.
In Week 8, Day 1, the teacher tells the students they will learn how to write the uppercase and lowercase letter Hh by first writing in the air. The teacher holds up the Sound Poster and traces the uppercase and lowercase letter Hh while verbalizing how to write the letters using the directional arrows and numbers indicated on the poster.
Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 5, Day 2, the teacher provides guidance for students who are having trouble with Tt letter formation. The teacher and student use the pointer finger on their dominant hand to trace the letter formation steps on the back of the Tt Sound Poster.
In Week 9, Day 2, the teacher provides guidance for students who are having trouble properly forming the letter Jj. The teacher and students trace the letter formation steps on the back of the Jj Sound Poster.
In Week 15, Day 2, the teacher provides guidance for students who are having trouble with letter formation. The teacher uses a highlighter and models correct handwriting formation on lined paper. The student traces the teacher’s letter several times with various colors to create a rainbow.
Indicator 1a.iv
Materials provide opportunities for student practice in printing and forming the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase).
The materials provide opportunities for students to practice printing and forming all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters using materials such as Sound Posters, READ Books, skywriting, and tracing opportunities. Practice occurs alongside the introduction to letter-sound correspondence instruction as indicated in the Kindergarten Scope and Sequence.
Materials include frequent opportunities for students to practice forming all of the 26 uppercase and lowercase letters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 2, Day 5, students trace each lowercase letter of the alphabet, although students have not learned all lowercase letters.
In Week 11, Day 1, students practice forming the uppercase and lowercase Qq through skywriting. Students then trace the dots to practice writing the letters Qq in their READ Book.
In Week 12, Day 2, students skywrite uppercase and lowercase Ss on their own several times. Students trace and write the letter Ss in their READ book.
In Week 18, Day 3, students skywrite uppercase and lowercase Vv. Students trace and write the letter Vv in their READ book.
Materials include cumulative review of previously learned letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 12, Day 1, students review letter formation for letters Mm, Aa, and Ss, previously learned in Week 3. Students use their READ book to trace, then write each letter three times, starting from a dot. Students also practice letter formation by tracing the words come and some.
In Week 14, Day 5, students review letter formation for letters Bb, Ii, Ff, and Cc. Students use their READ book to trace, then write each letter three times, starting from a dot. Students also practice letter formation by tracing the words my and by.
In Week 15, Day 1, students review letter formation for letters Dd and Oo. Students use their READ book to trace, then write each letter three times, starting from a dot.
Indicator 1b
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress through mastery of letter recognition and printing letters (as indicated by the program scope and sequence).
The materials include three assessment opportunities over the course of the year that assess Alphabet Knowledge; however, these assessments do not assess students’ progress toward mastery and independence of letter formation. Assessment materials do not provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of letter recognition and letter formation. Materials do not support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students progress toward mastery in letter recognition and letter formation.
Materials include one assessment that is offered three times over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of letter recognition and letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 1, Day 1, materials include an Assessing Alphabet Knowledge at the Beginning of the School Year that assesses students knowledge of letter names and sounds.
In Weeks 10-12, Days 1- 5, materials include an assessment that assesses students knowledge of letter names and sounds titled, “Assessing Alphabet Knowledge.” This assessment is the same as the one provided at the beginning of the year.
In Weeks 20-23, Day 1-5, materials include an assessment that assesses students knowledge of letter names and sounds titled, “Assessing Alphabet Knowledge.” This assessment is the same as the one provided at the beginning of the year.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of letter recognition and letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
No evidence found
Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in letter recognition and letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
No evidence found
Criterion 1.2: Phonemic Awareness
This criterion is non-negotiable. Materials must achieve a specified minimum score in this criterion to advance to the next gateway.
Materials emphasize explicit, systematic instruction of research-based and/or evidence-based phonemic awareness.
The materials include a clear, evidence-based hierarchy for phonemic awareness instruction and practice. Materials include phonemic awareness activities such as isolating, blending, and segmenting words as part of a warm-up for 8-12 minutes. Materials also include a sequence of instruction in phonemic awareness skills aligned to phonics instruction progression and include opportunities for students to practice connecting sounds to letters. Materials include limited explicit instruction for the teacher to model different types of phonemic awareness activities. Instead, the teacher is guided to begin student practice without modeling first. The materials include access to summative and formative phonemic awareness assessments; however, the materials indicate that these assessments are optional.
Indicator 1c
Scope and sequence clearly delineate the sequence in which phonemic awareness skills are to be taught, with a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected hierarchy of phonemic awareness competence.
The materials include a clear, evidence-based hierarchy for phonemic awareness instruction and practice. The materials explain the progression of skills from larger units of language to the phoneme level and include a scope and sequence aligned to this hierarchy. Materials include phonemic awareness activities such as isolating, blending, and segmenting words as part of a warm-up for 8-12 minutes. Phonological awareness tasks are included for the first 11 weeks, and phonemic awareness lessons begin in Week 12. The scope and sequence includes phonemic awareness skills aligned to phonics instruction progression.
Materials contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonemic awareness skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Overview, the materials state that instruction begins with phonological awareness because it is easier to work with larger units of language, including compound words and syllables. The units of language become smaller as lessons progress, moving to the phoneme level in Week 12. The materials indicate that beginning with larger units and moving to smaller units allows students to “build phonological memory, sequence parts of words, and understand concepts of blending, segmenting, and manipulating.”
In the Introduction, Overview, the materials state that phonemic awareness can be taught before students know all letter-sound relationships, building sensitivity to the different sounds in our language.
The materials clearly explain that phonics and phonemic awareness have a reciprocal relationship, with phonemic awareness instruction happening as a warm-up to reduce the cognitive load for students during phonics instruction.
Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ immediate application of the skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Getting Started, the materials indicate that each lesson begins with phonemic awareness instruction as a warm-up to phonics instruction. Instruction includes the following skills: rhyme, phoneme isolation, blending, segmenting, manipulation, alphabet knowledge, language awareness, and phoneme-grapheme connections.
In the Introduction, Scope and Sequence, the materials include a scope and sequence that outlines the following progression in phonemic awareness instruction:
adding, deleting, and substituting initial phonemes (Units 2–5)
blending phonemes (Units 3–6)
segmenting words into phonemes (Units 3–6)
isolating medial sounds (Units 3–6)
adding, deleting, and substituting final phonemes (Units 5–6)
substituting vowels (Unit 6)
Materials attend to developing phonemic awareness skills and avoid spending excess time on phonological sensitivity tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Phonemic Awareness lessons begin in Week 12 and continue daily through the end of the year (Week 34, Day 5). This includes daily alphabet review where students see a letter and say the letter name and sound. In Week 18, Day 1, phoneme-grapheme lessons begin and are included daily through the end of the school year.
Materials contain a phonemic awareness sequence of instruction and practice aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Scope and Sequence, Unit 3, phonics instruction begins in Weeks 12–13 with continuous letter sounds /a/, /s/, /m/, and the stop sound /p/ to allow students to decode two- to three-phoneme words. This aligns with the phonemic awareness instruction, which focuses on blending and segmenting words into two phonemes during Weeks 12–13 and three phonemes during Weeks 14–19.
In the Introduction, Scope and Sequence, Unit 4, phonics instruction includes consonant digraphs. Phonemic awareness instruction focuses on final phoneme isolation in consonant digraphs.
In the Introduction, Scope and Sequence, Unit 5, phonics instruction includes consonant blends. The phonemic awareness instruction focuses on adding, deleting, and substituting the initial phoneme of a blend.
Indicator 1d
Materials include systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness with repeated teacher modeling.
The materials provide daily instruction in phonemic awareness skills with limited systematic, explicit teacher modeling. There are limited scripts for the teacher to explicitly model different types of phonemic awareness activities. Instead, the teacher is guided to begin student practice without modeling first. Videos for each lesson provide a model of how to guide students through phonemic awareness exercises. Materials include a Corrective Feedback Guide for Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Lessons that includes information for the teacher on how to provide corrective feedback.
Materials provide the teacher with limited systematic, explicit modeling for instruction in sounds (phonemes). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.
In Week 2, Day 5, the teacher tells students, “We will listen for the last sound we hear in words. The last sound comes at the end of a word. I will say a word. Say the word back to me and punch up the last sound you hear.” The teacher does not model first.
In Week 3, Day 4, the teacher tells students that the first sound comes at the beginning of a word and tells students to listen for the first sound in a word spoken aloud. The teacher says five words, including the CVC words sad and mad and instructs students to repeat each word and say the initial sound. The video for this lesson shows the teacher repeating the word with students and saying the initial sound with them while pointing to their lips as they say the sound.
In Week 22, Day 1, the teacher tells students, “I will say a word. You will say it back to me and use the roller coaster to say the middle/vowel sound extra loud. Then you will tell me the sound you hear in the middle of the word.” The teacher repeats this activity six times. The teacher does not model first.
In Week 25, Day 1, the teacher tells students, “We have been listening to the last or final sound we hear in one word. Now we will listen to two words that have the same last/final sound. I will say two words; say the words back to me and tell me the final sound you hear.” The teacher does not model first.
Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
In Week 7, Day 1, Monday Model, the teacher says, “I will say a word, you will say it back to me. We will change the first sound, and blend the two sounds together to make a new word. T: say, be S: be, T: Change /b/ to /m/ and the word is /m/-/ē/, me. Say, me. S: me.” The teacher does not model first.
No additional evidence found.
Materials provide the teacher with examples for instruction in sounds (phonemes). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 9, Day 3, the teacher tells the students, “I will say two parts of a word. Say the two parts back to me and blend them together to make one word.” Six examples are included in a chart listing the two parts and the whole word. Examples include r-ain/rain; p-ain/pain; wh-ale/whale; p-en/pen; t-une/tune; s-ight/sight.
In Week 11, Day 1, the materials indicate a “Monday Model” routine and provide a script for teachers to model how to blend phonemes using Elkonin boxes. The materials include explicit instructions for saying and blending the phonemes using the following words: see, me, we, fee, she.
Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Overview, the materials state that if students need more concrete visuals during phonological and phonemic awareness lessons, the teacher can replace hand motions with Elkonin boxes, Unifix cubes, or felt to represent the sounds or word parts.
Materials include a Corrective Feedback Guide for Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Lessons that provides information to the teacher on how to provide corrective feedback. For example:
Error: The student does not blend the words, syllables, onset-rime or phonemes into the correct word.
Response: Let’s try that again. Teacher repeats the parts of the word and models how to blend the parts into a whole word. Example: The 3 syllables, /hon-est-y/, can be blended together to make the word ‘honesty’. Can you repeat the syllables and the whole word? /hon-est-y/, honesty? Visual support with the hand motion, Elkonin boxes, tiles, or felt squares can be used to anchor the sounds to a visual for the learner. As the lessons transition to blending at the phoneme level, some students struggle to respond with the correct word when there are more than 2 or 3 phonemes in a word. Teacher modeling is one way to provide the support and feedback.
Indicator 1e
Materials include daily, brief lessons in phonemic awareness.
The materials include daily phonemic awareness lessons with ample opportunities for student practice. The lessons include recurring instructional routines that address eight daily phonemic awareness skills. Daily phonemic awareness lessons correlate to the phonics focus.
Daily phonemic awareness instruction correlates to the phonics portion of the lesson (phoneme-grapheme correspondence). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 11, Day 1, the phonics portion of the lesson focuses on the /kw/ sound. During the phonemic awareness portion of the lesson, the teacher reads the sound story from the Q Sound Poster, which contains eight /kw/ words, and asks students to listen for words with the /kw/ sound. Students identify words from the story that begin with the /kw/ sound. Students also identify items from the poster that begin with the /kw/ sound and generate other /kw/ words they know.
In Week 22, Day 1, the phonics portion of the lesson focuses on the /sh/ sound. During the phonemic awareness portion of the lesson, the teacher reads the sound story from the Consonant Digraphs Sound Poster, which contains 30 /sh/ words, and asks students to listen for words with the /sh/ sound. Students identify words from the story that begin and end with the /sh/ sound. Students also identify items from the poster that begin and end with the /sh/ sound.
In Week 30, Day 1, the phonics portion of the lesson focuses on long vowel sounds. During the phonemic awareness portion of the lesson, students isolate medial vowel sounds in the following words: pose, chase, line, cheek, and tune.
Materials include opportunities for students to practice connecting sounds to letters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 15, Day 1, the teacher displays a card for each letter in random order and instructs students to say the “Letter is ____. Sound is ____.”
In Week 19, Day 1, the teacher states, “ Some letters stand for more than one sound. We will continue practicing the multiple sounds that vowels and consonants can stand for. I will show you a card for each letter, and you will say, “Letter is ___. Sound is/Sounds are ___.” The focus sounds for the teacher to model are not provided. The teacher note states: “This week, you will continue to include the multiple sounds (long and short) for vowels as well as multiple sounds for the consonants c, g, s, and y.” During the Phoneme-Grapheme connection, students blend the sounds in words using the graphemes: a, i, o, d, p, s, t. The words include: tap, pod, sit.
In Week 23, Day 1, students practice blending sounds together to say a word by saying the sounds the letters stand for. The teacher displays the letters, and students say the sounds and blend them together to read the word. The teacher displays the letters for students to blend and read the following words: shut, shop, ship.
In Week 32, Day 1, students segment words into individual sounds through the air and match the sounds to print. The teacher says a word, and students repeat the word back to the teacher and segment the sounds. The teacher draws a line for each sound and students say the letter to match the sound to spell the word. Words include: lift, brick, best.
Materials include directions to the teacher for demonstrating how to pronounce each phoneme (articulation/mouth formation). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 5, Day 1, the teacher displays the Sound Wall Card for the /b/ sound, which includes a picture of mouth articulation. The teacher instructs students step-by-step through placement, manner, and voice for the /b/ sound.
In Week 10, Day 1, the teacher displays the Sound Wall Card for the /z/ sound, which includes a picture of mouth articulation. The teacher explains the tongue placement for making the /z/ sound. The materials suggest that students use a mirror to watch tongue and mouth placement if they are having difficulty forming the target sound.
Indicator 1f
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress in phonemic awareness (as indicated by the program scope and sequence).
The materials include access to summative and formative phonemic awareness assessments; however, the materials indicate that these assessments are optional. The materials include one phonemic awareness skill in the Weekly Check during Weeks 1–11. While the optional assessments offer data on students’ current skills, no support exists for adjustment of instructional strategies to promote student progress.
Materials do not regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence in phonemic awareness. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the materials include the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Assessment, Form A, B, and C. The materials indicate that these assessments “are not required to teach the curriculum” but can be used to monitor student progress and plan for instruction.
In Week 3, Day 5, students circle a picture that begins with a given sound during the Weekly Check. The teacher says the name of two pictures, moon and fish, then asks students to circle the one that begins with the /m/ sound. The teacher repeats the process with the pictures ant/mouse and the short /a/ sound and the pictures pan/sun and the /s/ sound.
Assessment materials do not provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonemic awareness. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The materials include a Kindergarten Phonological Awareness Assessment that teachers can use to gather additional data for students who struggle with Form A of the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Assessment.
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, Kindergarten Beginning of the Year Phonics Assessment, the materials indicate that progress monitoring assessments for individual phonemic awareness skills are available to print from the Heggerty website. The materials do not give teachers additional guidance on when to administer these assessments within the scope and sequence or daily lessons.
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Assessment, Form A, includes scoring criteria to identify students as Beginning, Developing, or Proficient in the following skills: onset fluency, initial phoneme isolation, blending phonemes into words, final phoneme isolation, segmenting words into phonemes, isolating medial sound in words, adding initial phonemes, deleting initial phonemes, substituting initial phonemes. The materials indicate that these assessments “are not required to teach the curriculum” but can be used to monitor student progress and plan for instruction.
In the Digital Assessment, Reports, the Summary report includes scoring information to identify students as Proficient, Developing, or Needs Intervention.
Materials do not support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in phonemic awareness. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Assessment materials provide spaces for teachers to record both the students’ “Areas of Strength” and “Areas of Need and Plan for Intervention,” but do not provide instructional suggestions.
Criterion 1.3: Phonics (Decoding and Encoding)
This criterion is non-negotiable. Materials must achieve a specified minimum score in this criterion to advance to the next gateway.
Materials emphasize explicit, systematic instruction of research-based and/or evidence-based phonics.
Materials do not contain elements of instruction that are based on the three-cueing system for teaching decoding.
The materials include a clearly delineated scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction that builds from simpler to more complex skills while also building towards the application of skills. However, the materials have a limited evidence-based explanation for the order of the phonics sequence. The materials include reasonable pacing of newly taught phonics skills. The Instructional Time Guide includes information for the pacing of daily lessons. The Bridge to Reading foundational skills lessons include 20-30 minutes of phonics instruction. The timing of the phonemic awareness and phonics components is indicated in the header of the lesson plans.
The materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of phonics skills. The materials include a structured, consistent blending routine with teacher modeling, specifically the Finger-Blending Strategy. The materials include instructions for the dictation of words and sentences. A Phonics Instruction Corrective Feedback Guide is included for each unit, providing limited guidance on corrective feedback. The materials provide students with frequent opportunities to decode and encode words with taught phonics patterns through guided practice in the We Do portion of the lesson. The materials introduce spelling rules and generalizations in regular instructional routines in a sequence aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. The materials include decodable texts aligned to the phonics scope and sequence, including passages in the READ books and a Decodables library; however, the texts in the Decodables Library are briefly mentioned in the lesson plans, there are no lesson plans for these texts; the materials indicate that these texts are intended to support small group or independent reading practice without clear guidance for use and implementation. The materials include weekly formative assessments in the form of Weekly Checks. These checks include phonetic encoding beginning in Week 12; however, assessments do not include decoding tasks where the students decode words themselves.
Indicator 1g
Scope and sequence clearly delineate an intentional sequence in which phonics skills are to be taught, with a clear evidence-based explanation for the order of the sequence.
The materials include a clearly delineated scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction that builds from simpler to more complex skills while also building towards the application of skills. However, the materials have a limited evidence-based explanation for the order of the phonics sequence. The materials are based on high-utility phonics patterns and generalizations.
Materials contain a limited evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonics skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Overview, the materials introduce Scarborough’s Reading Rope and The Simple View of Reading. The Chapter 1 video includes a visual depiction of the Reading Rope. The materials do not cite or discuss any other research, including research for phonics generalizations.
In the Chapter 3 Overview, the video reviews the skills covered in Unit 2, Weeks 3–11 by explaining that students are “introduced to the phonemes that represent the 26 letters of the alphabet. Unit 2 begins in Week 3 and ends in Week 11. During this unit, instruction focuses on phonemes, or sounds.” The video does not make a connection between the skills taught and the research.
Materials clearly delineate a scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction, from simpler to more complex skills, and practice to build toward the application of skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Scope and Sequence follows an intentional sequence of phonics instruction from simpler to complex skills. Units 1-2 focus on the Alphabet Introductions: Vowels and Consonants, beginning with single letter sounds and letter names. Units 3-4 focus on a review of alphabet concepts and then progress to more advanced skills such as Qq, -ck, suffix -s, doubling rule, and digraphs.
Unit 1: Alphabet Introductions: Consonants & Vowels
Unit 2: Letter Sounds
Unit 3: Letter Names & Letter Sounds
Unif 4: -ll, -ss, -ff, -zz, Consonant Digraphs sh, ch, th
Unit 5: Consonant blends: l, r, s blends
Unit 6: Long Vowels (CVCe, CCVCe)
Phonics instruction is based in high utility patterns and/or specific phonics generalizations. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Weeks 1–19, the Scope and Sequence indicates instruction on consonants and vowels, thus providing students with skills to read CVC words with short vowel sounds. In Weeks 20–31, instruction focuses on the most common spelling rules, the doubling rule, digraphs, blends, and CVCe words.
In Week 17, Day 3, the teacher introduces digraph -ck, telling students that the letters -ck together stand for the /k/ sound at the end of a word.
In Week 27, Day 1, the teacher introduces consonant r blends, telling students that when consonants b and r are next to each at the beginning of a word, we will hear both consonant sounds with no vowel in between.
Indicator 1h
Materials are absent of the three-cueing system.
Materials do not contain elements of instruction that are based on the three-cueing system for teaching decoding.
Materials do not contain lessons or resources that include the three-cueing system.
Indicator 1i
Materials, questions, and tasks provide reasonable pacing where phonics (decoding and encoding) skills are taught one at a time and allot time where phonics skills are practiced to automaticity, with cumulative review.
The materials include reasonable pacing of newly taught phonics skills. The Scope and Sequence provides opportunities for students to learn new skills gradually throughout the school year while including time for students to practice previously learned skills. During the lessons, the materials engage students in decoding and encoding practice while working towards mastery of the new and previously learned skills. Cumulative review of previously taught lessons takes place in the Jump In section of the lesson plan and is often referenced in other areas in the lesson. The materials have newly added an Instructional Time Guide that includes information on “Supporting instructional blocks and defining essential content” with specific timing for each component.
Materials include reasonable pacing of newly taught phonics skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
According to the Scope and Sequence for Weeks 12–19, the following letters and associated sounds receive two weeks of instruction: m, s, p, short a, b, c, f, short i, d, g, l, short o, w, z, v, short e. The following letters and associated sounds receive one week of instruction: t, n, h, r, j, k, -ck, x, y. Week 11 indicates a “Review of all letter sounds,” and Week 20 indicates a “Review of all letter names and sounds.”
According to the Scope and Sequence for Weeks 21–24, students learn eight graphemes, four of which are a part of the doubling rule for -ff, -ss, -zz, -ll. This doubling rule instruction spreads across Week 21, starting with introducing -ff and -ll together during Day 1, then double -ss and -zz during Day 2. Students review the skill during Days 3–5 of that week.
The Instructional Time Guide includes information for the pacing of daily lessons. This includes: The Bridge to Reading foundational skills lessons include 8-12 minutes of phonemic awareness instruction and 20-30 minutes of phonics instruction. Timing for the Phonemic Awareness and Phonics components is indicated in the header of the lesson plans.
The lesson plan design allots time to include sufficient student practice to work towards automaticity. Students have sufficient opportunities across the year to practice new phonics skills to automaticity. For example:
In Week 12, Day 1, the Phonics Target skill is for students to build and decode words with letters Mm, and Aa. During the We Do portion of the lesson, students read words using the Construct and Read Words Strategy. Students blend sounds, /ă/ /m/, using the Finger-Blending Strategy. Students repeat blending the two sounds in am three times.
In Week 12, Day 2, the Phonics Target skill is for students to build and decode words with the letter Ss. During the We Do portion of the lesson, students blend the sounds /ă/and /z/ using the Finger-Blending Strategy. Students repeat blending the two sounds in as. Students repeat the process to build the word am, then add s to make Sam.
In Week 12, Day 3, the Phonics Target skill is for students to build and decode words with the letter Pp. During the We Do portion of the lesson, students blend sounds, /m/ /ă/ /p/, using the Finger-Blending Strategy. Students then swap the starting sound to /s/ for sap.
In Week 12, Day 4, the Phonics Target Skill is for students to build and decode words with letters Mm, Aa, Ss, Pp. During the We Do portion of the lesson, students build words using the Word Construction Cards a, m, p, s. Students build the words am, Sam, Pam. In the You Do portion of the lesson, students read the decodable story in their READ book, “The Zoo,” which contains words with the sounds learned from the week.
In Week 12, Day 5, the Phonics Target skill is for students to build, decode, and spell words with letters Mm, Aa, Ss, Pp. During the We Do portion of the lesson, students build the words sap, am, Sam, map, Pam. Students then reread “The Zoo.” This lesson also contains a student progress monitoring check.
Materials contain distributed, cumulative, and interleaved opportunities for students to practice and review all previously learned grade-level phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to the following:
In Week 3, Day 4, students practice three letter sounds previously taught that week. The teacher says, “This week we have learned about the sounds /m/, /s/, and /ă/. Let’s look at our Alphabet Chart. Which picture shows something that begins with the /s/ sound? (sun) The /m/ sound? (map) The /ă/ sound? (apple). What is another picture we could use on our Alphabet Chart to represent the /s/ sound? The /m/ sound? The /ă/ sound?” Students identify objects whose names begin with these sounds.
In Week 24, Day 2, the teacher displays the Word Construction Card ch, and students share words that begin or end with consonant digraph ch with a partner. Students share words they thought of and make a list of words. Students learned about the consonant digraph ch during Week 23.
In Week 32, Day 1, students use their Spell Tabs to build the word grapes. The teacher asks students to “look at the spelling patterns in the word grapes. What do you notice? (plural s, long vowel a with silent final e, consonant r blend).” Students learned about consonant l blends, s blends, and r blends during Weeks 25–27.
Indicator 1j
Materials include systematic and explicit phonics instruction with repeated teacher modeling.
The materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of phonics skills. The materials include a structured, consistent blending routine with teacher modeling, specifically the Finger-Blending Strategy. The materials include instruction for dictation of words and sentences. A Phonics Instruction Corrective Feedback Guide is included for each unit, providing limited guidance on corrective feedback.
Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of newly-taught phonics patterns. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
In Week 3, Day 2, the materials provide explicit instruction for teacher modeling of the /s/ sound while also explaining that it is a consonant sound and a continuous sound. The teacher uses the Sound Wall Card to help identify pictures that start with the /s/ sound. The teacher then uses the S Sound Poster to point to the uppercase and lowercase Ss.
In Week 4, Day 1, the materials provide explicit instruction for teacher modeling of the consonant phoneme /n/. The teacher says, “The sound /n/ is a consonant sound, and /n/ is a sound that can go on and on. We call it a continuous sound. Listen /nnn/, nice.” The materials provide teacher guidance on placement, manner, and voice.
In Week 22, Day 1, the materials provide explicit instruction using the Consonant Digraph Poster when asking students to identify the /sh/ sound within the story presented. The teacher says, “What other words did you hear or what pictures do you see that begin with the sound /sh/?” The teacher presents the /sh/ Sound Card and tells the students, “The letters s and h together stand for one sound, /sh/. Let’s practice saying the /sh/ sound.”
Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
In Week 5, Day 3, the teacher says, “Today we will learn about the /ĭ/ sound. The sound /ĭ/ is a vowel sound. We will practice making the /ĭ/ sound, and we’ll say some words that have the /ĭ/ sound.” The teacher shows the Sound Wall Card /i/ and says, “The first sound in itch is /ĭ/. I can say: /ĭĭĭ/, itch. We see the letter Ii on this card because the letter Ii stands for the /ĭ/ sound. This sound is the short vowel sound for the letter Ii.” The materials provide teacher guidance on placement, manner, and voice.
In Week 13, Day 3, the teacher uses Word Construction Cards to build short /a/ words for students to read using the Construct and Read Words Strategy. The teacher models building words while the students follow along on their Spell Tabs. The teacher says, “Listen to me say each sound. Then I will blend the sounds to make a word: /mmm//a//t/, mat.” The teacher guides students to use the Finger-Blending Strategy to practice reading words mat, mats, pan, pans.
In Week 30, Day 1, the teacher uses the Sound Wall Cards for long a, i, o, u, explaining that each vowel stands for a long and a short sound, and when a silent e is added to the end of the word the vowel says its name. The teacher uses the Word Construction Card e, o, c, d to model how to build the word cod and how the o is short. The teacher then adds the letter e to the end of the word, making the word code and explaining that when the silent e is added to the end of the word, the o is long.
Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
In Week 12, Day 2, the teacher introduces two new Red Words, some and come. The teacher tells students the word has three sounds and models tapping and saying each sound. The teacher reads the word, sweeping a finger under the word. The teacher models matching letters to the sounds in the word, reminding students that the letter e is silent. The teacher repeats the process with the word come, saying, “Now we are going to learn another word that sounds very similar to the word some. We will change the /s/ sound to the /k/ sound.”
In Week 22, Day 2, the teacher uses Word Construction cards i, u, d, f, h, r, w, sh, Finger-Blending Strategy, and Spell Tabs to build the word wish. Students then change the /w/ to /f/ to create the new word, fish.
In Week 31, Day 2, the teacher uses Word Construction Cards y, b, c, d, m, k, r, s and the Finger-Blending Strategy to model reading the two letters and two sounds in the word by. The teacher then models changing the first letter to the letter m to make my and reads the word.
Lessons include blending and segmenting practice using structured, consistent blending routines with teacher modeling. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Instructional Strategies, the materials explain the instructional routine for the Finger Blending Strategy. This strategy is used daily in conjunction with Word Construction Cards in the We Do portion of each lesson. The teacher builds and displays a word with the phonics pattern. Students say each sound while holding up one finger for each of the sounds. Then, students close their fist when they say the word aloud.
In Week 14, Day 2, the teacher uses the Word Construction Cards a, c, n, p, t to model constructing words using the Construct and Read Words Strategy. The teacher distributes Spell Tabs of the same letter for children to follow along. The teacher displays the Word Construction Cards c, a, p, and models how to blend each sound /k/, /ă/, /p/, cap using the Finger-Blending Strategy. This is repeated with the words cat and can.
In Week 15, Day 3, the teacher displays the Word Construction Cards showing: a, i, b, h, m, n, p, r, s. The teacher tells the students they have learned how to build and read words that begin with h and r, using vowel letters a and i. The teacher models building and blending the words has, his, him, ham, rip, rib, ran using the Finger-Blending Strategy.
In Week 30, Day 1, the teacher uses Word Construction Cards to build the word slid. The teacher says each sound and then models blending the sounds to read the word. The teacher tells students that there are four letters and four sounds in the word slid and tells students they will match the sounds to the letters they see. The teacher says each letter name and the sound for which it stands.
Lessons include dictation of words and sentences using the newly taught phonics pattern(s). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 12, Day 5, students write the dictated sentence: I see a map.
In Week 22, Day 4, the teacher models using Spell Tabs for the letters e, o, u, d, t, ck, sh to spell the dictated words shed, shock, shut.
In Week 30, Day 5, students write the dictated sentence: They gave me a white robe.
Materials include limited teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Materials include a Phonics Instruction Corrective Feedback Guide that provides limited information for guidance on providing corrective feedback. For example:
The Unit 2 Phonics Instruction Corrective Feedback Guide states:
Reteaching Letter Formation: Use the Parent Newsletters for at-home practice with uppercase and lowercase letter formation. Encourage children to practice letter formation using pages 120-123 in READ Book 2 or page 20 in READ Book 1.
Indicator 1k
Materials include frequent practice opportunities for students to decode and encode words that consist of common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns.
The materials provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words with taught phonics patterns through guided practice in the We Do portion of the lesson. Independent practice is provided during the You Do part of the lesson. Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to encode words with taught phonics patterns through activities found in the student READ workbook. Lessons include student-guided practice and independent practice of blending sounds into words using the sound-spelling pattern(s) in an instructional sequence through the use of Word Construction Cards and the Finger Blending Strategy. Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in decoding practice focused on accuracy and automaticity.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words with taught phonics patterns. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 14, Day 4, students build and blend the following words using the Finger Blending Strategy: Tim, big, fit, fits.
Week 30, Day 2, students read decodable words cave, nose, stone, five, rule, shade that go along with the day’s lesson of reading words with long /e/, long /u/, long /o/, and long / i/.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to encode words with taught phonics patterns. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 16, Day 2, students tap and say the sounds in the word had, then trace the word. Students repeat with the word on.
In Week 20, Day 1, students use the Finger Spelling Strategy to build the words quip and hut.
In Week 34, Day 2, students look at pictures and write the word for the pictures. The pictures are branch, sky, wish, flute, trunk, kite, plane, swim, which provides a review of phonics skills learned throughout the year.
Student-guided practice and independent practice of blending sounds using the sound-spelling pattern(s) is varied and frequent. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 6, Day 3, Phonics, the teacher says the word, and the student repeats the word. The teacher guides students to tap the dot as they say each sound, from left to right, and then students repeat the word. For example, pan, /p//a//n/, pan. The teacher and students repeat the words fan, cat, map.
In Week 26, Day 3, the teacher uses Word Construction Cards while the students use Spelling tabs for the letters a, i, b, c, f, k, m, n, p, s, t, w, sh, ll. The teacher guides the students to build the word swim. Once the word is built, these students use the Finger Blending Strategy to blend each sound /s/ /w/ /short i/ /m/ to read the word swim. This is repeated for the words swish, swift, skill, skip, scan, scab.
Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in word-level decoding practice focused on accuracy and automaticity. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 23, Day 4, students use spell tabs to build and read the word chip. Students change the p to ck and read the word chick. Students change the i to e and read the word check. This process continues for students to build and read the words peck, pack, pass.
In Week 28, Day 5, students use spell tabs to build the word cube. Students change b to t and read the word cute. Students change c to m and read the word mute. Students then change the t to i and read the word mule.
In Week 33, Day 5, students use spell tabs to build the word check. Students change the ch to n and read the word neck. This process continues for students to build and read the words neck, deck, den, ten.
Indicator 1l
Spelling rules and generalizations are taught one at a time at a reasonable pace. Spelling words and generalizations are practiced to automaticity.
The materials include instruction in spelling rules and phonic generalizations. The materials introduce spelling rules and generalizations in regular instructional routines in a sequence aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. Beginning in Week 12, the materials include regular use of Word Construction Cards for modeling and Spell Tabs for recurring student practice applying spelling rules and generalizations.
Spelling rules and generalizations are aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 21, Day 4, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on -ll, -ss, -ff, and -zz words. The We Do activity focuses on these words, as students practice using four letters for three sounds to build the words well, will, mess, and miss.
In Week 29, Day 1, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on long vowels Oo and Uu with the CVe syllable pattern. The We Do activity focuses on these words as students practice building the short and long vowel sounds for Oo using the silent letter e.
In Week 31, Day 2, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on y as a vowel. The We Do activity focuses on words with y making the long i sound, such as by, cry, and shy.
Materials include explanations for spelling of specific words or spelling rules. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 14, Day 3, the teacher tells students the letters Cc and Kk both stand for the /k/ sound. The teacher tells students we use the letter c to make the /k/ sound at the beginning of words when a is the vowel.
In Week 28, Day 1, the teacher tells students, “The vowel a says its name when we have a silent final e at the end of a word.” Students practice using this rule to change words with the short and long vowel a.
In Week 31, Day 3, the teacher “draws attention to the fact that when y stands for the /ē/ sound at the end of a word, it is a multisyllabic word. When y stands for the /ī/ sound at the end of the word, it is a single-syllable word.”
Students have sufficient opportunities to practice spelling rules and generalizations. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Overview, Scope and Sequence, students spend one week on each of the following spelling patterns: CVC with short i (Weeks 14-15), short o (Weeks 16-17), short e (Weeks 18-19) and CVCe with long a and i (Week 28), long o and u (Week 29), long a, i, o, and u (week 30). In addition, various opportunities to review spelling patterns taught are included in weeks 32-34.
In Week 28, Day 3, students use Spell Tabs to build the words kit/kite, hid/hide, and rid/ride while the teacher reviews the CVCe spelling pattern rule.
Indicator 1m
Materials include decodable texts with phonics aligned to the program’s scope and sequence and opportunities for students to use decodables for multiple readings.
The materials include decodable texts aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. Decodable passages are included in the READ book for each week. The lesson plans include opportunities for two reads of each passage, but lesson plans to support repeated reading lack detail beyond brief teacher reminders of the week’s phonics focus and Red Words. The program also includes a Decodables Library. While these texts are briefly mentioned in the lesson plans, there are no lesson plans for these texts; the materials indicate that these texts are intended to support small group or independent reading practice without clear guidance for use and implementation.
Decodable texts contain grade-level phonics skills aligned to the program’s scope and sequence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 13, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on the letters m, s, p, short a, t, n, and plural ending s. The week’s READ book includes the decodable text Sam and Nan Play, which includes the following short a words: Sam, sat, mat, had, pan, tap, taps, Nan, can.
In Week 19, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on the letters w, z, v, short e, x, and y. The week’s READ book includes the decodable text Fox’s Box, which includes the following CVC words using x: Fox, Box, Ox, Fix.
Materials do not include detailed lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to address acquisition of phonics skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 21, Day 5, students reread the story Jill’s Big Mess. The teacher reminds students that when they see a double consonant, they will say only one sound.
In Week 24, Days 4 and 5, students read and reread the decodable text The Big Dog Gets a Bath. The teacher reminds students on both days: “When you see a digraph or a double consonant, you will say only one sound.”
Reading practice occurs in decodable texts (i.e., an absence of predictable texts) until students can accurately decode single syllable words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Getting Started, the materials state, “On Day 5 in the last week of each unit, the Decodable Books that reinforce the sound-spelling relationships and Red Words learned throughout the unit are listed. Teachers can use these Decodable Books during or after the unit of instruction is taught for small group instruction or independent practice.”
In Week 20, Days 4 and 5, students read the decodable text, The Ducks Are Up. The phonics focus of the week is on qu, short u, -ck, and -s. The decodable text includes the following words that connect to the phonics focus: sun, ducks, quack, quick, rub, dogs, pigs. This text includes the following Red Words: comes, we, the, has, me, he, be.
In Week 31, Days 4 and 5, students read the decodable text I Spy. The text includes decodable words and previously taught Red Words without picture cues or predictable text.
Indicator 1n
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress of phonics in- and out-of-context (as indicated by the program scope and sequence).
The materials include weekly formative assessments in the form of Weekly Checks. These checks include phonetic encoding beginning in Week 12; however, assessments do not include decoding tasks where the students decode words themselves. The Weekly Checks include a document titled, Guidelines for Interpretation of Assessment Data, that provides general guidance for whole group and small group reteaching based on assessment data. Materials also include a document titled, Weekly Check Scoring Guidelines, which provides information for instructional next steps based on assessment data. The materials also include a beginning, middle, and end-of-the-year phonics assessment, which assesses students’ encoding skills. This assessment lacks information about students’ current levels but does provide teachers with instructional next steps based on assessment data.
Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence in phonics; however, materials do not include decoding tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the materials include a Kindergarten Beginning of the Year and Middle of the Year Phonics Assessments. Teachers can give this assessment to students as a whole group or in small groups. The Middle of the Year Phonics Assessment asks students to spell eight CVC words (tag, rock, jet, wish, sun, bell, not, miss). After the assessment is administered, each student’s spelling can be scored using the Student Scoring guide, with observations noted. The End of the Year Assessment is currently missing from the materials.
In the Introduction, Assessment-Weekly Check, the materials state that “on Day 5 of instruction each week, children will participate in a Weekly Check.” The materials provide the teacher with an overview of the weekly word check used to assess students’ progress in phonics. Teachers use the weekly assessments to monitor a student’s ability to apply phonemic awareness and phonics knowledge to spell words using the sound-spelling relationships and Red Words from the weekly lesson.
In Week 29, Day 5, the focus of the weekly lesson is on the following pattern CVCe with the long o or long u sound: /o/, /u/, /oo/. During the Weekly Word Check, students listen and spell the following words in isolation: bone, cube, smoke, home, mute, use. Students write both Red words and words using the spelling pattern in the context of a sentence: Her note was cute! and I rode on a mule.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the materials include an optional Weekly Word Check Recording Sheet. This sheet includes columns for each student with the headings Target Skill Application, Red Words Application, Sentence Conventions (when applicable), and Next Steps for Instruction. The materials do not provide guidance for the use of this form aside from general directions to use the form to gather data and track student progress, then use the data they have gathered to inform small-group instruction or reteaching.
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the materials provide teachers with a Weekly Word Check Recording Sheet. This document tells teachers it is an optional recording sheet to track assessment data and student progress with taught skills and Red words. These materials do not provide teachers with a way to determine their students’ progress relative to either a criterion cut score or normative benchmark for target skills.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the materials include an optional Weekly Word Check Recording Sheet. This sheet includes columns for each student with the headings Target Skill Application, Red Words Application, Sentence Conventions (when applicable), and Next Steps for Instruction.
Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the Kindergarten Beginning of the Year Phonics Assessment includes instructional support and next steps for teachers to use if they make any of the following observations of students’ encoding: difficulty writing initial sounds in VC and CVC words, writing initial sounds correctly, writing initial and final sounds correctly, writing complete words correctly. Supports include kinesthetic elements, manipulatives, modeling strategies, specific strategies to encourage student sound awareness, and the use of differentiation supports within the lesson plans.
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the materials provide teachers with a Weekly Word Check Recording Sheet. This document tells teachers it is an optional recording sheet to track assessment data and student progress with taught skills and Red words. This document tells teachers to use the data gathered to inform small group instruction or reteaching.
In the Weekly Checks, materials include a downloadable pdf titled, Weekly Check Scoring Guidelines, which provides information about instructional next steps with specific information for reteaching in small groups.
In the Weekly Checks, materials include a downloadable pdf titled, Guidelines for Interpretation of Assessment Data. This document provides general guidance for whole-group and small-group reteaching based on assessment data.
Criterion 1.4: Word Recognition and Word Analysis
Materials and instruction support students in learning and practicing regularly and irregularly spelled high-frequency words.
The materials include consistent instructional routines to introduce high-frequency words, beginning in Week 5, with four weeks of dedicated review at the end of the year. The materials emphasize phoneme-grapheme correspondence, with scripts for teacher modeling. The materials provide consistent opportunities for students to engage in practice reading high-frequency words in isolation and in the context of sentences and decodable passages. Opportunities to write high-frequency words in tasks are inconsistent and often include tracing words. The materials include explicit instruction and student practice of grade-appropriate word analysis skills. The lessons include CVC and CVCe word patterns and an introduction to morpheme analysis through the introduction of plural nouns. The materials include a Weekly Check that sometimes includes an assessment of the week’s Red Words.
Indicator 1o
Materials include explicit instruction in identifying the regularly spelled part and the temporarily irregularly spelled part of words. High-frequency word instruction includes spiraling review.
The materials include consistent instructional routines to introduce high-frequency words, beginning in Week 5, with four weeks of dedicated review at the end of the year. The materials emphasize phoneme-grapheme correspondence, with scripts for teacher modeling.
Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words with an explicit and consistent instructional routine. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 8, Day 1, the teacher displays the Red Word Card and. The teacher tells students that the word has three sounds and models tapping the letter and saying each sound, then reading the word. Students identify the number of sounds in the word, repeat the procedure, saying the sound as the teacher taps each letter, and then read the word. The teacher models matching the letters to the sounds in and, saying each sound, and naming its corresponding letter. Students name and spell the word. The teacher defines the word and reads the sentence, “Put on your socks and shoes,” from the back of the Red Word Card.
In Week 19, Day 2, the teacher displays the Red Word Card have. The teacher tells students that the word has three sounds and models tapping the letter and saying each sound, then reading the word. Students identify the number of sounds in the word, repeat the procedure, saying the sound as the teacher taps each letter, and then read the whole word. The teacher models matching the letters to the sounds in have, explaining that the letter e is silent but does not give the vowel before it a long sound. Instead, e is at the end of the word because words in English cannot end in v. Students name and spell the word. The teacher then explains the meaning of the word and uses it in a sentence.
In Week 24, Day 2, the teacher displays the Red Word Card there. The teacher tells the students this word has two sounds and models tapping each letter/sound pattern, saying the accurate sound they make, and saying the whole word. Students identify the number sounds in the word, then repeat the procedure: the teacher taps the letter/sound pattern, students say the sounds, and say the whole word. After the procedure is complete, the teacher explicitly models matching the letter/sound pattern to the sound they make and spelling the word, focusing on explicitly naming any irregular patterns: “In this word the consonant digraph is voiced and is pronounced /th*/. Letters e, r, e are working together to stand for the sound /air/. We have to stop and think about the sounds the letters stand for in this word.”
Materials include teacher modeling of the spelling and reading of high-frequency words that includes connecting the phonemes to the graphemes. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 17, Day 3, the teacher displays the Red Word Card like. The teacher tells the students the word has three sounds and models tapping and saying each sound, then reading the word. The teacher models matching each sound to the letters in the word and explains that the silent e makes the vowel before it a long sound and also why the word has a k and not ck.
In Week 20, Day 2, the teacher displays the Red Word Card are. The teacher tells the students that the word has one sound and models sweeping their finger under the word to read the sound. Students repeat this procedure. The teacher models matching the letters to the sound in are and has students practice spelling the word: “In this word the letter e is silent. We see a red stop sign below the e to remind us to stop and think about how we read and spell this word.”
In Week 25, Day 2, the teacher displays the Red Word Card find. The teacher tells students that the word has four sounds and models tapping the letter and saying each sound, then reading the word. Students repeat the procedure. The teacher models matching the letters to the sounds in find, saying each sound and naming its corresponding letter. The teacher identifies the final consonant blend in find.
Materials include a sufficient quantity of high-frequency words for students to make reading progress. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Scope and Sequence, the materials include 55 high-frequency words for Kindergarten. High-frequency word instruction takes place in Weeks 5-29. The materials designate Weeks 30-34 as review weeks.
Indicator 1p
Instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and gain decoding automaticity of high-frequency words.
The materials provide consistent opportunities for students to engage in practice reading high-frequency words in isolation and in the context of sentences and decodable passages. Opportunities to write high-frequency words in tasks are inconsistent. The READ book offers opportunities to trace Red Words weekly, but weekly practice does not consistently include encoding Red Words outside of the Day 5 Weekly Check.
Students practice decoding high-frequency words in isolation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 11, Day 2, students practice with the Red Words you and of in their READ books. The materials indicate that students should tap and say the sounds in each word.
In Week 16, Day 5, students read aloud the Red Word Cards had, on, not, got, help, her, and my.
In Week 13, Day 3, students use their Read Books to practice writing the Red Word play in isolation first, then reading the word in the following sentence: “I play.” The materials indicate that students should tap and say the sounds in the word play.
In Week 26, Day 4, students read aloud Red Word Cards how, now, down, find, just, they, there, and what.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read high-frequency words in context. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 12, Day 5, students reread At the Zoo in their READ book. The Red Words taught this week come and some are included in this story. Week 12 is the first week where students read Red Words in contact.
In Week 19, Day 2, students use the Read Book to read the Red Words have, has in the context of the sentences, “I have a box,” and “He has a job.”
In Week 24, Day 3, students read a three-sentence decodable passage. The passage contains the week’s Red Words, they and there, as well as the previously learned Red Words the, to, do, you, come, by, and like.
Lessons provide students with limited opportunities to encode high-frequency words in tasks, such as sentences, in order to promote automaticity of high-frequency words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Encoding high-frequency words in tasks only occurs within Weeks 28-34.
In Week 28, Day 2, students practice the Red Word your, writing the sentence, “What is your name?” in their READ books.
In Week 34, Day 2, students write three sentences containing the Red Words there, from, they, what, you, and find in their READ books.
Indicator 1q
Materials include explicit instruction in syllabication and morpheme analysis and provide students with practice opportunities to apply learning.
The materials include explicit instruction and student practice of grade-appropriate word analysis skills. The lessons include CVC and CVCe word patterns and an introduction to morpheme analysis through the introduction of plural nouns.
Materials contain explicit instruction of syllable types and syllable division that promote decoding and encoding of words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 1, Day 2, the teacher displays the Alphabet Bridge and counts and names the red vowels. The teacher tells students that the red letters are vowels and that vowels are very important because every word has a vowel.
In Week 22, Day 1, the teacher guides students to build the word shop using the Word Construction Cards. Students use the Spell Tabs to follow along. The teacher says there are four letters, but only three sounds in shop. The teacher explains that S and H make the /sh/ sound and that the o makes a short sound in this word. The teacher guides students to practice the finger blending strategy with the word shop.
In Week 28, Day 1, the teacher guides students to build the word tap, modeling with Word Construction Cards as students use Spell Tabs. The teacher tells students that the vowel a says its name when we add a silent final e to the word, then models turning tap into tape. The teacher taps out the sounds and tells students that we see four letters, but hear three sounds because the silent final e does not stand for a sound.
In Week 33, Day 1, the teacher displays the Sound Wall Card for short o and the Letter Card Oo. The teacher tells students that the letter o stands for the short sound in words like hot, top, and dog, which are consonant vowel consonant words. The teacher displays the Sound Wall Card for long o and tells students that the letter o stands for the long sound in words like rope, home, and stove because the words have a silent final e that gives the o a long sound.
Materials contain explicit instruction in morpheme analysis to decode unfamiliar words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 12, Day 2, the teacher tells students that we add -s to the end of a word when we talk about more than one thing. The teacher models adding -s to the word friend and explains that in the word friends, the letter s makes a /z/ sound. The teacher repeats with the word hat, and explains that in the word hats, the letter s makes an /s/ sound.
In Week 13, Day 3, the teacher tells students that they will be using Spell Tabs to learn to add the plural ending -s to words to talk about more than one thing. The teacher models adding -s to the word pan to mean more than one pan.
In Week 20, Day 4, the teacher makes the word duck, using the Word Construction Cards. Next, the teacher adds -s to the end of the word duck. The teacher tells the students they will see this word in the story today and that we add an -s to show more than one duck.
Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Week 5, Day 1, the teacher says a two-syllable word, then tells the students to change the first syllable, for example, “Sunny. Change sun to ease.” Students say the new word. Practice includes the following words: sunny, easy, runny, breezy, sappy.
In Week 20, Day 4, students read the decodable The Ducks Are Up. The passage contains three plural nouns: ducks, pigs, dogs. Students practice making the word ducks and discuss what adding an -s at the end of the word means.
In Week 21, Day 4, students read the decodable passage Jill’s Big Mess. The passage contains two plural nouns with the -s ending, rocks and socks.
In Week 28, Day 1, students use Spell Tabs to build the word tap. The teacher guides students to turn the word tap into the word tape, explaining that adding a final silent e to the word tap makes the a say its name so that we can build and read a new word.
Indicator 1r
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress of word recognition and analysis (as indicated by the program scope and sequence).
The materials include a Weekly Check that sometimes recognizes the week’s Red Words. A downloadable pdf titled Weekly Check Scoring Guidelines has been added to the materials, providing some information about instructional next steps for Red Words. In the Weekly Checks, materials also newly added include a downloadable pdf titled, Guidelines for Interpretation of Assessment Data. This document provides general guidance for whole-group and small-group reteaching based on assessment data; however, the focus is primarily on phonics instruction and not Red Words or Word Analysis.
Materials provide a limited variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of word recognition and analysis. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Materials, the materials include a Kindergarten Red Words List. This list includes all of the year’s Red Words and includes a space to record “___/55.” The materials include no instructions for using this document as an assessment.
In Week 15, Day 3, Weekly Check, the teacher says the words my and by, and students circle the correct word from the word pairs my/me and bat/by.
Assessment materials do not provide the teacher and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of word recognition and word analysis. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Introduction, Downloadable Resources, the materials include an optional Weekly Word Check Recording Sheet. This sheet includes columns for each student with the headings Target Skill Application, Red Words Application, Sentence Conventions (when applicable), and Next Steps for Instruction. The materials do not provide guidance for the use of this form aside from general directions to use the form to gather data and track student progress, then use the data they have gathered to inform small-group instruction or reteaching.
Materials support the teacher with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Weekly Checks, materials include a downloadable pdf titled, Weekly Check Scoring Guidelines, which provides information about instructional next steps with specific information for reteaching in small groups.
In the Weekly Checks, materials include a downloadable pdf titled, Guidelines for Interpretation of Assessment Data. This document provides general guidance for whole-group and small-group reteaching based on assessment data; however the focus is primarily on phonics instruction and not Red Words or Word Analysis.