Fountas and Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study System Grade 3

Evaluation for 2.1
Materials include systematic, year-long plans for phonics instruction.

The materials do not meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials do not include systematic, year-long plans for phonics instruction.

Materials do not include a cohesive, TEKS-aligned scope and sequence that outlines the essential knowledge and skills that are taught throughout the year. Materials do not demonstrate vertical alignment that shows the progression of skill development from year to year. Lessons do not follow a developmentally appropriate, systematic progression from simple to more complex concepts.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include a cohesive, TEKS aligned scope and sequence that outlines the essential knowledge and skills that are taught throughout the year.

• Materials do not include a cohesive, TEKS-aligned scope and sequence that outlines the essential knowledge and skills that are taught throughout the year. For example, the “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) materials include a chart titled “The Nine Areas of Learning Across the Year” that outlines the plan of instruction for the year by listing the lessons and skills in the program. The chart lists the areas of learning covered, including early literacy concepts, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, letter-sound relationships, spelling patterns, high frequency words, word meaning, word structure, and word-solving actions. Early literacy concepts, phonological awareness, and letter knowledge are not addressed in the grade 3 materials. The remaining areas are divided into columns to denote when in the year they are covered: early, middle, or late. The “Suggested Sequence for Phonics Instruction” provides the lesson title, page number, and recommendations for extension of learning. There is no evidence that the materials include a TEKS/Countdown alignment document for teachers to use to be sure that all TEKS skills are covered.
• Materials provide a “Master Lesson Guide” that outlines a suggested sequence of lessons for the year. The lessons provide scripted materials for the teacher to use. The lessons are presented in the following order: “Early Literacy Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Letter Knowledge, Letter-Sound Relationships, Spelling Patterns, High-Frequency Words, Word Meaning Vocabulary, Word Structure, and Word-Solving Actions.” In grade 3, the materials suggest a series of onset and rime lessons and a review of CVe, VCC, and VVC before identifying syllables and decoding words with three or more syllables. Although the majority of the TEKS are covered within the materials, the scope and sequence does not have full alignment with the TEKS.
• Although the PWS materials contain two documents to suggest a sequence, both are suggested and state that lessons may be abbreviated, omitted, or repeated. The Nine Areas of Learning states: “The map shows a continuum of easier to harder principles… If children are very knowledgeable and experienced, you may decide that some lessons can be abbreviated or omitted. If children are very inexperienced in a given area, lessons may need to be repeated using different examples.” The Suggested Sequence states: “Children may have learned a great deal in shared reading and early guided reading lessons so that early literacy behaviors are well established. You might not need to use all of the lessons in this area. Remember that you can repeat the lesson using other examples if you think your whole class needs more work on the principle. Some lessons may need to be repeated or extended over several days because there is a great deal of content to be covered—for example, consonants and related sounds. You can make adjustments in the sequence. If you are working on a series of lessons on one topic (for example, phonogram patterns), you may want to stick with it a few more days to get it firmly in place. It’s important to remember that you can skip over lessons if children already understand and can apply the principle. Don’t teach a lesson just because it is there.”
• Materials include a total of 100 lessons in the grade 3 program, which is not an adequate number of lessons for a typical 180-day school year.

Materials clearly demonstrate vertical alignment that shows the progression of skill development from year to year.

• Materials do not clearly demonstrate vertical alignment that shows the progression of skill development from year to year. For example, the PWS materials do not provide a specific outline of the progression of skill development from kindergarten through grade 3. In the introduction of PWS, there is a section titled “Essential Literacy Concepts Every Third Grader Should Know.” It does not list skills by reading concepts. Instead, it provides a list of 15 literacy skills “Third Graders Have Learned.” It also lists 17 literacy skills “Third Graders Are Learning.”
• In the “Literacy Continuum,” there is a section titled “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study,” which names “behaviors and understandings to notice, teach, and support” within letter-sound relationships, spelling patterns, high-frequency words, word-meaning/vocabulary, word structure, and word-solving actions for grade 3 and each level (pre-kindergarten to grade 8). However, the Literacy Continuum does not reference the phonics lessons, nor do the phonics lessons reference the Literacy Continuum.

Lessons follow a developmentally appropriate, systematic progression from simple to more complex concepts (e.g., CVC words before CCCVCC words and single syllable words before multisyllabic words).

• Lessons do not follow a developmentally appropriate, systematic progression from simple to more complex concepts. For example, the PWS lesson objectives do not follow a systematic progression from simple to complex concepts, building the prerequisite skills students need to read more complex words throughout the year when compared to the TEKS “Vertical Decoding and Encoding” scope and sequence chart. As the materials only provide a suggested sequence, concepts could be taught in a variety of orders, and it is possible that some concepts will not be taught.
• Materials include a Master Lesson Guide, which recommends that each of the components should not be taught daily. The sequence of lessons is a suggestion for the teacher to follow. The materials note that the lessons are sequenced by typical appropriateness within each of the nine areas, so there is variety in the kinds of lessons that fall early in the year, in the middle, and late in the year. Materials suggest the teacher keep a record of what has been taught. The materials indicate that the teacher should utilize simple assessments to determine where the students are in their learning and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The materials state that if the teacher determines the principle is firmly established, the lesson should be skipped. The teacher is informed that there may not be a need to use all of the lessons in an area; meanwhile, if some students are struggling with the principle, the teacher can hold a brief reteaching meeting to repeat the lesson. The lesson guide begins with two days of letter-sound recognition, then moves on to 14 lessons of word-solving actions. The materials introduce spelling patterns in Lesson 29. The entire year follows this type of schedule.

Evaluation for 2.2
Materials provide direct (explicit) and systematic instruction in developing grade-level phonics skills within and across lessons.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials provide some direct (explicit) and systematic instruction in developing grade-level phonics skills within and across lessons.

Lessons include some guidance for each component of the gradual release of responsibility model. Materials contain a teacher edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Lessons include detailed guidance for each component of the gradual release of responsibility model.

• The “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) lessons include guidance for components of the gradual release of responsibility model. The introduction section, “Where Does Phonics Instruction Fit in the Design for Literacy Learning?” identifies the instructional framework the materials use for explicit instruction. The lessons follow a “Teach, Apply, Share, Connect” cycle. The Teach portion involves “a whole class lesson based on a principle related to phonics.” The Apply portion of the lesson is included to “apply the principle through hands-on practice.” It is suggested that this part of the lesson be completed “in a small group at literacy centers, or the whole class can engage in the activity with a partner or as individuals.” The Share component of the framework is where “children meet briefly in a whole-class meeting, to talk about the discoveries they made. This brief sharing time gives you (teacher) a chance to assess the effectiveness of your lesson, return to the principle, and summarize the learning.”
• In PWS, “Letter-Sound Relationships,” Lesson 9, “Recognize and Use Middle Consonant Sounds Sometimes Represented by Double Consonant Letters,” is identified as a “Generative” lesson, which “has a simple structure that you can use to present similar content or concepts.” In the Teach portion of the lesson, the teacher is directed to write, across the top of a piece of chart paper, four or five words that have double consonants in the middle of the word, such as slipper, mitten, lesson, ladder, and follow. The teacher then reads each word in a sentence and asks the students, “What do you notice about all of these words?” The teacher is instructed to “guide students to think about the principle by drawing their attention to the sounds associated with the double consonants.” After additional questioning and student responses, the teacher says, “The two consonant letters stand for just one consonant sound.” For the Apply portion of the lesson, the students play “Word Grid” in pairs or groups. Students choose a card with a double consonant pair on it and cross off a word on their grid that has the same double consonant pair. The student who crosses off all the words first wins the game. The Connect portion of the lesson gives teachers four options. The options include a “Shared Reading” activity, a “Guided Reading” activity, a “Shared Writing” lesson, and an “Independent Writing” lesson. Each of these options is practiced with the teacher as a guide.
• While PWS materials include the components of the gradual release of responsibility model, they do not include consistent direct (explicit) instruction for teachers to employ during the “I do” portion of the lesson. For example, in Letter-Sound Relationships, Lesson 10, “Recognize and Use Consonant Letters That Represent Two or More Different Sounds at the End of a Word,” the script states: “Write the following words on a whiteboard: picnic, voice, clinic, and peace. Read the words with the students and use the word in a sentence if the students may not know the meaning. What do you notice about all of these words? They all have a c at the end, but the letter stands for two different sounds. In the word picnic, the letter c stands for the sound /k/. In the word voice, the letter stands for the sound /s/. Say the words clinic and peace. Which word ends like picnic? Which word ends like voice? Erase the two words from the board and write clinic beneath picnic and peach beneath voice. Repeat the process using the words bag and wage to discuss the sounds of g; the words which and stomach to discuss the sounds of ch; and the words booth and smooth to discuss the sounds of /th/.” In the Apply section, students sort, make with magnetic letters, and write on a list sheet words that have different sounds at the end. In the Share section, students talk about any patterns they noticed as they completed the word sorts. However, the lesson script never identifies how to know which sound to use in each pairing or how to know how to sort the words.

Materials contain a teacher edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student materials.

• The PWS materials include several helpful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content. Materials include various subheadings and annotations to assist teachers in presenting the materials. Each lesson has the following subheadings: “You Will Need,” “Explain the Principle,” “Instructional Procedure,” and “Action Tags.” These subheadings clarify the lesson objective, highlight any instructional procedures that are engaged repeatedly in the materials, and help students prepare adequate and appropriate materials.
• Each PWS lesson offers annotated teacher tips: “Understand the Principle,” Explain the Principle, whether the lesson is a Generative lesson, and what instructional procedure is used in the lesson. For example, in “Word Structure,” Lesson 13, “Recognize and Use Common Abbreviations,” an annotation states that this lesson is a Generative lesson—a “lesson that has a simple structure that you can use to present similar content or concepts.” The annotation concludes by instructing teachers to “use this lesson structure to present other abbreviations.” Understand the Principle states: “Abbreviations are shortened forms of particular words. They are used often in reading and writing. Students will encounter abbreviations in many texts. Understanding the concept of abbreviations and how they are formed will help students understand their meaning and promote correct and conventional use of abbreviations.” Explain the Principle puts the principle into student-friendly language and provides some broad “rules” for the principle: “Some words have a shortened form that uses some of the letters. They are abbreviations. Abbreviations are usually pronounced the same as the longer form of the word. Many abbreviations begin with an uppercase letter, and most are followed by a period.” An additional annotation in this lesson instructs the teacher on the instructional procedure used for the lesson. An additional annotation specifies the instructional procedure used for the lesson— the “Notice Parts” routine—and guides the teacher to page 32 of the guide, which contains a detailed description of it.

Evaluation for 2.3
Materials include detailed guidance that supports teacher’s delivery of instruction.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials include some guidance that supports teachers’ delivery of instruction.

Materials include some guidance for teachers about guiding principles related to specific phonics skills. Materials do not include common phonics pattern misconceptions. Guidance for teachers provides detailed, specific instructional strategies with consistent routines for teaching each phonics skill. Materials include some specific guidance for providing students with immediate, corrective feedback. Materials provide some guidance for connecting previously taught phonics skills to new learning. Materials include some guidance on how to pace each lesson, including specific time suggestions for each component of the gradual release model.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Guidance for teachers includes information about common phonics pattern misconceptions and guiding principles related to specific phonics skills.

• Although the materials do not include guidance for teachers about common phonics pattern misconceptions, they include some guidance for teachers about guiding principles related to teaching specific phonics skills. For example, in the “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) lesson catalog, “Where Does Phonics Instruction Fit in the Design for Literacy Learning?” guides teachers: “Your explicit phonics lessons are ideally embedded in a design for responsive literacy teaching that offers a coherent, organized combination of experiences, each of which contributes uniquely to children’s literacy development.” The materials then guide teachers to use the “blocks on the right” to obtain additional information on short and direct lessons. For example, in “Word Structure,” Lesson 6, an “Explain the Principle” box instructs the teacher: “A syllable is a word part or a unit of pronunciation. Students need to understand the concept of a syllable as a unit of pronunciation with one vowel sound. Students can notice and use the syllable patterns to help them read and write words. When students pronounce an open syllable, the vowel sound is long and their mouths are open in the end.”
• In “Spelling Patterns,” Lesson 8, the focus is “Recognize and Use Phonogram Patterns with a Long Vowel Sound in Single-Syllable Words.” The “Understand the Principle” box states: “Some words have a long vowel pattern. You can hear the long vowel sound [e.g., make, green, pie, coat, cute].” Also: “Many long vowel patterns are highly predictable. They have consistent letter-sound relationships that are valuable for students to notice and remember. Once students know to look for specific patterns, they can apply this information to read text and spell words with increased efficiency and accuracy. Making and comparing words according to a variety of features, including long vowel patterns, will heighten students’ awareness of word parts and patterns and increase their flexibility in working with words.” However, the lesson does not provide information about misconceptions.

Guidance for teachers provides detailed, specific instructional strategies with consistent routines for teaching each phonics skill.

• Guidance for teachers provides detailed, specific instructional strategies with consistent routines for teaching each phonics skill. In the front matter of the materials, the section titled “Routines and Instructional Procedures for Effective Teaching” provides teachers with specific guidance on ten instructional strategies used throughout the lessons. The strategies include “See and Say, Find and Match, Hear, Say, and Write: Sound and Letter Boxes, Words to Know, Notice Parts, Say and Write, and Map Words.” Each strategy is named and described, and materials provide details to the teacher on how to implement the instructional routine. For example, the See and Say routine is described as an instructional strategy that “helps children examine and identify familiar patterns in words, such as CVC and CVCe patterns, and learn to make new words by putting a letter or letter cluster before the familiar pattern.” The sequence is detailed as follows: “1) Show words that have a common visual feature [man, fan, van, pan]. 2) Children search for visual patterns. [They all end the same.] 3) Help children articulate the principle. You can look at a part or pattern to read a word. You can make new words by putting a letter or letter cluster before the pattern. 4) Children work with words to apply the principle. [Children write words with the pattern]. 5) Summarize the learning by restating the principle.” Every lesson follows one of these instructional routines, and the lessons provide the sample words/patterns that are the focus.
• The See and Say routine is used in “Letter-Sound Relationships,” Lesson 11. The focus skill is words with silent consonants. The teacher writes the words lamb, crumb, and thumb on chart paper in a column, then reads the words with the students. The teacher asks students what they notice about the words. Then, the teacher writes silent B at the top of the column. The teacher repeats the same process with silent L and silent T. The students then play “Follow the Path” to practice reading words and identifying the silent letter.

Materials include specific guidance for providing students with immediate, corrective feedback.

• Although some lessons include guidance for providing students with immediate, corrective feedback, the guidance is not specific. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 5, students practice dividing words into syllables. After students have read and clapped the syllables for the words enter and pencil, the teacher asks, “What do you notice about the first part in both of these words?” The teacher is then directed to “Help students notice that the first syllable ends with a consonant.” Students say where they believe the words should be divided. The teacher draws a slash to divide each word to show en/ter and pen/cil.
• Many lessons in PWS include suggested answers for teacher questioning. For example, in Spelling Patterns, Lesson 10, the teacher displays the words good, hood, wood, look, book, could, should, bull, and pull and reads the words with the students. Then the teacher says, “What do you notice about all of these words?” The script provides sample answers: “Some of the words rhyme. Some of the words have the same ending letters. All of the words have the /u/ sound.” The teacher then asks, “What is the same in all of these words? [They all have vowel sound /u/.] What is different? [The vowel sound is spelled differently in each column. Several patterns of letters can represent the /u/ sound.]” However, the materials do not provide specific guidance on how to provide students with immediate, corrective feedback when students do not provide the correct answer.

Materials provide detailed guidance for connecting previously taught phonics skills to new learning.

• PWS materials provide some guidance for connecting previously taught phonics skills to new learning. Because the program’s scope and sequence is suggested and may be altered by teachers to fit their needs, not all new lessons connect to previously taught phonics skills. However, some lessons provide information about the prior knowledge necessary for students to be successful in that lesson. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 4, in the “Plan” section, under “Consider Your Children,” the teacher’s guide states, “In order to benefit most from this lesson, students will need to have good control in simple word patterns, such as CVC and CVCe.”
• Spelling Patterns, Lesson 1, focuses on recognizing and using less common phonograms with a VC pattern. The Plan section states, “This lesson will be appropriate for students who have a good control of the CVC pattern but have little experience noticing words with less common VC patterns, such as -em, -ib, and -ud.”

Materials include clear guidance on how to pace each lesson, including specific time suggestions for each component of the gradual release model.

• In the PWS teacher’s guide, the “Phonics Lessons in the Daily Schedule” section offers suggestions for implementation and timing: “Remember that phonics lessons are short—often, five minutes is enough time. Application also will take no more than five to ten minutes, and after children become proficient and know routines, they can perform them independently or with a partner. The extent to which you use the suggestions for extending phonics lessons is a teaching decision; and most involve integrating phonics with other classroom work that you are already doing anyway.” However, the materials do not provide guidance on how to pace each component of the phonics lesson. In the “Fitting It All Together” section, the materials provide a suggested framework for the literacy block, in which they suggest 30 minutes for all components of the PWS lesson. The chart also suggests: “Group Meeting” for 5 minutes, “Interactive Read Aloud” for 15 minutes, “Shared Reading” for 10 minutes, “Reading Minilesson” for 5 minutes, “Small Group Instruction” for 60 minutes, and “Group Share” for 5 minutes.

Evaluation for 2.4
Materials include frequent and distributed review of phonics skills with cumulative practice opportunities with decodable text.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials include some frequent and distributed review of phonics skills with cumulative practice opportunities with decodable text.

Materials do not include intentional cumulative review and practice activities throughout the span of the curriculum. Practice opportunities include some phonics skills that have been explicitly taught. Decodable texts do not incorporate cumulative practice of taught phonics skills.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include intentional cumulative review and practice activities throughout the span of the curriculum.

• “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) materials do not include decodable readers or intentional cumulative review and practice throughout the span of the curriculum. For example, in “Word Structure,” Lesson 5, students work to divide words into syllables. In “Connect Learning Across Contexts,” for “Guided Reading,” materials suggest, “When students encounter longer words with multiple syllables, remind them to look at the parts and break the words into syllables to solve them more easily.” For “Shared Reading,” the materials suggest, “as students attempt to write new words, encourage them to think about how to listen for and write each syllable.” In the same section, for “Independent Writing,” the materials instruct teachers to “prompt students to look carefully at each syllable in the multisyllable words they write and be sure that each syllable has a vowel sound.” These practice activities are within the same lesson as the core phonics lesson and do not span across the curriculum.
• PWS materials do not include decodable readers for review and practice. The lessons instead offer practice through connected text with poems. For example, in “Letter-Sound Relationships,” Lesson 14, the focus is “Recognize and Use Vowel Sounds with r.” In Connect Learning Across Contexts, the only suggested text is the Shared Reading text Exploring Underground by Louis Petrone. However, the shared reading texts are not included in this review.

Practice opportunities include only phonics skills that have been explicitly taught.

• Lessons give students the opportunity to practice phonics skills that have been taught, though not necessarily those explicitly taught. For example, in Letter-Sound Relationships, Lesson 2, students practice reading and writing words with ending consonant clusters such as -ft, -lf, -mp, -nd, -nk, -nt, and -st. In the “Apply” section of the lesson, students read word cards with ending consonants and then make a word that has the same last consonant sound. However, the lesson does not include practice with decodable texts.
• Some lessons include practice opportunities using words in which sound-spelling patterns have not been explicitly taught. For example, Letter-Sound Relationships, Lesson 7, introduces digraphs at the beginning of words. An example word is choice. However, the final soft sound of c is not introduced until Letter-Sound Relationships, Lesson 10.

Decodable texts incorporate cumulative practice of taught phonics skills.

• In PWS lessons, phonics skills are mostly taught in isolation and do not include decodable texts to incorporate cumulative practice of taught phonics skills. However, the lessons do provide a section called Connect Learning Across Contexts. This section refers teachers to poems to reinforce skills, although they are not cumulative practice. For example, in Letter-Sound Relationships, Lesson 12, students learn to recognize and use consonant letters that represent no sound. In the Connect Learning Across Contexts section, the only suggested text is the Shared Reading text Saving Cranes by Brenda Iasevoli. However, the shared reading texts are not included in this review.

Evaluation for 3.A.1
Materials provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to alphabet knowledge.

Evaluation for 3.A.2
Materials provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to the alphabetic principle.

Evaluation for 3.B.1
Materials provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review to support the development of oral syllable awareness skills, as outlined in the TEKS.

Evaluation for 3.B.2
Materials provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review to support the development of phonemic awareness skills, as outlined in the TEKS.

Evaluation for 3.C.1
Materials provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review to develop students’ knowledge of grade-level sound-spelling patterns, as outlined in the TEKS.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials provide some systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review to develop students’ knowledge of grade-level sound-spelling patterns, as outlined in the TEKS.

Materials do not provide a sufficient systematic sequence for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns, as outlined in the TEKS. Materials provide some scripted instruction for grade-level sound spelling patterns. Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review). Materials provide some activities and resources to decode and encode words that include taught sound-spelling patterns in isolation and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a systematic sequence for introducing grade level sound spelling patterns, as outlined in the TEKS.

• In the late part of the year, grade 3 students recognize and use more difficult phonogram patterns in single-syllable words: VVCC, VVCe, VCCe, VCCC, VVCCe, VVCCC. Throughout the year, students “understand and talk about the fact that some words have a double consonant that represents two different sounds: e.g., success.” In the middle and late part of the year, grade 3 students recognize and use frequently appearing syllable patterns in multisyllabic words: e.g., alarm; use short vowel phonogram patterns that appear in multisyllabic words: e.g., -ab; and use long vowel phonogram patterns that appear in multisyllabic words: e.g., -ace. In the late part of the year, grade 3 students recognize and use unique vowel phonogram patterns that appear in multisyllabic words (e.g., -oint) and use other vowel phonogram patterns that appear in multisyllabic words (e.g., -alk).
• Grade 3 lessons are organized into “Early in the Year, Middle of the Year, and Late in the Year.” The lessons are organized from easier to harder and are meant to build upon one another. The materials provide a suggested year-long sequence in the “Master Lesson Guide: Suggested Sequence for Phonics Lessons.” For example, a lesson at the beginning of the suggested sequence is “WSA1: Recognize and Use Onsets and Rimes to Read Words.” A series of vowel pairs lessons is also suggested as a part of the Early in the Year sequence. Later in the year, lessons include more complex concepts, such as phonogram patterns with the /u/ and /ȯ/. For example: ○ SP3 focuses on “Recognize and Use Phonograms with Vowel-Consonant-Silent e Pattern” (VCe). ○ SP4 focuses on “Recognize and Use Phonograms that End with a Double Consonant” (VCC). ○ SP5 focuses on “Recognize and Use Phonograms with Ending Consonant Clusters” (VCC). ○ SP6 focuses on “Recognize and Use Phonograms with a Double Vowel” (VVC). ○ Then, SP8–SP14 address long vowel sounds in single-syllable words, including long u; /o/ as in saw; /ou/ in single-syllable words; /oi/ in single-syllable words; and vowels + r in single-syllable words.

Materials provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for grade level sound spelling patterns.

• The lesson sequence does not follow the gradual release of responsibility model (“I do, we do, you do”) or provide explicit instruction. Lessons rely on students to study words to discover similarities or sound-spelling patterns. For example, in “Spelling Patterns,” Lesson 7, the teacher posts the words sneak, peak, and weak with magnetic letters. The teacher script includes: “What do you notice about all of the words?” “What do you notice about the vowel sound?” “All the words have the long e vowel sound.” “The vowel sound is the name of the first vowel, /ē/, the long e sound.” The teacher asks students to change the beginning letter or letters to make more words with the -eak pattern. The teacher repeats the process with -oak, -oat, ail, and -ied. The next step in the lesson sequence is for the teacher to build the words oil, foil, and soil. The teacher script continues with: “What do you notice about the words?” “What do you notice about the vowel sound?” “The vowel combination stands for a different vowel sound than the long or short sound of either vowel sounds.” The process repeats with “words with -out, such as spout, scout, and trout.” The lesson recommends the teacher “build on students’ observations to summarize the principle”: “As you noticed, some words have two vowels together. They’re called a vowel combination. Sometimes the combination sounds like the name of the first vowel. Sometimes it stands for a different sound.” The materials do not indicate how they spiral back and connect the new pattern to previous sound-spelling patterns.
• In Spelling Patterns, Lesson 11, the teacher places a list of word cards in a pocket chart, including wall, paw, taught, cost, and long. The teacher asks, “What do you notice about these words?” Then, based on student responses, the teacher says, “What vowel sound do you hear in these words? Each word has the /o/ sound.” Students are then asked to generate additional words with the /o/ sound in the pattern. The lesson does not include direct, scripted instruction or gradual release, including modeling and guided practice prior to independent practice.

Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review).

• Materials include activities such as card games to reinforce recognition of sound-spelling patterns, but they do not provide an opportunity to develop students’ knowledge of sound-spelling patterns. For example, in grade 3, students begin every lesson with “Notice Parts,” noticing a group of words with a common feature or spelling pattern. For example, Spelling Patterns, Lesson 13, focuses on the two spellings of /oi/. The teacher displays word cards with the -oi and -oy spelling patterns, then asks students, “What do you notice about all of these words?” The lesson lacks any reference to the spelling pattern -oi representing /oi/ when it is in the initial and middle position of words or -oy representing /oi/ in the final position of words. Students then play “Concentration.” Students take turns turning over a card with either an -oi or -oy spelling pattern, reading the word, then turning over a second card, and repeating the procedure. If the two cards have the same spelling pattern, the player keeps the card. The teacher reminds students of the principle: “Several patterns of letters can stand for the /oi/ sound.” This game provides practice decoding words with the -oi or -oy spelling pattern, but it does not include practice with the sound-spelling principle, such as when to apply which spelling pattern when spelling /oi/.
• Materials provide resources to support practice and reinforcement of skills, designed to be used recursively rather than included in systematic, scripted lessons. It is left to teacher discretion to use these for cumulative review. The materials discuss three vital print resources for the grade 3 classroom that are referred to within the phonics lessons: “Name and Picture Chart,” “Consonant Clusters and Digraphs Charts,” and a “Word References” list/chart students keep in their writing folder. The Consonants and Digraphs charts are found within the PWS “Ready Resources,” along with pocket chart picture cards, graphic organizers, and letter and word cards. All of these resources are discussed in detail in the PWS lessons booklet and throughout the 100 phonics lessons as “Routines and Instructional Procedures for Effective Teaching.” For example, in one routine, “See and Say,” students read a word and identify the silent letter in the word. In another routine, “Hear, Say, and Write: Sound and Letter Boxes,” students use sound box graphic organizers to understand and recognize the sequence of sounds and letters in blends and whole words.
• Sing a Song of Poetry: A Teaching Resource for Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Fluency provides other opportunities for activities to develop, practice, and reinforce students’ knowledge of sound-spelling patterns.

Materials provide a variety of activities and resources to decode and encode words that include taught sound spelling patterns in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts).

• Lessons lack instruction on how to decode and encode; instead, lesson instruction focuses on visual patterns in words. In addition, materials provide general suggestions for reading words in context. The “Where Does Phonics Instruction Fit into Literacy Learning?” section of the PWS guide explains: “The lessons in the book provide explicit phonics lessons out of text; but each lesson provides many suggestions for extending the learning beyond the explicit instruction in text. For example, they include general suggestions to use in interactive read-aloud, shared reading, guided reading, modeled reading, shared writing, interactive writing, and independent reading and writing.”
• For example, after Spelling Patterns, Lesson 5, on final consonant clusters and digraphs, in “Shared Reading,” the teacher can display a poem that includes words with final consonant clusters and digraphs. The teacher covers the spelling pattern on the first reading, asks students to predict the pattern, then shows the words. While this provides an opportunity for the teacher to use connected text to point out sound-spelling patterns, it does not provide an opportunity for the students to independently practice decoding words that include sound-spelling patterns in connected text.
• Isolated opportunities are included for students to practice sound-spelling patterns in isolation. For example, after Spelling Patterns, Lesson 5, on final consonant clusters and digraphs, in “Guided Reading,” the teacher is guided: “Write a variety of words containing the VCC pattern. Ask students to read the words quickly to develop quick recognition of the patterns.” A word list is not included for the teacher to ensure practice of previously taught grade-level sound-spelling patterns.
• Materials provide some activities to decode and encode words that include taught sound-spelling patterns in isolation and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction. For example, Letter-Sound Relationships, Lesson 1, provides students the opportunity to identify, read, and create words that begin with two- and three-letter consonant blends. Students are then able to match beginning consonant clusters with word endings to make a variety of words. After students have shared their words, they are then asked to look for these words while they are reading text in guided reading, independent reading, shared writing, and independent writing. In the “Extend Learning” section of this lesson, it is suggested that the lesson be repeated with specific “families” of consonant clusters, such as r-clusters (br, cr, dr, fr, pr, tr), l-clusters (bl, cl, fl, pl, sl), two-letter s-clusters (sc, sk, sm, sn, sp, sr, sw), and three-letter sclusters (scr, spl, spr, squ, str). While this suggestion can be used to practice identifying words in connected texts, specific texts are not included or recommended for each sound-spelling pattern to ensure students have adequate practice.

Evaluation for 3.C.2
Materials provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to accurately identifying, reading, and writing regular and irregular high-frequency words.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials provide some systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to accurately identifying, reading, and writing regular and irregular high-frequency words.

Materials do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words. Materials do not provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce high-frequency words, there is no cumulative practice. Materials provide some activities and resources for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation. The connected text suggested in lessons is not decodable.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high frequency words.

• “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) materials do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words. For example, materials provide six high frequency word lessons, including two lessons to recognize and use high-frequency words with three or more letters; two lessons to recognize and use longer high-frequency words, some with more than one syllable; one lesson to acquire a large core of high-frequency words; and one lesson to read and write approximately 500 high-frequency words. “High-Frequency Words,” Lessons 1–3, are suggested to be taught early in the year; High-Frequency Words, Lessons 4 and 5, are suggested to be taught in the middle of the year; and High-Frequency Words, Lesson 6, is suggested to be taught late in the year.
• PWS materials provide a 500-most-frequent-words list within the “Online Resources” and encourage teachers to work towards teaching students all 500 words. Both regular and irregular words are included in the suggested list. However, there is no evidence that this is an explicitly taught concept. The materials do not state the research from which these words were compiled. The materials introduce high-frequency words but do not appear to offer a consistent year-long set of instruction. 

Materials provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for decoding and encoding regular and irregular high frequency words.

• PWS materials do not provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for decoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. For example, in PWS, High-Frequency Words, Lesson 1, materials state: “This is the word because. What do you notice about the spelling of the word because?” Example responses include: “The word because has two syllables. The word because begins with be like the words before and become. The word because has the word cause in it. The word because has a silent e.” These are example responses from students. The teacher does not explicitly teach how to decode the regular and irregular parts of the word. The lesson does not apply letter-sound correspondence to decode the words; it relies on memorization.
• PWS materials do not provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. For example, in PWS, High-Frequency Words, Lesson 1 states: “Quickly write the word although. ‘What do you notice about the word although? Are there any parts of this word that you find challenging that you want to remember?’ Underline the more difficult parts the class identifies. Erase the word and write it again. Continue this process with several words, such as heard, found, between, themselves. Have students write the words in their Word Study Notebooks, one at a time. ‘Write the word although. Take your time to write although from left to right without stopping.’” The lesson does not apply letter-sound correspondence to encode the word; it relies on memorization.

Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review).

• PWS materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills. For example, in High-Frequency Words, Lesson 1, the students complete a “Make-Say-Check-Mix” activity. The teacher uses magnetic letters and creates a high-frequency word, “emphasizing meaningful parts that help students learn the word.” Students then use a Make-Say-Check-Mix sheet to write a word, say it, and make and mix it three times with magnetic letters, each time placing a completion check on their sheet. In High-Frequency Words, Lesson 2, the students play a concentration memory game to find matching pairs of words that were in the lesson. In High-Frequency Words, Lesson 4, students play a “Lotto” game using words from that lesson. However, there is no evidence of a cumulative review of high frequency words.
• In the PWS Online Resources, “High-Frequency Words, Lesson 1, Recognize and Use High-Frequency Words with Three or More Letters” is a printable document that includes the Make-Say-Check-Mix document and printable flashcards with high-frequency words. This set includes the words because, before, and thought. There are a total of four of these resources in the grade 3 materials. The final two are classified by the number of syllables rather than the number of letters.

Materials provide a variety of activities and resources for students to recognize, read, and write high frequency words in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in connected text (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts).

• PWS materials provide some activities and resources for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation. For example, materials include some Online Resources for working with high-frequency words. The Online Resources include printable cards that list high frequency words with three or more letters; 500 high-frequency words; and longer high frequency words, some with more than one syllable.
• PWS materials provide some activities and resources for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in connected text. The “Connect Learning Across Texts” portion of the lesson suggests using a title from the “Fountas and Pinnell Classroom” to practice identifying high-frequency words in the text; however, the recommended “Shared Reading” texts are not a part of this review.
• In PWS, High-Frequency Words, Lessons 1, 5, and 6, students complete a Make-Say-Check-Mix worksheet in which they write some high-frequency words. In this activity, students take a high frequency word card, say it, make the word with magnetic letters, check it, place a checkmark in the box, and mix the letters. Then they make, say, and check the word two more times. Finally, they write the words in the third column and check them against the word cards.

Evaluation for 3.C.3
Materials include systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to using knowledge and application of syllabication to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials include some systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to using knowledge and application of syllabication to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words.

Materials provide a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and syllable division principles, as outlined in the TEKS. Materials provide some instruction for applying knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review). Materials provide some activities and resources for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable or multisyllabic words, using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles, in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a systematic sequence for introducing grade level syllable types and syllable division principles, as outlined in the TEKS.

• The “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) materials provide a sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and syllable division principles, as outlined in the TEKS. “Letter-Sound Relationships,” Lesson 6, introduces vowel teams; Lesson 9 introduces VCCV words; Lesson 14 introduces r-controlled vowels; Lesson 15 introduces closed syllables; and Lesson 16 introduces open syllables. All of the Letter-Sound Relationships lessons include multisyllabic words. “Spelling Patterns,” Lesson 2, teaches closed syllables; Lesson 3 teaches VCe; Lessons 6–8 and 10–13 teach vowel teams; Lesson 14 teaches r-controlled vowels; Lesson 15 teaches VCCV; Lesson 17 teaches final stable syllables in conjunction with the -y and -ther endings. Spelling Patterns lessons contain a mix of lessons with only one-syllable words and lessons with multisyllabic words. “Word Structure,” Lesson 4, teaches VCCV; Lesson 5 teaches students to syllabicate a word with clapping; Lesson 6 teaches open syllables; Lesson 7 teaches closed syllables; Lesson 8 teaches r-controlled syllables; Lesson 9 teaches vowel-team syllables; Lesson 10 teaches VCe syllables; and Lesson 11 teaches syllabication with VCCV. Word Structure lessons focus on multisyllabic words.

Materials provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for applying knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles to decode and encode one syllable or multisyllabic words.

• The PWS materials provide some scripted direct (explicit) instruction for identifying syllable types and applying knowledge of syllable division principles to decode and encode multisyllabic words. For example, in “Word-Solving Actions,” Lesson 5, the goal of the lesson is to “Break Words into Syllables to Decode Manageable Units.” The lesson starts with kind, unkind, and unkindly on chart paper. The teacher reads the words with the students and asks, “What do you notice about these words?” The students read them again and clap as they say them. The materials state, “As needed, review with students that every syllable has a vowel sound.” The script then directs the teacher to say: “You know that some words have one syllable and some words have more syllables. When you divide a word into syllables, it helps to take it apart and read it. When you read a long word, it helps to say the syllables, then look at them and connect them with other words or parts of words you know. Let’s try to say and take apart these longer words.”
• In Word Structure, Lesson 7, the concept is closed syllables. The teacher writes robin, panic, and cabin on the chart and asks students to read and clap the words. The teacher asks, “What do you notice about the first part in all the words?” The lesson notes that students may say that there are two syllables and the first part ends in a consonant. The teacher asks, “What do you notice about the vowel sounds in all of the words?” The lesson suggests the students will notice the vowel sounds are short. The teacher draws a slash to represent the syllable break in the word robin [rob/in] and asks, “Why did I draw a slash in the word robin? The slash stands for where we break the word.” The teacher invites students to the board to break apart the words panic and cabin. The teacher then summarizes, “When a syllable ends with at least one consonant, the vowel sound is usually short.”

Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review).

• The PWS materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to practice syllabication skills. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 6, students cut word cards into open syllables and then write the words with a slash dividing the syllables on a recording sheet. In Word Structure, Lesson 7, students divide words into syllables with magnetic letters and then write the words with a slash dividing the syllables on a recording sheet. In “Word Study,” Lesson 8, students play “Cut and Connect” by writing words from word cards on blank strips and cutting them into syllables. Students trade cut words with a partner. Then the partner must rebuild the words and “blend the syllables to read them aloud.” There is no evidence of cumulative review.

Materials provide a variety of activities and resources for students to practice decoding and encoding one syllable or multisyllabic words, using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles, in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts).

• The PWS materials provide activities and resources for students to practice decoding multisyllabic words in isolation; however, there is little evidence of using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles or practice with decoding and encoding in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 9, students read the words rain, play, meet, house, beneath, explain, hockey, and railroad. The teacher asks students what they notice about the words and explains, “All of the words have a syllable with a vowel combination that stands for one sound.” The sample anchor chart in the text shows the multisyllabic words segmented, but the script does not explain why or how to do it.
• The PWS materials provide activities and resources for students to practice encoding multisyllabic words in isolation; however, the materials do not use knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles to encode the words. For example, in Word-Solving Actions, Lesson 13, students spell multisyllabic words from a list of the teacher’s choice. However, the lesson does not have students apply syllable types and syllable division principles to encode the words. When spelling recognize, the script states: “Think about how to spell it. Then write it in the boxes or on the chart. Say, ‘I wrote the word recognize with one letter in each box. Does the spelling look right? To check the spelling, let’s start by counting the letters.’”
• The PWS materials suggest activities and resources for students to practice decoding multisyllabic words in connected text; however, the connected text does not build on previous instruction and is not decodable text. Additionally, the texts suggested are guided reading and shared reading materials that are not included in the phonics curriculum.

Evaluation for 3.C.4
Materials connect phonics instruction to meaning by providing systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to developing morphological awareness.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials connect some phonics instruction to meaning by providing systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to developing morphological awareness.

Materials do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level morphemes, as outlined in the TEKS. Materials provide some direct instruction for supporting recognition of common morphemes. Materials provide some direct instruction for using the meanings of morphemes (e.g., affixes and base words) to support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension. Materials do not incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review). Materials provide some activities and resources for students to decode and encode words with morphemes in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a systematic sequence for introducing grade level morphemes, as outlined in the TEKS.

• Materials do not provide a TEKS correlation document, and the lessons do not follow a systematic scope and sequence, nor do they provide an adequate review of previous morphemes. For example, in the “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) guide, an outline of the plan of instruction for the year contains areas of learning including lessons that introduce the third-grade-level morphemes as outlined by the TEKS. The lessons are “Word Meaning/Vocabulary,” Lesson 22 (Suffixes); Word Meaning/Vocabulary, Lesson 23 (Prefixes); and “Word Structure,” Lessons 14–22. In the “Suggested Sequence for Phonics Instruction,” these lessons are woven into the other conceptual lessons, with the suffixes and prefixes lessons suggested at the end of the year.

Materials provide direct (explicit) instruction for supporting recognition of common morphemes.

• In PWS, lessons provide some explicit instruction for supporting recognition of common morphemes. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 22, students learn to add suffixes to base words. The teacher writes a column of three or four words ending in the first suffix she wants to teach, such as colorful, thankful, helpful, and beautiful. The teacher has the students read the words with her and states: “What do you notice about all of the words? Each word ends with the same group of letters or part, ful.” The teacher further explains that the letters or part ful is a suffix. The teacher covers the suffix in the words and has students notice the base words color, help, and thank as well as the base word beauty. The teacher has students focus on the base words and states: “What do you notice about the meaning of this word? If a drawing is colorful, it is full of color. The suffix ful changes color to a different kind of word. Color is a thing. It is a noun. When I add the suffix ful, I make it an adjective."
• In Word Meaning/Vocabulary, Lesson 23, students learn to recognize the concept of prefixes and recognize their use in determining the meaning of some English words. Teachers explain the principle: “A prefix is a word part that is found at the beginning of many English words. A prefix may contain hints about the meaning of an English word.” The teacher then writes three words on the chart paper that have the same prefix, such as disappear, dislike, and dishonest. The teacher covers the prefix and discusses the meaning of the base word with the students, defines the prefix, and then uncovers the prefix and defines the whole word using knowledge from the discussion. Students then complete a three-way card sort with words with common prefixes. They write the words with common prefixes in a column and read their columns to a partner.

Materials provide direct (explicit) instruction for using the meanings of morphemes (e.g., affixes and base words) to support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension.

• The PWS materials provide limited explicit instruction for using the meanings of morphemes for encoding and decoding. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 20, students recognize and use suffixes -or, -ar, -er, and -ist to form a noun. The teacher writes help, visit, beg, and art to the left and helper, visitor, beggar, and artist to the right on chart paper and asks students what they notice about the second column. The teacher guides students to notice that they are all nouns about someone that does something, and the meaning is different. The “Explain the Principle” box states: “Add the suffixes -er, or, -ar, and -ist to the end of a base word to name a person or thing that does something. Sometimes the suffixes -er, -or, -ar, and -ist require the use of additional spelling rules: for words that end with hard c, add k before adding -er, for some words that end with a consonant and y, drop the y and add -ist, for some words that end with an o, drop the o and add -ist.”
• In Word Structure, Lesson 22, students recognize and use prefixes that mean not. The teacher begins by dividing a sheet of chart paper into four parts. In the first part, the teacher writes the words happy and fair and leaves a space before the words to add a prefix and a space to add a heading. The teacher asks, “What do each of these words mean?” The teacher writes un before the words and asks, “What do you notice about these words? How does the prefix change the meaning? In happy and fair, the prefix un means not or the opposite of. The meaning changes from happy to not happy and fair to not fair.” The process is repeated with the prefixes in, dis, and non. Students reread the words in each section to reinforce the principle. The teacher states: “Add the prefix un to the beginning of a word root or base to mean not or opposite of. Add the prefix in- to the beginning of a root or base word to mean not. Add the prefix dis- or non- to the beginning of a root or base word to mean not, lack of, or opposite of.” Students work on prefixes by saying and sorting words by prefixes. Students complete the sort and then read each group to a partner. Students then choose a word with each prefix and write a sentence for each word on a four-way sort. After students complete additional practice with partners, they are encouraged to share the words they chose and read the sentences. Students’ new words are added to the class chart.

Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and cumulatively reinforce skills.

• In PWS, lessons include activities and resources for students to develop and practice the focus morphological skill. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 19, students use a three-way sort to write comparatives and superlatives. The teacher gives students the sort and word cards, which have words including fresh, ugly, pale, brave, late, low, big, silly, happy, short, young, and new. Students then add -er and -est to the words to create new words and write the new words in the correct column. The “Connect Across Texts” section recommends: “Enlarge or project poems that have -er and -est endings. After reading and talking about the poems, have children use highlighter tape to locate words with -er and -est endings.” However, there is no evidence of reinforcement of skills through cumulative review.
• In PWS, lessons include activities and resources for students to develop and practice the focus morphological skill. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 21, students play a board game to review words with the prefix re-. Students roll a die, move their piece, read the word they land on, and use it in a sentence. The gameboard has words with re-, including rearrange, rework, rewrite, reread, repaint, reuse, replay, resale, recount, reheat, remake, retell, reappear, reload, refill, redo, rebuild, retake, rename, and repack. The Connect Across Texts section recommends: “After reading a text, draw students’ attention to words featuring the prefix re-. Discuss the meanings of the words with and without the prefix.” However, there is no evidence skills are reinforced through cumulative review.

Materials provide a variety of activities that encourage students to decode and encode words with morphemes in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts).

• Some PWS lessons include activities that encourage decoding and encoding in isolation. For example, in Word Structure, Lesson 20, students decode lists of words in isolation that contain the suffixes -er, -or, -ar, and -ist, including help/helper, visit/visitor, beg/beggar, and art/artist. The lesson continues with students drawing a card and writing the word, then writing the word with the suffix added to make the name of a person or thing that does something. Students repeat this for three more words. For “Independent Writing,” the lesson states, “When students attempt to write a word with the suffix -er, -or, -ar, or -ist, demonstrate how to change the spelling of the base word if needed.” However, the lesson does not provide explicit instruction for encoding or decoding in connected text.
• Some PWS lessons include decoding in isolation without encoding practice. For example, in Word Meaning/Vocabulary, Lesson 23, students decode lists of words in isolation that contain the suffixes -ful, -less, -ly, and -ment, including colorful, helpful, thankful, hopeless, careless, fearless, nicely, safely, friendly, excitement, amazement, and agreement. Students then play a board game in which they read the word they land on, name the suffix in the word, and use the word in a sentence. After the game, the students complete a four-way sort of the words on the gameboard. The Independent Writing lesson states, “During conferences, draw writers’ attention to their use of suffixes.” However, the lesson does not provide explicit instruction for encoding or decoding in connected text, nor for encoding in isolation.

Evaluation for 3.D.1
Materials provide frequent opportunities for students to practice and develop word reading fluency, by using knowledge of grade-level phonics skills to read decodable connected texts with accuracy and automaticity.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials provide some opportunities for students to practice and develop word reading fluency, by using knowledge of grade-level phonics skills to read decodable texts with accuracy and automaticity.

Materials include some embedded modeling and practice with word lists. Materials do not include embedded modeling and practice with decodable phrases/sentences and decodable texts in the lesson. Materials provide practice activities for word reading fluency in a variety of settings, including independently, in partners, in small groups, and whole group. Materials do not provide decodable connected texts that are aligned to the phonics scope and sequence.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include embedded modeling and practice with word lists, decodable phrases/sentences, and decodable texts in the lesson.

• Materials include limited embedded modeling and practice with word lists, decodable phrases/sentences, and decodable texts in the lesson. For example, in “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”), “Spelling Patterns,” Lesson 11, students recognize and read words with the /aw/ sound. The teacher places word cards for wall, paw, taught, cost, and long in a pocket chart. The teacher reads the words with the students but does not model decoding. The teacher then states, “What do you notice about all of the words? Each word has the /aw/ sound.” The students generate more words with the sounds and place them under the same spelling.
• In PWS, “Letter-Sound Relationships,” Lesson 7, word cards are used to show words with two consonant letters that represent one sound. The teacher displays chimney, thin, white, and shampoo and asks, “What do you notice about all of the words?” After guiding the students to notice the letters at the beginning, the lesson states: “Write the consonant digraphs ch-, th-, wh- , and sh- at the top of the columns. Reinforce the letter-sound relationships. The letters ch stand for the sound /ch/ as in chimney. The letters th can stand for the sound /th/ as in thin or /th/ as in there. The letters wh stand for the sound of /w/ as in white or the /h/ sound as in who. The letters sh stand for the /sh/ sound in shampoo.” However, the lesson does not provide embedded modeling or practice with decodable phrases or connected text.

Materials provide practice activities for word reading fluency in a variety of settings (e.g., independently, in partners, in guided small groups, etc.)

• The PWS materials provide limited word reading fluency practice independently and with partners. For example, in Spelling Patterns, Lesson 4, students work independently to make words that have a double consonant at the end with letter cards. Students then write the words they created on their list and read their list of words to their partners. Students then read their list of words to a small group. The materials do not provide lists of words for students to practice fluency in the phonics skill.
• The PWS materials provide practice in word reading fluency for most lessons in a whole group setting with choral reading response, as well as in partners. For example, in Spelling Patterns, Lesson 13, the teacher uses word cards to display words with the /oi/ sound. Students read the words aloud as a class. Students then play concentration with a partner and read their chosen card to the partner as they search for pairs with the same spelling pattern.

Materials provide a variety of grade level decodable texts that are aligned to the phonics scope and sequence.

• The PWS materials provide limited word reading fluency practice independently and with partners. For example, in Spelling Patterns, Lesson 4, students work independently to make words that have a double consonant at the end with letter cards. Students then write the words they created on their list, read their list of words to their partners, and read their list of words to a small group. The materials do not provide lists of words for students to practice fluency in the phonics skill.
• The PWS materials provide practice in word reading fluency for most lessons in a whole group setting with choral reading response, as well as in partners. For example, in Spelling Patterns, Lesson 13, the teacher uses word cards to display words with the /oi/ sound. Students read the words aloud as a class. Students then play concentration with a partner and read their chosen card to the partner as they search for pairs with the same spelling pattern.

Evaluation for 4.1
Materials include developmentally appropriate diagnostic tools (e.g., formative and summative) and guidance for teachers to measure and monitor student progress.

The materials meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials include developmentally appropriate diagnostic tools (e.g., formative and summative) and guidance for teachers to measure and monitor student progress.

Materials include a variety of diagnostic tools that are developmentally appropriate. Materials provide clear, consistent directions for accurate administration of diagnostic tools. Materials include data management tools for tracking individual and whole class student progress.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include a variety of diagnostic tools that are developmentally appropriate.

• The “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) online resources provide multiple assessment components. The “Assessment Overview” states: “You can use these tasks in multiple ways: You can use them as diagnostic tools to determine what children know and need to know; you can use them as monitoring tools to help you keep track of your teaching and children’s learning; and you can also use them as documentation of the teaching and learning you and the children have accomplished.” There are six categories of assessments: “Letter-Sound Relationships, Spelling Patterns, High-Frequency Words, Word Meaning/Vocabulary, Word Structure, Word Solving Actions.” Within each assessment category, there are multiple subtests. For example, the Word Structure assessment has a progression of seven skills from simple to more complex: “1. Recognizing and Using Compound Words, 2. Recognizing and Using Contractions, 3. Writing Syllables in Words, 4. Recognizing Syllables in Words, 5. Recognizing and Using Plurals, 6. Recognizing and Using Words with Suffixes, 7. Recognizing and Using Words with Prefixes.”
• The Assessment Overview instructs that “teachers need to have a classroom assessment plan that includes the systematic collection of data on what children know about letters, sounds, and words. The assessment plan leads directly to instruction.” Within the PWS lessons, the materials provide two assessment strands: “Ongoing Observation” and “Systematic Assessment Tasks.” Systematic Assessment Tasks are “formal structured experiences in which the tasks are standardized.” Assessment tasks are available within the online resources; there are a variety of assessments for each of the nine components of the PWS materials.

Materials provide clear, consistent directions for accurate administration of diagnostic tools.

• Materials provide clear, consistent directions for accurate administration of diagnostic tools. For example, for Word Structure, there are 13 assessments (Assessments A–M). For each assessment, the materials provide clear directions for accurate administration. The assessment directions are consistent and provide a description of the assessment, an explanation of why to use it, and a step-by-step list describing how to use it. There is also a section to guide teachers on what to notice or observe while assessing students. Within the “How to Use It” section of Word Structure Assessment A, “Recognizing and Using Compound Words,” step-by-step directions state: “Give the oral assessment individually, or use the written assessment with the whole class. Have the student read the words on one of the Compound Words Sheets and identify the component parts orally. Use the Individual Record (Assessment H) to check whether the student read the word accurately and identified the parts. You can extend the assessment by asking the student to use the word in a sentence. As an alternative if time is limited, give the class a list of the words and ask students to circle the component parts in each word and write a sentence using the word. This quick assessment will help you identify students that you may want to assess individually.”
• In the How to Use It section of “High-Frequency Words” Assessment B, “Recognizing and Writing High-Frequency Words,” step-by-step directions state: “Administer this assessment individually, to a small group, or to the whole class. Choose words from the list of 500 High-Frequency Words in Ready Resources. Ask the student to read the list of words you’ve selected. Have students write the words as you say them. Say the word clearly; use it in a simple sentence, then say it again. Tell students to make an attempt to write as much of the word as they can. Their attempts will give you good information about the parts of the words they are able to represent. On the Individual Record (Assessment C), check the words that the student spells accurately. Staple the student’s test to the form so that you can analyze attempts as you plan your lessons.”

Materials include data management tools for tracking individual and whole class student progress.

• Materials include data management tools for tracking individual and whole class student progress. Recording forms for the various tasks can be found at the end of the assessment category. For example, Word Structure Assessment H contains an “Individual Record (Compound Words)”; Assessment I contains an “Individual Record (Contractions)”; and Assessment J contains a “Class Record (Syllables).” Although the naming system lists these forms as separate assessments, they do not contain an assessment, only the recording forms. Not all assessments contain class and/or individual recording forms.

Evaluation for 4.2
Materials include integrated progress monitoring tools, with specific guidance on frequency of use.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. The materials include some integrated progress monitoring tools, without specific guidance on frequency of use.

Materials include progress monitoring tools that systematically and accurately measure students’ acquisition of grade-level skills. Materials do not include specific guidance on determining frequency of progress monitoring based on students’ strengths and needs.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include progress monitoring tools that systematically and accurately measure students’ acquisition of grade level skills.

• Materials include progress monitoring tools that accurately measure students’ acquisition of grade-level skills. Within the “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) lessons, the materials provide two assessment strands: “Ongoing Observation” and “Systematic Assessment Tasks.” Systematic Assessment Tasks are “formally structured experiences in which the tasks are standardized.” Assessment tasks are available within the online resources; there are a variety of assessments for six components of the PWS materials. For Ongoing Observation, each lesson includes suggested observational assessment tasks to measure each student’s understanding of that lesson.
• The PWS online resources provide multiple assessment components. The “Assessment Overview” states: “You can use these tasks in multiple ways: You can use them as diagnostic tools to determine what children know and need to know; you can use them as monitoring tools to help you keep track of your teaching and children’s learning; and you can also use them as documentation of the teaching and learning you and the children have accomplished.” There are six categories of assessments: “Letter-Sound Relationships, Spelling Patterns, High-Frequency Words, Word Meaning/Vocabulary, Word Structure, Word-Solving Actions.” Within each assessment category, there are multiple subtests. For example, the Word Structure assessment has a progression of seven skills from simple to more complex: “1. Recognizing and Using Compound Words, 2. Recognizing and Using Contractions, 3. Writing Syllables in Words, 4. Recognizing Syllables in Words, 5. Recognizing and Using Plurals, 6. Recognizing and Using Words with Suffixes, 7. Recognizing and Using Words with Prefixes.”
• Materials provide frequent, strategic opportunities to monitor and respond to student progress toward appropriate grade-level and content skill development. Each Phonics and Word Study lesson contains a “Plan, Teach, Apply, Share, Assess” structural routine. Within the Assess portion, several bullets guide the teacher in assessing student progress toward the skill of the lesson. For instance, in Letter-Sound Relationships, Lesson 7, the Assess section says to dictate four to six words with beginning consonant digraphs for students to write and read and to notice if students are correctly pronouncing and representing the digraphs at the beginning of words. The materials also state, “You may wish to use Letter-Sound Relationships Assessment A, C, F, G, or H.” The materials do not state what level constitutes mastery on the assessments.
• PWS lessons provide suggestions for additional assessments to monitor student progress. For example, in Word Meaning/Vocabulary, Lesson 5, students learn about compound words. In the Assess section, the materials guide the teacher: “Make a list of five to ten compound words and have each child read them. After students have read the compound words, ask them to talk about the meanings of each one. Observe to find evidence of students’ ability to think about the meaning of words by noticing their component parts.” The final assessment guidance for this lesson is “You may wish to use Word Meaning/Vocabulary Assessment C or H.”

Materials include specific guidance on determining frequency of progress monitoring based on students’ strengths and needs.

• Materials do not include specific guidance on determining the frequency of progress monitoring based on students’ strengths and needs. Within the Assess portion of each PWS lesson, the materials provide suggestions for progress monitoring, both in observational and formal formats. For example, in High-Frequency Words, Lesson 5, the suggested observational assessment is “Observe how students write high-frequency words in their daily writing so you can help them keep an accurate inventory on their lists of high-frequency words.” The suggested formal assessment is “You may wish to use High-Frequency Words Assessment A, B, or C.” Although each lesson has its corresponding Assess section that can be used to progress monitor skills, the materials do not contain specific guidance on determining frequency based on students’ strengths and needs.

Evaluation for 4.3
Materials include guidance for teachers to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials include some guidance for teachers to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools.

Materials support teachers’ analysis of diagnostic data to inform response to individual students’ strengths and needs. Diagnostic tools provide teachers with some guidance on how to plan and differentiate instruction based on student data. Materials do not include a variety of resources that align to data, allowing teachers to plan different activities in response to student data.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials support teachers’ analysis of diagnostic data to inform response to individual students’ strengths and needs.

• Materials support teachers’ analysis of diagnostic data to inform response to individual students’ strengths and needs. Within the “Assessment Overview,” the materials provide a guide on how teachers can use the “Assessment Guide”: “The Assessment Guide includes more formal, performance-based assessment tasks across the nine areas of learning. You can use these tasks in multiple ways: You can use them as diagnostic tools to determine what children know and need to know; you can use them as monitoring tools to help you keep track of your teaching and children’s learning; and you can also use them as documentation of the teaching and learning you and the children have accomplished. You and your colleagues may even decide to place some of the summary sheets in children’s permanent cumulative folders as a way to create a school-wide record of the phonics and word study program. Within both formal and informal assessment contexts, we are always asking two questions: 1) What do children know and control relative to letters, sounds, and words? and 2) What do they need to know?”
• For example, “Letter-Sound Relationships” Assessment C evaluates students’ ability to read words with consonant clusters. The teacher individually assesses students by having them read the “Consonant Clusters Word List.” The teacher scores for accuracy and notes substitutions. The data can be recorded on the “Class Record” (Assessment H). The “What to Notice” section guides teachers on what to look for: “Ability to use knowledge of consonant clusters to read words, number of words with consonant clusters the student can read, specific consonant clusters the student controls in reading.”
• The Assessment Overview also provides suggestions on how teachers can react to the data collected: “This information will help us as teachers in the following ways: We can relate their knowledge on a continuum of typical progress. We can choose specific lessons that will serve the group as a whole or small groups effectively to move them forward in knowledge. We can adjust interaction to meet individual needs because we know where children are in their development of phonics and word knowledge. We can ascertain when children have acquired knowledge of many examples in any given area (for example, recognizing alphabet letters), and we can plan activities that will solidify knowledge and deepen children’s understanding of a basic and useful principle.” Many of the lessons are labeled “Generative,” which is meant to be adaptable to any skills related to the one in the lesson. Teachers are encouraged to reuse the lessons depending on what their individual students need based on the data collected.

Diagnostic tools provide teachers with guidance on how to plan and differentiate instruction based on student data.

• Although the diagnostic tools do not provide teachers with guidance on how to plan and differentiate instruction based on student data, the materials provide a “Literacy Continuum” for some guidance on instruction based on student data. This continuum “can be used as a bridge between assessment data and the specific teaching that students need.” Another use for the continuum includes students who may need intervention or differentiation. The “Guide to Intervention” within the Literacy Continuum states: “Many students will need extra support in order to achieve the school’s goals for learning. Assessment and observation will help you identify the specific areas in which students need help. Use the continuum to find the specific understandings that can guide intervention.” For example, in “Word Structure” Assessment C, students are evaluated on their ability to hear syllable breaks, count the number of syllables in a word, and (a beginning understanding of) where to divide a word when hyphenating. The directions state: “Using the Syllable Recognition Sheet, read each word aloud and have students say it softly to themselves. For each word, they place a line between syllables and circle the number of parts or syllables they hear. Record results on the Class Record (Assessment J).” The What to Notice section guides teachers to observe: “Number of words in which the student can hear and identify syllables, particular words students can read accurately, particular words that give students difficulty (for example, words with vowel pairs or consonant clusters), speed with which students take words apart.” However, the assessments do not guide the teachers on where to look in the Literacy Continuum.

Materials include a variety of resources that align to data, allowing teachers to plan different activities in response to student data.

• Materials do not include resources separate from the Phonics and Word Study lessons that align to data that would allow teachers to plan different activities in response to student data. Resources include an alphabet linking chart, alphabet strips, picture cards, magnetic letter guides, phonograms lists, a high-frequency words list, and more. The materials do provide word lists and reading text, but they do not provide additional support outside of the lesson.

Evaluation for 5.1
Materials include guidance, scaffolds, supports, and extensions that maximize student learning potential.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. The materials include some guidance, scaffolds, supports, and extensions that maximize student learning potential.

Materials provide some targeted instruction and activities to scaffold learning for students who have not yet mastered grade-level foundational phonics skills. Materials do not provide targeted instruction and activities to accelerate learning for students who have achieved grade-level mastery of foundational phonics skills. Materials provide some enrichment activities for all levels of learners.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide targeted instruction and activities to scaffold learning for students who have not yet mastered grade level foundational phonics skills.

• Materials include some guidance for instruction for students who have not yet mastered grade-level skills. The materials do not provide targeted instruction that includes differentiated instructional approaches; materials suggest small group work to reteach a lesson to students who did not grasp the lesson fully. For example, the grade 3 “Phonics, Word Study, and Spelling” (“PWS”) guide states: “If children need more experience you can repeat the lesson format using these suggestions (in the Extend Learning portion of each lesson) for variations.” For example, in “Spelling Patterns,” Lesson 8, “Recognize and Use Phonogram Patterns with a Long Vowel Sound in Single-Syllable Words,” the “Extend Learning” section suggests: “Have students do a blind sort with the words they made for the Apply activity. Check that they have sorted the words by the long vowel spelling pattern. Have students play Follow the Path with words that have patterns that you wish to review. Blank game boards are available in Online Resources.”
• In Spelling Patterns, Lesson 6, the goal is to recognize and use phonograms with a double vowel (VCC). The materials state that if students are not noticing words that have double vowels in both one- and two-syllable words, the teacher should help them in small groups.
• In “Word Structure,” Lesson 7, the Extend the Learning section states: “Repeat the lesson with a variety of other words with closed syllables. Give the students a set of word cards with both open and closed syllables. Have them sort the cards by the syllable type.” This does not target a specific group of students, though it does add extra support and practice to the original lesson.

Materials provide targeted instruction and activities to accelerate learning for students who have achieved grade level mastery of foundational phonics skills.

• The materials do not include guidance for enrichment activities for students who have mastered grade-level foundational phonics skills, nor do the lessons include recommendations for upward scaffolds to support extension and application of learning. The lessons do not provide additional activities and resources to support student choice and to extend and explore new learning in collaborative groups or independently. Although there is no specified upward scaffolding for students who have mastered the skills, there are opportunities to extend the skill through extended lessons with “Shared Writing” and “Independent Writing.” In Lesson 7 of Spelling Patterns, students work on recognizing and using phonograms with vowel combinations. After the lesson, in the Shared Writing lesson, students think of a familiar word with a vowel combination pattern and then write new words with the same pattern. In the Independent Writing portion, teachers draw students’ attention to VVC words that they have spelled accurately and encourage them to talk about what they knew and how it helped them write new words. There are no defined instructions for students who have mastered the lesson and need extended lessons.
• The “Routines and Instructional Procedures for Effective Teaching: A Few Further Suggestions” section guides teachers: “Provide Apply activities with potential multilevel learning that permits advanced students to apply the principle to more sophisticated examples and to make more discoveries and allow children who are less experienced to develop the understanding with simple samples.” Although there are several instructional routines explained explicitly, no explicit instructions are given in this section to further explain how to scaffold instructional approaches. The materials provide explicit instructions on how to repeat the lesson with additional/different words or examples. For example, in the grade 3 “Suggested Sequence for Phonics Lessons,” there is a column titled “Teaching Suggestions for Extending Learning.” In “Word Meaning/Vocabulary,” Lesson 17, “Recognize and Use Compound Words with Common Parts,” the suggestions for extended learning are: “If students are very familiar with compound words and have a large repertoire of words that have common parts, you may want to combine lessons 17 and 18. Used in sequence, they can greatly increase the number of words students connect, and this can lead to a rapid expansion of vocabulary. Quickly recognizing frequently appearing words will help students become automatic in reading and writing a large number of compound words.”

Materials provide enrichment activities for all levels of learners.

• Materials do not provide enrichment activities for all levels of learners in foundational phonics skills; however, the “Literacy Continuum” lists enrichment ideas where students can use their foundational skills within digital literacy and communication and publishing. Within the Continuum, “Selecting Goals: Behaviors and Understanding to Notice, Teach, and Support,” the “Technological Communication” section provides a list of activities. Under “Digital and Media Literacy,” activities include “increase keyboard fluency and automaticity through writing and online exploration and gather information from approved websites, e-books, apps, and software using a variety of methods including downloading files or copying/pasting text and images and citing sources.” Under “Communication and Publishing” activities include “use software, apps, and online tools to express ideas, write an opinion piece, or a poem using text and other digital media such as drawings, images, audio, and video and share ideas with an authentic audience through blogs, videoconferencing, and other online tools with support.”
• The “Connect Across Texts” section provides suggestions for enrichment via Shared Writing and Independent Writing. In “Word Structure,” Lesson 9, Shared Writing suggests, “After you have written a text together, have students point out two or three words that have syllables with vowel combinations. Invite them to underline the vowel combinations.” Independent Writing suggests, “As students write new words, have them think of each syllable and the vowel sound they hear in it.”
• Other types of enrichment—including suggestions for small group discussions, online activities for practicing and reinforcing phonics learning, teacher tips to extend learning, or PD videos to support teacher professional learning—are not available. Enrichment does not support all levels of learners.

Evaluation for 5.2
Materials include a variety of instructional methods that appeal to a variety of learning interests and needs.

The materials meet the criteria for this indicator. The materials include a variety of instructional methods that appeal to a variety of learning interests and needs.

Materials include a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional approaches to engage students in mastery of the content. Materials support a variety of instructional settings (e.g., whole group, small group, one-on-one).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional approaches to engage students in mastery of the content.

• Materials include a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional routines and approaches to engage students in mastery of the content for each lesson. The materials contain a section titled “Routines and Instructional Procedures for Effective Teaching” that describes in detail the routines found in each lesson in the “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) program. There are ten routines included for effective phonics instruction, including “See and Say, Find and Match, Say and Sort, Hear and Say, Notice Parts, Say and Write.” Materials describe each routine and then provide step-by-step directions of the routine. For example, the materials describe the “Make Words” routine: “This procedure can help children build words (including contractions) through the use of discrete tactile materials such as magnetic letters, letter tiles, or letter cards. Make Words appears in lessons in Spelling Patterns, Word Structure, and Word-Solving Actions and may follow this sequence: 1) Show and say a word that contains a common phonogram. [not] 2) Children identify the beginning phoneme in the word. [/n/] 3) Help children articulate the principle. You can change the first sound in a word to make a new word. 4) Children work with words and letters to apply the principle. [Children change the first sound in a word to make a new word.] 5) Summarize learning by restating the principle.” The materials then state the routine in the specific lesson and repeat it, applying the specific lesson components.
• The materials engage students in mastery of the content through a variety of instructional approaches, including shared reading, kinesthetic activities, and tactile elements. The materials engage students in mastery of the content through developmentally appropriate instructional approaches such as teacher modeling. In “Word Structure,” Lesson 6, children are given list sheets, word cards, and scissors. Students cut to divide and write 20 words, each time drawing a slash mark indicating the syllable break. “Shared Reading” states: “After reading books with poems, quickly write one or two words with syllables that end in long vowels for students to practice.” “Independent Writing” states: “Prompt students to say words and write letters representing consecutive sounds. Point out the words in their writing that have open syllables.”

Materials support a variety of instructional settings (e.g., whole group, small group, one on one).

• Materials support a whole group instructional setting within the “Teach” section of each core lesson. The majority of lessons are taught as a whole group initially and then assessed one on one or within a small group. For example, in “Letter-Sound Relationships,” Lesson 5, “Recognize and Use Letter Combinations That Represent the /ȯ/ Vowel Sound (as in saw),” teachers are guided to write words such as talk, autumn, taught, paw, and soft on chart paper and have students notice the spelling pattern. After identifying the /ȯ/ sound, students write additional words with the same pattern. The whole group lesson ends with students chorally reading all the words written and sorting the words into the six groups of letter patterns. The “Assess” section of this same lesson guides teachers to observe “students’ spelling to determine their ability to apply their knowledge of letter-sound relationships.” Teachers may also wish to “use Letter-Sound Relationship Assessment E, I, or J,” which are individual assessments.
• PWS materials support partner and small group work. In the “Apply” section of each lesson, students apply the skill learned in the minilesson to an activity with a partner or small group. In “Spelling Patterns,” Lesson 10, students play a “Follow the Path” game with partners or small groups of three or four. To play, the students roll a die and move their game piece along a printed game board. When they land on a space, they write the words that represent the spelling pattern on a list sheet.

Evaluation for 5.3
Materials include supports for Emergent Bilinguals to meet grade-level learning expectations.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. The materials include some supports for Emergent Bilinguals to meet grade-level learning expectations.

Materials include linguistic accommodations (communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded), but they are not commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). Materials encourage some use of students’ first language as a means to linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic development in English, but it is not strategic.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include linguistic accommodations (communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded) commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS).

• Although the “Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study” (“PWS”) materials include linguistic accommodation suggestions, the suggestions are not commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPS. The PWS guide specifically addresses working with Emergent Bilinguals in the section titled “What Are Some Ways of Working Effectively with English Language Learners?” This section provides over 30 suggestions for supporting Emergent Bilinguals in building oral language, reading, writing, and phonics and word study skills. An example from the PWS section is “Use many hands-on activities so that children have the chance to manipulate magnetic letters and tiles, move pictures around, and work with word cards and name cards.” Another suggestion is “Provide a ‘rehearsal’ by working with your English language learners in a small group before you provide the lesson to the entire group.”
• Linguistic accommodation suggestions are also found in each lesson under the “Plan” section, titled “Working with English Language Learners.” For example, in “Word Structure,” Lesson 18, “Recognize and Use Plurals That Add -es to Words That End with a Consonant and o,” the Working with English Language Learners section suggests: “The words you use in the lesson should be part of students’ speaking and listening vocabularies, and it will help a great deal if they have previously experienced the words in shared reading and shared writing. Consider working with small groups to help students understand the many different ways that plurals are formed in English. Seeing and connecting several examples helps them establish categories of plural formations.”

Materials encourage strategic use of students’ first language as a means to linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic development in English.

• Materials encourage the use of students’ first language as a means to linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic development in English; however, the suggestions are not strategic nor based on specific lessons or specific skills. The PWS guide specifically addresses working with Emergent Bilinguals in the What Are Some Ways of Working Effectively with English Language Learners? section. This section provides over 30 suggestions for supporting Emergent Bilinguals in building oral language, reading, writing, and phonics and word study skills. Within these suggestions, some use of the students’ first language or culture is mentioned. For example, the “Oral Language” section suggests: “Bring in children’s familiar world into the classroom through family photos, holiday souvenirs, and objects from home. Expand children’s world by bringing in other objects that will give them new experiences.” The “Reading” section suggests: “Be sure that children’s own cultures are reflected in the material that you read aloud to them and that they read for themselves. They should see illustrations of people like themselves in books. They should see their own cultures reflected in food, celebrations, dress, holidays, everyday events, and so on.” The “Writing” section suggests: “Learn something about the sound system of the children’s first language. That knowledge will give you valuable insights into the way they ‘invent’ or ‘approximate’ their first spellings. For example, notice whether they are using letter sound associations from the first language or whether they are actually thinking of a word in the first language and attempting to spell it.”
• In the “Plan” section of three lessons, the Working with English Language Learners section encourages the use of students’ first language as a means to linguistic, cognitive, and academic development in English; however, the suggestions are not strategic. In “Letter-Sound Relationships,” Lessons 7 and 8, it states: “Be sure that the students are familiar with the meanings of the words used during the lesson and in the application activity. Keep in mind that some sounds may be difficult for English language learners to pronounce because they vary so much from the sounds in their own languages. Accept approximations and provide many opportunities for them to say the words and make their own connections to letters based on what they hear.” In “Word Meaning/Vocabulary,” Lesson 8 states: “The concept of synonyms will give English language learners a tool to use in expanding their speaking, reading, and writing vocabularies. Realize that many English language learners will make mistakes as they try to use synonyms interchangeably. Provide opportunities for students to work with easy synonyms that are in their speaking vocabularies. If you can, give students synonyms in their own language to illustrate the principle.”