Units of Study Grade K

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

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials include some general year-long plans for phonics instruction. Materials include some sequence that outlines the essential knowledge and skills that are taught throughout the year.

Materials demonstrate some progression of skill development from year to year. Lessons follow some progression from simple to more complex concepts (e.g., CVC words before CCCVCC words and single-syllable words before multisyllabic words), with some skills being taught out of order.

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.

• Units of Study in Phonics include an “Overview for Kindergarten,” which outlines each unit, “bend,” and “session” objective. This provides an outline of how the sessions are designed across the year, including the objective for each session’s mini-lesson, share time, and extensions. New learning is included in each of these session sections. This overview is not always specific to the skills being taught, nor is it aligned to the TEKS. For example, in Unit 1, Bend 3, Session 14, the mini-lesson objective is “Segmenting bigger words by syllable.” The “Share” objective is “Rereading to support fluency.” The “Extension” includes “Reviewing CVC words and Short Vowels.”
• The scope and sequence outlines how skills are taught across six categories: “Concepts About Print, Phonological Awareness, Letter Knowledge, Word Knowledge/Word Solving, Phonics, High-Frequency Words.” This includes general topics rather than specific essential knowledge and skills aligned to the TEKS. For example, the objective of Unit 2, Sessions 1–9, is “Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondence by producing the primary sound for each letter.” In Unit 3, Session 6, the phonics objective is “Recognize common phonograms (VC).” This is not specific to the letter-sound correspondences or phonograms taught and does not outline when skills are being directly taught versus when the lesson is reviewing the skill.

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

• The scope and sequence outlines how skills are taught across six categories: Concepts About Print, Phonological Awareness, Letter Knowledge, Word Knowledge/Word Solving, Phonics, and High-Frequency Words. This document does not clearly demonstrate vertical alignment by identifying review of precursor skills or conveying what skills will connect in the grade 1 progression of skill development.
• Materials do not demonstrate vertical alignment that shows the progression of skill development from year to year. Kindergarten students begin with phonological awareness tasks at the syllable level, then progress to the phoneme level, and then to onset-rime. TEKS K.2.Aiii, “demonstrate phonological awareness by identifying the individual words in a spoken sentence,” is absent from the scope and sequence.
• The scope and sequence charts session objectives across the year. It does not specify which skills should be taught, reviewed, and mastered at each grade level and in which order.

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).

• The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study provides a narrative description of how skills are introduced across the materials. Regarding phonograms, blending, and word parts, the guide specifies: “There is progression to this work. Generally, it is easiest for kids to start by taking a few high-frequency VC words that they know well—it, at, an, in—and realize those words give them power to make many more words.” Teachers move on to teach other VC rimes, after which, in the second half of kindergarten, learning centers around short vowels. This provides a general description of skill progression but is not specific to the systematic progression at the unit and session level.
• The “Unit by Unit Overview” outlines that in Unit 3, Session 9, students practice making new words, combining familiar word parts with consonants that they know. It is unclear what “word parts” have already been taught. In Sessions 10–13, students learn new VC word parts. Then, in Session 15, students begin to learn about digraphs before they explicitly work with CVC words in Unit 4, Session 4. This demonstrates an inconsistent progression of skills from simple to more complex.
• Kindergarten lesson objectives combine concepts about print, phonological awareness, and letter knowledge together in Session 1. Students hear and say syllables; identify and produce examples of alliteration; identify initial phonemes of spoken words; recognize uppercase and lowercase letters; and recognize names/sounds of letters, starting with M. This does not demonstrate a systematic progression of these skills from simple to complex.

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 detailed 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.

• Lessons include some detailed guidance for each component of the gradual release of responsibility model. Lessons include teacher modeling; however, materials lack guided and independent student practice of newly learned skills. For example, in Unit 2, Session 6, the teacher explains that as word scientists, students can decide to improve their alphabet charts. The teacher says: “I'm telling you this because the other day, you realized that sometimes, when kids get an alphabet chart and they look at the pictures that are supposed to help them know the sounds that the letters make, they think, ‘Huh? That is a crazy picture.’ I know the other day when we looked at the picture of a cake that was supposed to work for the U, we thought, ‘What?!’ And earlier, when we were study-ing the animal alphabet chart, I don't know if you saw the picture for R, but I did. Look at it now: a mouse! I thought, ‘Huh? Mouse starts with /m/ /m/ M. Why is there a mouse on my R?’” The lesson does not include guidance for each component of the gradual release of responsibility model.
• In Unit 3, Session 10, the teacher reminds students of the work they did in previous sessions: “Today I want to teach you that when you’re reading, you can use all of your powers—pictures power, pointer power, and word-part power—to read.” The teacher reads a text aloud and models how to read words by part instead of one letter at a time. While the lesson includes teacher modeling, the lesson does not include guidance for each component of the gradual release of responsibility model.
• In Unit 4, Session 7, the teacher introduces short E and O and reviews the sound for short I. The teacher adds a column to the pocket chart for the new vowels and begins by reviewing the sound for I. Then, the teacher touches the egg card and says, “E, Egg, /ĕ/,” and the students repeat. The teacher touches the octopus card and says, “O, Octopus, /ŏ/,” and the students repeat. Next, the teacher spreads picture cards on the rug for the students to sort. The students pick a card and work with a partner to decide if their picture’s medial sound is/ ĭ/, /ĕ/, /ŏ/. Then, students hunt for words with / ĭ/, /ĕ/, /ŏ/ in a familiar song, using index cards with the printed verses. In the extensions for this lesson, students use Elkonin boxes to identify medial vowel sound-spellings and sing a song about the middle sound of the word. While this lesson includes teacher modeling and student practice, it does not include 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.

• An “Orientation to the Unit” is included in each unit. This gives the primary goals for each unit and a description. Additionally, teachers read the “Getting Ready” section for guidance on daily routines, necessary teaching materials, texts, and grouping strategies. In Unit 1, Session 3, Getting Ready instructs: “Gather some magnetic letters and letter cards, making sure one of the letter cards has the letter M. Be ready to display the ‘How to Learn a Letter’ anchor chart. Make sure that all children can see the name wall. Select a book for each partnership. These can be any high-interest books from your classroom.”
• Materials contain a teacher edition with annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student materials. These are not included in every lesson. For example, in Unit 2, Session 3, an annotation reads: “Throughout this unit, look for opportunities to return to previously taught high-frequency words in continuous text. You may also want to take this opportunity to add a concrete word to your word wall.”
• In Unit 2, Session 1, an annotation suggests: “You will want all eyes on the large class alphabet chart during the teaching and active engagement. It may be helpful to have students place their small copies on the rug in front of them or have them sit on their charts and pick them up again during rug time.”
• In Unit 3, Session 16, students learn the digraph ch. Materials include “Possible Coaching Moves” in this lesson, which suggest: “1) Wait! A word can’t have two beginnings! Separate and find an ending part. 2) Make sure to read the word and decide if it is a real or fake word. 3) When you are done, say ‘Yee-haw’ and move to find another match.”

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 general guidance that supports the teacher’s delivery of instruction.

Guidance for teachers includes some information about common phonics pattern misconceptions and guiding principles related to specific phonics skills. Guidance for teachers includes general routines for teaching some phonics skills but does not provide detailed, specific instructional strategies. Materials include some general guidance for providing students with feedback. Materials provide some guidance for connecting previously taught phonics skills to new learning. Materials do not include clear 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.

• The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study K–2 includes specific guidance on phonics skills. For example, a chart outlines general descriptions of letter-sound correspondences (e.g., “/d/ makes a stop sound and should only be voiced momentarily. Two of the most challenging letters are D and B. We recommend teaching these letters at least a week apart.”) Another note in the chart specifies, “You will want to teach that the letter G makes more than one sound.”
• Another section of the guide, related to digraphs and blends, states: “Occasionally a child will confuse sh and ch since they sound a bit the same. There are other common confusions. Children will substitute the letter H for CH relying on the name rather than the associated sound of an H.”
• Narrative scripts support lesson delivery and sometimes include suggestions addressing misconceptions and guiding principles related to phonics skills. For example, in Unit 1, Session 4, the teacher guides the students to study a name, focusing on the letter T and the sound /t/. The annotation states: “Because T is a stop-consonant, model the shortness of the /t/ sound. This is not ‘tuh’ but /t/. Correct the kids if they make a ‘tuh’ sound as some of them are sure to do.”
• Notes are included in lessons to provide teacher guidance but do not provide specific information related to phonics misconceptions or guiding principles. In Unit 1, Session 12, students label items in the classroom using letters they know. The teacher writes the word bed, saying the word slowly “like a turtle” to hear the sounds, and provides the physical cue of touching her ears and mouth. Notes in the margin of this lesson indicate that this cue helps to hear the sounds and write the letters in words. The teacher models using the name wall to identify the first letter in bed, noticing that bed starts with b like Ben.

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

• In Unit 1, Session 4, the teacher leads the class in singing the “Guess the Name” song to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell.” The teacher pulls a student’s name and asks questions: “‘What do you notice when you study the name Salima?’ I asked. ‘Turn and tell your partner.’” Then: “‘Some of you noticed that Salima’s name has a lot of small letters. Nod if you noticed that.’ I nodded along with the chil-dren. Others noticed Salima’s name has an m in it, wow! Mabel and Mike’s letter is inside Sali-mmmma’s name. Thumbs up if you noticed that!’” While this multimodal approach supports engagement, it does not offer a systematic and explicit approach to letter identification and naming or other phonics skills.
• In Unit 2, Session 14, the teacher says people who read and write are always adding to their collection of “snap words.” The teacher introduces three “teeny-tiny” words to her students: an, in, and it. The students use the “snap word protocol” steps: 1) read it, 2) study it, 3) spell it, 4) write it, 5) use it to learn these words. This narrative routine does not include specific instruction on what a snap word is or how to approach snap words that are irregular high-frequency words.
• In Unit 3, Session 6, during the mini-lesson, students use their “word-part power” to write a sentence including new words with the rime -in. Materials state: “Help the kids to make more words, putting new initial letters at the front of the rime -at to make and spell new CVC words.” While this provides an opportunity to practice building words with common phonograms by changing the initial consonant, it does not follow a consistent routine or instructional strategy for teaching this skill, such as using Elkonin boxes to blend the sounds or providing step-by-step directions to guide students to manipulate the sounds/letters in words.

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

• Materials include margin notes to support lesson delivery and prompts for student practice. These notes do not address how to provide feedback to students. For example, in Unit 3, Session 7, students use phonograms -it and -an to create new words. A margin note reminds teachers that it is important for students to say the words as they work: “Children need to do both the phonemic work (saying the words, isolating the sounds and parts) and the phonics work (matching sound to letter) to be able to write. There should be a buzz in the room during word study as children say words and sounds out loud to help them write.” It also reminds teachers: “Early in this work you’ll say the sound and the letter. That is strong scaffolding. In later examples, lighten the prompting to give children more of the work to do.” Materials do not include specific guidance for providing students with immediate, corrective feedback.
• There is guidance for introducing lessons, but none for immediate or corrective feedback if students demonstrate difficulty or misconceptions. In Unit 2, Session 6, during “Rug Time,” the teacher says, “I have a feeling that you are just bursting to put some of your own pictures on the alphabet charts.” The teacher models the process, including a think-aloud, saying: “Kindergartners, it’s time to make your own alphabet charts even better! For each letter, think, ‘Is this picture okay, or could I choose a better one?’ If you decide to invent a better picture, make sure the sound of the thing you pick works for that letter. Draw it as carefully as you can, so that people know what you drew.”
• “Possible Coaching Moves” are included in lessons but do not include specific guidance for immediate and corrective feedback. For example, in Unit 5, Session 4, the teacher leads students in a shared reading of a familiar poem, stopping at a partially covered word. The teacher models cross-checking the blend and thinking about what would make sense. Showing a picture of the poem and the initial blend, the teacher says, “Readers, I have good news… There are two more stanzas… I want you to read the first sound, or sounds, if there is a blend, and then think with your partner, ‘What would make sense?’” Possible Coaching Moves are “Make the first two sounds and think about a word that would make sense.” Students look for CVCC words in the poem: talk, buzz, howl. While coaching cues are provided, specific guidance on providing immediate, corrective feedback for decoding blends is not included.

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

• Lessons include reminders of previous lessons to activate prior knowledge. Sessions do not consistently provide specific guidance for connecting phonics skills. For example, in Unit 2, Session 9, during the mini-lesson “When You Know the Alphabet Chart, You Can Use It to Write,” the teacher reminds students that they can use the alphabet chart to help them write. The teacher models using the first sound to write a word. Students write their own stories following the lesson, and the teacher reinforces using the first sound. While this reminder is provided, detailed guidance for connecting previously taught phonics skills to new learning and opportunities to practice are not included.
• Lessons include “Teaching and Active Engagement/Links” to introduce the lesson and remind students of prior learning. For example, in Unit 3, Session 7, the teacher states: “During our last session we found that at and in are power words. With your word-part power, you can make them into a lot of other words. But there are some other words on our snap word pocket chart that are power words too. Try this one: it. Are you ready to do some word magic with it? We’ll do this by talking, not writing. To start, say the word: it. ‘It!’ Add /s/ to it and you get… sit. Take away the /s/ in sit and you are back to… it. Now add /b/ and you have….” This provides a review of previous learning but does not specifically connect to a new skill.
• Lessons do not include scripted instruction to connect previously taught phonics skills to new learning. For example, in Unit 4, Session 5, students read words with short a and short i. During shared reading, the teacher pauses to have the students sound out the words sit, bag, tag, and sad. Then the students read from their baggie books, and the teacher reminds them to say each sound in the word to figure out what it is. The lesson does not provide prior instruction or reminders of the sounds of short a or i. Materials do not provide detailed guidance for connecting previously taught phonics skills to new learning.

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

• General guidance for lesson pacing is included in the “Guide to Phonics Workshop.” For example, it explains that each phonics instructional lesson includes a connection (approximately one minute), teaching (two to three minutes), and active engagement/link (two to three minutes). Time frames are not specified for “Rug Time,” “Share,” or “Extensions.”
• Lessons include Extension activities but do not provide detailed guidance on how long or when to use them. For example, in Unit 4, Session 3, Extension 2 guides teachers to remind students “of their vowel power and introduce a game to support phoneme segmentation.” The teacher says, “Writers, let’s celebrate our growing vowel power with a new twist on a familiar game!” Pointing under the words, the teacher sings, “What Are All the Sounds You Hear?” to the tune of “London Bridge.” The teacher coaches the children to listen to the letter sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of the word and practice with additional words such as sag, rid, ham, and sick. Guidance is not included regarding how long to spend on these extension and review activities.
• Modeling and guided practice is included in each mini-lesson. Time stamps are not included to support lesson pacing. In Unit 4, Session 4, during the mini-lesson “Writing Sentences with Short A and Short I CVC Words,” the teacher invites the class to make new words by changing the medial sound or the initial or final consonant of a CVC word. The teacher demonstrates “how to use all your powers to write a sentence that is easy to read.” The class segments CVC words to match the vowel sound. Students write additional sentences on whiteboards. Guidance does not support pacing the lesson, such as via specific time suggestions for each component of the gradual release model.
• In Unit 5, Session 2, the students learn how to read words with blends. The teacher models by saying grrrr to make sure students can hear the initial sound of the blend. Together, they identify the sounds in target words, glop and clop. Next, the teacher presents a blend chart to the students and guides them to practice making the sounds in the blends and matching those to pictures. The components of the lesson introduction and guided practice do not include time stamps to guide the pacing of the instruction.
   

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 review of phonics skills, with some cumulative review activities but not with decodable text.

Materials include some 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.

• The materials include some opportunities for review and practice activities throughout the curriculum. These activities are randomly presented, occurring during different parts of the lessons, including during “Rug Time,” “Extensions,” “Small Groups,” and “Share Time.” They do not consistently offer cumulative review. In Unit 1, Session 2, practice activities include sorting pictures of words that have M at the beginning of the word and words that do not. The class makes an “M” book using pictures that start with /m/. They sing a song that includes a student’s name, Mike, and the sound /m/.
• In Unit 3, Session 1, students learn to write sentences. The teacher models saying the sentence aloud, counting the words, and sounding out salient sounds in the words. Then, the students practice writing their sentences in the air and on their whiteboards. Students use pointers to read their sentences. This provides a multimodal approach to encoding text but does not specifically provide intentional cumulative review and practice.
• In Unit 5, Session 4, during Rug Time, materials state: “Readers, I have good news…There are two more stanzas…I want you to read the first sound, or sounds, if there is a blend, and then think with your partner, ‘What would make sense?’” There is guidance on CVCC words in poems—talk, buzz, howl. This does not provide intentional cumulative practice of phonics skills.
• The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study suggests an activity to cumulatively practice reading “snap words,” “Emptying Your Snap Word Pouch/Blacking Out Your Word Wall.” The materials provide 50 words that students are assessed on reading correctly and easily. It is recommended that this is completed after Unit 3; it is designed to be an informal assessment rather than intentional review and practice.
• In Small Groups to Support Phonics, Small Group 12, the teacher shares with students that the alphabet chart is a tool to find out how to make letters and identify letters and their sounds. The teacher gives students an alphabet chart and magnetic letters. Students choose a magnetic letter, say the letter name and sound, and place it on the chart.
• The “Online Resources” contain a “Cumulative Review Guide” for the grade level. The recommendation is that the teacher might use the guide as a menu, selecting activities to use throughout the week based on assessment data. The teacher can use the lesson “Sound It Out Power” to provide cumulative review of sound-spelling patterns. After students have practiced onset-rime blending with a particular rime, the teacher says: “‘Guess what? You are so good at using your word part power to read words with…’ (Name two rimes students have studied) ‘that you are ready to activate a new power—sound it out power! You can use your sound it out power to read words sound by sound. Watch, I’ll show you how.’ Show a word card and model reading it sound by sound then blending it. Touch under each letter as you say its sound, then sweep your finger underneath the word to blend it. ‘Let’s do it together!’” This activity can be used interchangeably with different sound-spelling patterns.

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

• In Unit 3, Session 6, students use phonograms -at and -in to spell words. Individual letters and sounds were taught in Unit 1. The “snap words” at and in were taught in Unit 2, Session 14. The teacher calls students’ attention to the snap word at and tells them that it is a magic word that can be part of many words. The teacher reads a poem with missing -at words and gives students the initial sound to figure out the words rat, cat, fat, and mat. The teacher tells the students that not only can they recognize the words because of the -at sound, they can spell them too. The teacher models spelling Pat and rat, and the students spell more -at words with their partner on their whiteboards. The teacher then has the students use this new “word-part power” to write a sentence with words that have the phonogram -in. In this lesson, students practice with previously taught phonograms.
• In Unit 3, Session 7, during Rug Time, teacher guidance states, “Invite kids to use magnetic letters and word cards with the four snap words at, an, it, and in to attempt making new words on their own.” The teacher says: “Super Readers, you have been sharing magnetic boards with all the kids in your club. Thanks for such good sharing. Right now, I'm going to hand every partnership your own magnetic board—and to do that, I’m going to ask you to all go to your reading workshop seats, sitting with your partner. I’ll pass out magnetic boards and some letters for each of you.” The teacher then states: “Here is the challenge: will you see if you can take the letters and make some words of your own? I'll put some word cards on your table that can help you. Start with at.” The teacher distributes word cards for at, an, it, and in to each partnership and coaches students to start by using the first of those small words to make other words on their magnetic boards. As students work, the teacher states: “I wonder if you will use your word-part power to make another word out of at. Hmm, what letter could you put in front of at to make another word?” Word cards and magnetic letters are consistently used to practice known phonograms. The lesson focuses on reviewing the skill of “word-part power” rather than on an intentional review of a phonics skill that has been explicitly taught.
• While students work, the teacher says “You're making so many words. Can I give you one tip? After you make a word, read it, and ask yourself, ‘Is this a real word or a fake word?’ For example, if I made this word,’ I put zin on my magnetic board, ‘I can read it using what I know. This word says zin. But I want to ask myself, ‘Is this a real word or a fake word? Zin, real word or fake word.’” This cue supports students to reflect and reread but does not support intentional practice of a previously taught skill.
• In Unit 5, Session 4, during Rug Time, the materials state: “Readers, I have good news…There are two more stanzas…I want you to read the first sound, or sounds, if there is a blend, and then think with your partner, ‘What would make sense?’” The lesson provides some guidance on practice with reading CVCC words in poems, such as talk, buzz, and howl.

Decodable texts incorporate cumulative practice of taught phonics skills.

• The “Decodable Guide” explains that the program’s readers follow a scope and sequence aligned to the phonics progression in The Units of Study in Reading, but that most phonics programs also follow this progression. These decodables are not specifically referred to or used for practice within The Units of Study in Phonics. They are designed to supplement reading programs.
• The materials include “Jump Rope Readers.” These are decodable texts that include grade-level high-frequency words and sound-spelling patterns. For example, the book Tam and Min in the “Red Series,” includes high-frequency words and, can, see, and the and practice with the short i and short a in CVC words. These books are not specifically referenced in the Units of Study in Phonics grade K sessions.
• The Jump Rope Readers outline the phonics patterns practiced in each set. For example, Set 1 includes words with m, t, n, s, ss, and a; Set 2 adds c, k, ck, r, u, and h; Set 3 adds b, e, f, ff, l, ll, z, and zz; Set 4 adds v, w, y, and x; Set 5 adds qu, words with open syllables, the long i sound of y, and digraph ch; Set 6 adds voiced and unvoiced sounds of th, ng, and wh.
• The “Cumulative Review Guide,” found in the online resources, includes activities to practice and reinforce sound-spelling patterns in connected texts. For example, to practice decoding the short a sound in CVC words, it is recommended that after practicing decoding and encoding sample words in the “Word Part Power” activity and “Use Your Word Part Power to Write,” the teacher introduce “Mabel story #1,” Mabel’s Cat. This story includes short, repetitive sentences with the spelling pattern, such as “Mabel is mad, mad, mad!” and “The cat sat in Mabel’s lap.”
   

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

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials provide some systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to alphabet knowledge.

Materials provide some sequence for introducing letter names and their corresponding sounds. Materials provide some direct instruction for teaching the identification of all 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase) and their corresponding sounds. Materials provide some direct instruction on forming the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase). Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) alphabet knowledge in isolation and in context of meaningful print.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a research based, systematic sequence for introducing letter names and their corresponding sounds.

• The “Guide to Phonics Workshop” outlines the rationale and suggested sequence for letter study, specifically stating: “Because we highlight that phonics is for writing, we prioritize letters that are used frequently when writing. We also value whether the name of the letter helps kids to learn that letter’s sound. We agree with those who argue that it is wise to begin with high-utility letters. The sequence we recommend is: MSTNARLDFIVPKXEBZJOCHUWGQ Y.”
• Additional guidance for the sequence of letter instruction is included in the introduction to Unit1: “The sequence we recommend also spreads out letters that are easily confused, such as P and B. Vowels are dispersed, with the easier and highest utility vowels taught first.”
• Materials provide a recommended sequence for introducing letter names and their corresponding sounds. For example, in Unit 1, “Orientation,” materials state: “The way that the unit unfolds is that you’ll use your children’s names and the letters in those names, to teach phonics concepts. You’ll draw names from a ‘Star Jar,’ doing some quiet machinations so that you control the sequence of names and in that way, challenge your class to study letters in a sequence that roughly matches one we argue for in the Phonics Units of Study, Grades K–1.”
• The introduction to Unit 1 suggests that the teacher study the online resources for detailed advice on sequencing letters based on the names in the classroom. The recommended sequence is systematic but relies on students’ names for introduction to the letters. Each letter is not explicitly taught.

Materials provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching the identification of all 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase) and their corresponding sounds.

• Materials do not provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching the identification of all 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase) and their corresponding sounds. For example, in Unit 1, Orientation, materials instruct teachers to use their students’ names to introduce all 26 letters, following a suggested sequence found in the materials. Teachers follow a routine of identifying each new letter’s name, sound, and formation pathway and generating words that begin with that letter; however, the routine is only explicitly included in lessons for the letters M, S, T, N, and W and not for all 26 letters.
• In Unit 1, Session 3, the teacher introduces the letter M. The teacher displays the poster “How to Learn a Letter.” The steps include “Name it! Sound it! Write it! Use it!” The teacher points to the letter M. The narrative says: “‘Let’s say the name of this letter together.’ I pointed to the giant M that I had placed on the easel. ‘Everybody point to the letter and say it with me.’ I nodded as the class pointed and called out ‘M.’ ‘Let’s whisper its name.’” Then, the teacher says, “Let’s sound it together. M says, Mmmmmm, like in Mabel.” The teacher leads the students to write the letter following the letter formation pathway provided. Students sky-write and rug-write the letter. This repeats with the lowercase letter. While this method directly teaches the letter, sound, and formation, it is not included for every letter. The teacher must internalize the routine to teach additional letters as they are introduced with student names.
• In Unit 2, Lesson 1, the students study their alphabet chart and notice that the keywords start with the letter sounds depicted on the chart. The teacher points out that the keyword for x is fox and tells the students, “There has to be a reason why the fox is with the letter x. X goes with /x/.” The teacher then draws three Elkonin boxes and stretches the sounds in fox, writing the letters in each box as she goes. While this does show the students that the x is at the end of the word, she doesn’t share with them that the word was picked because there are no English words that begin with the letter X when it represents its most common representation of the two sounds /k//s/. However, this session does not provide clear, precise instructions and directions for introducing each letter and its sound.

Materials provide direct (explicit) instruction on forming the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase).

• The “Online Resources” include a document that provides the “Letter Formation Verbal Pathways” for each uppercase and lowercase letter. Verbal pathways are used in teaching new letters but are not explicitly included for each letter within the session materials.
• In Unit 1, Session 4, the students learn the letter name and sound of S. The teacher also instructs students on how to write the letter. The script provided in the materials states: “‘Before we can own the letter S, let’s practice making it the right way.’ I guided the students through writing the letter S in the air as I voiced the letter formation pathway. ‘To write the letter, bump around, slide down, bump around the other way and stop.’” The instructions include a model, then continue: “And guess what? Lowercase s is written the same way, just a little smaller. Let’s try the S again, this time making it smaller, so it’s lower.” While the materials provide some instruction, it is written in narrative format, and direct (explicit) instruction is lacking. In the extension for this lesson, students learn the letter T following the letter formation instructions.
• In Small Groups to Support Phonics, Small Group 8, materials outline the routine for learning new letters using the letter V. The teacher coaches students through naming the letter, saying the sound, writing the uppercase and lowercase version, and generating words that begin with the same sound. While the sequence and routine are explained in the teacher materials, the lessons in the units do not explicitly include instruction for all letters, nor do the lessons provide direct (explicit) instruction.
• In Small Group 5, the teacher says, “We are going to practice writing an important letter, one letter you will probably use all the time.” The teacher guides students to write the letter R on whiteboards. The lessons in the units do not explicitly include instruction for all letters, nor do they provide direct (explicit) instruction.

Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) alphabet knowledge in isolation and in context of meaningful print.

• Frequent activities and resources are included early in the year to develop, practice, and reinforce alphabet knowledge in isolation. Ongoing practice across the year for alphabet knowledge primarily occurs in small group instruction.
• In Unit 1, Session 2, practice activities include sorting pictures of words that have M at the beginning of the word and words that do not. The class makes an “M” book using pictures that start with /m/. Students also sing a song that includes a student’s name, Mike, and the sound /m/.
• In Unit 1, Session 4, there is an “Extension” activity in which students add pictures to the “M” book. Another Extension activity asks students to label a drawing with letters they have learned. The teacher reminds them that they could label “M for me” or “M for mom.”
• In Unit 1, Session 4, students learn a song to help them remember the sound that /s/ makes, and they sort picture cards to identify words with an initial /s/ sound. In an Extension activity, the students prepare words that begin with /s/ to create a letter book. In another Extension activity, the students revise a piece of writing they had done previously to see where they could label something with an s. This provides practice in a whole group setting or during “Rug Clubs.” It does not support independent practice.
• In Unit 1, Session 5, Extension 3, the teacher sings the alphabet song. Using the alphabet song chart for reference, the teacher points to the letters as they sing. As they get to letters that they have learned, students are encouraged to shout those letters extra loud and jump up and down.
• In Small Group 11, the teacher provides students with letter cards for all 26 letters and a picture from the alphabet chart matching each letter. Students work with partners to touch each letter, say the letter’s name and sound, and match the letter to its picture.
• In Small Group 12, the teacher shares with students that the alphabet chart is a tool to find out how to make letters and identify letters and their sounds. The teacher gives students an alphabet chart and magnetic letters. Students choose a magnetic letter, say the letter name and sound, and place it on the chart.

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

The materials do not meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials do not provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review related to the alphabetic principle.

Materials do not systematically introduce letter-sound relationships in an order that quickly allows for application to basic decoding and encoding. Materials do not provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for connecting phonemes to letters within words. Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode simple words both in isolation and in decodable connected text.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials systematically introduce letter sound relationships in an order that quickly allows for application to basic decoding and encoding.

• Materials do not systematically introduce letter-sound relationships in an order that quickly allows for application to basic decoding and encoding. According to the scope and sequence, in Unit 1, Sessions 1–3, students learn about the names and sounds of letters, particularly the letter M; Session 4 covers the letters S and T; Session 5 covers the letter N; Session 6 covers the letters R and L. Session 7 covers the letter A. Session 15 covers the letters W, D, O, H. While materials include an order for introducing letter-sound relationships, not all letters and sounds are explicitly taught.
• In Unit 1, the materials instruct teachers to use the names of their students to introduce all 26 letters, roughly following a suggested sequence. Materials recommend teachers follow a routine of identifying the name, sound, and formation pathway of each new letter and generating words that begin with that letter. However, materials only include lessons for the letters M, S, T, N, and W. The teacher is expected to follow this routine for the rest of the letters, based on the letter pulled from the “Star Jar.” The suggested sequence is listed as M, S, T, N, A, R, L, D, F, I, V, P, K, X, E, B, Z, J, O, C, H, U, W, G, Q, Y. However, the materials do not include lessons for all letter names and sounds. Instruction focuses on using student names to introduce letters and sounds, which is not explicit and does not specifically allow for quick application to basic decoding and encoding.

Materials provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for connecting phonemes to letters within words.

• Materials do not provide scripted direct (explicit) instruction for connecting phonemes to letters within words. For example, in Unit 1, Session 1, the teacher points out that each letter has its own name. The students cheer each letter to spell the name out loud, using their bodies to show tall, small, and hanging letters. The teacher uses a name with the initial /m/ sound to introduce words that start with the target sound that students provide. Students explore the name Mike. The teacher points out that each letter has its own name. The teacher tells students the first letter is M and the sound is /m/. Student names are shared in this fashion to incidentally introduce letter sounds, using the Star Jar filled with students’ names. Students are taught to learn a letter by naming it, sounding it out, writing it, and using it. As a part of this routine, there are suggested directions on how to write the capital and lowercase letter, and students search for the letter in a book. Students then study an S name and a T name. Students look for things in their classroom and for pictures in books that start with the target sound. Students are taught the alphabet song and emphasize the learned letters. If the class does not include a student whose name begins with the target letter, the teacher is encouraged to use a name of a teacher at the school or a character from a book.
• In Unit 1, Session 2, the teacher first sings the song “Guess the Name” with the students. Students listen and guess the name of their peer that starts with that letter sound and name. The teacher shows students a sentence strip with a student’s name on it. The teacher coaches students to look at the name to identify letters, count letters, and analyze the size and shape of letters. The teacher models how to cheer the student’s name and say and spell out the letters in the name. The teacher cues students to only look at the first letter of the name and share what sound it makes. The teacher models this sequence several times using different student names. In the teaching portion of the session, the teacher script reads: “Let’s count how many letters are in the name Mike. Remember each of the letters in the word Mike has its own name. Let’s cheer each of the letters inside the word Mike. Ready? Stand up straight in your rug spot and cheer with me.” Later in the session, materials state: “Let’s look at the first letter in this name. This is the letter M. And M goes /mmm/, Mike. M goes /mmm/ like in Mike. /Mmm/…Mabel. /Mmm?/…mom. Oh, that’s a good one! /Mmm/…me.” While materials include some instruction for connecting phonemes to letters in words, the script provided is not direct (explicit) instruction and is written in a narrative format.
• In Unit 1, Session 4, students engage in a name study of a child’s name that begins with the letter S to learn this letter and the sound it makes. The script provided for teachers states: “‘Let’s learn this letter so we have it in our back pocket,’ I said. ‘Hello class, I’d like you to meet…’ and I pointed to the letter. The class chimed in ‘S.’ I cupped my hand behind my ear, the gesture suggesting I wanted to know the letter’s sound. They said /s/, so I added ‘/s/ Salima, /s/ snake, /s/ Stegosuraus, /s/. The letter S makes the /s/ sound, so anytime I hear the /s/ sound at the beginning of a word I know it starts with /s/ S.’” This includes some demonstration of the skill, but it does not include explicit modeling. The script provided is not direct (explicit) instruction and is written in a narrative format.

• Materials include some instructions for connecting phonemes to letters in words, but instruction is not direct and explicit. For example, in Unit 4, Session 3 begins with a phonological awareness game known as “The Robot Game,” which is played as a whole group to support students with segmenting the individual phonemes in CVC words with short A and short I sounds. The teacher says a word, and the students have to translate it into robot language. The teacher begins by demonstrating the word mad and making a robotic movement with the arms and torso while segmenting the sounds, “/M/-/a/-/d/.” Then, all together, the class makes the sounds in the word mad, one sound at a time, using robot language. This session involves segmenting and blending individual phonemes in words but does not provide examples of scripted explicit instruction for connecting phonemes to letters within words. The whole group session continues with playing the robot game using two more words, hip and map. The teacher reiterates to the students that to be able to write with vowels, “you have to do the robot talk in your mind.” The session continues with segmenting, using sorting of different sounds in words. Students use their “vowel shields” to activate “vowel power” to hear the vowel sounds in the words in order to sort them effectively.
• In Unit 4, Session 12, the teacher sings the “Vowel Shield Song,” singing “A-E-I-O-U” to the tune of “Bingo Was His Name-O.” Students point to the vowels on their vowel shields as they say the letter name. The teacher writes the word sip, and students read the word and point to the letter i on their shields. The teacher and students repeat the song, using the short vowel words peg, chat, cot, thin, and mug. The teacher writes each word, and students read the word and point to the matching vowel on their shields. The script provided for teachers states: “Let’s get started. Let’s see what kind of magic your vowel power can work!’ I pointed to my top lip as I said, ‘I’m thinking of the top part of your mouth. Yes, your lip.’ I said the word lip slowly. ‘You can make this word! Work together to spell it on your folders.’ I watched as students moved three post-it letters down, noticing who spelled automatically, who used a word part, who segmented the word slowly, and who was not yet matching letters and sounds.” This lesson does not include explicit modeling and demonstration of the skill leading to student practice.

Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter sound correspondence to decode simple words both in isolation and in connected text.

• Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode simple words in isolation. Students use whiteboards, charts, Elkonin boxes, and songs to learn letter-sound correspondences. Some lessons focus on learning words by memorization rather than applying letter-sound correspondence to decode. For example, in Unit 1, Session 13, students learn the “How to Learn a Word” routine: “1. Read it, 2. Study it, 3. Spell it, 4. Write it, 5. Use it with the focus word me.” This lesson is designed to learn a word by memorization (“snap words”) and not based on the alphabetic principle.
• Word sorts are used to support practice in applying letter-sound correspondence to decode simple words in isolation. For example, in Unit 4, Session 3, students sort picture cards by determining the medial sound in each CVC word. Then students practice identifying the difference between short a and short i. While materials include some activities and resources for students to apply their understanding of letter-sound correspondence, the majority of cumulative review occurs during extension and small group instruction.
• Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode simple words in connected text. The lessons do not explicitly focus on the application of the alphabetic principle to decode and often include texts with letter-sound correspondences that have not yet been taught. For example, in Unit 4, Session 5, students participate in a shared reading of “Mabel’s book” (a how-to book) with short a and short i CVC words. This text includes the reading of words outside of CVC words. An example sentence from the text is, “Do not sit on your shield.”
   

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.

Materials do not meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials do not provide systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review to support the development of oral syllable awareness skills, as outlined in the TEKS.

Materials do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing oral syllable awareness activities that begins with simple skills (detecting, blending, and segmenting syllables) and gradually transitions to more complex skills such as adding, deleting, and substituting syllables. Materials do not include scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching oral syllable awareness skills. Materials do not incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a systematic sequence for introducing oral syllable awareness activities that begins with simple skills (detecting, blending, and segmenting syllables) and gradually transitions to more complex skills such as adding, deleting, and substituting syllables.

• Materials do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing oral syllable awareness activities that begins with simple skills (detecting, blending, and segmenting syllables) and gradually transitions to more complex skills such as adding, deleting, and substituting syllables. For example, A Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 2, includes the strands of early phonics development along with additional information about rhyming, segmenting, and manipulating. The materials state that the program follows a hierarchy of skills in phonemic awareness, starting from rhyming and hearing phonemes and moving to blending and segmenting sounds. This does not specifically address oral syllable awareness.
• The sequence of progression for oral syllable awareness is not systematic and does not consistently begin with simple skills and gradually transition to more complex skills. Students do not have opportunities to add, delete, and substitute syllables. For example:
  • In Unit 1, according to the scope and sequence, students are taught to hear and say syllables; count, pronounce, and segment syllables in spoken words; and segment words into syllables.
  • The phonics scope and sequence for Units 2–5 does not include oral syllable awareness lessons.
     

Materials include scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching oral syllable awareness skills.

• Materials do not include scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching oral syllable awareness skills. For example, in Unit 1, Session 5, students learn that syllables can help readers and writers tackle long words. In the teaching portion of the session, students sing familiar songs to practice clapping beats/rhythms. The teacher explains that words have beats and those beats are called syllables. Students use the day’s “star name,” Natalia, to listen for syllables. Materials state: “‘Now let’s clap it out together. One clap for each part of the name. Ready?’ We clapped it together, ‘Na-tal-ia!’ I led kids in clapping her name several times.” Students look at the name card to notice that Natalia’s name is longer than Mike’s name. While some instruction occurs in oral syllable awareness, the instruction is not direct (explicit) and is connected to print.
• In Unit 4, Session 14, the teacher models how to modify robot talk to accommodate bigger, multisyllabic words. The teacher demonstrates clapping the syllables in big words to help with hearing all the sounds. During the teaching portion of the lesson, an example of the teacher script provided states: “‘Next word: congratulations. Oh my. That’s a big word. What should we do to tackle that word?’ Some students suggested we break it into syllables, and I nodded and clapped the syllables and said, ‘Con-grat-u-la-tions.’ Then I repeated the first syllable: Con-Do you hear the on in there? I do! I recorded the first part of that word. ‘Now let’s check that I have a vowel in the syllable…O…check!’” The session continues in this narrative format. This lesson is connected to print, so it does not specifically focus on oral syllable awareness skills.

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

• Materials do not incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review). For example, in Unit 4, Session 13, students hear, say, blend and segment syllables in spoken words. The teacher starts the lesson by telling the class that the class mascot, Mabel, is excited because she noticed her name has two vowels. The teacher tells the students that not only does every word have a vowel, but every syllable has one. Materials prompt the teacher to state: “Remember that syllables are beats in a word. We used to clap each syllable in our name study, right? Let’s clap the syllables in Mabel’s name and hunt for vowels inside each one.” The class claps the name and looks for a vowel in each syllable. The students then read a note that has multisyllabic words and clap the syllables and highlight each vowel in the syllables. While the students practice with syllables, this is not an oral syllable awareness skill, as the students are looking at print throughout the entire lesson.
• In Unit 4, Session 14, the materials instruct the teacher to invite students to write on whiteboards with their “Rug Clubs,” giving them an opportunity to spell single-syllable and multisyllabic words. The students practice clapping the syllables “like a robot” to help them hear all the sounds. During “Rug Time,” the teacher is directed to dictate a closing sentence to an RSVP letter. The closing statement is “Hugs and Kisses, Kindergarten.” Students are directed to write the closing statement on their whiteboards. While the students clap syllables, students use this skill to help spell words, and the activity is connected to print.
   

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.

The materials partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials provide some systematic and direct (explicit) instruction, practice, and review to support the development of phonemic awareness skills, as outlined in the TEKS.

Materials do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities that begins with identifying, blending, and segmenting phonemes (the smallest unit of sound) and gradually transitions to more complex manipulation practices such as adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes. Materials include some scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching phonemic awareness. Materials include some direct (explicit) detailed guidance for connecting phonemic awareness skills to the alphabetic principle, helping to transition students from oral language activities to basic decoding and encoding. Materials include some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a systematic sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities that begins with identifying, blending, and segmenting phonemes (the smallest unit of sound) and gradually transitions to more complex manipulation practices such as adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes.

• Materials outline the phonemic awareness skills taught in each unit, but they do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities that begins with identifying, blending, and segmenting phonemes (the smallest unit of sound) and gradually transitions to more complex manipulation practices such as adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes. For example, over the five units, the scope and sequence for phonemic awareness instruction includes:
  • In Unit 1, students are taught to identify the initial phonemes of spoken words; change the beginning phoneme to make a new word; hear and say the beginning phoneme; and hear salient sounds in words.
  • In Unit 2, students are taught to identify and produce words that begin with the same sound; identify the initial phoneme in spoken words; match words with the same beginning sound; identify and produce words that start with the same sound; say words slowly and identify salient sounds in words; identify the initial, medial, and final sounds in spoken words; and change initial phonemes to make new words.
  • In Unit 3, students are taught to say words slowly to hear sounds in words; identify and use initial, final, and salient sounds when writing words; say words slowly to identify salient sounds in spoken words; add or substitute individual sounds in simple, one-syllable spoken words to make new words; hear initial digraphs; identify words with the same initial digraph; and isolate initial digraphs.
  • In Unit 4, students are taught to segment and blend individual phonemes in words; say words slowly to hear sounds in words; isolate and pronounce the initial sounds, medial vowel, and final sounds in spoken words; manipulate individual phonemes to make new words; blend individual phonemes in words; and segment individual phonemes in spoken words.
  • In Unit 5, students are taught to segment words to isolate phonemes in unfamiliar words; hear both sounds in a blend; isolate initial blends in words; hear the ending phoneme in a syllable; generate words with the same initial sound or blend; hear the difference between the short /e/ sound and short /i/ sound in words; and hear the difference between the short /a/, /e/, /o/, /u/ sounds and the long /a/, /e/, /o/, /u/ sounds in words.
• Materials teach skills throughout the units in a non-systematic way. More complex skills like phoneme manipulation occur in Unit 1, and segmenting phonemes occurs in Unit 4. Additionally, all phonemic awareness lessons are connected to print. While the scope and sequence identifies specific skills for teaching phonemic awareness, sessions include skills outside of the scope and sequence and often rely on student discovery rather than a direct (explicit) approach.

Materials include scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching phonemic awareness.

• Materials do not include scripted direct (explicit) instruction for teaching phonemic awareness. Most lessons that include phonemic awareness skills are connected to print. For example, in Unit 2, Session 1, the students practice reading an alphabet chart by naming the letter, keyword, and sound. Students look closely at the chart and notice that capital and lowercase letters are on the chart, notice the pictures represent the sounds that the letters make and notice the shapes of the letters. The teacher’s script states: “Here’s my question. Why are there pictures all over this chart? Why is there an apple here? I mean, I like apples, but why isn’t it a peach? Or a tomato? Talk with each other and try to solve this mystery.” While the alphabet chart includes pictures, the chart also includes uppercase and lowercase letters. This lesson relies on student discovery of concepts rather than direct (explicit) instruction. While students identify phonemes, they are connecting letters to sounds rather than identifying spoken phonemes in words.
• In Unit 2, Session 13, the teacher discusses why all the sounds in a word matter, modeling hearing a sound in the beginning, middle, and end of a word. The teacher models labeling a drawing, saying each word slowly, isolating sounds, and writing. Students label a picture with beginning and ending sounds. This lesson does not explicitly teach oral phonemic awareness before connecting to print. The teacher script states: “Writers, once you are with a couple of sounds for a word—at least a first and a last sound—you can write more than just labels beside items in your pictures. You can actually write sentences, or complete thoughts about your pictures. What might this writer want to say about their miniature kitchen? Let’s help her write a sentence. Turn and talk with a partner about your ideas.’ I listened as children talked and soon reconvened the class. ‘So let’s help her write, See my little cup and table.’” The teacher does not model hearing each sound in the word to encode, and this is not a phonemic awareness lesson.
• The materials include some scripted instruction in phonemic awareness, providing the opportunity to practice isolating the medial phoneme. In Unit 4, Session 3, the teacher names the teaching point: “Today I want to teach you that your vowel power grows stronger when you listen very closely. You can study the sounds that vowels make and notice how one vowel sounds different from another. Some vowels make a short sound like /a/ in apple or /i/ in igloo.” Then, the teacher leads the students in a sort, listening for the medial vowel sound. Using an anchor chart and pictures of rag and wig as column headers, the teacher models: “This is a bag. Let’s use robot talk to hear the vowel and to think about which vowel matches the sound. /b/, /aaaaaa/, /g/. Hmm, does the middle of bag sound like the middle of rag or wig? Baaag, raaaag. I think those two middle sounds match!” Then, students practice with additional words, tag and twig.
• In Unit 3, Session 4, students learn to hear and record more sounds in words to write a letter to “Reader-Man.” This lesson does not provide explicit instruction in oral phonemic awareness and blending before connecting to print. The teacher script states: “‘Dear Reader-Man, that’s three words. The first word is Dear. I don’t know that word in a snap. /d/-/d/-ear. I hear the /d/ sound at the beginning of the word. D makes a /d/ sound.’ I uncapped my marker and added a capital D on the page of chart paper and then said, ‘Now I need to write Reader-Man.’” The script continues with the students stopping the teacher because only the starting sound was written on the chart. The script continues: “I said the word slowly, stretching it down my arm. ‘Deeeeerrr. /d/-/e/-/r/. I hear three sounds. Let me figure out which letter makes each sound. /d/ D. /e/ e. /r/ r.’”
• The materials do not include explicit and systematic instruction in blending or manipulating phonemes.

Materials include direct (explicit) detailed guidance for connecting phonemic awareness skills to the alphabetic principle, helping to transition students from oral language activities to basic decoding and
encoding.

• In Unit 1, Session 11, the teacher demonstrates how to change the initial sound in a name to create a word that rhymes. Students are encouraged to practice changing the initial sound with other names. This lesson provides the opportunity to change the beginning phoneme in a word to make a new word, but there is no specific guidance to support connecting phonemic awareness to the alphabetic principle.
• In Unit 2, Session 2, the teacher shows a strip with a student’s name, and the class tries to recognize it. The students also count the letters in the name and study the shape, size, and height of the letters. However, the materials do not include direct (explicit) detailed guidance for connecting phonemic awareness skills.
• In Unit 4, Session 3, Extension 3, students practice segmenting words using Elkonin boxes and writing the letters. The teacher displays a three-part Elkonin box and says: “Today we are going to use this tool again. We are going to place a letter in a box for each sound you say and hear.” The teacher models saying the word mat slowly, stretching out the sounds and writing the letters in the box as the phonemes are said. The teacher repeats this routine with the words mad, had, pin, zip, lap, and sit. The students follow along, writing the letters with their fingers on the rug. This provides an opportunity to practice transitioning from oral phonemic awareness to simple encoding. This lesson does not specifically reinforce decoding. The sidebar note provides guidance for the teacher: “Phonemic awareness instruction is especially effective when coupled with letter work. This helps children use what their eyes can see to help make letter-sound connections.”
• In Unit 4, Session 4, students begin to write sentences with short a and short i CVC words. The teacher invites the class to make new words by changing the medial sound or initial or final consonant of a CVC word. Materials state: “‘Let’s try writing that sentence together. I see dad dig. First, let’s figure out how many words are in the sentence.’ I restated the sentence, putting a finger up for each word. ‘There are four words. Okay, what’s our first word? I. You know that word. It’s up on our word wall…What’s our next word? See! Another snap word!’ I wrote the word see, and again invited the children to reread with me what we had written so far: I see.” Prior to this lesson, in the “Connection” section, the teacher guided students to practice making CVC words with the letters H, P, A, T, I, S, F, and D. This chaining practice helps students begin to practice manipulating phonemes in connection to print. The teacher guidance beside the lesson states: “The word choice in this connection is a deliberate one. The selection of different vowel phonograms will channel learners to attend to the short vowels in the middle of the words.”

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

• Materials incorporate some activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills but do not include cumulative review. The materials include some activities and resources, such as games, songs, sorts, and picture cards, to practice and reinforce skills. For example, in Unit 1, Session 1, the teacher introduces the first letter and sound in the class mascot’s name, Mabel. The teacher provides examples of other words that start the same way. Students are invited to work with a partner to find items in the classroom with the same initial sound as the name of the class mascot. Students create a name necklace for the class mascot and post the name on the name wall.
• In Unit 1, Extension 3, students play the game “One of These Words Is Not Like the Others,” focused on listening to the ending sound in pictured words and identifying which picture is different. The teacher shows pictures of dog, bag, pig, and man, then sings the scripted song. When students identify a word with a different ending, they give a thumbs up and share their word aloud. This game can be practiced with different picture cards and word endings.
• Students use picture sorting to practice phoneme identification. These activities provide practice and reinforcement but not specifically cumulative review. In Unit 4, Session 3, the teacher releases students to “Rug Time” to practice sorting pictures and discriminating short vowel sounds. The teacher passes out picture cards. Students work together to say the words of the picture slowly and sort by the medial vowel sound, practicing phoneme identification.
• In Unit 4, Session 5, the teacher introduces a song to practice blending phonemes in words. The song is to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” The teacher sings, “If you think you know this word, raise your hand. If you think you know this word, then tell me what you’ve heard. If you think you know this word, raise your hand: /t/-/a/-/p/.” The teacher sings the song, filling in the phonemes with CVC words with short a and short i.
• In Unit 4, Session 12, students practice connecting phonemic awareness skills to the alphabetic principle. Students make new words by changing vowels and other letters. Students receive post-it notes with the letters A, E, I, O, U, L, P, B, G, J. The teacher models making the word lip. Students practice making the words lag, bag, big, bed, bug, jug, and jog using the post-it notes. Students then practice reading the words they made.
   

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.

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 introduce some sound-spelling patterns systematically, as outlined in the TEKS. Materials provide some scripted direct (explicit) instruction for grade-level sound-spelling patterns. Materials incorporate activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review). Materials provide 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).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

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

• Materials provide a limited systematic sequence for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns, as outlined in the TEKS. While grade-level TEKS are included, the sequence is unclear and randomly presented across the units; it is not a specific sequence that explicitly builds upon previous knowledge. The Units of Study in Phonics includes five units. Each unit is designed to be taught alongside the Reading and Writing Units of Study, with instruction lasting five to six weeks per unit. Each day’s phonics session lasts about 20 minutes and offers extensions to help teachers reinforce phonics concepts across the school day and to support the transfer of phonics skills into reading and writing workshops.
• Materials include a resource titled “Decoding Instruction at a Glance,” with clear objectives for five units. There is a progression chart that maps out the decoding skills across the school year. For example, Unit 1 starts with alphabet knowledge and concepts of print; Unit 3 is decoding CVC words; and Unit 5 is decoding CCVCC words by decoding blend chunks.
• A Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 1, explains that in kindergarten, students develop phonological and phonemic awareness while simultaneously learning the alphabetic principle and concepts of print. Kindergarteners then progress to rimes and digraphs, short vowels, and blends.
• Unit 1, “Making Friends with Letters,” focuses on studying names to get to know each other and the alphabet, learning your own name by heart, and using “star names” to write. Lessons in Unit 1 focus on letter-sound correspondences for the letters M, S, T, N, R, L, A, W, D, O, and H. Unit 2, “Word Scientists,” focuses on studying the alphabet, the alphabet chart, and using the alphabet to write. Unit 3, “Word-Part Power,” focuses on writing power, word part power, word parts, and digraphs. Unit 4, “Vowel Power,” focuses on vowels in every word, distinguishing short vowel sounds, and vowels in bigger words. Unit 5, “Playing with Phonics,” focuses on playing with sounds, writing longer words, playing with phonics poems, and phonics projects.
• In Small Groups for Instruction, students progress through Chapter 1, “Phonological and Phonemic Awareness, Letter Knowledge, and Concepts About Print”; Chapter 2, “Letter-Sound Correspondence, Hearing and Recording Sounds; Chapter 3, “Blends and Digraphs”; Chapter 4, “Short Vowels and Long Vowels with Silent E”; Chapter 5, “Endings, Contractions, and Possessives”; Chapter 6, “Long-Vowel Teams, Diphthongs, and R-Controlled Vowels”; Chapter 7, “Snap Words”; Chapter 8, “Strategies for Writing Words Correctly”; and Chapter 9, “Strategies for Reading Words Correctly.”

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

• Materials provide some scripted direct (explicit) instruction for grade-level sound-spelling patterns; however, the majority of instruction is written in an implicit, narrative manner. For example, in Unit 3, Session 15, materials teach digraphs, beginning with sh and th. In this session, the teacher guides the students in discovery of the digraph th by using the familiar word the. The students turn to their partner and talk about what they notice in the word. The teacher remarks that many of the students noticed a t and an h at the beginning of the word and that it’s a pair that goes together to make one sound. Students practice making the sound /th/ and note that it sounds a little funny to make the sound, and it looks a little funny too to have their tongue sticking out. The teacher then elicits the students to come up with other words that have the /th/ sound. Possible words include think, thorn, thumb, and this. The teacher script provided states: “‘Guess what, friends? Mabel has another word she wants to teach us.’ I held up the word card for the. ‘Wait, we already know this word! Maybe Mabel wants us to study it to learn more about how letters and words work. Let’s try it. Turn to your partner and tell your partner what you notice about the word the.’ I listened in and then shared out.”
• In Unit 5, Session 11, the teacher generates a word list using the rimes ick, ell, uck, ow, and og. The teacher first shares a rhyming word poem with the students and has students snap their fingers when they hear a rhyme in the poem. The teacher produces a list of words that rhyme with cow and makes a short poem using the created words. The poem created is “The cow doesn’t know how to bow oh wow.” The students are then given a partner to do the same process: list words that rhyme with duck and make a poem. The teacher script provided states: “‘Let’s take one of those animals, say a cow, and find some new rhyming words you can use later to write a poem.’ I wrote cow on chart paper and then continued, ‘Remember, if you can’t think of new rhyming words, you can try taking just the word part -ow and walk along the alphabet, trying out different letters, to see if you can make a new word, like this: cow—dow? fow? gow? how? Yes! How is a word!’” The instruction relies on students to identify and generate new words rather than direct (explicit) instruction in the new sound-spelling pattern.

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

• Materials incorporate activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills (through cumulative review). For example, in Unit 1, Session 7, the teacher tells students a secret about letters—that there are two kinds of letters, called vowels and consonants. The teacher shares that this is important because almost every word is made of both kinds of letters, and vowels are special because they make more than one sound. The teacher then teaches students vowels by showing them an organized magnetic letter case. The teacher shows students that vowels are red and consonants are blue. The teacher reviews that vowels make more than one sound and points out that the long vowel sound is the letter’s name. Students then practice by naming the vowel/consonant pattern in the names that are already on the wall.
• In Unit 3, Session 16, students learn that digraphs, just like individual letters, can be combined with familiar word parts to read and write words. In the “Connection” part of the mini-lesson, the teacher engages students with a tongue twister to introduce the digraph ch: “I chop cherries, cheese, and chocolate chips for a tasty snack!” The teacher asks students to listen to the sound at the beginning of chop, cherries, cheese, and chocolate chips, emphasizing the words to focus students’ ears on them. After students respond /ch/, the teacher states, “Now take a look at the word chop. The first letters in this word look a bit like /sh/ and /th/. This time there’s a c in front of the h. I think we found another digraph—c and h work together to make a new sound: /ch/.” The lesson continues with the students taking the word part op to make the new word shop. In the teaching section, the students continue to chop off both letters to make new words (chip-ship). For the “Active Engagement” session of the lesson, students use whiteboards to work with digraphs ch, sh, th. Students build words: chin, shin, think, thin. During “Extension 3,” students sing a song (“Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” using the /sh/ digraph in words like shirt, shoe, shell) for practice with the sounds the digraphs make.
• In Unit 4, Session 17, students use their knowledge of digraphs to help solve puzzling words when reading. The teacher helps readers notice digraphs at the beginning of words and prompts them to use this knowledge along with their “vowel power” and “super power” to read. For example, in the “Share” activity, students revisit the song from the Connection for repeated practice with blending onset and rimes, emphasizing digraphs and short vowels. To the familiar tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” students raise their hand if they know the pronounced word (e.g., /sh/-/ip/). Words include chair, shell, sheep, show, think, shed, thick.
• In Unit 4, Session 12, the teacher celebrates the fact that students have “vowel shields” filled with vowels they now know (A, E, I, O, U) and leads a “vowel power cheer.” The students participate in the construction of an initial word with a short vowel sound and use consonants to make more words in a pocket chart.
• In Unit 5, Session 16, the teacher shares a song with students called “Old MacDonald Had an I.” The song has a focus on short i and long i. The teacher models and has students chime in and join when singing “Old MacDonald had a Ship with a /i/ /i/ here and a /i/ /i/ there.” The teacher sings the song with long vowel words, such as bike and kite. Students engage in another game with the teacher, called “Sound Match,” where they match picture cards that share the same vowel sound.
• The “Online Resources” contain a “Cumulative Review Guide” for the grade level. The recommendation is that teachers might use the guide as a menu, selecting activities to use throughout the week based on assessment data. For cumulative review of sound-spelling patterns, the teacher can use the lesson “Sound It Out Power.” After students have practiced onset-rime blending with a particular rime, the teacher script says: “Guess what? You are so good at using your word part power to read words with…’ Name two rimes students have studied ‘that you are ready to activate a new power—sound it out power! You can use your sound it out power to read words sound by sound. Watch, I’ll show you how.’ Show a word card and model reading it sound by sound then blending it. Touch under each letter as you say its sound, then sweep your finger underneath the word to blend it. ‘Let’s do it together!’ This activity can be used interchangeably with different sound-spelling patterns.”
• In another activity, “Use Your Word Part Power to Write,” included in the Cumulative Review Guide, students practice encoding with previously taught sound-spelling patterns. The teacher script reads: “‘Now that you have word part power, you can write so, so many words! Let’s use our word part power to write some words that have…’ Name one or two rimes that students have studied. ‘The first word is…, like in the sentence…. Say… Let’s break it into parts. Write it! Say each part as you write it.’ Give a few more examples. ‘Wow! You wrote a lot of words, look at that! Now reread your words and think of a sentence that uses some of them, for example…. Turn and tell your sentence!’” This is used to practice and reinforce previously taught 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).

• Materials provide activities and resources to decode 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). For example, in Unit 3, Session 8, the teacher asks students to read words without pictures. Students read word cards containing -in words and match them to a picture card. Students repeat with -at words.
• In Unit 3, Session 11, after a lesson on isolating word parts to build new words, students write the word dot on whiteboards. Students isolate the word part -ot and try adding the consonants h, z, g, t, j, c, and p to make new words. Students share the words they made.
• Materials include decodable books called “Jump Rope Readers.” These decodables follow the materials’ scope and sequence. The sequence presents simpler letter sounds before more complex letter sounds. Set A of the decodable readers is for readers in kindergarten; it contains 30 books that introduce short vowels, consonants, bonus letters, blends, digraphs, CV words, and a small selection of high-frequency words.
• The Cumulative Review Guide, found in the online resources, includes activities to practice and reinforce sound-spelling patterns in connected texts. For example, to practice decoding the short a sound in CVC words, after practicing with decoding and encoding sample words in the Word Part Power activity and Use Your Word Part Power to Write, the teacher introduces “Mabel story #1,” Mabel’s Cat. This story includes short, repetitive sentences with this spelling pattern, such as “Mabel is mad, mad, mad!” and “The cat sat in Mabel’s lap.”

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 provide some sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words. Materials provide some instruction for decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and cumulatively reinforce skills. Materials provide some variety of activities 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).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:
 

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

• The “Guide to Phonics Workshop” explains that the children who work with these materials learn to call high-frequency words “snap words,” in reference to the fact that they are words they can use “in a snap.” Materials state that kindergarteners will learn “about fifty high-frequency words,” specifying, “We sequence instruction in high-frequency words so that students have the words they need for later phonics instruction.”
• “Online Resources” include a list of snap words in the order and session they are introduced. Materials introduce 54 snap words and 13 concrete words, including phonetically regular and irregular words. The introduction of these words does not differentiate between phonemically regular and irregular words and does not call attention to the word parts that follow predictable phonemic skills and the parts that are irregular. Regarding this sequence, the “Guide to Phonics Workshop” explains, “All their instruction in phonograms will rely on analogy as the primary method of instruction.” Further, “there are many reasons why this or that high-frequency word might be taught at a particular time, and those reasons do not revolve solely around the logic of the words’ spelling, because in some instances you’ll teach these words by memory and by logic.”
• In Unit 2, the teacher focuses on letter knowledge and letter-sound correspondence, phonological awareness, and high-frequency words. Bend 3 specifically focuses on high-frequency words, helping students use the alphabet and high-frequency words in their reading and writing. In Unit 2, Session 1, five new snap words are introduced during the “Extension” part of the session. The teacher guides the students through the snap word routine. Students read the word, study the word, spell the word on whiteboards with a marker, cover the word, write it, and check it. The snap word session does not address the decodable and non-decodable parts of the snap (high-frequency) words.

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

• Materials include a routine for teaching snap words. This routine sometimes addresses irregular high-frequency words. It is not included for all new snap words and relies on memorization as a strategy. For example, in Unit 1, Session 13, the teacher introduces the process for learning new high-frequency words. The teacher writes the word me and reads it to the students. The teacher shows students the “How to Learn a Word” anchor chart and reads through the following steps: “Read it! Study it! Spell it! Write it! Use it!” The teacher guides students to practice each step with the word me. Students read the word, observe and share characteristics of the word, spell it orally, pretend to write it with their finger while the teacher models the letter formation pathway for each letter, then find a place in their writing to use the word.
• In Unit 1, Session 13, the first snap words are introduced. The teacher states the teaching point: “Today I want to teach you that people don’t just know how to write their own names by heart, in a snap. They also learn to write other words by heart, in a snap.” The teacher introduces the steps for How to Learn a Word and models each step with student participation. In the first step, the teacher reads the words, and the students reply chorally. In Step 2, they study the letters and the sound each letter makes. Next, they spell me, following the teacher model with a partner. Then, they air-write the word and trace it on their palms and on the rug. Finally, the teacher directs them to look for places they might use the word in their writing. Students repeat this process with two additional words, a and the. This follows a routine, but the directions are not explicit with clear teacher cues and exemplar student responses.
• In Unit 3, Session 10, the students are introduced to the high-frequency words go, so, no, and by. The teacher writes the four new words on cards and displays the How to Learn a Word anchor chart. The teacher holds the card and says, “First we read it!” Together, as a whole group, students read the word chorally multiple times as the teacher points to each word. The teacher script says: “Next, let’s study it. Turn and tell your partner what you see and say each sound as you look at the letters making those sounds….Now, spell it. Spell it softly, like a whisper into your hand. G-O. Then, spell it and cheer it….Now, write it.” Students begin to write the word go with imaginary markers on the group rug. Finally, the teacher says: “Last step—use it! Share a sentence with your partner.” These steps are repeated in the learning routine with each of the new high-frequency words being added to the class word wall. The materials provide some scripted instruction in following a routine for high-frequency words but not for teaching students how to decode regular and irregular high-frequency words.

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

• In Unit 2, Session 3, the teacher keeps the snap words in a pocket chart for reference. Students are encouraged to find these words when they read and to snap when someone uses their “snap word power.” Students are also encouraged to spell these words correctly by using the pocket chart. Students “read the word” or repeat it after the teacher tells them the word. Students then spell the word, write the word on a whiteboard, cover it with their hand, and spell it out loud again. Then, they check their work, erase it, and write it again five times.
• In Unit 2, Session 13, Extension 2, students use singing to practice and review previously taught high-frequency words. The teacher says: “Today we’ll sing our snap words to help us remember them. But before we do that, let’s read all of the snap words.” They chorally read the words. Then, to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” they sing, “I-s, i-s, i-s, is.” To the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” they sing “H-e-r-e, here.”
• In Unit 2, Session 14, students create a special bag of snap words, a “snap word pouch.” Students practice reading their collection of snap words to a partner. It is suggested that these pouches are kept close to the easel to distribute and practice daily. In Extension 2 in this lesson, students read these words in different voices. In Extension 3, they play “I spy” with a partner to review the words.
• In Unit 3, Session 11, students study high-frequency words by finding rhymes for them. In a “Snap Word Rhyming Race,” as whiteboards and markers are distributed, the teacher announces for the class to get with their “club” and to get out their snap word pouches. The object of the race game is to see which club can make the most words that rhyme with the class snap words. When the teacher says “go,” the students look at their snap words, think of as many rhyming words as possible, and write them on their whiteboards. When the teacher says “stop,” the club with the most real words (not nonsense) wins the game. The session does not teach students how to encode and decode the high-frequency words.
• The “Cumulative Review Guide,” found in the Online Resources, includes activities to practice and reinforce high-frequency word review. The instructions say, “Rally students to review a small set of irregular high-frequency words that share a similar spelling pattern or that are especially tricky.” The teacher shows the word and asks students to read it as a whole word. Then, the teacher hides the word, and students reconstruct the word. This activity can be replicated with different word lists as students require cumulative review.
• In another cumulative review activity found in the Cumulative Review Guide, “Read the Word Wall,” the teacher says: “Time to make your snap word power extra snappy! When I point to a word you read it. Ready?....Now let’s read the words…like a…. Read when I point! Now let’s read the words again, but this time…like a…!”

Materials provide a variety of activities 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).

• In Unit 2, Session 15, students learn that snap words can be read no matter how they are written. Students receive a list of taught words and go on a scavenger hunt, utilizing an emergent storybook and classroom print to identify the words in isolation and in connected text.
• In Unit 2, Session 16, students practice writing high-frequency words in connected text. The teacher models using their snap word pouch to find a high-frequency word to write in a sentence. Then, during guided practice, students try it out by selecting snap words from their pouch and writing sentences that include those words.
• In Unit 3, Session 10, the students are introduced to the high-frequency words go, so, no, and by. The teacher writes the four new words on cards and displays the “How to Learn a Word” anchor chart. The teacher holds the card and says: “First we read it!” Together, as a whole group, students read the word chorally multiple times as the teacher points to each word. The teacher says: “Next, let’s study it. Turn and tell your partner what you see and say each sound as you look at the letters making those sounds….Now, spell it. Spell it softly, like a whisper into your hand. G-O. Then, spell it and cheer it….Now, write it.” Students begin to write the word go with imaginary markers on the group rug. Finally, the teacher says: “Last step—use it! Share a sentence with your partner.” These steps are repeated in the learning routine with each of the new high-frequency words being added to the class word wall. Throughout the materials, a routine is established for teaching high-frequency words, but limited resources are included for recognizing, reading, and spelling high-frequency words in the materials.
• In Unit 4, Session 15, students learn the high-frequency words has, as, her, and him. The materials guide the teacher in “guiding students through the familiar steps of learning new high-frequency words, using the ‘How to Learn a Word’ chart.” The teacher tapes index cards with the new high-frequency words on them to an easel. Together, as a whole group, the students read the How to Learn a Word anchor chart aloud with the teacher. After following the routine of “Read it, Study it, Spell it, Write it, Use it,” the teacher adds the new high-frequency words to the class word wall.
• The materials include “Jump Rope Readers”—decodable texts including grade-level high-frequency words. For example, the book Sam and the Kids includes high-frequency words such as is, see, no, so, go, to, and for. The high-frequency word sessions do not include specific connections or guidance on how to use these texts to reinforce and practice high-frequency word reading.
• The Cumulative Review Guide, found in the Online Resources, includes activities to practice and reinforce high-frequency words in isolation and in connected texts. For example, in Read the Word Wall, the teacher says: “Time to make your snap word power extra snappy! When I point to a word you read it. Ready?....Now let’s read the words…like a…. Read when I point! Now let’s read the words again, but this time…like a…!” After reading the word wall, it is recommended that the teacher introduce “Mabel story #1,” practicing the high-frequency words and, in, is, and a. This text includes phrases such as “Mabel sat and the cat sat in Mabel’s lap.”

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.

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.

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, decodable phrases/sentences, and decodable texts in the lesson. Materials provide some activities for word fluency in the whole group, partners, and in small groups. Materials provide some grade-level decodable texts; however, they are not specifically aligned to the phonics scope and sequence or connected to the lesson sessions.

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.

• Phonics sessions sometimes include embedded modeling and practice with word lists and decodable phrases/sentences. This type of modeling and practice is primarily used for practicing snap words. These are not consistently found in every lesson and are sometimes found in the teaching portion of the lesson and sometimes in extensions. Printable materials can be accessed in the “Online Resources” section. For example, in Unit 2, Session 3, during the “Share” portion of the lesson, the teacher displays a class “snap word chart.” The narrative says, “‘I’ve already put the snap words you learned earlier in this place, and I was thinking we could add today’s words, too. Will you read the words that are already here?’ The children followed my pointer and read me, a, the, I, like, and my.” The teacher does not model the words, but the students chorally practice them with the teacher.
• In Unit 2, Session 3, Extension 1, the teacher presents a poem, “I Look Closely,” to review reading snap words in connected texts. The teacher models using think-alouds when encountering snap words, then says, “Word scientists, this time, will you read the poem?”
• In Unit 2, Session 7, the students use magnetic letters and phonogram cards to build words with -an and -it word endings. As they work, the teacher records their words on cards and displays them in a pocket chart. At the end of the lesson, the teacher leads the students to read the words chorally. The teacher does not model this decoding process prior to the students reading the words.                           
• In Unit 3, Session 10, the teacher displays a book and states they will use the book to practice their “picture power,” “pointer power,” and “word-part power” to read it. The teacher models, using a think-aloud to demonstrate decoding the word win on the cover. Then, the teacher says, “Remember you’re following along with the pointer. Read with me if you can!” The teacher models some word decoding in connected text prior to student practice. Later in the unit, the teacher presents the texts “The Bug Hug” and “I Can Hop.” These provide practice with repetitive word endings.

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

• Materials provide practice activities for word reading fluency in whole group and partner settings, primarily, with a limited variety of words. For example, in Unit 3, Session 2, during “Rug Club,” the students use snap words and stretch words to write. The “Session Extension” includes partner practice. Partner A reads the word to Partner B who writes it on the whiteboard. The teacher checks the written word with the word card. If they match, students switch roles. If not, they correct it and rewrite it again.
• The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study includes “Emptying Your Snap Word Pouch/Blacking Out Your Word Wall,” where students are assessed on reading 50 words correctly and easily. This activity is recommended to be used to practice reading snap words fluently with partners and individually during reading time.
• In Unit 5, Session 4, during Rug Time, the teacher gives directions on how to read two stanzas. The teacher then tells students to read the first sound, or sounds, if there is a blend, and then think with a partner, “What would make sense?” The session provides some guidance on practice with reading CVCC words in poems in a whole group setting and with partners.
• In Small Group 20, students have extra practice reading words with blends. Students work with partners to read phrases printed on cards. Partner 1 reads the phrase, practicing the blend, and Partner 2 monitors the reading.

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

• “Jump Rope Readers” are decodable texts including grade-level high-frequency words and sound-spelling patterns. For example, the book Tam and Min, in the “Red Series,” includes high-frequency words and, can, see, and the and practice with short i and short a in CVC words. These books are not specifically referenced in the sessions.
• The Jump Rope Readers outline the phonics patterns practiced in each set. For example, Set 1 includes words with m, t, n, s, ss, and a; Set 2 adds c, k, ck, r, u, and h; Set 3 adds b, e, f, ff, l, ll, z, and zz; Set 4 adds v, w, y, and x; Set 5 adds qu, words with open syllables, the long i sound of y, and digraph ch; and Set 6 adds voiced and unvoiced sound of th, ng, and wh.
• The “Decodable Guide” explains that these readers follow a scope and sequence aligned to the phonics progression in The Units of Study in Reading, but that most phonics programs also follow this progression. These decodables are not specifically referred to or used for practice within The Units of Study in Phonics. They are designed to supplement reading programs.
• The Online Resources include six decodables featuring the grade-level mascot, Mabel. These include decodable phrases such as “Mabel wins a kit. A hat is in the kit.” These texts are referenced to use in the “Cumulative Review Guide” but not specifically referred to in the Units of Study in Phonics sessions.

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

Materials include some diagnostic tools that are developmentally appropriate. Materials provide clear, consistent directions for accurate administration of diagnostic tools. Materials include some 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.

• Materials include a limited variety of assessments that are developmentally appropriate and can be used as diagnostic tools. The materials do not call these assessments diagnostic tools, but there are no other assessments available to serve as diagnostic tools. For example, in A Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 5, materials include five assessments for every kindergarten student. Should students “test out” of those five assessments, there are two grade 1 assessments and two grade 2 assessments that can be used. Materials state: “Of course, some children will need to be tested on the initial five assessments beyond kindergarten. Each assessment focuses on different aspects of phonics development, and each will help you ascertain whether the child is making progress in that area and whether she is roughly on par for the grade and for the time of year.”
• The program suggests that assessment tools can be used flexibly. Chapter 5 of the guide states: “Included with the assessment tools are the particulars of when to suggest giving these assessments, how to score them, and how to analyze the scores so you understand if children are on track at various points in the school year. We invite you to use the assessments in ways that will give you the most valuable information, depending on the needs of your students. If you’d like to give them more or less frequently, that’s fine. We intend this set of assessment tools not to be a rigid system or something that will take up inordinate amounts of precious instructional time, but to be an engaging, helpful way for you to check on your students’ progress and plan next steps.”
• Chapter 5 of the guide indicates that the following assessments should be formally administered to all students: “Letter-Sound Correspondence” (after Unit 1, then as needed), “Phonological Awareness, Blending, and Segmenting” (after Unit 1, then as needed), “Concepts About Print” (after Unit 1), “Developmental Spelling” (after Unit 2, after Unit 3, After Unit 5, then as needed), and “Snap Words” (after Unit 3, after Unit 5, then as needed). The materials note that some of these assessments are not intended as diagnostic tools, but there are no other assessments specifically designated as diagnostic tools.
• Chapter 5 of the guide includes the following assessment tools:
  • Assessing Digraph-Sound Correspondence: Identifying digraph sounds.
  • Assessing Letter-Sound Correspondence: “Do You Know Your ABCs?” Identifying letter names of uppercase and lowercase letters and identifying sound(s) associated with each letter.
  • Assessing Phonological Awareness, Blending, and Segmenting: “Robot Talk”—Combining parts of compound words, syllables in words, individual phonemes into a whole word and segmenting compound words, syllables in words, and individual phonemes in words.
  • Assessing Concepts About Print: “Help Your Teacher Read a Book”—Demonstrating knowledge of the “rules of the word” of print: text orientation, directionality, return sweep, and letter versus words.
  • Assessing Developmental Spelling: “Help Mabel Label a Picture Book: A Birthday Party”—Recording initial consonants, final consonants, medial short vowels, and blends and digraphs when writing labels for items in pictures of a wordless book.
  • Assessing Snap Words: “Emptying Your Snap Word Pouch”—Recording high-frequency and other important words with automaticity and writing high-frequency and other important words with automaticity.
• The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, in the Appendix, contains a “Recommended Schedule for Assessment.” The table includes a suggestion for when to “Use This Tool” and lists the “Assessment Tool.” For example, in kindergarten, the Developmental Spelling assessment is recommended after Unit 2, after Unit 3, and after Unit 5.

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

• The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study provides clear directions for accurate administration of assessments that might be used as diagnostic tools. For example, on the “Assessing Digraph-Sound Correspondence” assessment, the procedures are:
  • Place the digraph student copy in front of the child.
  • Ask, “Can you say the sounds of these digraphs?”
  • If the child says another possible sound that corresponds with the digraph, you can ask, “Do you know another sound those letters make?” For example, if the child says /sh/ for ch, she may know that is the ch in Charlotte, but you want to prompt to see if she knows that more common sound for the digraph.
• The procedure section is followed with clear instructions for scoring the assessment.
• The Appendix of the guide provides an assessment for assessing letter-sound correspondence (Do You Know Your ABC’s?) It includes the assessment materials as well as information about the procedure, scoring, interpreting the score, and letter-sound identification benchmarks. The teacher asks students to identify the name and sound of each letter. Benchmarks are included for letter and letter-sound identification for September, November, January, March, and June. Directions state:
  • Place the uppercase letters student copy in front of the child. Show only one row of letters at a time.
  • Ask, “Can you name these letters? Can you say the sound of each letter?”
  • If the child needs help getting started, or knowing how to proceed, you may point to each letter.
  • If the child does not automatically say the letter name and sound at the same time, let the child name the letters then ask him or her to return to the beginning of the sheet, and say the sound for each letter.
  • Repeat this process for the lowercase letters.
• The assessments provide guidance for administration. In the guide’s Appendix, there is an assessment for phonological awareness in kindergarten. After Unit 1, the teacher is prompted to use the phonological awareness quick assessment for blending and segmenting. The assessment allows the teacher to gather data on the student’s ability to blend two syllables, blend onset-rime, and blend phonemes. The materials direct the teacher to start assessing a skill that they believe they would like more data on. The teacher is to decide whether to assess segmenting based on the data collected on blending to make words. The teacher is cued to reassess students within a few weeks as necessary.
• The guide’s Appendix also provides a kindergarten assessment for Developmental Spelling. For this assessment, the teacher gives a copy of the paper booklet “A Birthday Party” to the student. The teacher asks the student to write their name on the back of the booklet. The teacher uses the story guide sheet and reads the transcript of the story, repeating the noted words and asking the student to write those words, where indicated on the booklet. Students write the words by slowly listening for the sounds. The teacher collects the booklets and scores them using the “Developmental Spelling Scoring Assessment Sheet.” Students earn points for various words based on the phonetic skill presented in the word they had to write (e.g., initial consonants, final consonants, short vowels, digraphs, blends). The teacher refers to a benchmark chart for the time of year the assessment is given and the desired scores. Benchmarks and administration are recommended after Unit 2, after Unit 3, and after Unit 5.
• The guide’s Appendix contains a “Kindergarten Snap Words” assessment to be given after Unit 3, as needed after Unit 4, and after Unit 5. For this assessment, the teacher uses the student’s individual bag of “Snap Words.” The teacher presents a word to the student and asks the student to read it aloud. If they are read “in a snap,” the teacher places a dot in the corner of the card. If the word card already has a dot in the corner, the teacher asks the student to write the snap word. If the word is written correctly, it is removed from the student’s snap word bag. Materials state that the goal for kindergarten is to read about 50 words with automaticity and write about 35 words with automaticity.

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

• Materials include data management tools for tracking individual student progress. For example, in Chapter 5 of the guide, the materials state: “The purpose of these assessments is to check whether a child is developing phonics skills, and whether the skills are developing progressively so that you can shift your vigilance to other aspects of development. It is not really all that important to mark the difference between proficient and highly proficient phonics skills—those who are skilled with phonics will be putting most of their attention to reading and writing itself rather than AP level phonics achievements. Therefore, for students for whom reading, writing, speaking, and listening appear to be progressing at pace, a detailed analysis of each minute portion of that child’s knowledge of phonics is usually not necessary. On the other hand, it is helpful for you to be able to see when the phonics instruction isn’t sticking so that you can give that youngster an extra hand now, rather than waiting. If a student’s progress is worrying or puzzling you, you will want to conduct more detailed assessments to better understand what is going on. Chances are good you can make a world of difference.” The Appendix includes materials such as recording tools for the assessments as well as tables to help teachers with interpretation; however, there is no data management tool to track whole-class progress. For example, the “Letter Identification Assessment” includes a table for the teacher to record individual student responses for lowercase and uppercase letter identification. Data management tools for whole-class student progress are not included in the materials.
• The Appendix of the guide includes the assessment Assessing Snap Words: Emptying Your Snap Word Pouch. This assessment has a recording form for reading and writing high-frequency and other important words with automaticity. Although the assessment has a recording page for each individual student, it does not have data management tools for tracking whole class student progress.

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. Materials include some integrated progress monitoring tools, with specific guidance on frequency of use.

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

• The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study recommends giving the “Assessing Developmental Spelling” measure throughout the year to monitor progress in spelling; it recommends giving “Assessing Snap Words” twice to monitor progress on reading sight words. The Developmental Spelling assessment tells the teacher how to score depending on the time of year it is given and includes three options. The materials state: “We invite you to use the assessments in ways that will give you the most valuable information, depending on the needs of your students. If you’d like to give them more or less frequently, that’s fine. We intend this set of assessment tools not to be a rigid system or something that will take up inordinate amounts of precious instructional time, but to be an engaging, helpful way for you to check on your students’ progress and plan next steps.” The assessment can be used as a progress monitoring assessment or as a phonics diagnostic, since teachers analyze each word and record a score for each sound-spelling pattern or letter sound. For example, the “Assessing Letter Sound Correspondence” assessment has benchmark scores for every two months. Additionally, the “Print Concepts Assessment” states: “If you do give the thirteen-point version, you’ll find a scoring guide along with those materials in the online resources, and a set of benchmarks to help you interpret those scores at different times of the year.”
• Chapter 5 of the guide includes the following kindergarten assessment tools:
  • Assessing Digraph-Sound Correspondence: Identifying digraph sounds.
  • Assessing Letter-Sound Correspondence: “Do You Know Your ABCs?”—Identifying letter names of uppercase and lowercase letters and identifying sound(s) associated with each letter.
  • Assessing Phonological Awareness, Blending, and Segmenting: “Robot Talk”—Combining parts of compound words, syllables in words, individual phonemes into a whole word and segmenting compound words, syllables in words, and individual phonemes in words.
  • Assessing Concepts About Print: “Help Your Teacher Read a Book”—Demonstrating knowledge of the “rules of the word” of print: text orientation, directionality, return sweep, and letter versus words.
  • Assessing Developmental Spelling: “Help Mabel Label a Picture Book: A Birthday Party”—Recording initial consonants, final consonants, medial short vowels, and blends and digraphs when writing labels for items in pictures of a wordless book.
  • Assessing Snap Words: “Emptying Your Snap Word Pouch”—Recording high-frequency and other important words with automaticity and writing high-frequency and other important words with automaticity.

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

• Chapter 5 of the Guide to the Phonics Units of Study states: “We’ve compiled efficient, engaging assessments to accompany this series—five that you will use with every kindergarten child and, assuming those children ‘test out’ of those five assessments, two that you’ll use for children once they are in first grade. Of course, some first-graders will need to be tested on the initial five assessments. Each assessment focuses on a different aspect of phonics development, and each will help you ascertain whether the child is making progress in that area and whether she is roughly on par for the grade and for the time of the year. You will see that we recommend giving these assessments toward the end of particular units, roughly speaking.”
• Chapter 5 of the guide indicates that the following assessments should be formally administered to all students: “Letter-Sound Correspondence” (after Unit 1, then as needed), “Phonological Awareness, Blending, and Segmenting” (after Unit 1, then as needed), “Concepts About Print” (after Unit 1), “Developmental Spelling” (after Unit 2, after Unit 3, After Unit 5, then as needed), and “Snap Words” (after Unit 3, after Unit 5, then as needed). Specifically, in kindergarten, after Unit 1, the materials recommend students take Assessing Phonological Awareness, Blending, and Segmenting (“Robot Talk”) and Assessing Concepts About Print (“Help Your Teacher Read a Book”). They recommend taking these assessments again after Unit 4.
• Materials offer general guidance on frequency of use. Specific guidance for students approaching level or below level is not given. Additionally, materials do not include timelines for checking progress on specific phonemic awareness and phonics patterns throughout the school year.

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 guidance on how to plan and differentiate instruction based on student data. Materials include some 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 partially support teachers’ analysis of diagnostic data to inform response to individual students’ strengths and needs. For example, in A Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 5, the teacher is told: “You will want to use the data from your groups as a whole to identify patterns to inform your instruction in the first phonics unit. If you notice, for example, that most children in your class know most of their letters and sounds, you’ll progress through the first unit at a faster clip than if many students know very few letters.”
• Chapter 5 of the guide also states: “Included with the assessment tools are the particulars of when to suggest giving these assessments, how to score them, and how to analyze the scores so you understand if children are on track at various points in the school year. We invite you to use the assessments in ways that will give you the most valuable information, depending on the needs of your students. If you’d like to give them more or less frequently, that’s fine. We intend this set of assessment tools not to be a rigid system or something that will take up inordinate amounts of precious instructional time, but to be an engaging, helpful way for you to check on your students’ progress and plan next steps. You’ll be able to use the results of the developmental spelling assessments to plan a wealth of customized instruction. You’ll be able to see at a glance which phonics features your students struggle with, using this information to understand which concepts to reinforce for your whole class, for small groups, and for individual students.”
• Also in Chapter 5, after assessing letter/sound knowledge, teachers are told to identify students who have “very little knowledge of the alphabet.” The materials state: “It’s crucial that you don't wait before giving those children extra opportunities to work with their alphabet. In the Small Groups to Support Phonics, you’ll find practical suggestions for small group work to support letter knowledge, and letter-sound correspondence. In addition, tap the power of environmental print, shared texts, and especially children’s writing to help them learn more about the alphabet as soon as possible. You might also assess the child’s phonological awareness, blending, and segmenting because chances are good that the child will also need some shoring up in this area.” Materials also state that children who know all letters/sounds no longer need this assessment. For students who are not demonstrating mastery, the teacher should “continue to pull out this assessment at frequent intervals, marking off more representative letters” as they see the student use them.
• After each assessment in phonics, the teacher is given a brief descriptive paragraph sharing implications for teaching if the data collected indicates the student needs additional practice on a certain foundational skill and concept. For example, in “Assessing Letter-Sound Correspondence,” directions for “Interpreting the Scores” mentions to follow the benchmark: “You’ll see two separate categories, one for letter identification, and one for letter sound. In the chart below, level 3 indicates the child is meeting grade-level expectations for that time of year. Level 4 indicates the child is exceeding grade-level expectations, and levels 1–2 indicate the child needs further support in this area…You will no longer give the assessment to children during each month listed below. Use the table to give you a general sense of how your students are progressing at a particular time of year, and not as an indicator of how often you need to assess.”

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

• Diagnostic tools provide teachers with some guidance on how to plan and differentiate instruction based on student data. For example, the Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 5, states: “When you identify children who have very little knowledge of the alphabet, it’s crucial that you don’t wait before giving those children extra opportunities to work with the alphabet. In our book Small Groups to Support Phonics, you’ll find practical suggestions for small-group work to support letter knowledge and letter-sound correspondence.”
• Chapter 5 also states: “These efficient assessments will give you the information you need, in most cases, while still being realistic in their demands on your and your students’ time. From there, you’ll be better able to use the Units of Study resources to support particular students in targeted ways. We’ve constructed an Assessment If/Then resource in the Appendix that can guide you from the area of need to targeted instruction.”
• In Chapter 5 of the guide, the materials indicate that assessment data should be used at the end of each unit to guide instruction. The materials state that if “most” of the students demonstrate mastery on assessments at the end of the unit, then the teacher should proceed to the next unit, using the “If/Then” chart to locate specific supports for students who have not demonstrated mastery of specific skills. If most students do not show mastery, then the materials indicate that the teacher should use spiraled instruction and repeated exposure to concepts from the current unit before moving on. Materials recommend using the If/Then chart with assessment results to identify which skills to reteach and how to reteach them.
• The “Assessing Phonological Awareness, Blending, and Segmenting” teacher guide provides guidance for scoring. It states: “For children whose phonological awareness is progressing normally, you can expect phase growth through exposure to language and through your reading, writing, and phonics instruction. Below is a chart that indicates when you can expect children to demonstrate proficiency in the different levels of phonological awareness indicated by this assessment. Note that this assessment is not meant as a formal diagnostic tool, but rather as a way to identify children who would benefit from extra support with blending or segmenting at a particular time of year. Once a child is able to blend or segment a word from row 6, you do not have to give that portion (blending or segmenting) of the assessment again.”

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

• Materials include some resources that align to data, allowing teachers to plan different activities in response to student data. For example, the Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 1, indicates the teacher should provide students with flexibility in expressing what they know by offering alternatives to whiteboards, such as magnetic letters, iPads, or voice-activated technology when appropriate. These resources are used at the lesson level and are not included in diagnostic assessments.
• Chapter 1 also states that the whole group nature of the phonics lessons means that “utterly crucial” differentiation for individual students will take place in small group work during teacher-led small groups. Small group work is guided by the assessment-driven Small Groups to Support Phonics. Small group assessments are not diagnostic.
• In the Small Groups to Support Phonics “Introduction,” the materials state that small group lessons are not meant to be progressed through in a chapter-by-chapter fashion, but used by the teacher to “dip in and out of these chapters in ways that respond to…children’s needs and interests.” The small group resource states that it is primarily used to support students’ development as readers and writers, transfer all the teaching during phonics time into their reading and writing, and provide individualized assessment-based support. The activities in this resource primarily support reading and writing skills.

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. 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 provide some 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.

• Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Phonics Units of Study explains that the teacher will lead small group lessons daily during reading and writing workshop time to provide more practice with foundational skills. The small group lessons are detailed in a teacher guide, Small Groups to Support Phonics, and determined by the assessments indicated in the assessment schedule. Materials suggest that, among others, students who are English language learners and students with dyslexia will benefit from small-group foundational skills instruction in addition to whole-group instruction. Small group instruction provides targeted instructional support.
• In Small Group 1, students clap beats in the names of things in or on their backpacks. The teacher starts by asking them how they would count the beats in Mabel, then leads them to do the same for the names of the students in the group. Then they name items in their backpacks and count the beats. Finally, the students go on a “beat walk” by counting beats in items around the room. This lesson does not include specific scaffolded activities or differentiated options for students who have not yet mastered clapping and counting syllables.
• Small Group 5 states, “Rally them: Talk up the importance of forming letters fast so that readers can read their stories.” The teacher says: “You’ll need the letter R if you are writing about /r/ robots, /r/ rain, or /r/ rabbits. Yep, this is an important letter for sure.” During “Launch them,” the teacher coaches students to study the letter and then to make it, following the pathway with invisible ink, on the rug, and in the air. The materials provide some targeted instruction and activities to scaffold learning for students who have not yet mastered grade-level foundational phonics skills.
• Extensions are included in lessons as general scaffolds. These cues support instruction but do not provide specific suggestions for prerequisite skill instruction. For example, in Unit 2, Session 11, an extension is included to support the lesson objective, “Using New Snap Words to Turn a Letter Book into a Pattern Book.” Following this, the teacher states: “This is a fish. This is a fox. Let’s say it again and count how many words. Write this on your board.” This does not specifically support the skill of writing “snap words.” In Session 11, another extension is included for this skill, “Adding Snap Words to Writing.” The teacher asks students to use snap words to extend their writing: “Use your finger as a pointer and point under the words you have written.” This does not specifically support the skill.

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

• Each lesson includes “Extensions,” but these are intended for general instructional purposes. The Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 3, states that extensions are “optional, quick activities to be tucked into transition moments across the day.” The guide further states that extensions could give students further opportunities to solidify their understanding of that day’s instruction. For example, “An extension might channel kids to chant a rhyme in which they manipulate initial phonemes or sing a song in which they practice rhyming patterns—while they line up for lunch.” Other extensions suggest ways to bring the day’s phonics work into a reading or writing workshop. Extensions do not support students who have achieved grade-level mastery of foundation phonics skills.
• In Unit 5, “Playing with Phonics,” during Session 2, the materials include an extension activity for “Listening for Blends in Words.” During this extension, students work in partners to read the pictures that match s blends in the “Blends and Digraphs” chart. Students say a word that starts with one of the s blends and ask their partners to match the picture to the blend. Towards the end of the lesson, the teacher follows the lesson routine with a few more words, and then students practice saying blends and comparing sounds at the start of the word. The script states: “Now let’s try some animal sounds. What if a snake made a sound like: slip, slip, slip? Or this smooth, smooth? What if it made this sound: /st/ /st/?”
• “Challenge Time” activities provide an opportunity to practice a skill. They do not include targeted instruction or activities to accelerate learning. For example, in Small Group 7, the students “join in a shared reading of a letter from the Reader Man that encourages them to strengthen their pointer power.” The teacher reads a text aloud as the teacher and students point to the words. During Challenge Time, the teacher directs the students to take out a book from their book baggie and encourages them to point to and count the words on each page prior to reading.
• Lessons include instruction using think-alouds and opportunities to apply new concepts in writing, with teacher cues to support the skill. They do not include specific targeted instruction to support students who have achieved grade-level mastery. For example, in Unit 2, Session 9, during the mini-lesson, the teacher uses the alphabet chart to remind students to use it as a tool to help them write. The teacher models using the chart and the first sound to write a word. Then, students write their own stories. The teacher reinforces using the chart to identify the first sound in a word: “Remember to do that, you say the word s-l-o-w-l-y, starting with the first sound. ‘Hi.’ Say the word hi. Stretch it.”

Materials provide enrichment activities for all levels of learners.

• In Chapter 3 of the Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, the materials include a section on “Special Activities in Phonics Curriculum,” which shares a handful of activities that teachers will use throughout the phonics curriculum. Materials state: “Just as it is helpful in the reading and writing workshop to hone your skills in teaching or leading groups, in guided reading using learning progression to help kids self-assess and set goals, in engaging in shared reading—so, too, it is helpful to hone your skills in the activities that will be the cornerstone of your phonics curriculum.” These activities include shared reading, “Guess the Covered Word/Word Part,” word sorts, making words, and interactive writing, editing, and dictations. While some enrichment activities are included, not all activities support phonics instruction or support all levels of learners.
• For example, the Guess the Covered Word activity allows students to practice word-solving strategies while engaging in the reading process. The materials explain that to teach this method, the teacher will strategically cover up words or parts of words in text that students read together with the teacher. To solve a covered word (or word part), students draw information from a number of sources (syntax, meaning, visual support) and use all that information to help them figure out what has been covered. This activity does support enrichment for all levels of learners.
• Lessons include additional activities or cues called Extensions, which support further application of a new skill. For example, in Unit 2, Session 16, during “Interactive Writing,” the materials state, “Compose an invitation, using interactive writing to practice snap words.” The words used are it, is, in, my, and at. During “Rug Time,” the teacher reviews “snap words” and asks students to “point out snap words they used in their writing.” Following the session, there are three extensions. In one extension, “Reviewing Snap Words with Movement,” students review snap words by acting out sports moves while saying and spelling the words, such as swinging an imaginary bat while saying “i-t , it!” In another extension, the teacher sings snap words to familiar tunes (e.g., “i-n, i-n, in. i-n, i-n, in.”) These are not designed to provide opportunities to extend the learning for all students.
• Small groups are designed for additional practice with foundational skills. For example, in Small Group 8, the teacher coaches the students through the steps to learn a letter, name it, sound it, write the uppercase and lowercase version, and use it by generating words that start with the same sound. The students are challenged to identify whether the letter sound is at the beginning, middle, or end of the word. Materials do not include additional enrichment activities to 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 partially meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials include some instructional methods that appeal to a variety of learning interests and needs.

Materials include some developmentally appropriate instructional approaches to engage students in mastery of the content. Materials support some instructional settings, primarily whole group and small group instruction.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

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

• In Unit 1, Session 3, the teacher posts a capital and lowercase M card onto the easel. The teacher and students say, whisper, and shout the letter’s name together. The teacher models the M phoneme for students. The teacher tells students that they will learn to write the letter in two ways, as an uppercase and lowercase letter. The teacher models how to write the capital M in the air, and students follow along in the air with their invisible markers. The teacher asks students to imagine the times they would write the letter m. This strategy is completed during whole group instruction and led by the teacher. Materials do not include student mastery outside of the mini-lesson activities.
• In Unit 1, Session 4, the teaching portion states: “Guide children through the steps of making friends with a new letter. Begin by naming it, then sounding it.” The teacher asks, “So, class, what is the name of this letter?” and points to the uppercase and lowercase Ss. The class chimes in that it is an S. The teacher says, “Yes, and Ss makes the /s/ sound, let’s all make the letter S sound together, ready?” The students make /s/ sounds, and as they do, the teacher cups her hand behind her ear, listening. The teacher states, “You are right. This letter ends with that sound.” Materials do not include instructional strategies during the mini-lesson for students to practice the skill of isolation, deletion, and replacement of phonemes.
• In Unit 5, Session 2, students listen to sounds in a blend. The teacher tells students to listen carefully because in a blend, one sound can hide the other sound. The teacher models saying the sounds slowly to attend to all of the sounds. Then the students are introduced to a chart of common blends. During “Rug Time,” the students look at pictures of words with blends and try to identify all of the sounds. Materials include some developmentally appropriate instructional approaches to engage students in mastery of the content; however, these activities are isolated to whole group instruction and do not allow for mastery of the content.
   

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

• In Unit 2, Session 9, materials support whole-group instruction. During the mini-lesson “When You Know the Alphabet Chart, You Can Use It to Write,” the teacher demonstrates the alphabet chart as a reminder for students to use it as a tool to help them write. The teacher models using the first sound to write a word. Students write their own stories following the lesson, and the teacher reinforces using the first sound: “Remember to do that, you say the word s-l-o-w-l-y, starting with the first sound. ‘Hi.’ Say the word hi. Stretch it.”
• In Unit 3, Session 7, during whole group instruction, “Connection,” the teacher reminds students about the “magic words,” the rimes, students have learned to make words with, in preparation for teaching them that they can make words with “snap words” they already know. The teacher states: “Super Readers and Super Writers, is your word-part power still fully activated? It is? Yes? That’s good because word-part power can give you the power to read and write lots of words. It's kind of like magic.” The teacher mentions, “You did that already with at. Let’s try that magic right now. Take at.” The teacher then pretends to hold the word card for /at/ in one hand. With the other hand, the teacher pretends to add a letter to the front of /at/, saying, “Add /r/ to /at/ and you get rat!” A flash round of word-making follows.
• Materials do not frequently support one-on-one instructional settings. In Unit 5, Session 1, students play with phonics by practicing writing the sounds animals make. The teacher models writing what a fish and puppy would say; then, students work in pairs to write and read what two animals would say. In this lesson and in the materials as a whole, there is support for whole-group and small-group instruction; however, the small group is pairs of students, or “Rug Clubs,” and their work is not targeted or differentiated.

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

The materials do not meet the criteria for this indicator. Materials do not include supports for Emergent Bilinguals to meet grade-level learning expectations.

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

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).

• In the Guide to the Phonics Units of Study, Chapter 2 is titled “Anticipate, Observe, and Support Phonics Development (including English Learners and Students with Dyslexia).” The section “Supporting English Language Learners in Phonics” provides the teacher with knowledge on the development of English for English learners. The guide states that the “quick and easy” steps for teachers of English learners are “to involve children in a rich classroom culture that includes talk and play, interactive read-alouds, and interactive writing to promote language acquisition.” The guidance states that when extra support is given as pull-out instruction, English learners can lose out on critical social support. This guidance does not include linguistic accommodations (communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded) commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPS.
• In another example, the guide states, “We suggest that you focus very deliberately on embedding phonics instruction into your writing workshop and on bringing writing times.” It further explains that using letters and sounds to represent words that capture the student’s “life story, his or her interests, and language and thoughts” means the student “will be working with phonics within a context that is saturated in meaning.” No specific lesson guidance is provided for the teacher to support Emergent Bilinguals.
• In the “Online Resources,” materials include a section titled “Spanish Language Resources.” The drop-down states: “Please note that the Units of Study in Phonics does not teach Spanish language phonics. These Spanish translations are intended to support teachers with Spanish-speaking students who are learning phonics in English.” “Teaching Points” and “Classroom Materials/Charts” are included. Such resources are fully written in Spanish. No specific guidance is provided on how to incorporate these resources within instruction.
• Although the materials provide resources in Spanish, materials do not support other languages. The units do not include linguistic accommodations commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPS. There is no evidence of the materials providing suggestions for ways that the teacher can support Emergent Bilinguals through shared reading, songs, chants, or poems. The materials do not promote cooperative group work or recommend strategic selection of student groupings to support Emergent Bilinguals. Therefore, materials do not include support for Emergent Bilinguals to meet grade-level learning expectations.

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

• In the guide, Chapter 2, the Supporting English Language Learners in Phonics section states: “Pictures alone won’t be as effective as when you are also having gestures to go with new words. As you invite kids in joining you to make the continuous /f/ sound for fish, for example, bring your palms together and make the gesture for swimming and invite them to do the same.” Materials mention that “the problem–and this is alarmingly common–is that too often, they are learning to do this in the absence of comprehension.” These activities promote building language acquisition.
• In Small Groups to Support Phonics, Small Group 10, “Other Support” states: “Replicate: you can do this same sort of different letters. To adjust the difficulty, consider: start with two obviously contrasting sounds like /b/ and /h/, where the letter sounds are made in different parts of the mouth. Move on to sort sounds that are more difficult to distinguish such as /b/ and /p/ or /v/ and /f/ and/or look for children that might be having a challenge with particular sounds like these.”
• Although the materials provide guidance for supporting English learners, support for languages other than Spanish was not found. The phonics units do not include strategic use of students’ first language as a means to linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic development in English. There is no evidence of the materials providing information about language transfer in a handbook, a side-by-side chart, or within lesson plans. There is no evidence of professional development about how and why to promote and build first language proficiency. The materials do not include family letters explaining the instructional objectives and/or homework in languages other than English. Also, the materials do not include links to resources for translation or support in first languages.