1st Grade - Gateway 1

The phonemic awareness scope and sequence in Bridge to Reading partially meets the expectations for Indicator 1c. The materials provide a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction that progresses through phoneme isolation, blending, segmenting, and manipulation. Phonological sensitivity activities decrease over time as phoneme-level skills become more prominent, and phonemic awareness instruction aligns to the phonics scope and sequence to support application of skills. The materials also identify a progression of phonemic awareness skills and reference research-based frameworks that establish the importance of phonemic awareness within word recognition. However, the materials provide limited explanation of the research-based rationale for the sequence in which phonemic awareness skills are introduced, strengthened, and reviewed.

• Materials contain a limited, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonemic awareness skills. 

  • According to the Guided by Principles, Grounded in Research, the materials reference the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986), explaining that reading comprehension is the product of decoding and language comprehension, with phonemic awareness identified as a component of decoding. The materials also reference Scarborough’s Reading Rope (Scarborough, 2001), describing how word recognition skills develop over time through explicit practice and increasing automaticity. In this representation, phonological awareness is identified within the word recognition strand and includes skills such as syllables and phonemes. The materials also state that foundational skills are introduced, strengthened, and reviewed across grade levels as part of a developmentally appropriate progression. 

    • According to the  Foundational Learning Progression, the materials state that “the progression that follows shows how these skills are introduced, strengthened, and reviewed from kindergarten through third grade”: 

      • Rhyme

      • Phoneme Isolation: Initial, Final, Medial

      • Syllable Blending

      • Segmenting into Syllables

      • Add, Delete, Substitute Syllables

      • Instrasyllable Blending

      • Segmenting Onset-Rime

      • Blend Phonemes

      • Segment into Phonemes

      • Add, Delete, Substitute Phonemes

    The materials identify a progression of phonemic awareness skills and reference research-based frameworks that establish the importance of phonemic awareness within word recognition. However, the materials provide limited explanation of the research-based rationale for the sequence in which phonemic awareness skills are introduced, strengthened, and reviewed.

• Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ immediate application of the skills. 

  • According to the Scope and Sequence, materials follow a consistent phoneme-level hierarchy.

    • Unit 1: Phonemic Awareness

      • Skills strengthened: Rhyme recognition, initial phoneme isolation, blending syllables, segmenting syllables

    • Unit 2: Phonemic Awareness

      • Skills strengthened: Rhyme production, blend phonemes, final phoneme isolation, medial phoneme isolation, segment phonemes, add initial phonemes, delete initial phonemes

    • Unit 3: Phonemic Awareness

      • Skills strengthened: Blend phonemes, medial phoneme isolation, segment phonemes, add initial phonemes, delete initial phonemes, substitute initial phonemes

    • Unit 4: Phonemic Awareness

      • Skills strengthened: Medial phoneme isolation, blend phonemes, segment phonemes, add initial phonemes, add final phonemes, delete initial phonemes, delete final phonemes, substitute initial phonemes, substitute final phonemes

    • Unit 5: Phonemic Awareness

      • Skills strengthened: Blend phonemes, segment phonemes, add final phonemes, add phonemes within words, delete final phonemes, delete phonemes within words, substitute final phonemes, substitute medial phonemes

• Materials attend to developing phonemic awareness skills and avoid spending excess time on phonological sensitivity tasks. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 5, Day 1, Phonemic Awareness, 1 out of 7 target activities focuses on a phonological sensitivity skill. The listed activities include rhyme production, blending phonemes, phoneme-grapheme connection, final phoneme isolation, segmenting into phonemes, adding initial phonemes, and deleting initial phonemes, with an extension activity focused on substituting initial phonemes. Of these activities, rhyme production reflects a phonological sensitivity task, while the remaining activities focus on phoneme-level manipulation and application.

    • In the Rhyme Production task, the teacher will say the rime of a word and then will say a word that rhymes. The students then produce more words that rhyme. For example, the teacher will say the rime -at and provide the example word hat with which students will produce more rhymes.

    • In the Deleting Initial Phonemes task, the teacher says a word and students repeat that word. Then the teacher will "delete or take away” a sound at the beginning and the students say what is left. For example, the teacher says the word mesh and the students repeat it. Then the teacher takes away the /m/ sound and students respond with -esh. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 9, Day 1, Phonemic Awareness, all of the target activities are focused on building phonemic awareness skills.

    • In the Phoneme-Grapheme Connection task, the teacher encourages students to read words by blending phonemes. The teacher touches each grapheme in a word and the students and teacher together blend the phonemes those graphemes produce to read the whole word. For example, the teacher can use Word Construction Cards to spell the word less (alternatively, the teacher can write the word on a dry erase board). Then, the teacher touches each grapheme to connect to the phonemes /l/ /ě/ /s/ for students to read less. 

    Although daily phonemic awareness activities at the beginning of the year include phonological sensitivity tasks, these decrease over time and are not present by Unit 3.

• Materials contain a phonemic awareness sequence of instruction and practice aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 12, Day 1, Phonemic Awareness, the materials contain a phonemic awareness activity aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. In one of the tasks, students add initial phonemes to words. The teacher says a word or word part and the students repeat it. Then, the teacher adds a sound at the beginning and students say the new word. For example, the teacher begins by saying -ing and the students repeat. Then, the teacher adds /r/ to the beginning of the words and asks students what the new word is. Students then say ring. Three of the words that students create–ring, long, and hang–all contain the “glued” sounds of -ang, -ong and -ing that are the phonics focus of that week. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 18, Day 1, Phonemic Awareness, the materials contain a phonemic awareness activity aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. In one of the tasks, students blend phonemes. The teacher begins by saying phonemes and students blend those sounds into a word. Four of the words that students blend–fork, short, sport, and charge–all have the r-controlled vowel sounds that are the focus of that week: /or/ and /ar/.

The phonemic awareness instruction in Bridge to Reading partially meets the expectations for Indicator 1d. The materials include systematic, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness through consistent teacher-led routines that focus on isolating, blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes. Lessons include repeated teacher modeling, structured examples, and opportunities for guided student practice that reinforce phoneme-level skills across the year. Materials also provide some teacher guidance for corrective feedback, including a framework for identifying student errors and instructional guidance for specific phonemic awareness skills. However, lesson-specific corrective feedback and scaffolded responses to student errors are limited across daily phonemic awareness instruction.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year. 

• Materials include systematic, explicit instruction in sounds (phonemes). 

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Phonemic Awareness, Target: Initial Phoneme Isolation, the teacher  states, “I will say a word. You will repeat the word and isolate the first sound you hear.” The teacher models the expected response using a structured example. When the teacher says the word bake, students respond by repeating the word and identifying the initial sound /b/. Students then practice isolating initial phonemes in additional words, including hope, cane, dent, and jump, identifying sounds such as /h/, /k/, /d/, and /j/. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 6, Day 1, Phonemic Awareness, materials include systematic and explicit instruction in phoneme segmentation with repeated teacher modeling. The teacher introduces the task by stating, “I will say a word. You will repeat the word and segment the word into sounds. Can you count the sounds you hear?” The teacher then models segmenting words into individual phonemes, including him as /h/ /ĭ/ /m/ and not as /n/ /ŏ/ /t/, before students repeat the words and segment the sounds aloud. Students continue practicing with additional words, including shut, take, right, and path, applying phoneme segmentation across words with digraphs, vowel teams, and silent e patterns. The lesson also provides a scaffolded support option in which students hold up one finger for each phoneme they hear while segmenting words, reinforcing phoneme identification and counting during guided practice.

• Materials provide the teacher with examples for instruction in sounds (phonemes). 

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Phonemic Awareness, Target: Initial Phoneme Isolation, the lesson includes a modeled example in which the teacher says the word bake and students repeat the word and identify the initial sound /b/. Additional examples are provided for continued practice, including the words hope, cane, dent, and jump, with corresponding initial sounds /h/, /k/, /d/, and /j/. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 6, Day 2, Phonemic Awareness, Target: Segmenting Phonemes, the lesson includes multiple word examples paired with their segmented phonemes, including nice segmented as /n/ /ī/ /s/, seat segmented as /s/ /ē/ /t/, and fame segmented as /f/ /ā/ /m/. Additional examples include vine, huge, and peak, each broken into individual phonemes.

• Materials include some teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. 

  • According to the Phonemic Awareness Corrective Feedback guide, the materials provide teacher guidance for corrective feedback when students need additional support with phonemic awareness skills. Teachers identify the skill requiring support and the type of error and use the corresponding instructional guidance to provide corrective feedback. The guide includes corrective feedback for the following skills: rhyme, phoneme isolation, blending, segmenting, and phoneme manipulation.

    • For phoneme isolation, when a student needs support identifying an initial phoneme, the teacher says the word, points to the first Elkonin box or places a counter in the box, and models isolating the initial sound. For example, with the word vet, the teacher models vet, /v/, and students repeat the word and initial sound. The teacher can also model the articulatory features of the sound.

    • For segmenting, when a student omits a phoneme, the teacher identifies the number of phonemes and models separating each sound before students repeat. For example, with the word clap, the teacher explains that the word contains four sounds, models /c/ /l/ /ă/ /p/, and emphasizes that each consonant sound in the blend is segmented separately. The teacher can also use manipulatives to represent each phoneme.

  • According to the Unit 1, Week 3 Planner and Differentiated Support Guide, Reinforce, Differentiated Support:

    • For students at the Early/Intermediate level, the teacher provides additional articulation guidance and practice, considers using a mirror, and provides practice isolating the sound in words. The teacher can also use visuals or movements to connect words to meaning and provide additional practice during Reinforce/Extend groups.

    • For students at the Intermediate/Advanced level, the teacher confirms correct articulation and provides additional vowel isolation practice using minimal pairs. Students identify whether sounds are the same or different using a thumbs-up or thumbs-down response and receive additional practice during Reinforce/Extend groups.

    The materials provide some teacher guidance for corrective feedback through the Phonemic Awareness Corrective Feedback guide and select prompts within lessons. The guide provides a framework for identifying student errors and instructional guidance for specific phonemic awareness skills. However, lesson-specific corrective feedback and scaffolded responses to student errors are limited across daily phonemic awareness instruction.

The assessment opportunities for phonemic awareness in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1f. The materials provide assessment opportunities across the year through individual phonemic awareness assessments and phoneme segmentation and blending within unit encoding assessments. Assessment materials include scoring guidance and proficiency ranges that provide the teacher with information about students’ current phonemic awareness skills. Materials also provide some instructional suggestions and next steps through intervention planning guidance, optional intervention activities, and error-specific corrective feedback. However, guidance for connecting specific assessment results to targeted instructional responses remains broad and largely dependent on teacher interpretation. The materials do not consistently connect specific assessment outcomes to corresponding reteach routines or intervention pathways.

• Materials provide assessment opportunities throughout the year (e.g., at least three times per year or aligned to key instructional benchmarks) to monitor student progress in phonemic awareness. Assessment types may include oral tasks, encoding assessments, decoding activities requiring phoneme manipulation, and teacher observations. 

  • In the Assessing Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Guide, the materials state that, in Grade 1, students “blend and segment at the syllable level and then at the phoneme level throughout instruction, with lessons for Tier 1 instruction included in Weeks 1-24 and 6 optional weeks of intervention in Weeks 24-29.” Assessments in phonemic awareness are used to “measure a child’s ability to blend and segment two, three, and four or more phonemes in spoken words.” These assessments are administered in a 1-1 setting. There are three phonemic awareness assessments (Form A, Form B, and Form C). Form A can be used to gather baseline data, while Forms B and C can be used for ongoing data collection throughout the year.

    • For example, in Grade 1 Phonemic Awareness Assessment Form B, Segmenting words into Phonemes subtest, the teacher is directed to say a word. Then, the teacher models segmenting the word into sounds and segments the words these to /th/ /ē/ /z/. After the teacher models the activity, the student is directed to segment the words fish, stop, keep, best, and mug. 

  • Across the Unit Assessments, the Encoding Assessments provide opportunities for students to demonstrate phoneme segmentation and blending. Students repeat a spoken word and segment it into the individual phonemes they hear, then blend the phonemes to produce the whole word. 

    • For example, in the Unit 1 Assessment, students segment dug as /d/ /ŭ/ /g/ and blend the phonemes to produce dug. 

    • In the Unit 2 Assessment, students segment bath as /b/ /ă/ /th/ and blend the phonemes to produce bath. 

    • In the Unit 6 Assessment, students segment hawk as /h/ /aw/ /k/ and blend the phonemes to produce hawk.

• Assessment materials provide teachers-and, when appropriate, caregiver-with clear information about student’s current skill levels in phonemic awareness. 

  • According to the 1st Grade Phonemic Awareness Assessment Form B, each subtest is scored separately. A student is considered proficient if they correctly complete all tasks on a given subtest. A student is considered developing if they correctly complete 3-4 tasks on a given subtest. A student is considered beginning if they correctly complete 0-2 tasks on a given subtest. The teacher can record each student’s individual response on the appropriate form and transfer the student’s results into the digital assessment tool. For example, on the Blending Phonemes into spoken words subtest on Assessment Form B, there is space to record a student’s response to the task of blending 3-4 sounds. The first item has a column that lists the sounds /sh/-/ā/-/p/, a column that lists the correct response as the word shape, and a column that provides space for the teacher to record the student’s response. There are five items on this subtest and the teacher has space to record the student’s response to each item as well as the total results. The teacher also has space on this subtest form to check if the student responds to the task by: repeating the sounds and then blending those sounds into a word; adding or omitting sounds when blending into a word; and/or responding to an item after more than 4 seconds.

• Materials support teachers with some instructional suggestions or next steps based on assessment results to support student progress toward mastery. 

  • According to the 1st Grade Phonemic Awareness Assessment Form B, “students who score in the ‘Beginning’ range may need additional intervention with targeted skills.” For students at the beginning range, the materials suggest that the teacher uses the “Phonological Awareness assessment for Kindergarten” which assesses “students with larger units of language (phonological awareness).” The materials also state that there are additional progress monitoring assessments, such as Weekly Check Ins, “available to monitor student progress with specific skills.” 

  • According to the Heggerty Support, Phonemic Awareness, Planning Intervention video, the teacher is encouraged to use the results of phonemic awareness instruction, in addition to anecdotal and observational evidence, to plan intervention in phonemic awareness for students who may need additional support. The teacher is not advised to reteach a full phonemic awareness lesson. Instead, they should target 1-2 phonemic awareness tasks where a student needs to develop further, beginning with more simple phonemic awareness tasks, such as isolating phonemes, before moving to more complex phonemic awareness tasks. To find the corresponding lessons for the specific skills a teacher needs to teach, the teacher is advised to use the index or the scope and sequence in their teacher materials. When teaching these skills in a small group setting, the teacher is advised to spend no more than 5 minutes on phonemic awareness skills before following up with explicit phonics instruction. 

  • According to the Assessing Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Guide, Weeks 24-29 offer six optional weeks of phonemic awareness intervention. The teacher can use these phonemic awareness activities to reinforce and review phonemic awareness in whole-group instruction or to target specific phonemic awareness skills in small groups.

    • The Assessing Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Guide states that Weeks 25-30 offer the optional weeks of phonemic awareness intervention. However, on the digital platform, Weeks 24-29 include the optional weeks of phonemic awareness intervention. 

  • According to the Phonemic Awareness Corrective Feedback guide, teachers identify the phonemic awareness skill requiring support and the type of error a student demonstrates and use the corresponding instructional guidance to provide corrective feedback and additional support.

    • For example, when a student needs support with initial phoneme isolation, the teacher models the word and initial sound using an Elkonin box or counter and has the student repeat the word and sound.

    • When a student omits a phoneme during segmenting, the teacher identifies the number of phonemes, models separating each sound, and can use manipulatives to represent the individual phonemes before the student repeats the task. 

    Materials include some guidance to support instructional next steps based on assessment results, including proficiency ranges, identification of strengths and needs, intervention planning, progress-monitoring assessments, optional intervention activities, and error-specific corrective feedback. The materials provide guidance for identifying phonemic awareness skills requiring additional support and instructional responses for some identified errors. However, guidance for connecting specific assessment results to targeted instructional responses remains broad and largely dependent on teacher interpretation. The materials do not consistently connect specific assessment outcomes to corresponding reteach routines or intervention pathways.

The phonics scope and sequence in Bridge to Reading partially meets the expectations for this indicator. Materials provide a cohesive sequence of phonics instruction that progresses from simple to more complex skills and emphasizes high-utility sound-spelling patterns that support developing word reading. Phonics instruction is cumulative, with opportunities for students to apply skills through blending, segmenting, and decoding across units. However, while materials reference broad research-based frameworks, they include only a limited explanation of the rationale for the sequence and do not clearly articulate how the order of skills supports progression from simpler to more complex concepts. As a result, the sequence is coherent in structure but lacks a clear, evidence-based justification for its design.

• Materials contain a limited, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonics skills. 

  • According to the Introduction and Overview, materials provide a general research-based explanation for reading development through references to the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) and Scarborough’s Reading Rope (2001). These frameworks identify decoding, including phonics, as a critical component of reading comprehension and describe how word recognition develops alongside language comprehension through increasingly automatic and strategic processes. Materials further describe Bridge to Reading as a comprehensive approach to foundational literacy in which phonics is one of several interconnected components, including phonemic awareness, morphology, fluency, oral language, and communication. The program states that skills are introduced, strengthened, and reviewed across grades to support students in becoming fluent readers.

    Materials include a general research-based explanation for reading development; however, the explanation of the phonics sequence is limited. While materials reference established frameworks that identify phonics as a component of decoding, they do not clearly articulate the rationale for the specific order in which phonics skills are taught or how the sequence supports progression from simpler to more complex skills,

• Materials provide a cohesive, intentional phonics sequence that progresses from simple to more complex skills and includes ample opportunities to apply skills through decoding in connected text. 

  • According to the Scope and Sequence, materials provide a progression of phonics concepts across Books 1–3, organized by units and weeks, beginning with review of foundational word patterns and advancing to more complex phonics patterns and multisyllabic word reading.

    • Book 1 – Unit 1: Review Short Vowels and Consonants (Weeks 1–4)

      • Week 1: VC and CVC words with short a

      • Week 2: VC and CVC words with short i, o

      • Week 3: CV and CVC words with short e, u

      • Week 4: Review with inflectional endings with -s and -es without spelling changes

    • Book 1 – Unit 2: Consonant Digraphs and Double Consonants (Weeks 5–8)

      • Week 5: Consonant digraphs: sh, th, ch, wh

      • Week 6: Final consonant digraph -ck; trigraph -tch

      • Week 7: Double consonants: -ff, -ss, -zz, -ll

      • Week 8: Review with endings -s and -es

    • Book 1 – Unit 3: Consonant Blends, -ed, -ng/-nk, Exceptions (Weeks 9–13)

      • Week 9: Consonant blends: l, r, and s

      • Week 10: Final consonant blends

      • Week 11: Three sounds of -ed; doubling rule for inflectional endings

      • Week 12: Sounds of -ng and -nk

      • Week 13: Closed syllable exceptions: -old, -olt, -ost, -ild, -ind

    • Book 2 – Unit 4: Long Vowels (CV and VCe) and Soft c/g (Weeks 14–17)

      • Week 14: VCe long vowels a, i; y as long i in CV, VCe words

      • Week 15: VCe long vowels o, e, u

      • Week 16: Soft c and soft g

      • Week 17: Review with inflectional endings with spelling changes

    • Book 2 – Unit 5: r-Controlled Vowels and Vowel Teams (Weeks 18–23)

      • Week 18: r-controlled vowels: ar, or

      • Week 19: r-controlled vowels: er, ir, ur

      • Week 20: Long a vowel teams: ay, ai

      • Week 21: Long o vowel teams: oa, oe, ow

      • Week 22: Long e vowel teams: ee, ea, ie, ey

      • Week 23: Long i vowel teams: ie, igh; long u vowel teams: ue, ui

    • Book 3 – Unit 6: Complex Vowel Patterns, Silent Letters, and Diphthongs (Weeks 24–29)

      • Week 24: Complex vowel patterns: all, alt, alk, aw, au

      • Week 25: Complex vowels: ou, oo, ew

      • Week 26: Silent letters: kn, wr, gn, gh, mb, gh and ph as /f/

      • Week 27: Diphthongs: ou, ow, oi, oy

      • Week 28: Suffixes: -er, -est

      • Week 29: Prefixes: un-, re-, and inflectional endings

    • Book 3 – Unit 7: Multisyllabic Words, Schwa, and Jobs of y (Weeks 30–34)

      • Week 30: Multisyllabic words: closed syllables (VC/CV) and schwa

      • Week 31: Multisyllabic words: V/CV and VC/V

      • Week 32: Jobs of y in multisyllabic words

      • Week 33: Multisyllabic words: final consonant -le

      • Week 34: Review

• Phonics instruction is based on high utility patterns and/or specific phonics generalizations. 

  • According to the Scope and Sequence, phonics instruction is based on high-utility sound-spelling patterns and common phonics generalizations that support early and developing word reading. 

    • Materials begin with review of short vowel patterns in VC, CVC, and CV word structures and continue with frequently occurring patterns such as consonant digraphs (sh, th, ch, wh), final -ck, and trigraph -tch. 

    • Instruction expands to include double consonants (-ff, -ss, -zz, -ll), consonant blends, and common inflectional endings, including -s, -es, and -ed with associated spelling rules. 

    • Materials introduce additional high-utility phonics generalizations, including nasal endings (-ng, -nk), closed syllable exceptions, and long vowel patterns through VCe structures and vowel teams (ay, ai, oa, oe, ow, ee, ea, ie, ey). 

    • Instruction continues with r-controlled vowels (ar, or, er, ir, ur), complex vowel patterns (aw, au, ou, oo, ew), silent letter patterns (kn, wr, gn, gh, mb, ph), and diphthongs (ou, ow, oi, oy). 

    • Later units include instruction in affixes, including prefixes (un-, re-) and suffixes (-er, -est), as well as multisyllabic word reading patterns and syllable types.

The pacing and practice opportunities of phonics instruction in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1i. Materials provide a structured progression of phonics concepts and include repeated practice routines and cumulative review opportunities across decoding and encoding instruction. Lessons allocate sufficient time for students to engage in blending, word chaining, connected text reading, spelling practice, and review of previously taught phonics patterns through distributed and interleaved practice opportunities. However, pacing concerns are evident within the Grade 1 phonics sequence. Earlier units devote multiple weeks to review of foundational short vowel patterns and single phonics concepts, while later units introduce advanced phonics concepts, including multiple vowel teams, silent letters, diphthongs, affixes, and multisyllabic word-reading patterns, across consecutive weeks with fewer opportunities for extended practice of newly taught skills before additional concepts are introduced.

• Materials include generally reasonable pacing of newly taught phonics skills. 

  • According to the Scope and Sequence, materials provide a structured progression of phonics concepts across Books 1–3, organized by units and weeks, with new phonics skills introduced in a systematic, week-by-week sequence.

    • In Book 1, Unit 1, students review foundational short vowel patterns in VC, CVC, and CV words across Weeks 1–4, with each week focusing on specific vowel patterns and a review week in Week 4. This pacing continues in Unit 2, where individual phonics concepts are introduced sequentially, including consonant digraphs, final digraphs and trigraphs, and double consonants, followed by a review week.

    • In Book 2, Unit 4, Weeks 14–17 introduce VCe long vowels, soft c and soft g, and review inflectional endings with spelling changes before a unit assessment. 

    • In Book 2, Unit 5, Weeks 18–23 introduce r-controlled vowels and multiple vowel team patterns sequentially, including ay/ai, oa/oe/ow, ee/ea/ie/ey, and ie/igh/ue/ui, followed by a unit assessment in Week 23.

      • Each concept is introduced and practiced within a dedicated instructional week before moving to the next concept, with review weeks embedded at the end of units. 

    • In Book 3, Unit 6, Weeks 24–29 introduce a broader range of advanced phonics concepts in quicker succession, including complex vowel patterns, silent letters, diphthongs, suffixes, prefixes, and inflectional endings, followed by a unit assessment in Week 29. Book 3, Unit 7, Weeks 30–34 then introduces multisyllabic word reading with closed syllables, V/CV and VC/V syllable patterns, Jobs of y in multisyllabic words, and final consonant -le syllables before a final review and unit assessment in Week 34. While review opportunities are embedded throughout the sequence, later Grade 1 concepts are introduced at a more compressed pace than earlier units focused on foundational review and single-pattern instruction. 

    • According to the Fidelity Checklist, daily lessons are designed to take approximately 45 minutes, with 30–45 minutes allocated to phonics instruction, including Red Words and fluency modeling. 

    Materials include repeated practice routines and cumulative review opportunities; however, pacing concerns are evident within the Grade 1 phonics sequence. Earlier units devote multiple weeks to review of foundational short vowel patterns and single phonics concepts, while later units introduce advanced phonics concepts, including multiple vowel teams, silent letters, diphthongs, affixes, and multisyllabic word-reading patterns, across consecutive weeks with fewer opportunities for extended practice of newly taught skills before additional concepts are introduced.

• The lesson plan design allots time to include sufficient student practice to work towards automaticity. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 5, Day 1, Phonics and Fluency, materials provide structured and extended opportunities for students to practice newly introduced phonics patterns, including initial consonant digraphs sh and th. During the lesson, students engage in both decoding and encoding tasks using consistent routines. In the “We Do” portion of the lesson, students read multiple words such as shut, shun, shin, and thin using the Reading Routine, applying sound-by-sound decoding and blending. Students participate in word chaining activities, manipulating individual phonemes to build and read new words, reinforcing repeated exposure to the target patterns. Students also engage in encoding practice using the Spelling Routine, segmenting and spelling words such as shot, this, than, and sham. Students identify individual sounds, match sounds to corresponding graphemes, and reread words to confirm accuracy.

  • In Unit 4, Week 16, Day 3, Phonics and Fluency, materials provide extended opportunities for students to practice phonics patterns focused on hard and soft c and g. During the lesson, approximately 30 minutes are allocated across the “I Do” and “We Do” portions, allowing students to engage in multiple, structured practice opportunities. Students begin by identifying and categorizing words such as cub, cent, cab, and face based on hard and soft c sounds, followed by additional practice with g words such as got, gem, get, and cage. Students engage in repeated decoding practice through blending lines, reading words across multiple lines that include review of blends and targeted practice with hard and soft c and g, as well as mixed review across patterns. Students then read connected sentences, first word-by-word and then fluently, reinforcing repeated exposure to the target phonics patterns. Students also engage in encoding practice using the Spelling Routine, applying phoneme-grapheme correspondence to write sentences such as The gold gem is in a safe place and The cute cub has one cent. Students identify and categorize hard and soft sounds within sentences, reread to check accuracy, and repeat the process across multiple sentences.

• Materials contain distributed, cumulative, and intervleaved opportunities for students to practice and review all previously learned grade-level phonics. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 13, Day 5, Phonics and Fluency, materials provide cumulative and interleaved opportunities for students to review previously taught phonics patterns, including closed syllable exceptions. During the review lesson, students revisit pattern words collected from prior instruction and read and spell both pattern words and high-frequency words. Students apply the Reading Routine to read words chorally and with partners and use the Spelling Routine to encode words such as foxes, child, and hold, reinforcing previously learned phonics patterns. Students engage in interleaved practice by applying multiple skills within the same lesson, including decoding pattern words, spelling words with inflectional endings, and reading high-frequency words. This practice extends to connected text through a Sound Story, where students listen for and identify words with target patterns and Red Words within a passage, applying phonics knowledge in context.

  • In Unit 6, Week 27, Day 3, Phonics and Fluency, materials provide distributed and cumulative opportunities for students to review previously taught phonics patterns, including diphthongs /ow/ and /oi/ and vowel teams. Students read multiple blending lines that include words with vowel teams, diphthongs, and inflectional endings, progressing from targeted review to mixed practice across patterns. Students apply the Reading Routine to read words across multiple lines and then read a connected sentence, rereading to build fluency. Students also engage in interleaved encoding practice through word sorting and spelling activities. Students sort and spell words such as plow, boy, cloud, ground, boil, and point, identifying and categorizing diphthong patterns while applying previously learned phonics knowledge. Students use the Spelling Routine to segment sounds, match phonemes to graphemes, and write words within categories. This practice extends to sentence-level encoding, where students write sentences such as The crowd made a loud sound, reinforcing application of multiple phonics patterns within connected text.

The phonics instruction in Bridge to Reading partially meets the expectations for Indicator 1j. Materials provide systematic and explicit teacher modeling of newly taught phonics patterns through consistent blending, segmenting, spelling, and multisyllabic reading routines. Daily lessons guide the teacher to model sound-by-sound analysis, phoneme-grapheme correspondence, syllable division, and encoding routines before students practice the same routines independently or with support. Materials also include structured dictation activities aligned to taught phonics patterns through word and sentence-level spelling practice. However, teacher guidance for corrective feedback is often limited to brief prompts and scaffolds rather than explicit corrective routines that support the teacher in identifying student misconceptions and providing instructional next steps toward mastery.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year. 

• Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of newly taught phonics patterns. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 19, Day 1, Phonics, the materials provide explicit instructions for teacher modeling of the phonics concept of r-controlled vowels er and ir that make the /er/ sound. The teacher begins by explaining that when “a vowel is followed by the consonant r, most of the time the r teams up with the vowel to stand for a different sound.” The teacher goes on to explain that the sound /er/ can be produced with the graphemes er or ir and uses the words term and dirt as examples. Next, the teacher displays the Sound Spelling Card /er/. The teacher goes on to explain that the grapheme er is the common way to spell the sound /er/, but that sometimes, the ir pattern is used as well. Next, the teacher uses the Word Construction Cards to spell the word fern. Before reading the word, the teacher leads the students through a recitation of the Reading Routine: first, students say the sounds, then they slowly blend the sounds to finally read the word. The teacher models this process by segmenting the word fern. The teacher says, “the letter f is a consonant that stands for the sound /f/. The letters e and r stand for the sound /er/. The letter n is a consonant that stands for the sound /n/.” The teacher repeats this process with the word bird. 

  • In Unit 7, Week 30, Day 2, Phonics, the materials provide explicit instructions for teaching modeling of the phonics concept of multisyllabic words with double consonants. The teacher begins by building on the work the class did in a previous lesson on syllable division. The teacher goes on to explain “we will continue working on this skill with words that have double consonants. If a multisyllabic word has a double consonant, then we will usually split the word between those letters. However, when we read the word, the double consonants will only stand for one sound.” Next, the teacher uses the Word Construction Cards to spell the word rabbit. The teacher models using the Multisyllabic Reading Routine to read the word. First, the teacher counts the number of letters in the words and states that we “use patterns and syllables to help us read longer words.” Then, the teacher looks at the word to spot vowels or parts that they know. The teacher says, “I see the vowels a and i. I’ll underline these vowels.” The teacher labels the vowels and the consonants in the word. Next, the teacher splits the word into its syllables. The teacher says that they “see the double consonant bb. I will split the word between these letters to make two closed syllables, or the VC/CV pattern.” The teacher draws a line to divide the word and reminds students that the double consonants only stand for one sound. Next, the teacher scoops under each syllable as they slowly blend the sound. Finally, the teacher does what is called “Think and Flex”: the teacher reflects on if the word sounds right and if it makes sense. If the word doesn’t, the teacher will try a different way. The teacher concludes the modeling by saying the word and providing a definition of a rabbit. The teacher repeats this process with the word happen. 

• Lessons include blending and segmenting practice using structured, consistent blending routines with teacher modeling. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 19, Day 2, Phonics, the lesson includes blending practice with structured routines and teacher modeling of word chaining. The teacher guides students through using Word Construction Cards and Spell Tiles to chain words with the /er/ sound. The teacher begins by constructing the word fur and guiding the students to use their Spell Tiles to construct the word. The teacher and students use the Reading Routine to say the sounds and slowly blend the sounds together. The teacher then prompts the students to change letters to spell a new word. The teacher asks the students to change “the letter f to the letter h. Then, add the letter l to the end of the word. What word do we have now?” The students respond with the new word hurl. This process continues for the words hurt, hurts, and nurse. The materials guide teachers to point out that “when a word has an r-controlled vowel and ends in the sound /s/, it will usually be spelled with se.”

  • In Unit 7, Week 30, Day 1, Phonics, the lesson includes segmenting practice with structured routines. The teacher guides students to spell words using their Word Construction Cards and Digital Blending Boards or classroom whiteboard and Spell Tiles. The teacher begins with the word sister and encourages the students to work through the Multisyllabic Spelling Routine with them. First, they all say the word. Then, they split the word into two syllables and draw two lines to represent the number of syllables. Next, they spell each syllable. The teacher tells the students if they “already know how to spell the whole syllable, write the letters. If they’re unsure, match a letter to each sound you hear.” Next, the teacher guides the students through reading the word and checking their spelling. This process repeats with the words carpet, helmet, and whisper. 

• Lessons include dictation of words and sentences using the newly taught phonics pattern(s). 

  • In Unit 5, Week 19, Day 5, Phonics, Partner Activity: “I Read, You Spell,” the lesson includes an activity where students take turns reading and spelling words and sentences with the /er/ sound. The teacher uses Activity 19 from the Teacher Resource Book and distributes words and sentences in slips of paper to pairs of students. The teacher has partners face each other. While one partner reads a word, the other partner spells that word. Then, the partners switch with a new word. The partners continue to alternate through the distributed words and sentences. Sample words and sentences from this activity include: blur, first, her, never, and Mark rides his horse with tan fur. 

  • In Unit 7, Week 30, Day 3, Phonics, the lesson includes segmenting practice with structured routines. The teacher guides students to write a sentence on their paper that includes multisyllabic words with closed syllables and schwa. The teacher begins by instructing students to repeat the following sentence: Her sister is asleep. The teacher then guides the students through spelling each word in the sentence, using the Spelling Routine for single syllable words and the Multisyllabic Spelling Routine for multisyllabic words. After the students have written their sentences, the teacher writes the sentence on a whiteboard so that students can check their spelling. Next, the students become “detectives” and search the sentence for multisyllabic words with closed syllables or the schwa sound. The students are instructed to circle those words. This process repeats for the following sentence: Where is the little magnet?

• Materials include limited teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 19, Day 5, Phonics, the materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback. If a student says the sounds correctly but needs “support blending them together due to adding, deleting, or saying sounds out of sequence,” the materials direct the teacher to have the student “use successive blending: /s-t/…/st/…/st-ir/, stir.”

  • In Unit 7, Week 30, Day 1, Phonics, Corrective Feedback, the materials state, that if a student needs additional support in identifying the number of syllables in a word, the teacher can “instruct the student to place their hand under their jaw and say the word. Ask them to count the number of times their jaw dropped to determine the number of syllables.”

    Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback during phonics instruction; however, the guidance is often limited to brief prompts and scaffolds rather than explicit corrective routines that support teachers in identifying student misconceptions and providing instructional next steps toward mastery.

The instruction and practice of spelling rules and generalizations in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1l. Spelling instruction is aligned to the phonics scope and sequence and progresses from foundational spelling patterns to more complex patterns, including inflectional endings, vowel teams, multisyllabic words, and vowel spelling patterns. Materials provide explicit explanations of spelling rules and generalizations that connect spelling to reading and sound analysis through consistent spelling and phoneme-grapheme mapping routines. Students have opportunities to practice spelling patterns through structured routines that include word- and sentence-level application, rereading, and cumulative use. However, the number and complexity of spelling patterns introduced across consecutive instructional weeks may limit opportunities for students to engage in extended independent practice and application of newly taught spelling patterns to support full mastery.

• Spelling rules and generalizations are aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 8, Day 2, Phonics and Fluency, the teacher provides spelling rules and generalizations aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. The teacher begins by reminding students that in the previous lesson, they reviewed the ending -s. The teacher then explains that in this lesson, they will review the ending -es. The teacher explains that “there are certain words that need an -es at the end to mean more than one or to show that an action is happening right now. Today, we will learn that -es is used when the word ends with the sounds /ch/, /sh/, /s/, and /z/.” The teacher then displays two examples of word sums to show how the ending -es is added to a base word to create a new word. While displaying the first word sum, depicted below, the teacher says, “Since lunch ends with the digraph ch, the ending -es is used to show that there is more than one”:

    • lunch + -es → lunches

    • kiss + -es → kisses

  • In Unit 4, Week 17, Day 2, Phonics and Fluency, the teacher provides spelling rules and generalizations aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. The teacher begins by reminding students that in a previous lesson, they learned more about the inflectional endings -s and -es. The teacher then explains that in this lesson, they will learn how to add the inflectional endings -ed and -ing to words that have the VCe pattern. The teacher then states that “when the base word ends with a final e, we have to drop the final e before adding the endings -ed and -ing.” The teacher then displays two word sums using the base words they worked with in the previous lesson: save and place. While displaying the word sums, the teacher reiterates that “each base word ends in a final e, so we have to drop the e before adding the inflectional endings”:

    • save/ + -ed → saved

    • save/ + -ing → saving 

    • place/ + -ed → placed

    • place/ + -ing → placing 

• Materials include explanations for spelling of specific words or spelling rules. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 11, Day 2, Phonics and Fluency, the materials include explanations for the spelling of the words dropped and bragging using the pattern of doubling the consonants before adding the inflectional endings -ed and -ing. Using Word Construction Cards, the Digital Blending Board, or a classroom whiteboard, the teacher begins the activity by modeling how to spell the word dropped. The teacher reminds the students of the Spelling Routine and begins the routine by stating,  “I hear the word drop and the ending -ed. First, I spell the word drop. Listen to each sound: /d/ /r/ /ŏ/ /p/. I hear four sounds, so I will draw four lines.” The teacher then goes on to match each sound to the letter that represents it. Then, they model changing drop to dropped by adding the ending -ed. The teacher asks the students to remember that “the base word ends in a single consonant after the vowel, so that consonant is doubled before adding the ending.” After adding the appropriate letters, the teacher models reading the word and checking their spelling. The teacher repeats this process with the word bragging. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 25, Day 1, Phonics and Fluency, the materials include explanations for the spelling of the words wood using the double vowel oo to produce the /ŏŏ/ sound. Using Word Construction Cards, the Digital Blending Board, or a classroom whiteboard, the teacher begins the activity by modeling how to spell the word wood. The teacher reminds the students of the Spelling Routine and begins the routine by stating the full word and the sounds they hear in the word. The teacher then matches each sound ot the letter(s) that stand for it, saying that “the sound /ŏŏ/ is spelled with the vowels oo.” Once the teacher has spelled the word, they reread the word and model how to check their work. 

• Students have sufficient opportunities to practice spelling rules and generalizations, though opportunities for extended independent application of newly taught spelling patterns are sometimes limited.  

  • In Unit 5, Week 21, Day 3, Phonics and Fluency, students have an opportunity to practice spelling the phonics pattern of the vowel teams oa, oe, or ow that produce the /ō/ sound. The students are asked to spell the following sentence: The oats are in the bowl. Students write their sentences on a piece of a paper. First, the teacher asks the students to repeat the sentence. Next, the teacher guides the students through the Spelling Routine to identify the sounds in a word and matching the sounds to letters. The teacher concludes by writing the sentence on the whiteboard so that students can check their spelling.

  • In Unit 7, Week 31 , Day 3, Phonics and Fluency, students have an opportunity to practice spelling multisyllabic words. Using Word Construction Cards, the Digital Blending Board, or a classroom whiteboard and Spell Tiles, the teacher leads the activity by guiding students to spell the word super. The teacher asks the students to repeat the word before asking how many syllables they hear in the word. Students draw a line to represent each syllable. Then, the teacher says, “now, spell each syllable. If you already know how to spell the whole syllable, write the letters. If you’re unsure, match a letter to each sound you hear.”  The teacher then guides students through checking their work and reading the word. This process repeats for the words visit, unit, and robin, as well as for the following sentence: Can we see the tiger later?

  • In Unit 4, Weeks 14–17, students practice VCe spelling patterns while simultaneously applying additional phonics and spelling concepts across consecutive instructional weeks. 

    • Students first learn long vowel VCe patterns for a and i in Week 14 and long vowel VCe patterns for o, e, and u in Week 15 before moving to soft c and soft g patterns in Week 16 and inflectional endings with spelling changes in Week 17. Lessons include guided spelling and application routines; however, newly taught spelling patterns are introduced across consecutive weeks with limited extended independent application of individual spelling patterns before additional spelling concepts are introduced.

    Materials provide guided and independent opportunities for students to practice spelling rules and generalizations through spelling routines, sentence dictation, and word-level application activities. However, the number and complexity of spelling patterns introduced across consecutive instructional weeks may limit opportunities for students to engage in extended independent practice and application of newly taught spelling patterns to support full mastery.

The decodable texts and instructional routines in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1m. Decodable texts align to taught phonics patterns and provide opportunities for students to apply phonics knowledge in connected text through READ Books and differentiated Heggerty Library resources. Students apply newly taught and previously learned sound-spelling patterns through word-, sentence-, and connected-text reading as phonics patterns increase in complexity across the year. Lessons also provide opportunities for rereading through multiple reading formats. However, plans for repeated readings of decodable texts provide limited guidance for systematically using rereading to reinforce accuracy, automaticity, and confidence.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year.

• Decodable texts reflect grade-level phonics patterns aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.

  • In Unit 3, Week 12, Day 4, Phonics and Fluency, READ Book, students read the READ Book passage Hank Can Sing aligned to the phonics focus of the sounds of -ng and -nk and inflectional endings -s, -ed, and -ing. Prior to reading, the teacher models identifying and decoding words in the passage that contain the target phonics patterns. Students then read connected text including “Hank is a little bird who can not sing anything yet” and “He fills his lungs and puffs up,” applying knowledge of glued sounds, VC and CVC word patterns, and inflectional endings while decoding connected text. The lesson also prompts students to use previously learned phonics knowledge to determine vowel sounds when reading words containing glued sounds, reinforcing alignment between the taught phonics patterns and the decodable passage.

    • According to the Scope and Sequence and Heggerty Library resources, in Unit 3, Week 12, students read the decodable text Jack’s Junk, which aligns to the phonics focus of the sounds of -ng and -nk. Prior to reading, students practice reading glued sound chunks including ink, ank, onk, unk, ing, ang, ong, and ung and apply these patterns while decoding words such as think, junk, thing, and hang. Students then read additional words including honk, wink, stung, stink, bang, song, gunk, and sink, applying sound-by-sound decoding while recognizing glued sound chunks. Sentence-level practice includes “The sink is filled with gunk” and “The pink truck went honk!”

  • In Unit 7, Week 32, Day 4, Phonics and Fluency, READ Book, students read the decodable passage Thank You, Granddad! aligned to the phonics focus of jobs of y representing /ē/ in multisyllabic words. Prior to reading, the teacher models identifying multisyllabic words ending in y and decoding words connected to the weekly phonics focus. Students then read connected text containing words such as yummy, happy, funny, pretty, cozy, and movie, applying knowledge of syllable patterns and the vowel sound represented by final y in multisyllabic words. 

    According to the Teacher Resource Book, Heggerty Library Overview, the Heggerty Library provides differentiated connected-text practice that may reinforce previously taught patterns, practice weekly skills, or preview upcoming concepts based on student need.

• Lessons include limited detailed plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to reinforce accuracy, automaticity, and confidence. 

  • According to the Scope and Sequence and Heggerty Library resources, in Unit 3, Week 12, students engage in rereading of decodable words, sentences, and text aligned to the glued sounds phonics focus. Students read blending lines with words such as think, junk, thing, and hang, applying sound-by-sound decoding and blending routines. Students are then directed to reread the same words “the fast way for fluency” and reread sentences such as The sink is filled with gunk and The pink truck went honk!. The lesson instructs students to “continue to practice reading the words and sentences with fluency until everyone in our group is finished.” During reading of the decodable text Jack’s Junk, the lesson provides teacher choice for rereading through “Echo read, Choral read, Partner read, [or] Independent read.” Teacher guidance beyond these rereading formats is limited to “Listen in as students read and write down your observations below.”

  • According to the Scope and Sequence and Heggerty Library resources, in Unit 7, Week 32, students engage in rereading and encoding practice aligned to the diphthongs oi and oy before reading the decodable text Lil Dreams of Music. During teacher modeling, students observe the teacher segment and spell the word point by tapping sounds, drawing sound lines, and connecting graphemes to phonemes. Students then participate in guided practice with the word boy, rereading the word after spelling by “touch[ing] each sound and read[ing] the word, /b/-oi/, boy.” During independent practice, students spell and reread words such as toy, coin, spoil, joy, and boil while applying the phonics generalization that oi is usually used in the middle of words and oy at the end. Teacher guidance for repeated reading routines is limited to directions such as “Let’s touch each sound and read the word” and “Choose a way for children to read the story.”

    Materials provide connected-text opportunities aligned to phonics instruction through the READ Books and differentiated Heggerty Library resources. However, plans for repeated readings of decodable texts provide limited guidance for systematically using rereading to reinforce accuracy, automaticity, and confidence.

• Reading practice occurs in decodable texts aligned to the taught phonics patterns and reflects an absence of predictable texts. Use of decodable texts decreases over time as students demonstrate decoding proficiency and transition into increasingly complex texts. 

  • According to the Scope and Sequence and Heggerty Library resources, in Unit 3, Week 12, students read the decodable text Jack’s Junk, which reflects controlled, decodable language aligned to taught phonics patterns. The text includes words composed primarily of previously taught sound-spelling patterns, including consonant digraphs and glued sounds, requiring students to apply decoding skills rather than rely on predictable text structures. Practice includes word-level, sentence-level, and connected text reading, demonstrating application of phonics patterns in multiple contexts.

  • According to the Scope and Sequence and Heggerty Library resources, in Unit 7, Week 32, students read the decodable text Lil Dreams of Music, which reflects controlled, decodable language aligned to taught diphthong patterns oi and oy. Prior to reading the text, students practice encoding and rereading words such as point, boy, toy, coin, spoil, joy, and boil, applying the targeted phonics patterns. The text includes words composed primarily of previously taught sound-spelling patterns, requiring students to apply decoding skills rather than rely on predictable text structures. Practice includes word-level and connected text reading, demonstrating application of phonics patterns in multiple contexts. Compared to earlier units, the text reflects increased complexity through more advanced phonics patterns, including diphthongs and multisyllabic word structures that require students to apply increasingly sophisticated decoding skills.

    Decodable texts are used consistently across units to provide opportunities for students to apply phonics knowledge in connected text as the range and complexity of patterns increase from Units 1-7.

The phonics assessment opportunities in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1n. Materials regularly and systematically assess students’ mastery of taught phonics skills through beginning-of-year, middle-of-year, and end-of-year summative phonics assessments, unit assessments, Exit Tickets, and Week Check-Ins administered across the year. Assessment materials provide teachers with guidance for administration, scoring tools, proficiency thresholds, and structured methods for recording and analyzing student performance in decoding and encoding phonics skills. Materials also include instructional guidance and analysis tools to support assessment-based instructional next steps during benchmark and unit assessments. However, more frequent formative assessments provide less structured information about students’ phonics understanding and include limited instructional follow-up guidance tied to student performance.

• Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence in phonics. 

  • According to Assessments, Phonics Benchmarks, the Bridge to Reading benchmark assessments of phonics skills are designed to be administered three times per year in Grade 1. These assessments occur at the beginning of the year (BOY), the middle of the year (MOY), and at the end of the year (EOY). These assessments also include a whole-class component, which includes decoding and encoding assessments, and an individual component, which includes a decoding assessment. 

    • For example, in the EOY Phonics Assessment, the teacher asks the students to read 26 words. This assessment is administered individually. The teacher begins the assessment by telling that student that the teacher will show the student a list of words. The student will use what they have “learned about letters, sounds, and spelling patterns to read the words that you see.” The teacher also informs the students that some words might “be tricky because we haven’t learned all of the letter patterns yet” but that the purpose of the assessment is to help the teacher “figure out what to teach you next.”  The teacher then points to the word fish on the student’s list of words. The teacher says, “I can read this word right away, or I can touch and say each sound if it will help me read the word: /f/-/ǐ/-/sh/. Then, I will blend the sounds together to read the word.” The student then has a practice opportunity with the word get. The assessment continues with words such as queen, moon, dirt, stop, drum, dunk, and coin. 

  • In the Unit 1 Assessment, the materials provide an assessment opportunity for students to demonstrate their progress toward mastery in decoding and encoding words with relevant phonics patterns, as well as high-frequency, irregular words and sentences. The assessment has two parts. The first part is a whole-group, paper-based assessment that includes both decoding and encoding opportunities. The second part is an individual word reading assessment. For example, in the encoding part of the whole group, paper-based assessment, the teacher begins by saying, “I will say a word, use it in a sentence, and then say the word again. You will spell only the word as best as you can, using everything you know about letters, sounds and spelling patterns” The teacher begins by using the word dug to model first segmenting the word, then writing the letters that stand for each sound, and finally blending the sounds to check their spelling. The teacher then continues the assessment with the words it, yet, hugs, was, and are. The teacher then has the students write a sentence, such as You were in a big tan box. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 6, Day 2, students complete Exit Ticket 6: Digraphs, Trigraph tch, and Red Words to demonstrate progress toward phonics skill development. The assessment requires students to spell words such as match and check, applying recently taught digraph and trigraph phonics patterns. Exit Tickets are embedded within Day 2 lessons across weekly units, providing regular and systematic opportunities for students to demonstrate phonics progress over the course of the year.

  • In Unit 5, Week 22, Day 5, students complete the Week 22 Check-In to demonstrate phonics skill development through reading and writing tasks. Students read sets of words and identify target words such as field, sheep, and between. Students then spell dictated words including dream, key, green, and money and write the dictated sentence “Please hand me the three treats we need.” The assessment includes opportunities for students to apply phonics knowledge in isolated word reading, spelling, and sentence-level writing. Week Check-Ins are embedded within Day 5 lessons across weekly units, providing regular and systematic opportunities for students to demonstrate phonics progress over the course of the year.

    The materials provide assessment opportunities in phonics through BOY, MOY and EOY phonics benchmark assessments, unit assessments in Units 1 through 7, and weekly checks that are inclusive of phonics skills beginning in Unit 1, Week 1.

• Assessment materials provide teachers and students with some information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonics. 

  • According to the MOY Phonics Assessment, teachers can record an individual student’s results on a Student Tracking Sheet. For example, in the tracking sheet for the Encoding Assessment, the teacher can mark which words a student spelled correctly and which patterns that word follows. For example, the teacher can note if a student spelled the word shop correctly and see how well a student is developing in their ability to spell words with digraphs. 

  • According to the Individual Student Assessment Report on the digital platform, teachers can determine how a student is progressing towards mastery in phonics with each benchmark assessment. For example, the benchmark assessments test students on the following patterns: VC/CVC-Short Vowel, Digraph, Double Letters & Glued Sounds, Consonant Blend and Clusters, CVCe, r-Controlled Vowels, Vowel Teams, Complex Vowels, and Diphthongs. The results of a student’s performance on the benchmark can then be categorized as at the Beginning Threshold, Developing Threshold, and Proficient Threshold for each pattern. For example, on the MOY Phonics Assessment, a student is considered at the Beginning Threshold for the digraph pattern if they score 60% or less on those items. A student is considered at the Proficient Threshold for the double letters and glued sounds pattern if they score 80% and above on those items. 

  • According to the Unit 4 Assessment, teachers can record an individual student’s results on the Assessment Scoring Guide. For example, in the scoring guide for the whole group, paper-based assessment, the teacher can mark which words a student spelled correctly and make any notes about the student’s performance. A student is considered at the beginning level if they score at or below 60% on the Unit 4 assessment. A student is at the developing level if they score between 61% and 79% on this assessment, and they are considered at the proficient level if they score 80% and above.  

    Assessment guidance described for the Unit 4 Assessment is similarly provided across Unit 1–7 Assessments and the beginning-of-year, middle-of-year, and end-of-year Phonics Assessments. Benchmark and unit assessments include guidance to support teachers in identifying students’ phonics strengths and needs. However, more frequent formative assessments, such as Exit Tickets and Week Check-Ins, provide less structured information about students’ current phonics understanding.

• Materials support teachers with some instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in phonics. 

  • According to the Assessment Analysis Guidance Sheet for the BOY Phonics Assessment, the sheet “shares information on areas that may need continued support. The teacher should analyze errors to identify what skills to reinforce.” For example, if students are demonstrating an decoding error where they are making vowel sound errors (such as mixing up /ǐ/ for /ě/), the teacher should engage in further instruction to promote articulation awareness and vowel discrimination. The teacher could use Sound Wall Cards and Vowel Valley to highlight and reinforce accurate mouth position, in addition to using handheld mirrors so students can receive visual input on mouth position. 

  • In the Unit 6 Assessment, Word Analysis: Part 1, the materials guide teachers to identify the key phonics patterns within words used on the assessment so that they can better target future instruction for specific students. For example, in the multiple choice items on the whole group, paper-based assessment, the Word Analysis Table highlights that the word bloom includes a consonant blend bl and a complex vowel oo. If a student missed that item, the teacher could use the Word Analysis Table to determine what element was challenging for a student and plan additional instructional steps based on that information.

    Instructional guidance described for the Unit 6 Assessment is similarly provided across Unit 1–7 Assessments and the BOY, MOY, and EOY Phonics Assessments. Benchmark and unit assessments include guidance to support instructional next steps based on student performance. However, more frequent formative assessments, such as Exit Tickets and Week Check-Ins, include limited instructional follow-up guidance tied to student results.

The assessment opportunities for word recognition and analysis in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1r. Materials provide regular assessment opportunities throughout the year that measure students’ progress in word recognition and word analysis. Assessment materials include scoring guides, proficiency thresholds, Word Analysis Tables, and observation tools that provide information about students’ current performance and support analysis of assessment results. However, instructional guidance connected to assessment results primarily focuses on phonics, decoding, and encoding errors. Materials provide limited guidance for using assessment results to plan instructional next steps related to word recognition and word analysis.

• Materials regularly and systematically provide assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of word recognition. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 7, Weekly Check, the materials provide an assessment opportunity for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence in word recognition. In the Read Words portion of the assessment, the teacher tells students that they “will see three words in each row. Read each word to yourself. Then, I will tell you the word to circle.” Students independently read groups of real words and nonsense words before identifying the target word named by the teacher. 

    • For example, students read pul, pull, and bull before circling pull; buff, buv, and buf before circling buff; and ento, into, and intwo before circling into. Student responses provide information about their ability to accurately recognize and distinguish printed words.

  • In the Unit 7 Assessment, the materials provide assessment opportunities for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence in word recognition. 

    • In Part 1, the whole-group, paper-based assessment, students read groups of three words and identify the target word named by the teacher. For example, students read robot, habit, and rabbit before selecting the word rabbit. The decoding portion includes five pattern-word items and two Red Word items. Students also complete an encoding task that includes previously taught Red Words, such as away and again, and sentence dictation containing pattern words and Red Words. For example, students write the sentences, "The happy rabbit ran about the school table," and "A little robot will shuffle around the pony." 

    • In Part 2, the individual word-reading assessment, students independently read words to demonstrate word-recognition proficiency. The assessment includes pattern words as well as previously taught Red Words, including little, knew, write, and laugh. Student responses provide information about their ability to accurately recognize and distinguish previously taught words, including irregular high-frequency words.

    • In Word Analysis: Part 1, the Word Analysis Table identifies specific word-analysis features assessed within the assessment, including closed syllables, open syllables, vowel teams, complex vowels, diphthongs, jobs of y, and final consonant -le. 

      • For example, rabbit is identified as assessing closed syllables, music as assessing closed and open syllables, and table as assessing an open syllable and final consonant -le. 

      • In Part 2, the individual word-reading assessment, students are directed to apply syllable-based reading strategies when reading multisyllabic words. Teacher modeling demonstrates how to read words by identifying and blending syllables, such as /puz/ - /zul/ to read puzzle. Students then independently read words such as maple, baby, puddle, kitten, camel, cozy, table, better, and little. Student performance provides information about their ability to apply syllable knowledge and word-analysis strategies when reading multisyllabic words.

• Assessment materials provide the teacher and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of word recognition. 

  • In the Unit 7, Part 1: Whole Group Paper-Based Assessment Scoring Guide, the materials provide the teacher and students with information concerning students’ current skills in word recognition. For example, the Scoring Guide provides space for the teacher to record each student’s accuracy in identifying the correct word among several options for words that follow previously taught phonics patterns as well as high-frequency, irregular words. The teacher can mark if the student identified the word correctly and provide any observations or notes about their performance. A student would be considered at the beginning proficiency level if they scored at or below 60% for this portion of the assessment. A student would be considered at the developing proficiency level if they scored at or between 61-79% for this portion of the assessment. A student would be considered proficient if they scored at or above 80% for this portion of the assessment. 

    • The Word Analysis: Part 1 table  provides additional information about students’ performance on specific word-recognition and word-analysis features. For example, the table identifies words that assess closed syllables, open syllables, jobs of y, and final consonant -le. The table also identifies previously taught Red Words, including away, again, about, and around. Teacher guidance directs teachers to score the assessment, identify frequently occurring errors, locate the assessed features associated with each item, and plan additional instruction and practice accordingly. The table includes space for recording observations, patterns noted, and instructional next steps.

    • In Part 2, the Individual Word Reading Assessment Scoring Guide provides separate scores for Pattern Words and Red Words and includes space for teachers to record observations about students’ ability to accurately represent vowel and consonant sounds while reading words such as maple, baby, table, little, knew, write, and laugh. The materials also provide proficiency levels based on student performance and include space for recording observations, patterns noted, and instructional next steps.

• Materials support the teacher with limited instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students progress toward mastery in word recognition. 

  • In the Unit 7 Assessment, the materials provide some instructional suggestions for assessment-based next steps. The accompanying Instructional Guidance Sheets direct the teacher to analyze student errors and identify skills requiring additional instruction and practice. 

    • For example, the materials provide suggested activities for letter/sound errors, vowel sound errors, omissions and additions, phoneme blending, phoneme-grapheme mapping, and syllable or spelling rule confusion. Students demonstrating syllable or spelling rule confusion are directed to activities that reinforce r-controlled and vowel team syllables and spelling rule application. However, the instructional guidance primarily focuses on phonics, decoding, and encoding errors. 

    Materials provide limited guidance for using assessment results to plan instructional next steps specifically related to word recognition or word-analysis features assessed in the Unit 7 Assessment, including Red Words, jobs of y, final consonant -le, and multisyllabic word reading.

The instructional opportunities for supported fluency practice in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1t. Materials provide varied and frequent opportunities for students to develop automaticity and prosody through repeated readings, echo reading, partner reading, whisper reading, and performance reading introduced throughout Grade 1. The teacher receives guidance for modeling fluent reading and supporting students in developing rate, phrasing, expression, and volume during oral reading practice. Materials also include opportunities for students to receive feedback during supported fluency routines, with structured opportunities for rereading and partner feedback across the year. However, in some fluency lessons, the teacher is directed to intentionally read words incorrectly during modeled reading without explicitly modeling self-correction or corrective decoding strategies during the fluent reading routine.

• Varied, frequent opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to gain automaticity and prosody in connected text, aligned to program expectations and developmental readiness. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 6, Day 2, Phonics and Fluency, students practice gaining automaticity with connected text. In the activity, the teacher begins by saying that “when we read with automaticity, we know the word quickly and can read it smoothly and correctly.” The teacher directs the students to their READ Books and says, “before we read the passage, let’s warm up by reading the words at the top” of the page. The teacher guides the students to read the words kick, this, got, Thad, and net. Then, the teacher leads the students through the passage through echo reading. The teacher says, “I will read a little bit and then you copy me. Try to say the words just like me!” The materials direct the teacher to model decoding words that may provide a challenge to students, such as there, new, into, asked, do happy, and friend.

  • In Unit 7, Week 33, Day 4, Phonics and Fluency, students practice reading with appropriate volume as a component of prosody. The teacher reminds students that “prosody helps our reading sound more fluent and natural” and directs students to identify words and phrases in the fluency passage that could be emphasized through increased volume or stress. Students discuss their ideas with a partner before sharing responses. Sample responses provided in the materials include first grade, persevered, and never gave up to highlight important ideas in the passage. Students then whisper-read the passage independently. The activity provides explicit instruction and supported practice with prosody in connected text, including words and phrases that extend beyond the phonics focus of the week.

• Materials provide practice opportunities for word reading fluency in a variety of settings (e.g., repeated readings, dyad or partner reading, continuous reading), with sufficient frequency to support progress towards mastery. 

  • In Unit 4, Week 14, Day 5, Phonics and Fluency, the materials provide opportunities for students to whisper read and partner read. First, the teacher guides students to reread the fluency passage they have worked with this week titled “Chess Club.” The teacher tells students that “today, we celebrate your hard work! You will practice reading the passage, and then perform it” during a partner read. After students have whisper read the passage to themselves, the teacher asks them to rate how they feel about their reading with a thumbs up, thumbs down, or sideways thumb hand gesture. Then the teacher has students perform their reading of the fluency passage for a partner. The teacher also has the option to have students perform for a small group or the class. The teacher reminds students of the theme of having a growth mindset and encourages listeners to give a positive feedback hand motion and, if time allows, to verbally share positive feedback in complete sentences. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 20, Day 3, Phonics and Fluency, the materials provide opportunities for students to partner read. The teacher begins the activity by saying that “partners will practice reading aloud, focusing on reading fluently…as you read, think about grouping words together to help you and your audience clearly understand the text. Remember, this is called phrasing.” The teacher also directs the students to give each other feedback and to “focus on telling your partner something they did well, and include a hand motion, such as a high five or a round of applause.” The teacher also provides a sentence stem for students to use when giving feedback. Next, the teacher models reading the passage and has students practice giving feedback. Finally, students read with a partner and provide each other feedback. 

• Materials include some teacher-facing guidance on modeling fluent reading and delivering corrective feedback that supports students’ growth in rate, expression, and phrasing. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 23, Day 1, Phonics and Fluency, the materials include teacher-facing guidance on how to model reading with accuracy and at the appropriate rate. When modeling reading the fluency passage, “Where Did the Nurse Go?”, the materials tell the teacher to “occasionally read words incorrectly such as refill and first-aid.” The materials encourage the teacher to model decoding new words, as well as other words that might prove challenging, such as nurse/nurse’s, office, asked, know, look, lunchroom, gym, and found. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 27, Day 4, Phonics and Fluency, the materials include teacher-facing guidance on how to model reading with intonation. The teacher tells the students that when reading fluently, “we can raise our volume a little to show excitement or surprise. We can lower our volume to show sadness or disappointment.” The teacher is then guided to ask the students to identify which words in the fluency passage could be read aloud with a louder volume and suggests that the words off, power, bright side, and hours could be read at a louder volume to align with the themes of the text.

    Materials provide teacher-facing guidance for modeling fluent reading and supporting students’ development of rate, expression, phrasing, and volume. However, in some fluency lessons, the teacher is directed to intentionally read words incorrectly during modeled reading without explicitly modeling self-correction or corrective decoding strategies during the fluent reading routine.

The assessment materials for oral reading fluency in Bridge to Reading partially meet the expectations for Indicator 1u. Materials provide systematic oral reading fluency assessments across the year that measure rate, accuracy, and prosody and provide teachers with information about students’ current fluency performance. Materials provide some instructional guidance for responding to assessment results and determining instructional adjustments to support students’ progress toward mastery in oral reading fluency.

• Assessment opportunities are provided regularly and systematically over the course of the year for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of oral reading fluency. 

  • According to the Assessments, Fluency Checks, Oral Reading Fluency Assessments, materials include multiple, systematic assessment opportunities administered three times per year, Fall, Winter, and Spring, to measure student progress in oral reading fluency. These benchmark windows are scheduled for Weeks 9–10, Weeks 20–21, and Weeks 30–31. During each administration, students read a grade-level passage aloud for one minute while the teacher times the reading and records performance. The teacher follows a consistent procedure, beginning timing at the first word read and stopping at one minute, marking the exact stopping point and calculating Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM). This repeated, standardized structure ensures that students demonstrate growth in accuracy, rate, and prosody across consistent intervals throughout the year.

    • For example, in the Fall Oral Reading Fluency Assessment for Grade 1, students are given a passage such as Max the Pup and are instructed, “You are going to read a story aloud. Do your best to read all of the words. If you get stuck, I will wait a few seconds and then help you. I will tell you when to stop reading aloud.” The teacher follows along on an administrator copy of the passage while starting a timer as soon as the student reads the first word. As the student reads, the teacher marks errors using a defined system, including misread or substituted words, omitted words, inserted words, and hesitations longer than three seconds. After one minute, the teacher places a bracket at the stopping point, records the total number of words read, subtracts errors, and calculates WCPM. The teacher also notes aspects of prosody, including expression, phrasing, and pacing. 

• Assessment materials provide the teacher and students with information about students’ current skills/level of understanding of oral reading fluency. 

  • According to the Assessments, Fluency Checks, Oral Reading Fluency Assessments, materials provide detailed and specific information about students’ oral reading fluency through multiple measures, including accuracy, rate, and prosody. The teacher records errors in real time using a structured marking system that includes misread or substituted words, omitted words, inserted words, hesitations longer than three seconds, repetitions, and self-corrections. Self-corrections made within three seconds are not counted as errors but are recorded for analysis. The teacher also documents additional observations such as skipped lines or frequent corrections, which may significantly impact fluency performance.

    • After the reading, the teacher calculates Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM) using a standardized formula of total words read minus errors. The materials include grade-level performance benchmarks for WCPM across the year. For Grade 1, students are categorized as beginning readers in the fall if they read 0–9 WCPM, developing at 10–15 WCPM, and proficient at 16 or more WCPM. In winter, benchmarks increase to 0–15 WCPM for beginning, 16–28 WCPM for developing, and 29 or more WCPM for proficient. By spring, expectations increase to 0–33 WCPM for beginning, 34–59 WCPM for developing, and 60 or more WCPM for proficient. 

    • The materials also include a detailed fluency rubric that measures accuracy, rate, and prosody. For accuracy, students are described as beginning if they read 70 percent or fewer words correctly, developing at 70–89 percent accuracy, and proficient at 90 percent or higher accuracy. For prosody, the rubric includes two dimensions: volume and stress, and phrasing and expression. Beginning readers may read too quietly or loudly, apply equal or incorrect stress, and demonstrate monotone or choppy phrasing. Developing readers show some appropriate phrasing and expression, while proficient readers consistently use appropriate volume, stress, phrasing, and expression that match the tone and punctuation of the text. The teacher records these ratings alongside observational notes, providing a comprehensive profile of each student’s fluency skills.

• Materials support the teacher with some instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in oral reading fluency. 

  • According to the Assessments, Fluency Checks, Oral Reading Fluency Assessments, materials support the teacher in making instructional adjustments by providing explicit guidance aligned to assessment data. After administering the assessment, the teacher is directed to analyze results, including WCPM, accuracy, and prosody, and to identify students who may require additional assessment, such as phonemic awareness and decoding to better understand their specific instructional needs.

    • The materials provide detailed instructional guidance organized by fluency component. For accuracy, the teacher is guided to identify underlying phonemic awareness or phonics needs and provide targeted instruction, including additional phonics practice and support with high-frequency words. The teacher is also directed to implement echo reading and choral reading to support accurate word reading. For rate, the teacher is guided to use repeated readings of passages, model appropriate pacing, and provide structured sentence-level practice before returning to full passage reading. For prosody, including volume, stress, phrasing, and expression, the teacher is guided to model expressive reading, highlight punctuation, and engage students in practices such as Reader’s Theater, character voice reading, and echo reading to build expressive reading skills.

    • Additional supports include the use of audio recordings for student self-reflection, explicit modeling of how punctuation affects expression, and structured feedback routines during repeated reading. The materials also include descriptions and research-based justifications for strategies such as echo reading, choral reading, and repeated reading, explaining how each supports fluency development. 

    Materials provide some instructional guidance for responding to benchmark oral reading fluency assessment results and determining instructional adjustments based on students’ identified needs. However, the benchmark guidance provides general instructional strategies with limited specificity regarding next steps tied to individual assessment results.