1st Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials contain a teacher edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.

The front material of the Teacher's Edition Level A contains an overview and scope and sequence of the program, an implementation guide, guidance on assessment, intervention, and pacing. The Teacher's Edition Level A contains six units, and each unit provides a Unit Planner with an overview of each lesson. The instructional routines are incorporated into each lesson. The instructional routines address phonemic awareness, high-frequency words, connected text for decoding practice, word analysis skills and spelling-sound/blending exercises. With each of these routines, teachers are explicitly instructed on how to present the skill. The routines are used consistently throughout the program. Online resources are matched to print resources.

Materials provide a well-defined, teacher resource (teacher edition, manual) for content presentation. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the front matter contains a scope and sequence for all concepts taught, and what level the skills are taught. The page is split into the categories of Main Skill and Word Study across all 30 lessons.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, introductory materials provide an overview of each unit and how each lesson within a unit is structured for the ease of presentation.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the front matter contains an implementation guide explaining the recurring instructional sequence of Days 1-5 of each Lesson.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 2, the unit planner lists the targeted skill and the lesson where the skills are taught.

The teacher resource contains detailed information and instructional routines that help the teacher to effectively implement all foundational skills content (i.e., phonological awareness, phonics, irregularly spelled words, word analysis, fluency). Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher Edition Level A, lessons are divided into six Units: Short Vowels with Single Consonants, Short Vowels with Blends and Digraphs, Final e, Long Vowels, r-Controlled Vowels, Complex Vowels, and Diphthongs, and More Long Vowel Spellings. Each Unit begins with a Unit Planner that outlines the instructional routines for skills in the following areas: phonemic awareness, high-frequency words, connected text, dictation, word building, word study.
• In Teacher Edition Level A, the introductory material outlines the high-frequency word routine. It states that students complete the Read-Spell-Write-Extend routine. On Day 1, it states that students should complete the top section of the Student Book and on Day 3, students complete the bottom section.
• In Teacher Edition Level A, Unit 2, page 101, Lesson 7, Day 3, in the sound-spelling/blending cumulative quick check, the routine is to display the sound-spelling cards for previously taught phonics skills. The students say the sound chorally then the teacher mixes them up and students do it again.
• In Teacher Edition Level A, Unit 5, Lesson 25, Day 4, the dictation routine is the Listen-Spell routine. The students say the sounds and then students use the dictation to analyze spelling errors and provide corrective feedback.
• The Teacher Edition Level A, provides a Unit 1 Planner which outlines the five lessons contained in the unit and when each of the instructional routines is utilized for instruction (i.e., phonemic awareness, high-frequency words, connected text for decoding practice, dictation, word building and word study). For example:
• The phonemic awareness instructional routine is taught in Lessons 1-5, along with high-frequency words. The Word Study routine introduces plurals, inflectional endings and practice on doubling final consonants, before returning to plurals in Lesson 5.

Any technology pieces included providing support and guidance for the teacher and do not create an additional layer of complication around the materials. The online Teacher’s Edition Level A mirrors the printed Teacher’s Edition. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In online Teacher Edition Level A, Unit 4, Lesson 14, there is a lesson planning page for high-frequency words that are the same as in the printed Teacher’s Edition.
• The Teacher Edition Level A is provided as a stand-alone e-book that can be used to teach the lesson using a tablet or iPad. This is designed to take the place of the printed Teacher’s Edition.
• In online Teacher Edition Level A, the blue SadlierConnect.com symbol identifies opportunities for online instructional resources and interactive student activities.
• In online Teacher’s Edition Level A, the user is provided with access to one page at a time, and the lesson plans do not allow you to move forward or backwards. Online materials do not contain a search option.
• Materials include videos to help students/parents use the Interactive Instructional Resources.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials contain full, adult-level explanations and examples of the foundational skills concepts included in the program so teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

From Phonics to Reading provides brief descriptions of the foundational skills that are incorporated into the daily program instruction. There are adult level explanations for foundational skills, high-frequency words, and blending. There are detailed explanations for print concepts, alphabetic knowledge, in the Teacher’s Guide to Print Concepts. There are examples of foundational skills embedded within the lesson plans and in the Wiley Blevins Professional Development videos. The front material of the Teacher's Edition Level 1 features an overview of the “Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction” and of the Daily Instructional Routines. These two resources provide adult-level explanations of the foundational skills concepts.

Examples of detailed adult-level explanations are provided for each foundational skill taught at the grade level include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, in “Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction,” materials state that blending is the main strategy for teaching students to sound out words and transitions students from reading one-syllable words to multisyllabic words.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, in “Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction,” it explains that high frequency words do not have common English sound-spellings. Teacher's Edition states that other high-frequency words are regular and are needed by students during reading before they have the phonics skills to sound them out. Teacher's Edition further states that students need to continue to practice so they have mastery of these words; otherwise, it may impact their comprehension.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, , introductory materials contain a brief description of phonemic awareness but do not provide a description of phonological awareness. Teacher's Edition states that a “range of subskills is taught to develop [it] with oral blending and oral segmentation having the most positive impact on reading and writing development.” No explanation of oral blending or segmentation is given.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, “Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction” states, “To best transition students’ growing reading skills to writing, dictation, guided spelling with teacher Think-Alouds, is critical and should begin as early as Kindergarten. While not a spelling test, this activity can accelerate students’ spelling abilities and understanding of common English spelling patterns and assist them in transferring their phonics skills to writing.”

Examples of the grade level foundational skill concepts that are provided for the teacher include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition's Level A, the program overview contains brief descriptions of skills included in each daily lesson and how they progress throughout the week.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the overview of how to implement the program, Phonemic Awareness lists skills that students will learn: rhyme and alliteration, phoneme organization, oral blending, oral segmentation, and phonemic manipulation.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Lesson 5, Day 3, Phonemic Awareness, Recognizing and Producing Rhyme, teachers are instructed, “Say three words: met, mat, pet. Ask: Which two words rhyme? Point out that met and pet rhyme because they both end in /et/. Say: Listen. /m/ /et/, met; /p/ /et/, pet. The word mat ends in /at/, so it does not rhyme. Then ask children to name other words that rhyme with met and pet. Continue with these word sets: den, pen, pan; fed, rid, red; beg, leg, log; hen, hot, ten; jet, yet, jot; shed, sled, shop.
• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Lesson 18, Day 1, Sound-Spelling, Learn and Blend, teachers are instructed, “Review long i spelled i_e. Point out that the long i sound can also be spelled with y and igh. Write fly and sigh, underline the long i spelling in each word, and model blending. Then read aloud the rhyme several times. Prompt children to join in, emphasizing the [long i sound. Point out that letter i has two sounds - the long i sound. . .and the short i sound.”
• In Wiley Blevins Videos: High-Impact Routine: High-Frequency Words, it provides examples of high-frequency words that are not so irregular such as there and where.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for foundational skills lessons are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing. Content can reasonably be completed within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.

The From Phonics to Reading Level A materials include one hundred-fifty days of lessons to be taught over the course of the year. These lessons are arranged around thirty topics and organized into six units. The materials can adequately be taught during the course of the school year, leaving additional days for repeated lessons or missed instructional days. Lesson formats present objectives to be taught in the day’s lesson and are consistently structured for both teachers and students. Pacing guides are provided for routines used in each lesson, as well as day-to-day lesson requirements. There is research-based information supplied to users that supports the literacy instruction that was conducted by Wiley Blevins and other research that supports the scope and sequence of the lessons. There are whole-group and small-group activities, and a planning sheet is provided to assist teachers in planning activities for teacher-table interventions.

Lesson plans utilize effective, research-based lesson plan design for early literacy instruction. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, there is a letter to teachers about the seven characteristics of strong phonics instruction that explains the methodology behind the program.

• In Teacher's Edition's Level A, there is a pacing guide for Days 1-5 which states that phonics lessons should be fast-paced, rigorous and fun.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, there is a consistent structure for daily sequencing of skills within the lessons. In addition, there is an estimation of how much time should be spent on that portion of the lesson.

The effective lesson design structure includes both whole group and small group instruction. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 3, Day 3 provides opportunities for both whole-group and small-group instruction throughout the lesson. The Phonemic Awareness routine provides group instruction on rhyming words, while the Sound-Spelling/Blending routine has student chorally identify sounds then independently practice blending to build fluency. The Intervention Section recommends that teachers meet daily with children who are not at mastery and repeat the word building activity from Day 2.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 3, Lesson 13, Day 1 provides group instruction on oral blending and sound-spelling, peer partner work on writing sentences, and an Intervention strategy for working with students struggling with the blending, dictation, and connected text reading pages.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Instructional Routines for Days 1-5 include a variety of recurring whole-group instructional elements including: instruction in phonemic awareness, sound-spelling/blending, high-frequency words, reading connected text, word study, dictation, word building, and writing.

  • In Unit 4, Lesson 18, Day 3, in the area of Sound-Spelling/Blending, with the whole group, teachers “Display sound-spelling cards for previously taught phonics skills. Have children chorally say the sound. Mix the card set, then repeat.”

• In Teacher Edition's Level A, the “Teacher Table” boxes provide guidance for teacher-led small groups to support English learners and intervention groups.

  • In Unit 2, Lesson 7, Day 1, the “Teacher Table: Intervention” instructs the teacher in the area of Addressing Learning Gaps, “Based on your weekly cumulative assessments, meet each day with children who have not mastered previously taught skills. Repeat the blending, dictation, and connected text reading pages. Focus on application of the skills to authentic reading and writing experiences, rather than skill-and-drill exercises.”

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, there is a small group planner so the teacher can analyze the skills students need to work on and organize small groups.

  • In Unit 5, Lesson 29, at the Teacher Table, students use sound boxes and counters to stretch the sounds in a first word. Students orally segment each remaining word.

The pacing of each component of daily lesson plans is clear and appropriate. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the Pacing Guide delineates pacing per day as well as per component. Suggested pacing for Day One routines includes Phonemic Awareness (five minutes), Sound Spelling (ten minutes), High-Frequency Words (five minutes), Read Connected Text (ten minutes), and Word Sort (five minutes). The Teacher's Edition Level A also provides a time indicator for each portion of each day’s lesson (e.g., phonemic awareness-five minutes, sound-spelling/blending-five minutes). The online Teacher’s Edition Level A features an alternative pacing guide for shorter work blocks.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the Pacing Guide suggests daily routines ranging from thirty to forty minutes per day, with a reminder for teachers that states, “Teacher Table Small-Group Instruction and Independent Partner Work time should also be factored into each lesson.”

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 6, Day 1, students complete a learn and blend activity that, in turn, introduces a sound-spelling learn and blend activity. The activity lasts for ten minutes on Day 1.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 4, Lesson 16, Day 3, students complete a phonemic manipulation-delete sounds activity for five minutes.

The suggested amount of time and expectations for maximum student understanding of all foundational skill content (i.e., phonological awareness, phonics, irregularly spelled words, word analysis, fluency.) can reasonably be completed in one school year and should not require modifications. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, there is a "Scope and Sequence Chart" which indicates that the program is made up of thirty lessons. Teacher's Edition illustrates how these lessons are taught over a five-day period.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the Table of Contents shows how lessons are organized into six units. The "Scope and Sequence and Implementation Guide" outlines thirty Lessons consisting of five instructional days per lesson, for a total of one hundred-fifty days of instruction. The program provides a total of one hundred-fifty lessons, varying in length from twenty to forty minutes daily, and the content could easily be covered within the one hundred-eighty day school year.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Pacing Guide, Days 1, 3 and 4 includes thirty-five minutes of phonics instruction. On Day 2, there are thirty minutes of phonics activities that are completed, and on Day 5, there are forty minutes of activities.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Pacing Guide, there are four days of high-frequency activities for five minutes per day, according to the regular pacing guide. There are a total of thirty lessons.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Units 1-6, the lessons include a print concept activity that occurs every third day. Each activity is five minutes long.

  • In Unit 6, Lesson 30, Day 3, the teacher writes sentences on the board and reads them. Students identify which one is a complete sentence.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for scope and sequence clearly delineate the sequence in which phonological awareness skills are to be taught, with a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected hierarchy of phonemic awareness competence.

From Phonics to Reading Level A materials feature a scope and sequence that delineates the sequence of phonological awareness skills. Within these phonological awareness skills are following phonemic awareness skills: blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes. Teachers are provided with regular exercises of increasing complexity to help children learn, practice, and apply phonemic awareness skills. There is a clear hierarchical sequence that is delineated and supported by an evidence-based explanation in an Instructional Guide: Phonological Awareness Scope and Sequence Rationale.

Materials contain an explanation for the expected hierarchy for teaching phonological awareness skills. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, page ix, the materials state that phonological awareness skills are taught based on the Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction. It states that subskills of oral blending and segmentation to have the most positive impact on reading and writing.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, in the author’s notes on the Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction, phonemic awareness is highlighted as a critical skill for developing early literacy skills.

• In Instructional Guide: Phonological Awareness Scope and Sequence Rationale, it explains “There is a progression from easier to more complex across phonological awareness task types within each grade”, and “There is a progression from larger word parts to smaller words parts within each phonological awareness task type through the grade.”

Materials contain a phonemic awareness sequence of instruction and practice based on the expected hierarchy. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, page xiv, each day features a specific phonemic awareness activity that is practiced during class. On Day 1, the phonemic awareness practice is oral blending. On Day 2, page xvi, the practice is oral segmentation, where students engage in alliteration, recognize and produce rhyme, engage in phonemic manipulation, or categorize sounds. On Day 4, page xx, students work on oral blending again, and on Day 5, page xxii, students complete an oral segmentation activity again.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, page xii, a full scope and sequence delineates the phonological awareness skills taught in each of the 30 lessons under the heading “Phonemic Awareness.” While not all of the skills listed pertain to phonemic awareness, phonemic awareness skills are present in the scope and sequence. Twenty-five of the 30 lessons follow the same instructional sequence over the five days of the lesson. Two of the five days practice blending phonemes, and two days practice segmenting phonemes. The complexity of the segmenting and blending increases over the course of the year. The third day of each lesson practices one of the following skills: identifying and producing rhyme, categorizing sounds, and distinguishing long and short vowel sounds.

• In Instructional Guide: Phonological Awareness Scope and Sequence Rationale, there are five activity types listed in a progression from easiest to most complex. It lists Activity Type 1: Rhyme and Alliteration, Activity Type 2: Oddity Tasks (phoneme categorization), Activity Type 3: Oral Blending, Activity Type 4: Oral Segmentation (including counting sounds), and Activity Type 5: Phoneme Manipulation (substitution, deletion, addition).

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ application of the skills. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, a skill is introduced on one day and not usually practiced again until approximately five instructional days later (e.g, recognizing and producing rhyme, phonemic manipulation by adding or deleting sounds, categorizing sounds, distinguishing long and short vowel sounds, etc.). This pattern is repeated frequently with a skill introduced on one day of the five-day lesson and then not practiced until the following lesson. For example:

  • In Teacher Edition, Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 1, the program practices the following phonemic awareness skills: oral blending, oral segmentation, and recognizing and producing rhymes. Each one of these skills is practiced on a different day within the five day lesson. Oral blending and oral segmentation are each practiced on two separate days with rhymes being practiced on the fifth day.

  • In Teacher Edition, Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 2, the program practices: oral blending, oral segmentation, and alliteration according to the scope and sequence chart. Oral blending and oral segmentation are each practiced on two separate days with alliteration being practiced on the fifth day.

  • In Teacher Edition, Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 5, the program practices oral blending, oral segmentation, and recognizing and producing rhymes. Oral blending and oral segmentation are each practiced on two separate days, with alliteration being practiced on the fifth day.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 9, Day 1, page 123, students complete an oral blending activity. On Day 2, students complete an oral segmentation activity with the words shop, shell, that, this, cash, and path. On Day 3, page 129, students complete an add sounds activity with /sh/ and /th/. On Day 4, page 132, students complete another blending activity, and on Day 5, page 134, students complete an oral segmentation activity with hen, then, that, hop, shop, shut, bad, bath, rush, and brush.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for scope and sequence clearly delineate an intentional sequence in which phonics skills are to be taught, with a clear explanation for the order of the sequence.

From Phonics to Reading Level A materials are organized to introduce one new phonics pattern per lesson with some recurring instructional routines for each new pattern. The scope and sequence of phonics instruction is laid out in the materials with an overview of the benefits of explicit instruction in phonics with a research-based rationale for the instructional sequence. The document “From Phonics to Reading Scope and Sequence Rationale” cites Blevin’s 2017 research to support the sequence of phonics instruction.

Materials clearly delineate a scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction and practice to build toward application of skills. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In "From Phonics to Reading Scope and Sequence Rationale," materials introduce consonant and short vowel sounds in combination to increase possibility of application of learning.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the "Scope and Sequence Chart" provided delineates the sequence of phonics instruction.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the materials contain a scope and sequence that consists of a main skill. The main skill progresses from short vowel review to consonant blends and digraphs, long vowel spellings, r-controlled vowels, diphthongs and complex vowel patterns.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Table of Contents provides the following information:

  • Unit 1 phonics skills focus on short vowels with single consonants.

  • Unit 2 focuses on short vowels with blends and digraphs.

  • Unit 3 focuses on final -e.

  • Unit 4 concentrates on long vowels.

  • Unit 5 covers r-controlled vowels, complex vowels, and diphthongs.

  • Unit 6 continues long vowel spellings.

Materials have a research-based explanation for the order of the phonics sequence. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In "From Phonics to Reading Scope and Sequence Rationale," materials move from simple to complex, with basic phonics skills introduced in Kindergarten and Grade 1, then reinforced and applied in Grade 2.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the materials state that phonics instruction is based on strong phonics instruction research. The materials further state that this program builds from simple to complex phonics instruction.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, in the introduction to "Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction" , the author, Blevins, refers to his work with schools, districts and publishers as general support for what he identifies as important to phonics instruction.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, "Seven Characteristics of Strong Phonics Instruction" provides an overview of how phonics skills are taught and practiced.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the "Assessing Phonics Instruction" explanation provides an overview of how phonics instruction develops strong reading skills, tracing the development from sound-symbol correspondence to automaticity.

Phonics instruction is based in high utility patterns and/or common phonics generalizations. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In "From Phonics to Reading Scope and Sequence Rationale," materials introduce higher-utility letters early to increase the number of words students can read and write earlier.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, the sequence of phonics instruction reflects a focus on high utility patterns that increase in complexity over the course of the instructional year. These patterns include consonant blends and digraphs, long vowel spellings, r-controlled vowels, diphthongs and complex vowel patterns.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 3, Lesson 12, Contents Page, phonics instruction is focused on final -e lessons. In Lesson 12, the target skill is a_e and i_e, and in Lesson 13, the target skill is o_e, u_e, and e_e.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 4, Contents page, Unit 4 focuses on long vowels. Lesson 14 begins with single letter long vowels /e/, /i/, and /o/. The rest of the lessons are focused on long vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/.

• Teacher’s Edition Level A reviews all short vowel sounds for the first five weeks of instruction and provides limited practice and instruction on other phonics skills, some of which receive only one day of instruction due to the number of skills being introduced:

  • Digraphs /sh/ and /th/ are given one week of instruction on Lesson 9, Days 1-5.

  • Prefixes re- and un- are given one day of instruction in a word study format on Lesson 14, Day 3,

  • Contractions are given one day of instruction in a word study format on Lesson 8, Day 3.

Patterns and generalizations are carefully selected to provide a meaningful and manageable number of phonics patterns and common generalizations for students to learn deeply. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 1, Contents section, students focus on short vowel skills. Each lesson focuses on one short vowel sound.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 2, Contents section, students’ target skill is l-blends, s-blends and r-blends. In Lessons 9-11, the target skill is digraphs /sh/, /th/, /ch/, /tch/, /wh/, /ng/, and /nk/.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 5, Contents section, students learn about r-controlled vowels, complex vowels, and diphthongs as follows:

  • In Lessons 20-22 the teacher instructs on r-controlled sounds /ar/, /er/, /ir/, /ur/, /or/, /ore/, and /oar/.

  • In Lessons 23, students work on short and long /oo/ sounds.

  • In Lessons 24 and 25, students work on diphthongs /ou/, /ow/, /oi/, /oy/, /au/, /aw/, -alk, -alt, and -all.

  • Lesson 26 is complex vowels /o/.

  • Lesson 27 is r-controlled /are/, /air/, and /ear/.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials include decodable texts with phonics aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.

From Phonics to Reading Level A materials include a decodable Connected Text passage and Take Home Book in each lesson. The decodable passage and book feature words with the lesson’s targeted sound-spelling. Recurring Read Connected Text instructional routines provide the teacher with detailed lesson plans that call for repeated readings of the decodable book. The materials include decodable text in the form of stories and connected text. Students interact with decodable text on Day 1 and Days 3-5 of each lesson. The texts are aligned to the scope and sequence.

Materials include decodable texts to address securing phonics. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Student Book Level A, each lesson includes a decodable Take-Home Book. This book is used in recurring Read Connected Text instructional routines.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 9, Day 3, students read the decodable text, "The Big Wish," which contains words with digraphs /sh/ and /th/.

  • In Teacher's Edition Level A, Unit 4, Lesson 16, Day 3, students read the decodable text, "The Seaside," which contains words reinforcing phonics skill long e.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 5, Lesson 26, Day 3, students read the decodable text, "A Walk In The Park," which works on sound-spellings for complex vowel /o/.

Decodable texts contain grade-level phonics skills aligned to the program’s scope and sequence. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Student Book Level A, each lesson’s Take-Home Book and Connected Text passage include words that introduce practice with the lesson’s targeted sound-spelling.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Day 3, students read the decodable text, "What Is It," which is aligned to the lesson-planning document in the connected text.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 3, Lesson 13, Day 3, students read the decodable text "Let’s Bake A Cake," which is aligned to the lesson-planning document in the connected text.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 6, Lesson 29, Day 3, students read the text, "Moe’s Diner," aligned to scope and sequence.

Materials include detailed lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to address securing phonics skills. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, each lesson contains four days of practice reading the lesson’s decodable text On Day 1, the teacher guides students through a reading of the Connected Text passage. On Day 3, teachers guide students through a first read of the Take-Home Book. On Day 4, teachers guide students through a second read of the Take-Home Book. On Day 5, students read the book independently. For the Connected Text passage and the first and second read of the Take-Home Book, the materials provide detailed lesson plans that guide the teacher through the process.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 6, Day 3, students read the text, "What Are These Things?". On Day 4, students are prompted to read the text again. They whisper-read the text to a partner. The teacher circulates and provides corrective feedback.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 4, Lesson 15, Day 4, during the Read Connected Text activity, students reread the text, "My Big Trip." Students whisper-read the text to a partner. The teacher circulates and provides corrective feedback.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 5, Lesson 25, Day 3, students are introduced to the text, "Join a Club!". On Day 4, students reread the text. Students whisper-read the text to a partner. The teacher circulates and provides corrective feedback.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials include decodable texts with high-frequency words aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.

From Phonics to Reading Level A materials reviewed meet the expectation that materials include decodable texts with high-frequency words aligned to the program’s scope and sequence and opportunities for students to use decodables for multiple readings. Students access to two different types of decodable text: the Take-Home Books and the Connected Text passage. Students read text more than one time, and the text is aligned to the scope and sequence. Instruction and learning focuses on specific high-frequency words each week. Most of the high-frequency words are found in the texts.

Materials include decodable texts that utilize high-frequency/irregularly spelled words. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Student Book Level A, each lesson includes a Connected Text passage and a Take-Home Book. Each passage and book contains high-frequency words.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 10, Day 1, students read the connected text, "Our Dog Butch." The high-frequency words in the text are too and our.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 5, Lesson 21, Day 1, students read the decodable text, "How to Make a Sandcastle." The high-frequency words for that week are: always, because, want and your.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 6, Lesson 30, Day 3, students read the text, "My Super Silly Story." It contains the high-frequency words: also, myself and seven.

Decodable texts contain grade-level high-frequency/irregularly spelled words aligned to the program’s scope and sequence. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 2 planner, Lesson 9, students learn the words: were, gave, go and first. The connected text in Unit 2, Lesson 9, Day 1, is "This and That." The high-frequency words included in the text are: go, gave, and first. In Lesson 9, Day 3, students read the text "The Big Wish." The text includes the high-frequency word were.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 4 planner, Lesson 19, students learn the high-frequency words: could, would, their, and together. The connected text for Day 1 contains high-frequency words could and together. On Day 3, students are introduced to the text "Let’s Make Music." The text contains the high-frequency words would and together.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 6, Lesson 29, students learn the high-frequency words: today, special, number, and over. On Day 1, students read the connected text "Moe’s Diner." The text contains the high-frequency words: special, number, and today.

Materials include detailed lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to address securing high-frequency words/irregularly spelled words in context. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, each lesson contains four days of practice reading the lesson’s decodable texts:

  • Day 1, the teacher guides students through a reading of the Connected Text passage.

  • Day 3, the teacher guides students through a first read of the Take-Home Book.

  • Day 4, the teacher guides students through a second read of the Take-Home Book.

  • Day 5, students read the book independently.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Day 4, students complete a reread of the book, "Little Bugs, Big Bugs," which contains all four of the high-frequency words studied that week: with, little, are, and have.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 4, Lesson 14, Day 4, students reread the text "The New School," which contains the high-frequency words: new, why, school, and friend.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 5, Lesson 20, Day 4, students reread the text, "On The Farm," which has the high-frequency words: work, again, and eight.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress through mastery of print concepts (Kindergarten-Grade 1), letter recognition (Kindergarten only), and printing letters as indicated by the program scope and sequence. (Kindergarten-Grade 1).

From Phonics to Reading Assessments address the mastery of print concepts that are taught throughout the program. Assessments include writing of letters or words, nor do they evaluate a student’s ability to accurately and fluently form letters in both the uppercase and lowercase forms.

From Phonics to Reading Grade 1 assessments include a print concepts assessment and a letter formation assessment.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the Print Concepts section includes a Print Concepts Assessment that formally measures students' mastery of basic print concepts. The assessment includes teacher prompts, a checklist of mastery and a column to record teacher observations.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the Letter Formation section includes a Letter Formation Assessment. The assessment instructs teachers to use student writing samples to assess upper and lower case formation of all twenty-six letters.

Materials include regular and systematic assessment opportunities for letter formation. However, regular and systematic opportunities for print concept assessment are not explicitly outlined in assessment instructions.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the print concept assessment does not provide teacher guidance on timing or frequency of the assessment.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the letter formation assessment instructs teachers to administer the assessment at the beginning, middle, and end of year.

Assessment materials provide teachers with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of print concepts. However, the assessment materials do not provide this information in the area of letter formation.

• In Teacher's Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the Print Concepts section includes a "Teacher's Guide to Print Concepts." This guide provides information about expected student understanding of print concepts including alphabet recognition, words and spaces, sentences, and basic features of print.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the Letter Formation section includes assessment and practice opportunities, but does not provide information on how to use student writing samples to determine students’ current levels.

Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in print concepts and letter formation.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the print concept assessment includes a reference page for teachers that provides instructional strategies correlated to assessment results. Instructional strategies are provided for each of ten print concepts skills.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the letter formation assessment instructs teachers to use the assessment results to form small handwriting groups to address issues with letter formation.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Digital Resources, the Letter Formation section includes instructional resources for teachers to use in assessment-based small handwriting groups.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen in a language other than English with extensive opportunities for reteaching meet or exceed grade-level standards.

From Phonics to Reading Level A materials include a vocabulary acquisition routine at the beginning of each lesson that is aimed at English Learners. The strategy focuses on concrete demonstrations of vocabulary words. Opportunities for reteaching are limited. The program provides general information regarding English Learners that informs the teacher of the sounds that a language does or does not have. There is an additional instructional guide about English Learner Supports. It includes information about routines, English Learner Support, and examples. It also provides EL supports in each lesson for Vocabulary Focus and Writing Extension.

Materials provide support for ELL students. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 3, Day 1, page 37, the Teacher Table - English Learners section provides information about the lack of a short /o/ sound in Spanish and Tagalog. The teacher is instructed to model mouth position and have children practice using hand mirrors.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Day 1, page 51, the Teacher’s Edition instructs the teacher to focus on articulation and model correct mouth position. It suggests to have students use hand mirrors to focus on mouth positions.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 8, Day 1, page 109, the Teacher’s Edition instructs the teacher to have children return to the Blend It lines in the Student Book on page 109. The teacher should show pictures for concrete words.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 4, Lesson 15, Day 1, page 211, in Teacher Table - English Learners, the Teacher’s Edition states the teacher should focus on several words from the Blend It activity on page 211 from the Student Book and teach words that can be explained or demonstrated.

General statements about ELL students or few strategies note at the beginning of a unit or at one place in the teacher edition are then implemented by the materials throughout the curriculum. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, page xxiv, the Teacher’s Edition states that students whose primary language is not English may have difficulty pronouncing sounds in English and understanding their meaning. It further says that Sound Transfer information is provided to help teachers recognize the distinctions between a student’s primary language and English.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 9, Day 1, page 123, the Teacher’s Edition states that there is little transfer for the /th/ and /sh/ sounds and that the teacher should focus on articulation and mouth position.

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 6, Lesson 29, Day 1, page 397, the Teacher’s Edition states that in Cantonese, Mandarin, or Arabic, there is no sound approximation sound transfer for long /i/. There is also no transfer in Tagalog or Farsi.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, page xxiv, in Teacher’s Table - English Learners, the Teacher’s Edition explains, “Time must also be spent discussing the meanings of the lesson’s words through simple definitions (including in both languages), actions, pantomiming, and so on.”

  • In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 6, Lesson 28, Day 1, page 397, the Teacher Table - English Learners box instructs the teacher to focus on words whose meanings can be demonstrated concretely. The teacher is instructed to show a picture of a wild animal, a window blind, or an old building and to act out the words cold, kind, and hole.

• In the Instructional Guides: English Learner Supports, Level 1 English Learner Supports, for Lesson 16, it includes for Vocabulary Focus: “Preteach the name of the pictured items on the Independent Practice page. Other: meat, mean, heat, neat, seed, greet, beach, sea, seashell.”

• In the Instructional Guides: English Learner Supports, Level 1 English Learner Supports, for Lesson 28, it includes Sentence Starters: “The kind child ____. The wild child ____. The two children are different because _____.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level with extensive opportunities for reteaching to meet or exceed grade-level standards.

From Phonics to Reading Level A materials include opportunities for small group reteaching of foundational skills. Four exercises in each lesson call for reteaching of specific exercises for students who are struggling with foundational skills; the materials provide explicit instruction for reteaching steps in the three reteaching exercises that occur with pages within the same lesson.There are lessons for the teacher to use when reteaching students who are struggling or reteaching students who did not master the content the previous day.

Materials provide opportunities for small group reteaching. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Day 1 of each lesson includes Teacher Table - Intervention instructions to Address Learning Gaps. The teacher is instructed to meet each day with students to repeat blending, dictation and connected text pages from previously-taught lessons based on weekly assessment data.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 2, Lesson 7, Day 2, the Teacher Table - Intervention has the teacher repeat the Think and Write activity from Student Book, page 99. The teacher is to use sound boxes and counters to stretch the sounds in the first word. The teacher places a counter in each box to show each sound. Students are to repeat. The teacher models how to connect each sound with a spelling. The teacher could ask, “What is the first sound in sled? What spelling do we write for the /s/ sound?”

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 5, Lesson 22, Day 3, students repeat the Word Building activity (page 316) with students who struggled. The teacher to focus on the position and spelling of sounds that change from one word to the next and model their thinking as they build words.

• In Teacher’s Edition Level A, Unit 6, Lesson 28, Day 3, the Teacher Table - Intervention box instructs teacher to repeat the Word Building activity with children who struggle. The teacher is provided explicit instructions to focus on the position and sound spellings that change in each word and model thinking aloud with an example script, “. . . sold and told sound almost the same. The only difference is their beginning sound. . . I need to take away the letter s in sold and replace it with the letter t to make the word told.”

Materials provide guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support students read, write, speak, or listen below grade level in extensive opportunities to learn foundational skills at the grade-level standards.

• In “Instructional Guide: Multiple Tiers for Success,” it suggests that students below grade level preread the decodable text multiple times with online audiobook support before the decodable text whole-group lesson.

• In “Instructional Guide: Multiple Tiers for Success,” it suggests using the Comprehensive Phonics Survey and the Phonemic Awareness Assessment to place below grade level students at an appropriate place in the scope and sequence, potentially in the previous level, for intervention during small group time.

• In “Instructional Guide: Multiple Tiers for Success,” it suggests that all intervention lessons follow the same structure. Teacher and students review previous content, the teacher presents the day’s multimodal focus content, and the student reads and writes about controlled text.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials regularly provide extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.

From Phonics to Reading Level A materials offer limited opportunities for students with above grade level skills to engage with grade-level foundational skills at a greater level of depth or challenge. In the Instructional Guide: Above Level Student Supports, a table lists per lesson ways to challenge above level students. The teacher is prompted in the Multiple Tiers for Success document to have students above level read the challenge lines. The program does mention that the teacher should teach according to the students’ needs in the classroom, and in the Instructional Guides: Multiple Tiers for Success, it suggests that the teacher assess students using the Comprehensive phonics screener, and the Phonemic Awareness assessment in order to determine where to place students on the phonics continuum and do those lessons during small group.

Materials provide opportunities for advanced students to investigate grade-level foundational skills at a greater depth.

• In “Phonics Instructional Guide: Multiple Tiers for Success,” it suggests using the Comprehensive Phonics Survey to place advanced students further along in the scope and sequence during small group instruction.

• In “Phonics Instructional Guide: Multiple Tiers for Success,” it suggests asking above grade level students read the decodable text on day one of the lesson to confirm mastery, but not ask them to reread it. The guide makes a general suggestion to use this time to work on “more complex skills.”

• In the “Instructional Guide: Above Level Student Supports,” in Lesson 15, for Word Building, it recommends the teacher add the following word sequence to “MAKE NEW WORDS: gray, grain, brain, train, tray."

• In the “Instructional Guide: Above Level Student Supports,” in Lesson 29, for Word Sort, it recommends, “Add these words to the Word Sort: tiptoe, necktie, untied.”