The materials include explicit instruction in lowercase and uppercase letter recognition for all 26 letters. The materials include an initial introduction to each letter in alphabetical order in Lessons 4-29, then lessons on each letter again in Lessons 30-61, organized in letter groups according to order of utility for decoding and encoding tasks. 

There is a defined sequence for letter recognition instruction to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Program Overview, Scope and Sequence, the materials introduce each letter first in alphabetical order in Lessons 4-29, then in the following letter groups in Lessons 30-61: 

  • Letter Group 1: Aa, Mm, Ss, Tt, Pp

  • Letter Group 2: Ii, Ff, Nn, Gg, Bb

  • Letter Group 3: Oo, Rr, Hh, Vv, Jj

  • Letter Group 4: Ee, Ww, Dd, Ll, Yy

  • Letter Group 5: Uu, Qu, Zz, Xx, Cc, Kk

  • Lesson Structure is as follows: 

    • Lessons 4, 30: Aa

    • Lessons 5, 41: Bb

    • Lessons 6, 60: Cc

    • Lessons 7, 52: Dd

    • Lessons 8, 50: Ee

    • Lessons 9, 38: Ff

    • Lessons 10, 40: Gg

    • Lessons 11, 46: Hh

    • Lessons 12, 37: Ii

    • Lessons 13, 48: Jj

    • Lessons 14, 61: Kk

    • Lessons 15, 53: Ll

    • Lessons 16, 31: Mm

    • Lessons 17, 39: Nn

    • Lessons 18, 44: Oo

    • Lessons 19, 35: Pp

    • Lessons 20, 57: Qq

    • Lessons 21, 45: Rr

    • Lessons 22, 33: Ss

    • Lessons 23, 34: Tt

    • Lessons 24, 56: Uu

    • Lessons 25, 47: Vv

    • Lessons 26, 51: Ww

    • Lessons 27, 59: Xx

    • Lessons 28, 54: Yy

    • Lessons 29, 58: Zz

Materials contain isolated, systematic and explicit instruction for students to recognize all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 4, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher tells students that the letter Aa can spell the /a/ sound, like at the beginning of the word apple. The teacher displays the uppercase letter A and tells students we use uppercase A at the beginning of names and sentences. The teacher displays the lowercase letter a and tells students that we use lowercase a more often and that both uppercase and lowercase Aa are called the letter Aa. 

• In Lesson 19, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher displays the upper- and lowercase Pp and tells students the letter's name. The teacher asks students to repeat the name of the letter and the sound of the letter. The teacher then says, “Repeat after me. The name of the letter is p.” The teacher then demonstrates how the letter Pp is formed. 

• In Lesson 56, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher displays the uppercase and lowercase Uu and tells students the letter's name. The teacher asks students to repeat the name of the letter and the sound of the letter. The teacher then says, “Repeat after me. The name of the letter is u.” The teacher then demonstrates how the letter Uu is formed.

The materials include ample, varied opportunities for practice of letter names and sounds. Whole group and small group instructional routines include regular opportunities to identify and apply letter name and letter sound knowledge using letter books, practice cards, name cards, and games.

Materials include sufficient practice opportunities for students to recognize all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters accurately and automatically. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 11, Part 3, Whole Class Transfer, students read the Whole Class Transfer Card together. Students read each letter as the teacher points to it. Students then skywrite uppercase H, lowercase h, say the name of the letter, and the sound of the letter. 

• In Lesson 36, Teacher Led Transfer, students read the Skill Transfer section of the Student Transfer Book. Students say the names of the letters M, a, T, s, P, and the sounds /p/, /m/, /s/, /a/, /t/.  

• In Lesson 51, Part 3, Whole Class Transfer, students read the Whole Class Transfer Card. The teacher displays the letters W w W w, and students say the name of the letter. The teacher displays the following: w, /w/, w, /w/, w, /w/, w, /w/. Students say the letter name and sound. 

Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) alphabet knowledge in isolation and in context of meaningful print. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 21, Transfer Routines, students look at their name cards and determine if they have an uppercase R in their name. Students move to a designated area if they do or do not have an uppercase R. Students repeat the routine with lowercase r. 

• In Lesson 33, Part 2, Review: Letter Recognition, students state the name and sound of the letter the teacher displays. Students then skywrite the letter. The teacher repeats this process for letters Aa and Mm.

• In Lesson 40, Part 3: Whole Class Transfer, students name the letter, name the letter and sound eight times, decode the letter in a slide: gi, fi, ga, mi, then decode words: gas, fig, fin.

The materials include explicit instruction in letter formation for all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters. The lessons include letter formation instruction aligned with letter recognition instruction. The materials include verbal pathway scripts for instruction and guidance for corrective feedback in the Groups and Centers portion of the lesson, as well as the Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide. 

There is a defined sequence for letter formation, aligned to the scope and sequence of letter recognition, to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Program Overview, Scope and Sequence, the materials introduce each letter first in alphabetical order to develop alphabet knowledge in Lessons 4-29, then in the following letter groups in Lessons 30-61. Lessons include both letter recognition and letter formation.  

  • Letter Group 1: Aa, Mm, Ss, Tt, Pp

  • Letter Group 2: Ii, Ff, Nn, Gg, Bb

  • Letter Group 3: Oo, Rr, Hh, Vv, Jj

  • Letter Group 4: Ee, Ww, Dd, Ll, Yy

  • Letter Group 5: Uu, Qu, Zz, Xx, Cc, Kk

  • Lesson Structure is as follows: 

    • Lessons 4, 30: Aa

    • Lessons 5, 41: Bb

    • Lessons 6, 60: Cc

    • Lessons 7, 52: Dd

    • Lessons 8, 50: Ee

    • Lessons 9, 38: Ff

    • Lessons 10, 40: Gg

    • Lessons 11, 46: Hh

    • Lessons 12, 37: Ii

    • Lessons 13, 48: Jj

    • Lessons 14, 61: Kk

    • Lessons 15, 53: Ll

    • Lessons 16, 31: Mm

    • Lessons 17, 39: Nn

    • Lessons 18, 44: Oo

    • Lessons 19, 35: Pp

    • Lessons 20, 57: Qq

    • Lessons 21, 45: Rr

    • Lessons 22, 33: Ss

    • Lessons 23, 34: Tt

    • Lessons 24, 56: Uu

    • Lessons 25, 47: Vv

    • Lessons 26, 51: Ww

    • Lessons 27, 59: Xx

    • Lessons 28, 54: Yy

    • Lessons 29, 58: Zz

• Materials include clear directions for the teacher concerning how to explain and model how to correctly form each of the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Lesson 25, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher displays uppercase V and says, “Tall slants down, up.” The teacher demonstrates writing the letter in the air while stating each stroke again. The teacher guides students to skywrite the letter, repeating the verbal formation pathway. This procedure is repeated with the lowercase v. 

  • In Lesson 46, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher displays uppercase H and says, “Tall down, tall down, across.” The teacher guides students to skywrite the letter, repeating the verbal formation pathway. The teacher repeats with lowercase h, using the verbal pathway, “Tall down, bump.”

  • In Lesson 60, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher displays the letter Cc and says, “Big curve around.” The teacher repeats with lowercase c, using the verbal pathway, “Small curve around.” 

Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 15, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the materials instruct the teacher to “move around the room and provide corrective feedback” as students practice writing lowercase and uppercase Ll. The materials indicate that the teacher should record students needing additional support in the student section of the digital tool. 

• In Lesson 35, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher tip instructs teachers to prevent p/q reversals by connecting letter formation with pronunciation. The teacher tells students that when pronouncing the /p/ sound, our lips start together in a straight line, so when we write the letter p, we draw the straight line down first. 

• In Lesson 50, Groups and Centers, Needs Support Transfer Routine, the materials indicate that the teacher should support handwriting as needed. The teacher uses the Student Transfer Book and tells students to look at the embedded letters Ee, trace each letter with their finger, trace it with their pencil, and then write the letter two to four times on the line. The Needs Practice and Needs Enrichment groups include guidance for supported handwriting practice with fewer scaffolds and instructing teachers to have students trace and practice writing the letters in the Student Transfer Book. 

• In the Corrective Feedback Guide and Next Steps Guide, examples of corrective feedback and next steps are provided for alphabet print and knowledge, phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition and analysis, and fluency. According to the guide, if a student makes errors in letter formation, the teacher should use foam sheets or color-coded tracers for student practice or consider alternative groupings of similarly formed letters for handwriting practice.

The materials include practice opportunities in letter formation for all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters. The lessons include kinesthetic and written letter formation practice. Lessons include review of previously-taught letter formation. 

Materials include frequent opportunities for students to practice forming all of the 26 uppercase and lowercase letters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 20, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, students skywrite lowercase and uppercase Qq while the teacher verbalizes the formation pathway.  

• In Lesson 27, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, students write lowercase and uppercase Xx on a whiteboard two times while saying the name and the sound of the letters.  

• In Lesson 61, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, students skywrite lowercase and uppercase Kk while the teacher verbalizes the formation pathway. Then, students write each letter three times while saying the name and sound of the letters. 

Materials include cumulative review of previously learned letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 39, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, when students see a letter, they tell the teacher the name of the letter and then skywrite the letter shape. The teacher prompts students to practice saying the sounds and making the shapes of the following letters: uppercase F, lowercase f, uppercase I, and lowercase i.

• In Lesson 47, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher displays the previously taught lowercase and uppercase Rr, and students skywrite each letter as the teacher verbalizes the formation pathway. The teacher and students repeat the previously taught letters Oo and Hh. 

• In Lesson 61, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the teacher displays the previously taught lowercase and uppercase Cc, Zz, and Qq, and students skywrite each letter.

The materials include multiple assessment opportunities in letter recognition and letter formation. These opportunities are provided at the beginning of the year and are administered through the Readiness Check, the first Multi-Skill Check, and early Daily Skills Checks. The materials include report functionality that groups students into three groups according to assessment results and teacher observations. Additionally, the report functionality indicates when teachers should reteach a lesson before moving on to the next lesson. The materials include a Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide that offers instructional suggestions for students to progress in letter recognition, and letter formation.   

Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of letter recognition and letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Readiness Check, the digital readiness assessment asks students to identify the letters Tt, Aa, Ss, Pp, and Mm. 

• In Assessment Guide: Technical Summary, the Daily Skills Check is administered after each day’s whole class lesson delivery and a second time after the student completes the assigned differentiated learning activities. It is administered as a digital assessment via the RH Discovery Lesson Delivery Tool. The Daily Skills Check assesses letter recognition. 

• In the Multi-Skill Check 1, the digital assessment assesses the following skills: Handwriting Strokes, Alphabet Knowledge, Letter/Sound Recognition for Letter Group 1 (which includes the following letter sounds:/a/, /m/, /s/, /t/, /p/).

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of letter recognition, and letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Reports, Readiness, the materials provide a percentage correct in the area of “Alphabet” based on students’ letter recognition of five letters on the Readiness Check. The report color codes students as red, indicating needs support; yellow, indicating needs practice; or green, indicating needs enrichment. 

• In Assessment Guide: Technical Summary, Daily Lesson Check, the RH Discovery Lesson Delivery Tool uses the Initial Lesson Skill Check data to inform teachers on (1) the impact of instruction and (2) recommended small-group configurations for differentiated practice and transfer. The Lesson Delivery Tool reports the percent of accuracy for each student on the Class and Student Skill Check reports. An 80 percent score or above indicates students’ understanding of key concepts (letter recognition). Each Single Skill Check contains around five questions that quickly check for comprehension or transfer of the skill taught during the day’s lesson. After the Initial Skill Check is administered, the RH Discovery Lesson Delivery Tool automatically groups students into three general groups: students who need additional instructional support (including practice and application), students who need additional practice and application, and students who are proficient in the skill and need enrichment. Once a student has completed their Post-Skill Check, the teacher can view real-time results on the Skill Insights page or on the Class and Student Skill Proficiency reports. 

• In Multi-Skill Check 1, the reports section provides teachers with student progress on the following skills: Handwriting Strokes, Alphabet Knowledge, Letter/Sound Recognition for Letter Group 1 (which includes the following letter sounds: /a/, /m/, /s/, /t/, /p/. The materials then provide teachers with student “Skill Groups” based on student progress in the selected skills.

Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in letter recognition, and letter formation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide, the materials indicate that if students inaccurately name letters, the teacher should use the Lesson Toolkits to reteach and practice targeted letters, implement visual and auditory drills, and use incremental rehearsal using letter flashcards of both known and unknown letters. 

• In Assessment Guide: Technical Summary, Daily Lesson Checks, the results from the Post-Skill Check illustrate the improvement in student performance as a result of completing the differentiated learning activities during Extended Transfer, in small-group transfer, and in the software after the Initial Skill Check was given. If 80 percent of students demonstrate understanding (by receiving a score of 80 percent or more on the Post-Skill Check), the teacher progresses to the next lesson in the scope and sequence. If fewer than 80 percent of students demonstrate understanding, the teacher should reteach the entire lesson to the class or in small groups.

The materials contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonemic awareness skills. The materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ application of the skills. Materials include a phonemic awareness warm-up as Part 1 for 5 minutes, including phonemic awareness tasks such as isolating, blending, and segmenting. During Part 2, materials introduce the new sound(s) using a Sound Wall and then immediately introduce the grapheme using the Consonant Corner portion of the Sound Wall.

Materials contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonemic awareness skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Reading Horizons, RHD Research Base, Phonemic Awareness, the materials state that “phonemic awareness serves as the essential foundation upon which fluent reading is built.” Additionally, phoneme segmentation and blending proficiency is essential and cites the work of Susan Brady (2020). Brady recommends that kindergarten emphasizes early phoneme awareness. The document also refers to the work of Dr. David Kilpatrick (2015), who compiled and referenced over 30 years of reading research regarding phonological awareness and its importance in reading instruction. Further, the document states that the scope and sequence in which skills are taught is based on the hierarchy of phonological skill acquisition (Paulson, 2004) and recommendations from the National Reading Panel that phonemic awareness should take no more than 20 instructional hours per year with daily lessons of two brief phonemic awareness tasks designed to take no more than five minutes.

• In Implementation Essentials, Module 7: Building Phonemic Proficiency, the video presenter states that “each lesson includes two phonemic awareness warm-up tasks that build in complexity and are designed to take no more than 5 minutes each day. The tasks begin with early skills, such as rhyming, and move to more complex tasks, such as phoneme deletion and substitutions. Emphasis is placed on blending and segmenting tasks, as the skills are most closely related to reading and writing.” 

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

• In the Kindergarten Scope and Sequence, phonemic awareness instruction is as follows: 

  • Lessons 1-2 Identify Rhyming Words and Count Words in Sentences 

  • Lessons 3-4 Producing Rhyming Words and Count Words in Sentences

  • Lessons 5-6 Blend Compound Words and Isolate Initial Phonemes

  • Lessons 7-8 Segment Compound Words and Isolate Initial Phonemes

  • Lessons 9, 11, 13, 15 Blend Syllables and Isolate Initial Phonemes

  • Lessons 10, 12, 14,16 Segment Syllables and Isolate Initial Phonemes

  • Lessons 17-28 Isolate Initial Phonemes and Blend Two Phonemes

  • Lessons 29-32 Blend Body-Coda and Segment Two Phonemes

  • Lessons 33-36 Blend Onset-Rime and Segment Two Phonemes

  • Lessons 37-52 Isolate Final Phonemes and Blend and Segment Three Phonemes

  • Lessons 53-57 Isolate Initial Phonemes and Add Initial Phonemes

  • Lessons 58-60 Isolate Initial Phonemes and Delete Initial Phonemes

  • Lessons 61-68, 85-92 Blend and Segment Three Phonemes and Delete and Add Initial Phonemes

  • Lessons 69-84 Isolate Vowel Phonemes, Substitute Initial Phonemes, and Add/Delete Final Phonemes

  • Lessons 93-100 Isolate Vowel Phonemes and Substitute Final Phonemes

  • Lessons 101-120 Substitute Vowel Phonemes and Blend/Segment Three to Four Phonemes 

Materials attend to developing phonemic awareness skills and avoid spending excess time on phonological sensitivity tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials begin phonemic awareness skills in Lessons 5-6, where students isolate initial phonemes. From Lessons 5-6 on, materials consistently provide instruction on phonemic awareness skills. 

Materials contain a phonemic awareness sequence of instruction and practice aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Program Overview, Scope and Sequence, there are columns for phonemic awareness tasks, sound wall, lesson/phonics focus, and MCW (Most Common Words). Students learn to isolate sounds in the phonemic awareness part of the lesson as they learn the letters and sounds in the phonics part of the lesson in Lessons 4-24. For example, in Lesson 7, Part 1, the phonemic awareness warm-up includes tasks such as segmenting compound words and identifying initial phonemes. In Part 2, Sound Wall, materials introduce the phoneme /d/ and then unveil the grapheme /d/. Students then work on phoneme-grapheme connection.

• In Lesson 65, Part 1, students complete a phonemic awareness warm-up that includes blending three phonemes and substituting initial phonemes. In Part 2, students review voiced digraph th and are introduced to voiceless digraph th using the Sound Wall. Using the Consonant Corner portion of the Sound Wall, the teacher introduces the grapheme card th.

The materials include systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness with repeated teacher modeling. The materials provide teacher scripts, sounds, and words for instruction, along with scaffolds, such as hand motions. The Corrective Feedback and Next Steps guide provides teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students.

Materials include systematic, explicit instruction in sounds (phonemes). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.

  • In Lesson 9, Part 1, Phonemic Awareness, the teacher uses hand motions to scaffold student learning: “Extend one arm straight in front of you. With your other hand, start at the shoulder and slide down your arm as you say the word slowly, emphasizing the sound that the students need to isolate. Then tap your shoulder for a visual cue for students to isolate the initial sound.” The teacher says, “I will say a word. You tell me the first sound in the word.” Ten words are provided with correct answers in the color blue. Six words have three phonemes: lap (/l/), bake (/b/), ham (/h/), deck (/d/), game (/g/), shake (/sh/).

  • In the Phonemic Awareness Toolkit, Isolation: Vowel Phonemes, the teacher says, “We will say the vowel sound in the middle of a word. If I say hot, I can listen closely to the vowel sound. Listen to the word: hot. The vowel sound is /ŏ/.”

  • In the Phonemic Awareness Toolkit, Isolation: Final Phonemes, the teacher says, “If I say mess, I can listen closely for the last sound. Listen to the word mess. The last sound is /s/.” Students identify the last sound in the word hum, then the teacher says, “Listen as I hold the last sound: hummmm. The last sound is /m/.” 

• Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.

  • In Lesson 53, Part 1, Phonemic Awareness, the materials provide Teacher Tips and scripted instruction. The teacher says, “We are going to add a sound to the beginning of a word. I will start by saying a word. Then I will add the beginning sound. Say an(an); add /m/ to the beginning (man). Adding /m/ to the beginning of an builds the word man.” The teacher continues with words /p/- an, /s/-it, /f/-in, /j/-am, /k/-at, /s/-ick, /m/-ap, /l/-ate, /f/-ill, /P/-am. The Teacher Tips provide teachers with hand motions to support the learning: Extend one arm in front of the body. With the other hand, tap down the arm representing the number of phonemes in the word. Tap the location on the arm representing where students should add the phoneme. Put the hand back on the shoulder and slide down the arm, blending to say the new word.

  • In Lesson 90, Part 1, Phonemic Awareness, the teacher says, “We will change the last sound in a word to make a new word. Listen to this word: peach. I can change the last sound /ch/ to /k/, and my new word is peak.” 

  • In the Phonemic Awareness Toolkit, the materials provide guidance for the teacher on how to substitute sounds in a word. “We will substitute, or change, one sound in a word to build a new word. Listen to the word: west. Now I will use the word west and change /w/ to /ch/. Chest.”

Materials provide the teacher with examples for instruction in sounds (phonemes). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 73, Part 1, Phonemic Awareness, the teacher says the word sun, then repeats it slowly and tells students to listen for the middle sound. The teacher tells students that they will slide their hand down their arm while saying the word and the middle sound should occur when their hand is at the elbow. The teacher says sun while sliding their hand down their arm. Students identify the middle sound, and the teacher repeats the middle sound in sun. 

• In Lesson 114, Part 1, Phonemic Awareness, the teacher tells students they will change the middle sound in a word to make a new word. The teacher says the word cut, and students repeat the word and identify the middle sound. The teacher tells students to change the short u sound to a short i sound, then asks students to say the three sounds in the new word, /k/ /i/ /t/. The teacher asks students to say the new word kit. The materials instruct the teacher to continue using the example steps for cut/kit with the words tap/top, shook/shape, mile/mail, and bed/bid. 

• In the Phonemic Awareness Toolkit, Blending, games and activities to practice blending phonemes are included. The teacher models blending the sounds in the word just, saying each sound, then raising an arm in the air and swooping it down the “slide” while saying the word just. The teacher guides students to practice with the word tenth, and then the materials provide the teacher with a list of 22 words for use in practice. 

Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide, pages 4 and 8, the materials provide a corrective feedback graphic and sample script that model the steps taken when a phonemic awareness error occurs using the following steps: Identify the Error, Confirm the Expectation, Confirm the Change, Guide Correction, Provide Specific Praise. 

• In Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide, page 10, the teacher is provided with corrective feedback for when a student inaccurately segments phonemes.

  • Phonemic Awareness Toolkits: Use the Phonemic Awareness Toolkits to practice segmenting.

  • Repetition: Provide students with numerous opportunities to practice segmenting. Consider using transition times to embed more chances to interact with segmenting. For example, tell students, “Tell me the sounds in the word book (/b//oo//k/). Please get out your book.”

  • Multimodal Approaches: Incorporate multimodal approaches, such as using manipulatives or tactile materials, to support segmenting phonemes. Elkonin boxes, manipulatives such as letter tiles or magnets, and hand motions can be considered.

The materials include opportunities for students to practice phonemic awareness daily in Part 1 as a warm-up. In Part 2, materials include daily Sound Wall lessons that correlate with the phonics focus for the day and provide opportunities for students to connect sounds to letters. The materials include specific directions to the teacher for demonstrating how to articulate and pronounce each phoneme. In addition to scripted articulation practice, teachers are provided with pictures of mouth formation, which is included on each phoneme card. 

Daily phonemic awareness instruction does not always correlate to the phonics portion of the lesson (phoneme-grapheme correspondence). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• In Lesson 44, Part 1, the Phonemic Awareness skill is segmenting words with three phonemes. The words used to practice this skill are yet, pine, run, this, dig, tip, fin, main, take, tube. In that same lesson, the phonics skill is Short Vowel o.

• In Lesson 53, the phonics focus of the lesson is on letter groups with the letter L. In Part 1, students say the first sound in the following words: snow, friend, paper, slide, rug, plaid. The phonemic awareness instruction does not correlate to the phonics portion of the lesson.

• In Lesson 110, Part 1, the phonemic awareness skill is substituting vowel phonemes and orally blending three to four phonemes. The phonetic skill focus is blends and two-consonant endings. The teacher guides students to blend words with beginning blends: smell, snack, club, class, flame, cruise, brush, stuff, green, scoop.

Materials include opportunities for students to practice connecting sounds to letters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 38, students identify the first sound in the words feet, farm, and funny. Students state the letter that makes the sound /f/. 

• In Lesson 44, students identify the first sound in the words odd, ostrich, and off. Students state the letter that makes the sound /o/. 

• In Lesson 53, students identify the first sound in the words lion, love, and light. Students state the letter that makes the sound /l/.

Materials include directions to the teacher for demonstrating how to pronounce each phoneme (articulation/mouth formation). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 5, Part 2, the Teacher Tips box includes information on articulation of the phoneme /b/. It states that “this voiced sound starts with the lips pressed firmly together. The air pressure builds behind the lips. Next, the mouth opens, the lips part, and a quick puff of air is released.”

• In Lesson 6, Lesson Summary, the Real Time Coaching video models for the teacher how to make the /k/ sound. In Part 2, the teacher displays the mouth formation card for the sound /k/. The mouth formation can also be found on the sound wall card for this sound. The teacher scripting includes teacher talk through and asks the students if their lips are open when they say this sound (yes). Then asks if something is blocking the air (yes) and also asks if air is felt when this sound is made (yes). The script goes on to explain the placement of the tongue as it pushes against the mouth, and a puff of air is released. 

• In Lesson 59, Part 2, the Teacher Tips box contains articulation information for consonant x. It states that x is not a single phoneme sound; it represents two sounds. The teacher guides students to listen to the last two sounds in words fox, socks, six and displays the mouth formation slide for /ks/.

The materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of a year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence in phonemic awareness. The assessment suite includes varied assessment types: Readiness Check, Optimal Phonemic Awareness Toolkits Assessment, Student Observation Checks, Daily Skill Check, Multi-Skill Check, and Cumulative Skill Check. Transfer and Review days give teachers structured time and routines for ongoing formative and summative assessment. Data is collected in the assessment suite, which provides detailed reports to teachers regarding student progress toward mastery of skills. Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonemic awareness. The materials contain a Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide that provides teachers with next instructional steps based on each assessment. Teachers use the observation tool to rate students based on their phonemic awareness skills; the data is compiled in the assessment suite and automatically provides feedback and teaching tips.

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 phonemic awareness. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Resource Center, Program Guides, Assessment Guide: Technical Summary, the materials list the types of assessments available in the Assessment Suite, including the Readiness Check, Optimal Phonemic Awareness Toolkits Assessment, Student Observation Checks, Daily Skill Check, Multi-Skill Check, and Cumulative Skill Check.

• In the Overview, Assessment Guide Technical Summary, the materials include details regarding when to administer the assessments. The Readiness Check is an initial check at the beginning of the year that identifies student readiness to learn foundational skills, identifies which students may need additional support, and identifies which students may also need to complete the Phonemic Awareness Toolkits Assessment. The Phonemic Awareness Toolkits Assessment is given as needed, based on Readiness Check or Student Observation Check scores. Student Observation Checks provide an opportunity for student demonstration of multiple skills throughout key phases of the whole class lesson. Skill checks are for understanding and application of a single skill after each day’s whole class lesson. Multi-skill Check provides information regarding retention and transfer of a sample of key skills learned throughout the semester; this assessment takes place at the middle and end of the year.

• In Lesson 36, Part 1, materials include an Observation Checkpoint built in where teachers record students needing additional support on the skills practiced in the student section of the tool. The phonological awareness skills are blending onset and rime along with segmenting phonemes. In the first task, the teacher says two parts of a word, and the student puts the parts together to make the word. Examples include /b/ /ăk/ (back), /t/ /ōd/ (toad), /g/ /erl/ (girl), and /f/ /ās/ (face). In the second task, the teacher says a word, and the student says all the sounds in the word. Examples include itch (/ĭ/ /ch/), at (/ă/ /t/), and ache (/ā/ /k/).

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonemic awareness. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Overview, the materials include information about the student-level reports. Teachers will know how well students have mastered skills as they progress through the scope and sequence. The Class Skill Proficiency report allows teachers to determine skill proficiency and improvement after supported practice. The Student Skill Progress Report provides overall data looking at the Whole-Group Instruction recorded observations, Initial Skill Check, Small-Group Instruction recorded observations, and Post Skill Check to determine the effectiveness of instruction and practice. The Multi-Skill Data Check enables teachers to see the results of multiple Multi-Skill Checks in one place and allows them to see how students are performing in each skill group. The Readiness and Cumulative Skill Check Data summarizes results for the Readiness Check, Middle-of-Year Cumulative Skill Check, and End-of-Year Cumulative Skill Check.

• In the Observation Checkpoint Guide, the materials provide the teacher with a Quick Reference Scoring Criteria Rubric for observing students’ progress in phonemic awareness:

  • Red - the student is unable to perform the task accurately, even with teacher support or scaffolding.

  • Yellow - the student is able to perform the task accurately with teacher support or scaffolding OR the student may not be able to perform the task with automaticity.

  • Green - the student is able to perform the task accurately, independently, and with automaticity.

• In Reports, the Student Skill Proficiency Report provides progress monitoring data from each lesson using the student observation panel in Phonemic Awareness, Decoding, Encoding, and Transfer. When data is accurately and regularly entered into the database, this report identifies which students need additional support and in which of the aforementioned areas. 

Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in phonemic awareness. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide, the materials provide teachers with next steps for instruction for students who:

  • Inaccurately articulate phonemes

  • Inaccurately identify isolated phonemes

  • Inaccurately blend phonemes

  • Inaccurately segment phonemes

  • Inaccurately manipulate phonemes within a word

• In Lesson 42, Part 1, Phonemic Awareness, the student observation panel allows teachers to make observations and notes on the current phonemic awareness skill being taught, isolating final phonemes and segmenting three-phoneme words. The data automatically creates small groups based on targeted needs, thus notifying teachers of students’ current performance and needs.

• In Lesson 47, Groups and Centers, the materials provide Word Mapping activities for the teacher to use with students who need additional phonemic awareness support, based on the observational data entered throughout the lesson. This post-lesson activity gives teachers directions by explaining that “word mapping has three opportunities to provide additional support. Use a gradual release model or use guided support for correct pronunciation. Provide as much or as little support as needed for your students.” The materials guide the teacher to provide a targeted word for students to segment, to color the Elkonin box counters for each sound heard in the word, to write the letter or letters that spell each sound heard in the word, to write the word once or twice, to mark or prove the word, to write the word on the blank in the sentence below, and to read the sentence together. Then, the materials indicate that students should read the sentence independently, draw a picture of the word, and give two words that rhyme with that same targeted word.

The materials include a detailed scope and sequence with an evidence-based rationale for the sequence of phonics instruction. Instruction is logically grouped into high-utility patterns, beginning with letter groups and working up to phonetic skills instruction focused on syllable types. Phonics instruction moves from simple to more complex.

Materials contain a clear evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonics skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Research Base, Phonics, the materials indicate that the phonics instructional sequence is informed by the following:  

  • Utility: the materials introduce high-utility letters and at least one vowel to support word building. Short vowel sounds are introduced first to enable students to encode and decode closed syllables, the most common syllable type. 

  • Continuous sounds: the materials introduce some continuous sounds, including /s/ and /m/, early to support blending and connected phonation. 

  • Common errors: the materials separate easily confused phonemes and graphemes, including i/e, b/d, and p/q. 

  • Rules of orthography: the materials introduce c and k last so that students will have learned all vowels, enabling them to identify the correct orthographic spelling of the /k/ sound at the beginning of a word. 

• In Research Base, Phonics, the materials indicate that phonics instruction moves from letter groups to digraphs because they produce a single sound, to two-phoneme blends, to double l patterns, and then glued sounds because they are letter combinations that introduce new sounds. Then, the instructional focus shifts to syllable types, which are taught in the context of the Five Phonetic Skills. 

• In Program Overview, Scope and Sequence, it states that “the sequence is logical and intentional, building from the simplest concepts to the more complex. The skills are intentionally grouped together to reduce cognitive load, allowing students’ brains to process and store information more efficiently. Syllable types and syllable division are presented in a simple framework of Five Phonetic Skills and Two Decoding Skills, which provides a more accessible and meaningful structured and organized approach.

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

• The Scope and Sequence follows an intentional sequence of phonics instruction from simpler to complex skills. Instruction begins with Alphabet and Sound Wall Introduction, in which each letter sound is introduced in alphabetical order. Chapter 1 includes Letter Group Lessons, Chapter 2 includes digraphs, consonant blends, double l patterns, and glued sounds, and Chapter 3 includes short and long vowels and Phonetic Skills 1-4. 

  • Alphabet and Sound Wall Introduction: letter sounds A-Z

  • Chapter 1: Letter sounds in letter groups: 

    • Letter Group 1: Aa, Mm, Ss, Tt, Pp

    • Letter Group 2: Ii, Ff, Nn, Gg, Bb

    • Letter Group 3: Oo, Rr, Hh, Vv, Jj

    • Letter Group 4: Ee, Ww, Dd, Ll, Yy

    • Letter Group 5: Uu, Qu, Zz, Xx, Cc, Kk

  • Chapter 2: Digraphs th, ch, sh, wh; L-Blends bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl;  R-Blends br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr; S-Blends sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, final s-blends; Plurals -s, Doubles ss, ll, ff, Plurals -es, Double l all, oll, ell, ill, ull; -NG Glued Sounds -ang, -ing, -ong, -ung, -NK Glued Sounds -ank, -ink, -onk, -unk

  • Chapter 3: Short and Long Vowels; Phonetic Skill 1- single consonant ending, digraph ending; Spelling with -ck; Phonetic Skill 2 - blends and two-consonant endings, consonant digraph endings; Phonetic Skill 3; Phonetic Skill 4 - vowels a, o, i, u, e

Materials do not contain elements of instruction that are based on the three-cueing system.

• Materials do not contain lessons or resources that include the three-cueing system.

The materials provide ample practice and review opportunities in a reasonably paced manner. Each lesson provides opportunities for student practice in the context of the teacher-guided lesson, in small groups using the Student Transfer Book, and independently using the learning software. Skill groups of instruction are followed by regular Review and Transfer days, which provide review of the newly-taught phonics skills and also incorporate review of previously-taught skills. Instructional timing is included in each daily lesson and includes 40 minutes of instruction: Part 1: Phonemic Awareness, 5 minutes, Part 2: Phonics and Spelling, 27 minutes, Part 3: Whole Class Transfer: 8 minutes.

Materials include reasonable pacing of newly-taught phonics skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lessons 4 - 29, the materials introduce all 26 letters in alphabetical order. The lessons introduce the letter name, sound, and formation and introduce students to the letters on the Sound Wall. One letter is introduced a day in a 27-minute lesson. 

• In Lessons 30 - 63, the materials reintroduce all 26 letters, organized into working groups. Each working group contains 5-6 letters. The lesson structure includes a lesson per letter, followed by a building words lesson, followed by a Review and Transfer day, then moving onto the next working group. 

• In Lessons 30 - 36, the materials group the following letters: a, m, s, t, p. Each daily lesson focuses on explicitly teaching one letter and its corresponding sound at a time. Lesson 36 guides students to use the taught letter sounds to build words. 

• In Lessons 37 - 42, the materials group the following letters: i, f, n, g, b. Each daily lesson focuses on explicitly teaching one letter and its corresponding sound at a time. Lesson 42 guides students to use the taught letter sounds to build words. 

The lesson plan design allots time to include sufficient student practice to work towards automaticity. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 64, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the phonics objective is for students to decode and encode words with the voiced digraph th. During the Dictation for Encoding portion of the lesson, students write the dictated word then on their boards and mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the digraph and adding a zig zag to indicate the digraph is voiced. Students repeat the process with the word this and the nonsense word thut. Then, students play the Eraser Game, in which they identify and decode the words then, thut, and this using clues given by the teacher. Then, students use the remaining word, them, to practice word building, changing letters to make the following word chain: them/then/men/man/fan. Students read the list of created words aloud. Student practice occurs during the Phonics and Spelling portion of the lesson, for which 27 minutes is allotted to include instruction, modeling, and guided practice. 

• In Lesson 65, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the phonics objective is for students to decode and encode words with the voiceless digraph th. During the Dictation for Encoding portion of the lesson, students write the dictated word with on their boards and mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the digraph and adding a straight line underneath to indicate the digraph is unvoiced. Students repeat the process with the words thud and bath and the nonsense word theg. Then, students play the Eraser Game, in which they identify and decode the words thud, bath, and they using clues given by the teacher. Then, students use the remaining word, with, to practice word building, changing letters to make the following word chain with/wit/hit/hat/that. Students read the list of created words aloud. Student practice occurs during the Phonics and Spelling portion of the lesson, for which 27 minutes is allotted to include instruction, modeling, and guided practice. 

• In Lesson 66, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the phonics objective is for students to review decoding and encoding words with the digraph th. During the Dictation for Encoding portion of the lesson, students write the dictated word path on their boards and mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the digraph, adding a straight line underneath to indicate the digraph is unvoiced. Students repeat the process with the words that and them and the nonsense word zath, using a zig zag line when the digraph is voiced. Then, students play the Eraser Game, in which they identify and decode the words them, that, and zath using clues given by the teacher. Then students use the remaining word, with, to practice word building, changing letters to make the following word chain path/bath/bat/mat/that. Students read the list of created words aloud. Student practice occurs during the Phonics and Spelling portion of the lesson, for which 27 minutes is allotted to include instruction, modeling, and guided practice. 

• In Lesson 67, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the phonics objective is for students to decode and encode words with the digraph ch. During the Dictation for Encoding portion of the lesson, students write the dictated word chop on their boards and mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the digraph. Students repeat the process with the words chip and chat and the nonsense word cheb. Then, students play the Eraser Game, in which they identify and decode the words chip, chat, and cheb using clues given by the teacher. Then, students use the remaining word, chop, to practice word building, changing letters to make the following word chain chop/chip/hip/his/this. Students read the list of created words aloud. Student practice occurs during the Phonics and Spelling portion of the lesson, for which 27 minutes is allotted to include instruction, modeling, and guided practice. 

• In Lesson 68, Part 2, Phonics and Spelling, the phonics objective is for students to review decoding and encoding words with the digraph ch. During the Dictation for Encoding portion of the lesson, students write the dictated word rich on their boards and mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the digraph. Students repeat the process with the words chip and much and the nonsense word yech. Then, students play the Eraser Game, in which they identify and decode the words much, chip, and yech using clues given by the teacher. Then, students use the remaining word, rich, to practice word building, changing letters to make the following word chain rich/rig/rug/tug/mug. Students read the list of created words aloud. Student practice occurs during the Phonics and Spelling portion of the lesson, for which 27 minutes is allotted to include instruction, modeling, and guided practice.

Materials contain distributed, cumulative, and interleaved opportunities for students to practice and review all previously learned grade-level phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 46, Part 3: Whole Class Transfer, Student Transfer Book, students engage in the following mixed review words that include sounds taught in previous lessons: rig, hit, sop, Bob, rag. After mixed review, students practice decoding a passage using the Skill Words, Mixed Review Words, and Most Common Words.

• In Lesson 52, Part 3: Whole Class Transfer, Student Transfer Book, students engage in the following mixed review words that include sounds taught in previous lessons: win, dot, get, wag, ten. After mixed review, students practice decoding a passage using the Skill Words, Mixed Review Words, and Most Common Words.

• The materials include a Review and Transfer day at the end of each working group. For example:

  • In Review and Transfer Day 8, after lesson 76, students take Multi-Skill Check 8, aligned with previously taught lessons on l-blends. The materials provide resources for teacher-led small-group lessons, differentiated based on the results of the Multi-Skill Check. Materials include student choice boards focused on review and transfer of decoding of l-blends. Lessons and activities also include previously taught digraphs and letter groups. Review work includes student choice boards that feature decoding speed drills, encoding practice, and passage decoding using passages from Weeks 73-76 and the decodable book Glen and the Clog Club. 

• In Review and Transfer Day 14, after lesson 105, students take Multi-Skill Check 14, aligned with previously taught lessons on glued sound -nk. The materials provide resources for teacher-led small-group lessons, differentiated based on the results of the Multi-Skill Check. Materials include student choice boards focused on review and transfer of decoding of the glued sound -nk. Lessons and activities also include previously taught digraphs, blends, and letter groups. Review work includes student choice boards that feature decoding speed drills, encoding practice, and passage decoding using passages from Weeks 101-105 and the decodable book The Big Stink.

The materials include systematic and explicit phonics instruction with repeated routines for teacher modeling. The lesson structure includes teacher scripts for explicit instruction with consistent routines for teacher modeling for all grade-level phonics standards. 

Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of newly-taught phonics patterns. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

  • In Lesson 10, Part 2, the teacher says the words game, goat, and girl and tells students that all three words begin with the /g/ sound. The teacher points to the letter g on the sound wall to reveal which letter makes the /g/ sound. The teacher displays the embedded image Gg, which shows the letters Gg formed with geckos. The teacher tells students that the letter g can make the sound /g/ like at the beginning of the word gecko. The teacher tells students the name of the letter and the sound of the letter twice and asks students to repeat. 

  • In Lesson 26, Part 2, the teacher says the words wood, water, watch and tells students that all three words begin with the /w/ sound. The teacher shows the mouth formation card for w and talks about what your mouth does when making that sound. The teacher displays the letter card and tells students to repeat: “The name of the letter is w. The sound of the letter is /w/.” The teacher repeats this twice.

  • In Lesson 39, Part 2, the teacher says the words nut, nail, neck, and tells the students that all three words begin with the /n/ sound. The teacher shows the mouth formation card for n and talks about what your mouth does when making that sound. The teacher displays the letter card and tells students to repeat: “The name of the letter is n. The sound of the letter is /n/.” The teacher repeats this twice. 

  • In Lesson 52, Part 2, the teacher displays the letters Dd. The teacher says, “Repeat after me. The name of the letter is d. The sound of the letter is /d/.” The teacher repeats the name and sound of the letter twice.

• Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.

  • In Lesson 106, Part 2, the teacher provides explicit instruction in defining long and short vowel sounds and then models the use of breves and macrons, symbols over the vowel letters indicating a short or long vowel sound. The teacher marks and reads the short vowels, then says, “Let’s read each of the vowels again with long vowel marks. (/ā/, /ī/, /ō/, /ē/, /ū/)”

    • “We just learned that a vowel can spell a short sound: /ă/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, /ĕ/, /ŭ/ or a long sound: /ā/, /ī/, /ō/, /ē/, /ū/.”

    • “The letters look the same whether we hear a short or long sound.”

    • “You know if a vowel spells the short sound or the long sound by the mark above it.”

  • In Lesson 112, Part 2, the teacher displays Vowel Valley. The teacher says the long vowel sound /ā/ and unveils the grapheme a, telling students the vowel a makes the /ā/ sound. The teacher repeats the process for the vowels i, o, u, and e. 

  • In Lesson 118, Part 2, the teacher tells students, “The vowel u has two long sounds: /yū/ and /ū/.” The teacher models the /yū/ sound that the long u makes with the word cube. The teacher says, “Even though we have two vowels in the word, only one spells a sound. The vowel e is silent but strong. The silent e makes the first vowel spell its long vowel sound. I put a long vowel mark above the vowel u. The vowel u in this word spells the long sound /yū/.” The teacher also models the /ū/ sound that the long u makes in the word tube. The teacher says, “Since the vowel u is following the consonant t, it spells the long sound /ū/.”

• Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

  • In Lesson 55, Part 2, the teacher displays the word pet and tells students to change pet to met. The teacher identifies the letter that changes and displays the new word. The teacher repeats with the words men and man. 

  • In Lesson 63, Part 2, the teacher displays the word pet and tells students to change but to rut. The teacher identifies the letter that changes and displays the new word. The teacher repeats with the words rut and rug. 

  • In Lesson 105, Part 2, the teacher displays the word link and tells students to change link to rink. The teacher identifies the letter that changes and displays the new word. The teacher repeats with the words rank, sank, and sunk. 

  • In Lesson 72, Part 2, the teacher displays the word rash and tells students to change rash to mash. The teacher identifies the letter that changes and displays the new word. The teacher repeats with the words mash and map.

Lessons include blending and segmenting practice using structured, consistent blending routines with teacher modeling. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 36, Part 2, the teacher models marking the slide sa, and the word sat, using an x to mark the vowel and an arc to indicate the blend. As the teacher marks each slide and word, the teacher models blending the sounds to read the slide or word. 

• In Lesson 41, Part 2, the teacher models marking the slide bi and the words big and bib, using an x to mark the vowel and an arrow to indicate the slide. As the teacher marks each slide and word, the teacher models blending the sounds to read the slide or word. The teacher verbalizes each step, saying, for example, “Begin to say /b/ and slide to /ĭ/: /bĭ/.”

• In Lesson 69, Part 2, the teacher models marking the slides sha, shi, sho, she, shu and the words ship and shop, using an x to mark the vowel and an arc to indicate the digraph. As the teacher marks each slide and word, the teacher models blending the sounds to read the slide or word.

Lessons include dictation of words and sentences using the newly-taught phonics pattern(s). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Review and Transfer Day 4, Activity 2, the teacher-led transfer activity includes guided dictation of words and sentences. The materials provide a word bank of words and sentences that include the newly-taught letter group e, w, d, l, y. The materials indicate that teachers can choose the words and sentences that meet students’ needs to differentiate for each group. The dictation bank includes 12 sentences and 79 words organized into the following categories: e, d, w, l, y, and nonsense words. 

• In Review and Transfer Day 15, Activity 2, the teacher-led transfer activity includes guided dictation of words and sentences. The materials provide a word bank of words and sentences that include the newly-taught closed syllable words and words with -ck. The materials indicate that teachers can choose the words and sentences that meet students’ needs to differentiate for each group. The dictation bank includes 12 sentences and 127 words organized into the following categories: Phonetic Skill 1 with blends, with initial digraphs, with final digraphs, -ck, and nonsense words. 

• In Lesson 70, Part 2, first, the teacher says and spells the word wish, and then directs students to spell, write and mark the word. This process is repeated with the word cash, the word dish, and the nonsense word fesh.

Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Corrective Feedback Guide, Phonics, the materials offer the following corrective feedback suggestions if a student inaccurately connects a phoneme to a corresponding grapheme: use the Lesson Toolkits to provide explicit instruction on problem phoneme(s), use visual and auditory drills in a structured manner to connect phoneme and grapheme. 

• In Corrective Feedback Guide, Phonics, the materials offer the following corrective feedback suggestions if students inaccurately decode words: use the Lesson Toolkits to provide explicit instruction in decoding with identified skills, model, and practice blending sounds without pausing between sounds, use a blending board for practice, use decodable texts for additional practice, and provide practice in isolation vowel sounds for students with consistent vowel sound errors in decoding. 

• In Corrective Feedback Guide, Phonics, the materials provide a sample script for the teacher to use: Identify the error, Confirm the expectation, Confirm the correction, Guide Correction, Provide specific praise. Each box in the cycle provides an example of what the teacher might say. For example, in Identify the error, the sample script is “Listen to/Look at the way you read/wrote this word/sound.”

The materials include consistent instructional routines that contain regular opportunities for students to practice decoding and encoding words using common and newly taught sound and spelling patterns. The materials indicate that Part 2 of the lesson, Phonics and Spelling, as well as the Whole Group Transfer Card in Part 3, are focused on accuracy. The student practice in these sections includes marking words to support accurate decoding and encoding. The decodable passage and decodable texts contain opportunities for students to practice decoding with a focus on automaticity. 

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode phonetically spelled words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 54, Part 2, students read the slide ye and the word yes, followed by the slide yi and the word yip.

• In Lesson 60, Part 3, students read the Whole Class Transfer Card, which contains the words can, cup, cot, the nonsense word cug, and the sentence I had a cup. 

• In Lesson 67, Part 2, read the slide chi and the word chip, followed by the slide chu and the word chug. 

• In Lesson 107, Part 2, students read the words gum, jet, sad, and pop in partners, taking turns reading the word first. 

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to encode phonetically spelling words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 45, Part 2,  students encode the words rim, ram, and ran and the nonsense word rog. Students spell the word and mark it, using an x for the vowels.

• In Lesson 61, Part 2, students encode the words kin, kit, and the nonsense word keb. Students spell the word and mark it, using an x for the vowels.

• In Lesson 86, Part 2, students encode the words mask and nest and the nonsense word lasp. Students spell the word and mark it, using an x for the vowel and an arc to indicate blends. 

• In Lesson 114, Part 2, students encode the words hide, bite, and wipe and the nonsense word pime. Students spell the word and mark it, using an x for the vowels, a vertical line through the silent e, and a horizontal line over the vowel to indicate a long vowel.

Lessons include student-guided practice and independent practice of blending sounds using the sound-spelling pattern(s) in an instructional sequence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 64, Part 2, in Dictation for Decoding, students write the word them as the teacher dictates letter by letter. Students mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the digraph, using a zig zag line under the digraph to indicate the th is voiced. Students read the word twice. 

• In Lesson 77, Part 2, in Dictation for Decoding, students write the word bran as the teacher dictates letter by letter. Students mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the blend. Students read the word twice. 

• In Lesson 86, Part 2, in Dictation for Decoding, students write the word lost as the teacher dictates letter by letter. Students mark the word, using an x to indicate the vowel and an arc to indicate the blend. Students read the word twice. 

Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in word-level decoding practice focused on accuracy and automaticity. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 46, Part 3, students read the Whole Class Transfer Card, which includes decoding the words him, hop, hat, the nonsense word hin, and the sentence Hop on the top. Students read the sentence twice. 

• In Lesson 56, Part 3, students read the Whole Class Transfer Card, which includes decoding the words fun, tug, gum, the nonsense word bub, and the sentence Gum is on the rug! Students read the sentence twice. 

• In Lesson 93, Part 3, students read the lesson’s decodable passage, consisting of five sentences using the newly taught -all and -oll pattern. Students read the passage chorally, the teacher reads the passage aloud, then students read the passage with a partner. The materials indicate that the instructional focus is automaticity, rate, and prosody. 

• In Lesson 96, Part 3, students read the lesson’s decodable passage, consisting of five sentences using the newly taught pattern. Students read the passage chorally, the teacher reads the passage aloud, then students read the passage with a partner. The materials indicate that the instructional focus is automaticity, rate, and prosody. 

Materials contain frequent opportunities for students to review previously learned grade-level phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Review and Transfer Day 6, after Lesson 68, students build words with recently taught digraphs th and ch and previously taught letters a, e, o, i, b, m, n, p, and t. 

• In Review and Transfer Day 10, after Lesson 87, students read the words spin, stem, skip, clasp, desk, spot, ask, rest, trust, quest, crisp, best, swim, stop, stash, and vast. The words review S-blends taught in lessons 82-87 as well as previously taught letters and digraphs. 

• In Review and Transfer Day 16, after Lesson 113, students read the words be, crust, fish, inch, swim, she, so, duck, he, bench, go, spun, sent, we, help, frog, and no. The words review recently taught open and closed syllables and previously taught sound spellings. Students write the word that makes sense in the following fill-in-the-blank sentences: “The duck will  with the . The will jump on the _.”

The materials contain spelling rules and generalizations that align to the phonics scope and sequence. The materials include explanations for spelling of specific words or spelling rules. Detailed information about articulation and morphology is provided for the teacher in the form of Teacher Tips and scripting. Students have sufficient opportunities to practice spelling rules and generalizations. Daily practice occurs in direct instruction and in Daily and Post Skills Checks. The Skill Checks provide students with digital activities that allow for practice of phonics skills from the lesson. Practice opportunities are also present in Part 4 of daily instruction in the small group setting.

Spelling rules and generalizations are aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 62, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus c and k. Students spell words with c and k.

• In Lesson 71, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on Digraphs: wh. Students spell words with the wh digraph. 

• In Lesson 89, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on Doubles: s, f, and z. Students spell words with -ss, -ff, -zz.

• In Lesson 101, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on -nk Glued Sounds: -ank. Students spell words with the glued sound -ank.  

Materials include explanations for spelling of specific words or spelling rules. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 65, Part 2, the teacher explains the articulation for voiceless th. The materials explain that the tip of the tongue is positioned behind the upper front teeth and protrudes slightly between the upper and lower teeth, and the voice is off during this sound. The teacher guides students to understand voiceless th throughout the lesson. In Training Tips, it states that “th spells two sounds, one voiced and the other voiceless. Both sounds can appear at the beginning of a word, but th always spells the voiceless sound at the end of the word.”

• In Lesson 93, Part 2, the teacher displays the double l combinations -all, -oll, -ell -ill, -ull and explains that when the vowel a is followed by a double l, a changes its sound to /o/ as in tall. The teacher guides students to make specific markings for this spelling pattern, showing an arc under the vowel and double l to join them together.

• In Lesson 109, Part 2, the teacher tells students how to know what letters to use when a word makes the /k/ sound at the end of the word. The teacher explains that in the word sack it is important to listen to the vowel sound before the /k/ sound. The teacher tells students that when there is the sound /k/ at the end of a word, and it follows a short vowel sound, the sound /k/ is spelled ck.

• In Lesson 114, Part 2, the teacher tells students that when a vowel is followed by a consonant and silent e, the first vowel sound is long.

Students have sufficient opportunities to practice spelling rules and generalizations. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 36, Part 2, students practice spelling words with a beginning sound, a vowel sound, and an ending sound. Students spell the dictated words sap and sat on their dry-erase boards.

• In Lesson 49, Student Skill Check, students practice reading words with CVC spelling patterns by taking the skill check and are placed in Activity 1 or 2 based on the results. In Activity 2, students practice building the words mop, job, hit, ran while receiving immediate feedback and must fix any mistakes to move on. In the Post Skill Check, students identify slides read aloud by the game: va, ji, hog, rat, got. 

• In Lesson 104, part 2, students practice spelling real and nonsense words on dry-erase boards with -onk and -unk. Students repeat the word the teacher says and then write it on their board. Students then show the word to the teacher to check for accuracy. Words include dunk, honk, junk, hunk, and sonk.

The materials feature decodable texts containing grade-level phonics skills aligned to the program’s scope and sequence. Each lesson includes a decodable passage that the teacher uses during Part 3. The materials include general lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts. Decodable books are used in the small group centers with direct teacher instruction. Reading practice occurs in decodable texts until students can accurately decode single-syllable words.

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 Lesson 49, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on Letter Group 3: Building Words with o, r, h, v, j. Part 3 includes a decodable passage featuring words using Letter Group 3: Ron, got, job, has, mop, and hat. 

• In Lesson 60, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on Consonant C. Part 3 includes a decodable passage featuring words using consonant c, including cam, cub, can, cut, cup, catch, cod.

• In Lesson 90, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on plural -es. Part 3 includes a decodable passage featuring words with -es endings: foxes, dishes, glasses, messes.

• In Lesson 102, the Scope and Sequence indicates a phonics focus on -nk Glued Sounds: ink. Part 3 includes a decodable passage featuring words with -ink, including link, rink, sink, pink, wink. 

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

• In Lesson 97, Part 3, students read the decodable passage The King and His Ring, with the teacher. The students listen to the passage being read aloud fluently. Students read the same passage with a partner.  

• In Lesson 100, Part 3, students read a decodable passage that contains -ng welded sounds. After reading the passage three different times, the teacher checks for understanding by reminding students that “we learned to read and spell words with the -ng glued sounds /āng/, /ēng/, /ŏng/, and /ŭng/. What two letters did all of the glued sounds end with today?.”  The lesson plan also directs teachers to “provide feedback and encourage self-correcting as students read.”

• In Lesson 106, Part 3, students read a decodable passage containing long and short vowel review words. After reading the passage three different times, the teacher checks for understanding by reminding students that “Today, we learned to read and spell Slides with short and long vowels. How do you mark a short vowel? (with a breve or short vowel mark)? How do you mark a long vowel? (with a macron or long vowel mark)?” 

Reading practice occurs in decodable texts (i.e., an absence of predictable texts) until students can accurately decode single syllable words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 40, Part 3, the text is decodable based on prior content introduced and does not contain predictable text: “That is a fat fig. The pig got it!” The text contains letter sounds taught in Lessons 1-39 and previously taught high-frequency words the and that. 

• In Lesson 68, Part 3, the text is decodable based on prior content introduced and does not contain predictable text: “That is such a big log. Chad can chop it. It is much work, but Chad got it.” The text contains previously taught sound-spellings and high-frequency words, with the exception of the word work, making the text over 90% decodable. 

• In Lesson 118, Part 3, the text is decodable based on prior content introduced and does not contain predictable text: “Jude has a mule. Her name is June. June is so cute. Jude hums her mule a tune. Then Jude gives June a sugar cube.” The text contains previously taught sound spellings and high-frequency words, with the exception of the word sugar, making the text over 90% decodable.

The materials provide resources and tools to collect formative and summative data about students’ progress in phonics. Multiple assessment tools are provided for the teacher to administer throughout the year to measure student progress toward mastery of phonics skills. Materials also provide teacher tools to generate overview and progress reports at the student and classroom level. Varied assessments include Readiness Checks at the start of the year, Daily Skill Checks after each lesson, Student Observation Checks, Multi-Skill Checks offered three times for each skill set, a Mid-Year Cumulative Skill Check, and an End-of-Year Cumulative Skill Check. 

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. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Reading Horizons Discovery Program Overview, Assessments, page 38 describes formative and summative assessments for students to demonstrate mastery and independence with phonics. Assessments include Readiness Check, Mid-Year Cumulative Skill Check, End-of-Year Skill Check, Single Skill Check, Student Observation Check, Multi-Skill Check. 

• In the Assessments Guide, Technical Summary (Digital Download), page 9, it states that the Skill Check is administered at the end of each Whole-Class Lesson Delivery and a second time after the student completes the assigned differentiated activities. These daily skill checks enable teachers to immediately evaluate the impact of their instruction. The Post-Skill Check gives teachers the impact of whole-group instruction plus differentiated learning activities.

• In the Assessment Guide, the Cumulative Skills Check on page 5 is described as a “check for retention and transfer of a sample of key skills learned throughout the semester.” The Skills Check is given at the middle and end of the year and is meant to do the following: 

  • Evaluate the impact of teaching RH Discovery during a specified time period (about half of the academic year),

  • Identifies the contribution of RH Discovery to external measures

  • Helps rule out decoding skills as an inhibitor to performance on external measures (e.g., if students perform well on the Cumulative Skill Check but poorly on external measures, teachers can explore other causes of lower performance).

• In the Observation Checkpoint Guide, the materials state that there are multiple assessment opportunities embedded within lessons to monitor student performance: Observation Checkpoints during phonemic awareness, dictation, transfer, and small group routines. The same monitoring options are available during formal assessments. Formative and summative data is collected and analyzed in the Student Observation Panel within the Lesson Delivery Tool.

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide teacher tools to generate overview and progress reports at the student and classroom level. For example, “The Student Skill Progress Report provides overall data looking at the Whole-Group Instruction recorded observations, Initial Skill Check, Small-Group Instruction recorded observations, and Post Skill Check to determine the effectiveness of instruction and practice. The report “tells the overall account of the Daily Skill Check data. It uses the average score across all Skill Checks to determine if the student needs support, practice, or enrichment.”

• In Program Overview, page 29, it states, “After Whole-Class Lesson Delivery is complete, students take a quick five-question Skill Check in the software based on the content just taught in the lesson. The Skill Check empowers teachers to check for students’ understanding of each day’s Skill lesson and inform small groups for differentiated learning activities for Extended Transfer.”

• In Multi-Skill Check 3, Lessons 30-49, data from Observation Checkpoints are compiled and groups students into the percentage of students needing Support, Practice, and Enrichment for each Skill Group. For example, in the Class Multi-Skill Check Report, data is broken down by student for lessons 30-36, 37-43, and 44-49. Each student’s percentage is displayed in a circle correlating to the color coded rubric (red, yellow, green). In the Daily Skill section, reports are Class Average Skill Check by Lesson graph, individual student scores for Skill Check-Up and Post Skill Check-Up, Student Skill Check by Lesson graph. There is a drop-down menu from which teachers can select individual students to view their Lesson assessment data.

• In the Class Skill Proficiency Report, data is listed for each student by Lesson. For example, the teacher can look at the Skill Check and Post Skill Check percentages for each student for Lesson 78. The percentage is listed inside a color-coded circle (Green, Yellow, Red). The teacher can also see any student observations recorded throughout the lesson for Whole Group, Skill Check, Groups, and Post Skill Check.

Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students make progress toward mastery in phonics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 49, after completing instruction and Observation Checkpoints throughout the lesson, the teacher is provided with a summary page that indicates the percentage of students needing Enrichment, Support, and Practice. The “What’s Next?” section indicates which students are ready to take the Skill Check and directs the teacher to proceed to Lesson: Review and Transfer Day: Multi-Skill Check 3. The Groups and Centers button takes teachers to a Transfer Routine Download for Needs Support, Needs Practice, Needs Enrichment. Each practice group includes activities: Teacher-Led Transfer with Word Mapping, Skill Transfer activities, and Decodable Passage, Partner and Independent Transfer activities.

• In Lesson 84, when the teacher finishes the lesson, they are provided with a summary page. It starts with “What’s the Impact?” and gives teachers the breakdown of the percentage of students placed in the Enrichment, Practice, or Support Groups. In the “What’s Next?” section, it tells the teachers which students should take the Skill Check and to Proceed to Lesson 85. On the next page, the teacher can see each group that was automatically generated based on lesson observations and data. It tells which students are in each group, their color rating, and percentage of mastery. Each group has a downloadable Transfer Routine page that gives directions for instruction.

• In Multi-Skills Check 11, Lessons 77-90, the teacher is provided with a report of students who need support, practice, and enrichment based on the skills covered in lessons 77-90: r-blends, s-blends, double rule, and the suffix -es. 

• In Multi-Skills Check 15, Lessons 96-111, the teacher is provided with a report of students who need support, practice, and enrichment based on the skills covered in lessons 77-90: -NG welded sounds, -NK welded sounds, Digraphs, and -ck spelling rule.

The materials include systematic and explicit instruction in high-frequency words. The instruction includes identification of decodable, not yet decodable, and irregularly spelled words, as well as a routine for identifying the irregular spelling or not yet taught sound-spelling. The materials include a sufficient number of high-frequency words. The Lesson Toolkit includes a resource that groups the high-frequency words by phonetic skill.

Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words with an explicit and consistent instructional routine. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 34, Part 2, the teacher introduces the word to. The teacher tells students that the word is not yet decodable and then guides students to segment the word and count the sounds. The teacher displays a blank line for each sound, then guides students to identify the first sound and name the letter for that sound, displaying the letter as students name it. The teacher tells students that the last sound is spelled /u/ and tells students that this is the part that we need to remember. 

• In Lesson 42, Part 2, the teacher introduces the word for. The teacher tells students that the word is not yet decodable, then guides students to segment the word and count the sounds. The teacher displays a blank line for each sound, then guides students to identify the first sound and name the letter for that sound, displaying the letter as students name it. The teacher tells students that the last sound /or/ is spelled or. The teacher records the spelling on the second line, then circles the letters or and tells students this is a new spelling that we need to remember. The teacher says the word for twice. 

• In Lesson 64, Part 2, the teacher introduces the word were. The teacher tells students that the word is not yet decodable and then guides students to segment the word and count the sounds. The teacher displays a blank line for each sound, then guides students to identify the first sound and name the letter for that sound, displaying the letter as students name it. The teacher tells students that the last sound is spelled er and tells students that this is the part that we need to remember.  

Materials include teacher modeling of the spelling and reading of high-frequency words that includes connecting the phonemes to the graphemes. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 81, Part 2, the teacher introduces the word up. The teacher tells students that the word is decodable and then guides students to segment the word and count the sounds. The teacher displays a blank line for each sound, then guides students to identify the sound and name the letter for each sound, displaying each letter as students name it. The teacher says the word up twice. 

• In Lesson 88, Part 2, the teacher introduces the word these, guiding students to say and segment the word. The teacher projects a slide with three lines, one for each phoneme in the word. The teacher guides students to identify the phoneme and match it to the grapheme using the slide. The teacher writes the final e not on a line to indicate there is no sound for the final e in the word th-e-s-e. The teacher points to the word and reads it twice. The teacher chants the name of each letter as they spell three times.

• In Lesson 94, Part 2, the teacher introduces the word like. The teacher tells students that the word is decodable and then guides students to segment the word and count the sounds. The teacher displays a blank line for each sound, then guides students to identify the sound and name the letter for each sound, displaying each letter as the students name it. The teacher points to the word like and reads it two times.

Materials include a sufficient quantity of high-frequency words for students to make reading progress. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Program Overview, the Kindergarten Scope and Sequence indicates that the materials introduce a total of 91 high-frequency words. The materials introduce a new word during each lesson in Lessons 30-120.

• In the Kindergarten Most Common Words Toolkit, pages 3-5, is a table of Most Common Words Grapheme Mapping that indicates instruction of high-frequency words by lesson. Each word is identified as not yet decodable or irregular, broken down by phonemes, and shows mapping of the graphemes. It lists 90 words starting in Lesson 30, ending with Lesson 120, and one word per lesson. Words introduced include: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it, he, was, for, on, are, as, with, his, they, I, at, be, this, have, from, or, one, had, by, word, but, not, what, all, were, we, when, your, can, said, there, use, in, each, which, she, do, how, their, if, we, up, other, about, out, many, then, them, these, so, some, her, would, make, like, into, time, has, him, look, two, more, write, go, see, number, no way, could, people, my, than, first, water, been, called, who, am, its, now, find.

The materials contain student practice identifying and reading high-frequency words in isolation. Students practice reading Most Common Words in isolation daily on the Whole Class Transfer Card. The lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read high-frequency words in context. Students read high-frequency words in daily lessons using Decodable Text, Decodable Books, and the Whole Class Transfer Card. Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to write high-frequency words in tasks, such as sentences, in order to promote automaticity of high-frequency words. Students have daily opportunities to practice writing high-frequency words in the dictation part of each lesson.

Students practice decoding high-frequency words in isolation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 61, Part 3, students read the Whole Class Transfer Card, which includes the high-frequency words not, but, and word in isolation. 

• In Lesson 82, Part 3, Whole Class Transfer, students practice reading words other, up, will in isolation on the Whole Class Transfer Card.

• In Lesson 118, Part 3, Whole Class Transfer, students read its, am, and who in isolation from the Student Transfer Card. 

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read high-frequency words in context. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 72, students read the Decodable Text A Math Wiz which includes the previously taught high-frequency words is, it, what.

• In Lesson 90, Part 4, students read the Decodable Text, Let’s Get a Class Pet, which includes the previously taught high-frequency words has, a, of, that, in, said, have, we, or, with.

• In Lesson 117, students read the Decodable Text Work Zone, which includes the previously taught high-frequency words is, there, they.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to write high-frequency words in tasks, such as sentences, in order to promote automaticity of high-frequency words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 71, Part 2, students record the dictated sentence When can I use it? Students repeat the sentence, count the words, then write the sentence, which contains the newly-taught high-frequency word use and previously-taught high-frequency words when, can, I, and it. 

• In Lesson 81, Part 2, students record the dictated sentence Drag the prop up, which contains the newly-taught high frequency word up. 

• In Lesson 109, students record the dictated sentence he people fed the duck, which contains the newly taught high frequency word people.

The materials contain regular explicit instruction in word analysis. The materials contain daily instructional routines of marking words, in which students code the different elements of a word as they are introduced (vowels, digraphs, blends, suffixes, etc.). This word marking lays a foundation for future work in syllable division. The materials introduce plural nouns and syllable types near the end of the Kindergarten year. The materials include explicit instruction in Phonetic Skills, which is the study of syllable types. 

Materials contain explicit instruction of syllable types and syllable division that promote decoding and encoding of words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 107, Part 2, the teacher introduces Phonetic Skill 1 - closed syllables with one ending consonant. The teacher says, “Phonetic Skill 1 tells us that when a vowel is followed by one Guardian Consonant, the vowel sound is short.” The teacher displays the word kid and models marking the word, using an x for the vowel and a star for the Guardian Consonant d. The teacher explains that the Guardian Consonant protects the sound of the vowel and keeps the vowel sound short, then displays a breve above the i to indicate the vowel is short. The teacher repeats the process with the word stop. 

• In Lesson 112, Part 2, the teacher introduces Phonetic Skill 3, which is also called an open syllable. The teacher says, “Phonetic Skill 3 tells us that when a vowel stands alone, the vowel sound is long.” The teacher uses the Project Slide to display the word go. The teacher demonstrates how to code the letter o in go with an x under the vowel and a long vowel mark, macron, above the vowel to show it is spelling the long sound. The teacher repeats the process with the word me.

• In Lesson 114, Part 2, the teacher introduces Phonetic Skill 4, which is also called the vowel consonant e syllable. The teacher says, “Phonetic Skill 4 tells us that when a vowel is followed by a consonant and silent e, the first vowel sound is long.” The teacher uses the Project Slide to display the word name. The teacher demonstrates how to code the letter a in name with an x under the a. The teacher explains, “Since e is silent, or quiet, I will draw a line down through the e and the x under it. Even though we have two vowels in the word, only one will spell a sound. The e is silent but strong. Silent e makes the first vowel spell its long vowel sound. I put a long vowel mark, macron above the vowel a.” The teacher repeats this coding process with the word grade.

Materials contain frequent instruction in morpheme analysis to decode unfamiliar words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 88, Part 2, the teacher explains the words singular and plural. The teacher displays the word dot next to a picture of one dot and tells students dot is a singular word because there is one dot. The teacher displays the word dots next to a picture of two dots. The teacher says, “When I add the letter s to the end of the word, the word dot becomes dots. This shows there is more than one dot. Adding an -s made the word plural.” The teacher models underlining the -s ending to show that it was added to the base word. The teacher repeats the process with the words cat/cats and sled/sleds.

• In Lesson 90, Part 2, the teacher reviews how to make a word plural by adding -s. The teacher then says, “Sometimes plural words can end with -es. When a word ends in double s, the digraphs ch and sh, or the consonant x, we add -es to make it plural.” The teacher then models how to make the word box plural by adding -es to make the word boxes meaning more than one. The teacher explains to mark the plural you underline the -es. The teacher repeats the word with class to classes and dish to dishes.

Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Lesson 74, Part 2, in Dictation for Decoding, students write and mark the word glad. Students say the word and then spell and mark the word. Students code the letter a with an x under it, then arc under the letters gl. The process is repeated with the word flip and the nonsense word gleb.

• In Lesson 108, Part 2, in Dictation for Decoding, students write the word bath as the teacher dictates letter by letter. Students practice word analysis skills by marking the word, using an x for the vowel, an arc for the digraph, a star for the Guardian Consonant digraph, and a breve to indicate the vowel is short. Students read the word twice. Students repeat the process with the word cash. 

• In Lesson 112, Part 2, Dictation for Decoding, students spell the letters in the word sent, write the letters on their dry-erase board, and code/prove the word. The students put an x under the letter e and then a short mark, breve, above the e. The students put a guardian star above the letters n and t. This process is repeated with the word go. The students put an x under the letter o with a long mark, macron, above the letter o.

The materials offer regular and systematic assessment opportunities in the areas of word recognition and word analysis. The materials use the student observation checkpoints, Skill Checks, and Multi-Skill Checks to regularly measure student progress. The materials include information to determine students’ current understanding and instructional suggestions for supporting growth based on assessment data. 

Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of word recognition and analysis. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Multi-Skills Check 9, students decode and encode words with l-blends, r-blends, digraphs, and Most Common Words. Students encode the following words: shed, which, much, when, clap, glob, plop, slot, sloth, brim, fret, grub, tram, grab, drip. Students are asked to decode the following words: shin, then, plus, slip, trap, grin, how, their, if, will, up. Students are also asked to read the following sentence: How will she grip the clip?

• In Multi-Skill Check 13, after Lesson 100, students read the Most Common Words into, time, has, look, and two in isolation. Students read the sentence Has the bell rang? which includes the Most Common Words has and the. 

• In the Middle of the Year Multi Skills Check, students are given a word. The word is then used in a sentence, and the students are asked to spell the word. For example, the students are asked to spell the word zap. The students are given the letters s, p, u, t, z, b, j, a to choose from to spell the word. 

• In Lesson 104, Student Software Skills Check, students decode the following words: honk, junk, zonk, bonk, gunk, tonk, and dunk. Students must encode the following words: dunk, honk, bunk, zonk, and sunk.

Assessment materials provide the teacher and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of word recognition and word analysis. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Print Multi-Skill Check Overview, Most Common Words, the materials indicate that teachers calculate the accuracy percentage for reading the 3-8 Most Common Words included on each Multi-Skill Check once high-frequency word instruction has begun. The materials indicate that teachers may use the box on the data sheet to record Most Common Words that students struggle to read, or teachers may track mastery of irregular and not yet decodable words using the tracking sheet in the Most Common Words Toolkit.

• In Observation Checkpoint Guide, Scoring Criteria, the materials provide guidance for determining student performance levels. A student is scored in the Needs Support category (red) when they are unable to perform the task accurately, even with teacher support or scaffolding. A student is scored in the Needs Practice category (yellow) if they are able to perform the task accurately with teacher support or scaffolding or if a student is unable to perform the task with automaticity. A student is scored in the Needs Enrichment category (green) if they are able to perform the task accurately, independently, and with automaticity.

• In Assessment Guide and Technical Summary, the materials describe what happens after students complete their Post-Skill Check after small group and extended transfer activities. The teacher can view real-time results on the Skill Insights page or on the Class and Student Proficiency Reports. The materials state that if 80 percent of students demonstrate understanding by receiving a score of 80 percent or more, the teacher progresses to the next lesson. If fewer than 80 percent of students demonstrate understanding, the teacher should reteach the entire lesson.

Materials support the teacher with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Corrective Feedback and Next Steps Guide, the materials make the following recommendations for students who do not recognize words immediately or easily: 

  • Repetition: use lesson materials, Student Transfer Books, Decodable Books, Groups and Centers Routines, Most Common Words Toolkits, and Lesson Toolkits to repeat transfer routines. 

• In Assessment Guide and Technical Summary, the materials describe the Initial and Post-Skill Check. The materials state that after the Initial Skill Check is administered, the Lesson Delivery Tool automatically groups students into three groups: students who need additional practice, students who are proficient in the skill, and students who need additional instructional support. The tool also assigns students individualized learning activities to “facilitate long-term retention of each skill.”

• In Lesson 88, Ready Made Centers provide the teacher with three group options based on the student’s performance throughout the lesson. The three groups are for students with Needs Support, Needs Practice, or Needs Enrichment. The students in the Needs Support Group have a list of activities generated for the teacher to complete. This list of activities for the Needs Support group states, “The priority for students in the Needs Support group is the Teacher-Led Transfer activities aligned with the Student Transfer Book. Their next priority should be completing the Independent Transfer: RH Discovery Software activities and the final Skill Check. If time allows, these students can complete the Partner or Independent Transfer activities.”