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Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability: Really Great Reading | ELA
Product Notes
The Really Great Reading materials for grades K-2 partially meet the expectations for alignment to Common Core State Standards and research-based practices for foundational skills instruction. The materials have a sequence for explicitly teaching all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters. However, there is no explicit instruction in letter formation. The materials contain explicit instruction in phonological awareness and have multimodal/multisensory opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness skills frequently. The materials contain explicit, systematic instruction in decoding and encoding phonics skills in isolation. The materials frequently allow students to decode words in decodable phrases, sentences, and passages. For grades K-1, there is a sequence for the explicit instruction of high-frequency words. Decodable passages in Grades K-2 contain high-frequency words, although the high-frequency words do not necessarily align with the sequence. The materials do not contain explicit instruction in rate, accuracy, and expression. However, students have frequent opportunities to practice fluency with phrases, sentences, and passages. The Really Great Reading materials for Grades K-2 partially meet the expectations for implementation, support materials, and assessment. The materials contain a well-defined teacher’s manual as well as supplemental resources. The manual and supplemental resources contain instructional routines and adult-level explanations. The content of the materials can be taught in a school year, although the materials do not include instructional timings for activities. The materials contain a clear, cohesive hierarchy for phonological awareness skills, and they contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. The materials contain decodable passages aligned to the phonics’ scope and sequence. However, the decodable passages do not align with the scope and sequence of the high-frequency words. The materials have assessment opportunities for some foundational literacy skills, such as phonological awareness and phonics. The materials contain some resources to support multilingual learners, specifically Spanish resources. The materials contain options for differentiation within lessons. The materials contain digital materials compatible with many platforms and operating systems. Some materials can be personalized and customized.
Kindergarten
View Full ReportEdReports reviews of foundational skills supplements determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to research-based practices and college and career ready standards. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Materials must meet or partially meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Usability (Gateway 2)
1st Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews of foundational skills supplements determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to research-based practices and college and career ready standards. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Materials must meet or partially meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Usability (Gateway 2)
2nd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews of foundational skills supplements determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to research-based practices and college and career ready standards. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Materials must meet or partially meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Usability (Gateway 2)
Report for 1st Grade
Alignment Summary
The Really Great Reading material. However, the materials partially meet the expectations for alignment to standards and research-based practices for foundational skills instruction and partially meet expectations for implementation, support materials, and assessment. Materials do not contain explicit instruction and practice in letter formation. Materials contain print concept instruction unconnected to books. Materials contain explicit instruction in phonological awareness. Materials have ample opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness. Materials have explicit, systematic instruction in decoding and encoding phonics skills in isolation. Materials have student opportunities for decoding and encoding words in isolation and connected tasks. However, the materials do not contain explicit modeling of encoding sound-spellings in connected tasks. Materials have explicit instruction in high-frequency words and word analysis skills. Materials allow students to read and write high-frequency words in isolation and connected text. Materials do not contain explicit instruction in rate, accuracy, or expression. Materials provide decoding opportunities for students to practice automaticity and accuracy with decodable passages. Materials contain student opportunities to read decodable text with purpose and understanding. Materials contain a well-defined teacher’s manual with instructional routines and adult-level explanations. Materials contain lessons for a school year. Materials do not specify instructional timings. Materials contain a clear, cohesive hierarchy for phonological awareness skills. Materials contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. Materials contain decodable passages aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. Materials contain decodable passages which do not align with the scope and sequence of the high-frequency words. Materials contain some assessments of foundational literacy skills, such as phonological awareness and phonics. Materials contain documentation of alignment to Common Core State Standards. Materials contain some resources to support multilingual learners. Materials contain support suggestions in the lesson sidebars. Materials contain challenge options for students who need extensions. Materials contain digital materials compatible with many platforms and operating systems. Some materials can be personalized and customized.
1st Grade
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Usability (Gateway 2)
Overview of Gateway 1
Alignment to Standards and Research-Based Practices for Foundational Skills Instruction
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, partially meet the expectations for alignment to standards and research-based practices for foundational skills instruction. The materials do not contain explicit instruction and practice in letter formation. The materials contain print concept instruction in ten lessons. However, print concepts instruction does not connect to books. Materials contain explicit instruction in phonological awareness. The materials have ample opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness. The materials have explicit, systematic instruction in decoding and encoding phonics skills in isolation. There are student opportunities for decoding and encoding words in isolation and connected tasks. However, there is no explicit modeling of encoding sound-spellings in connected tasks. The materials have explicit instruction in word analysis skills and high-frequency words. Materials have opportunities for students to read and write high-frequency words in isolation and connected text. The materials do not contain explicit rate, accuracy, or expression instruction. The materials provide decoding opportunities for students to practice automaticity and accuracy with decodable passages. The materials contain opportunities for students to read decodable text with purpose and understanding.
Criterion 1.1: Print Concepts and Letter Recognition (Alphabet Knowledge)
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, the materials do not have explicit instruction or practice in forming the 26 upper- and lowercase letters. There are ten concepts of print lessons. However, the lessons do not support authentic print concept practice with books.
Indicator 1A
Indicator 1A.iv
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 do not meet the criteria for explicit instruction to print and practice the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase).
In the Blast materials, students write letters. However, there are missed opportunities for explicit instruction and modeling to print the 26 upper- and lowercase letters. Additionally, there is no explicit student practice on writing and forming the 26 upper- and lowercase letters.
Materials do not include clear directions for the teacher concerning how to explain and model how to correctly form each of the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase).
Print all upper- and lowercase letters.
In Blast, Supplemental Resource, PDF Resources, Printable Student Worksheets, Upper/Lower Case Letter Blast Off Activity, students complete a worksheet where they write words in lowercase letters after being presented with them in uppercase letters. There is no explicit instruction in letter formation in this practice.
In Blast, Supplemental Resource, PDF Resources, Printable Student Worksheets, Lower/Upper Case Letter Blast Off Activity, students complete a worksheet where they write words in uppercase letters after being presented with them in lowercase letters. There is no explicit instruction in letter formation in this practice.
Materials do not include frequent opportunities for students to practice forming all of the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase).
In Blast, Supplemental Resource, PDF Resources, Printable Student Worksheets, Upper/Lower Case Letter Blast Off Activity, students complete a worksheet where they write words in lowercase letters after being presented with them in uppercase letters. There is no explicit instruction in letter formation in this practice.
In Blast, Supplemental Resource, PDF Resources, Printable Student Worksheets, Lower/Upper Case Letter Blast Off Activity, students complete a worksheet where they write words in uppercase letters after being presented with them in lowercase letters. There is no explicit instruction in letter formation in this practice. This is a supplemental activity with no explicit instruction in letter formation.
Materials do not include frequent opportunities for students to practice forming letters using multimodal and/or multisensory methods.
No evidence
Indicator 1B
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 1b. (K-early Grade 1).
The Blast materials contain 10 concepts of print lessons in Blast Online Supplemental Resources. There are missed opportunities for instructional support in the authentic practice of print concepts in connection to books. Although the Grade 1 materials include words, phrases, sentences, and passages for students to read, the teachers are encouraged to use self-selected books from their classroom libraries to teach selected concepts of print lessons. No physical books are provided within the materials. Although the materials contain the practice of previously learned and cumulative reviews of letter identification, there are missed opportunities for practice of previously learned and cumulative reviews of concepts of print and letter formation.
Materials include some explicit instruction for all students about the organization of print concepts (e.g., recognize features of a sentence).
Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Concepts of Print, Lessons 8, pages 10-11, Features of a Sentence, the teacher addresses capitalization and ending punctuation in a sentence. The teacher asks students if they see capital letters in a sentence. “Yes, there is always a capital letter at the beginning of a new sentence. The first word in the sentence begins with a capital letter. That is another way we can tell where a new sentence begins.” The teacher asks students if they see anything at the end of the sentence. The teacher tells students there will always be a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Concepts of Print, Lessons 9, pages 12-13, Concepts of Book Reading 1, the teacher asks students what they see at the beginning of each sentence with the response listed as, “a capital letter”. The teacher selects students to point to the first word of a sentence in the book. The teacher asks the students what they see at the end of a sentence responding with “a punctuation mark, like a period”.
Materials include some adequate lessons, tasks, and questions for all students about the organization of print concepts (e.g., recognize features of a sentence).
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Concepts of Print Lessons, Lesson 8, Features of a Sentence, page 10, the teacher states, “When we read words on a page there are spaces between each word. We can easily count the words in a sentence because the spaces tell us where one word ends and the next begins.”
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Concepts of Print, pages 14-15, Lessons 10, Concepts of Book Reading 2, the teacher asks students if they remember what they see at the beginning of each sentence with the answer listed as, “a capital letter”. The teacher selects students to point to capital letters in the book. The teacher asks students if they remember how they know when a sentence ends, with an answer of, “a punctuation mark”. The teacher selects students to find punctuation marks in the book.
Materials do not include a variety of physical books (teacher-guided, such as big books) that are suitable for the teaching of print concepts.
The materials do not contain physical books.
Materials do not include sufficient and explicit instruction about the organization of print concepts (e.g., recognize features of a sentence) in the context of a book.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Concepts of Print, Lessons 9 and 10, pages 12-15, the concepts of print lessons contain 10 lessons. Lesson 9 is Concepts of Book Reading 1. Lesson 10 is Concepts of Book Reading 2, which advises the teacher to select a book from their classroom libraries to give the lessons. Physical books are not provided for these lessons in the materials.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, page vii, Introduction, Alignment with the Common Core State Standards, the information states that Blast does not teach Print Concepts explicitly within the first section of Foundational Skills. According to the materials, students do practice reading sentences with proper structure and conventions in most units.
Materials do not consistently include opportunities for students to engage in authentic practice using print concepts in the context of student books.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Concepts of Print Lessons, Lesson 9, page 12, Book Reading Lesson 1, the teacher uses any book “that includes pictures and words” to teach the lesson. Physical books are not provided for these lessons in the materials.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Concepts of Print Lessons, Lesson 10, Book Reading Lesson 2, page 14, the teacher uses any book “that includes pictures and words” to teach the lesson. Books are not provided. These are the only two lessons focused on developing concepts of print in the context of student books.
Materials contain some periodic cumulative review opportunities during which the teacher reminds students about previously learned grade level print concepts, letter identification, and letter formation.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, page xxiv, Introduction, Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence in Unit 3, Lesson 2, the teacher introduces short /a/ and long /a/. In Unit 4, Lesson 2, the teacher introduces short /i/ and long /i/. In Unit 8, Lesson 2, the teacher reviews short and long /a/ and /i/ with lowercase letters.
Materials include some students’ practice of previously learned print concepts, letter identification, and letter formation.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 36, Review Consonant Letter Names and Phonemes, students practice the letter names and sounds for all consonants.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 5, Part 1, page 176, What you Need to Know, instructions state, “Lesson 5 is a wrap up lesson. The wrap up reviews and cumulatively practices the concepts taught in this unit (and previously taught units).”
Criterion 1.2: Phonological Awareness
Materials emphasize explicit, systematic instruction of research-based and/or evidence-based phonological awareness.
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, provide various multimodal/multisensory activities for students to practice phonological and phonemic awareness. The materials contain explicit instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness. The materials provide ample opportunities to practice phonological and phonemic awareness.
Indicator 1C
Materials have frequent opportunities for students to engage in phonological awareness activities during Kindergarten and early Grade 1.
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1c.
The Blast materials provide students daily and ongoing learning activities with frequent practice opportunities to engage in multisensory phonological awareness activities throughout all 25 units of the program. The Blast program contains a variety of multisensory phonological activities, including finger stretching for segmenting and blending words, Stomp It Out! for segmenting and blending syllables in words, and Whale Talk, where students talk slowly to sound out syllables in spoken words. Students have frequent opportunities to engage in and practice multisensory phonological awareness skills daily in Grade 1 activities.
Materials include a variety of activities for phonological awareness.
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 5, page 126, Segment Words-Identify Short I and Long I Phonemes, students repeat the word chip with their fists at their chests. Students segment the phonemes beginning with the thumb. Students identify the number of phonemes they hear, the vowel phoneme, and whether it is a short or long /i/.
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 14, Lesson 2, Part 2, pages 444-445, Introduce Whale Talk, students sound out syllables in spoken words using Whale Talk, where students say words slowly.
There are frequent opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Parts 1-5, pages 85-89, Short A and Long A Phonemes, students practice finger stretching words focusing on short /a/ and long /a/ phonemes.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 4, pages 124-125, Review Phoneme i long /i/, students participate and practice in the We Do and You Do section of the lesson in which they finger stretch with words that contain long /i/ in which they discuss how many phonemes are in the word.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 12, Lesson 2, Part 5, pages 386-387, Blend Words with Short or Long Vowel Phonemes, students hold up a finger for each sound beginning with their thumb and then pull their fingers into a fist to create the words. In the You Do section, the students blend the phonemes for practice words: back, shack, shut, cube, met.
Indicator 1D
Materials provide explicit instruction in phonological awareness through systematic modeling across the K-1 grade band.
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1d.
The Blast materials provide teachers with explicit instruction in phonological awareness through systematic modeling throughout all 28 units. All phonological awareness lessons provide scripting for teacher use and explicit teacher modeling for actions and gestures needed to deliver each lesson. The materials provide the teacher with detailed examples for each activity within lessons and practice sets for students. There is explicit and systematic modeling for instruction in syllables, sounds, and spoken words.
Materials provide the teacher with systematic, explicit modeling for instruction in syllables, sounds (phonemes), and spoken words.
Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Parts 1-5, pages 85-89, Short A and Long A Phonemes, the teacher tells students they will finger stretch words with short /a/ and long /a/ phonemes. In Part 3, the teacher reviews the short /a/ phoneme movement using the initial sound from /a/ apple. They do a finger stretch, sounding out each phoneme with the word bath, emphasizing the short /a/ in bath. The students practice finger-stretching words with short /a/. In Part 4 of the lesson, the teacher reviews the long /a/ phoneme making the long /a/ movement. The teacher does finger stretching with the word wake, sounding out all of the phonemes, emphasizing the long /a/. The students practice finger-stretching words with long /a/. In Part 5, the teacher has students finger-stretch words with both short /a/ and long /a/, asking students, “What is the vowel phoneme?”
In Blast Teacher Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 3, pages 123-124, the Review Short i Phoneme -/i/, the teacher introduces short /i/ and long /i/ using the finger-stretch routine. The teacher models finger stretch short /i/ words: pit, limb. Students practice finger stretching phonemes in the following words: kid, wig, dip, pin, sick, if. Next, the teacher reviews the long /i/ sound by stretching out the /i/ sound in the words itch and mine. The teacher reminds students to reference the long /i/ on the classroom poster.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 7, Lesson 2, Parts 1-5, pages 218-220, Short E and Long E Phonemes, the teacher tells students they will finger stretch words with short /e/ and long /e/ phonemes. In Part 3, the teacher reviews the short /e/ phoneme movement using the initial sound from /e/ edge. The teacher does finger stretches, sounding out each phoneme with the word met, emphasizing the short /e/ in met. The students practice finger-stretching words with short /e/. In Part 4 of the lesson, the teacher reviews the long /e/ phoneme making the long /e/ movement. The teacher does finger stretching with the word beet, sounding out all of the phonemes, emphasizing the long /e/. The students practice finger-stretching words with long /e/. In Part 5, students finger-stretch words with both short /e/ and long /e/. The teacher asks, “What is the vowel phoneme? Is that long or short?”
Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction page ix, instructions state that “students are explicitly taught a functional strategy to segment (stretch) and blend phonemes in given words.” The Guide Book states that lessons are found in Units 4-5, 7-10, 12, and 17-25 in Lesson 2 of each unit.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2, Part 3, pages 52-54, Teach Stretching Phonemes in Words, the teacher explains that phonemes are sounds, not letters. The teacher models stretching the phonemes /k/ /a/ /t/ and pulling (blending) the phonemes together while saying cat. The teacher tells students, “This is called ‘stretching phonemes.’ The teacher models the phonemes in bat. In the You Do section of the lesson, students use color tiles to listen to a word and identify phonemes, including consonants in a single syllable word. Students practice using the following words: mat, sack, sit, rack, stash.
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 2, Part 4, page 317, Phoneme Blending Activity, the teacher tells students they will have to be great listeners as they are given phonemes to create a real word. The teacher tells students to listen closely as they show how to blend phonemes into words. The teacher models with the word brush, “(pause between each phoneme) /b//r//u//sh/.” In the We Do section, the teacher tells students to try them together and gives phonemes for the word fresh /f//r//e//sh/, and asks students, “What is the word?”
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 12, Lesson 2, Part 5, pages 386-387, Blend Words with Short or Long Vowel Phonemes, the teacher gives students the phonemes /h//i//p/ and holds up a finger for each sound beginning with their thumb then pull their fingers into a fist to create the word hip. In the We Do portion, the teacher provides the phonemes /t//u//f/ and asks students to listen to the phonemes closely to create the word tough. In the You Do section, the students blend the phonemes for practice words provided: back, shack, shut, cube, met.
Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 2, Part 5, page 190, Segment Words: Identify Short O and Long O Phonemes, in the We Do section of the lesson, the teacher says, “Let’s stretch out a few words together. The first word is pop.” Students place their closed fist on their chest, then the teacher and students stretch a finger with each phoneme in pop beginning with their thumbs /p//o//p/. The teacher asks, “How many phonemes did you hear? What is the vowel phoneme?”
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 13, Lesson 2, Part 3, page 417, 2-Sound Blends, the teacher models finger stretching the word bend. The teacher begins with their fist on their chest and holds up a finder for each phoneme in bend, beginning with their thumbs /b//e//n//d/. The teacher tells students bend has four phonemes and has the short /e/ sound, due to sounding like short /e/ in edge. The teacher explains, “The last two sounds in bend are /n//d/. These are both consonant sounds. The /n/ and /d/ phonemes are right next to each other in words.”
Segment spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of individual sounds (phonemes).
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction page x, instructions state that “students are explicitly taught a functional strategy to segment (stretch) phonemes in spoken words.” The Guide Book states that lessons are found in Units 2-13 and 17-25 in Lesson 2 of each unit.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 3, pages 123-124, Review Short I Phoneme /i/, students listen to a single syllable word that includes either the long or short /i/. The teacher models the activity. In the We Do Finger Stretch section, the students segment the word limb into the complete sequence of individual sounds. In the You Do section, students practice using the following words: nice, side, bid, sip, dine, my, tie, sit, in, night, hid, kite, time, bike, rid, Tim, white, dice, whine, type, hi, ditch.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 8, Lesson 2, Part 5, page 255, Phoneme Blending Activity, the teacher tells students they will have to be great listeners as they are given three phoneme sounds to create a real word. The teacher tells students to listen closely as they show how to blend phonemes into words. There is teacher modeling to pause between each phoneme as they give students phonemes /m//e//t/ to create the word met. The teacher practices blending the phonemes in the word page with students in the We Do section. There are practice words for the We Do section. There are the following words: kick, knit, fat, cab, cape. There are challenge words: spill, trap, steak, blast.
Materials provide the teacher with examples for instruction in syllables, sounds (phonemes), and spoken words called for in grade level standards.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2, pages 49-50, What You Need to Know, Definition of a Phoneme and Introduce Finger-Stretching Phonemes, there is guidance about phonemes and the steps in Finger Stretching Phonemes Routine.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Parts 1-3, pages 121-122, What You Need to Know, there is background information and explicit examples for instruction in syllables, sounds, and spoken words called for in grade level standards. In Part 1, Start Teaching, the explicit script is provided: “‘Next we are going to review the long i phoneme. A long vowel phoneme is just like saying the name of the letter, so the long i phoneme is /iiii/.’ Prompt students to repeat the phoneme /iiii/. Say, ‘To help us remember this is the phoneme we make the long i movement while saying the phoneme/iiii/’.”
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 5, page 126, Segment Words-Identify Short I and Long I Phonemes, the teacher models finger stretching the words chip and line. The teacher tells students they will stretch words together beginning with the word chip. Students repeat the word chip with their fists at their chests, then, “Teacher and students stretch phonemes /ch//i//p/, beginning with the thumb.”
In Blast Teacher Resource Guide Book 1, Unit 14, Lesson 2, Part 2, pages 444-445, Introduce Whale Talk, the teacher explains to students that they must sound out syllables in spoken words to read and write them. There is scripting to explain Whale Talk. There is modeling on how to say the word using Whale Talk and scripting using the word table: “There are two syllables in table, ta-ble. I know there are two syllables because there were two pushes of breath when I said the word using Whale Talk.”
Indicator 1E
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1e.
The Grade 1 Blast materials provide ample initial, ongoing, and review opportunities for students to practice newly taught sounds and sound patterns daily in phonemic awareness lessons taught throughout all units of the program. The materials include a variety of multimodal/multisensory activities for student practice of phonological awareness through body movements in activities such as finger-stretching and Syllable Stomp.
Materials provide ample opportunities for students to practice each new sound and sound pattern.
Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Parts 1-5, pages 85-89, Short A and Long A Phonemes, students practice finger stretching words focusing on short /a/ and long /a/ phonemes.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 3, Review Short i Phoneme, page 123-124, Finger-Stretch Activity, students practice segmenting and blending words with the short /i/ sound. Students identify the number of phonemes, identify the vowel phoneme, identify if the vowel phoneme is short or long, and justify their answer for short or long sounds.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 5, page126, Segment Words-Identify Short I and Long I Phonemes, students repeat the word chip with their fists at their chests, then segment the phonemes beginning with the thumb. Students identify the number of phonemes they hear, the vowel phoneme, and whether it is a short or long /i/. Students practice making the short/i/ itch movement found in the word chip.
Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Part 4, Review Long i Phoneme, page 124-126, Finger-Stretch Activity, students practice segmenting and blending words with the long//i/ sound. Students produce single-syllable words by blending phonemes, including consonant blends. Words include bike, pass, hit, dime, cash, light, mice, rake, pie, dim, cape, and pitch.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 2, Part 4, pages 157-158, Review Short U Phoneme, the teacher uses the Finger Stretch Routine to have students listen and then orally produce singe-syllable words by blending phonemes, including consonant blends. Words include dust, chuck, stub, and fuss.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 2, Part 4, page 317, Phoneme Blending Activity, students blend phonemes to create a word. Practice words provided include dream, sweet, mask, and grape.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 12, Lesson 2, Part 5, pages 386-387, Blend Words with Short or Long Vowel Phonemes, students hold up a finger for each sound beginning with their thumb then pull their fingers into a fist to create the words. Then, students blend the phonemes for practice words, including back, shack, shut, cube, and met.
Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5 Lesson 2, Part 4, pages 157-158, Review Long o Phoneme, students practice using the finger-stretch routine to isolate and pronounce initial, medial, and final sounds in the following words: note, rose, toad, joke, comb, oad, stone, toast, globe, drove.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 7, Lesson 2, Parts 1-5, pages 220-223, Short E and Long E Phonemes, students finger stretch words with short /e/ and long /e/ phonemes where they sound out each phoneme with the word bath with emphasis on the medial vowel sound.
Segment spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of individual sounds (phonemes).
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2, Part 3, pages 52-53, Teach Stretching Phonemes in Words, the teacher asks individual students to stretch phonemes in words, and students provide the number of phonemes the word contains. Practice words include rack and stash.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 11, Lesson 2, Part 5, pages 353-353, Segment Words with Short of Long Vowel Phonemes, students segment spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of individual phonemes using the finger-stretch routine with the following words: heat tug, sight, boat, bet, ship, mop, sat, bake, laugh, cute, shell.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 13, Lesson 2, Part 3, pages 417-418, 2-Sound Blends, students practice finger stretching words with two sound blends. For example, students finger stretch the word dust as /d//u//s//t/.
Materials include a variety of multimodal/multisensory activities for student practice of phonological awareness.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book, Introduction, page ix-xi, in the Chart under Examples, students use finger-stretching to segment single-syllable spoken words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1 Introduction, Blast Foundations, page xvii, Blast Student Kit, students use manipulatives such as color tiles and SyllaBoards to practice phonological awareness skills.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 12, Lesson 2, Part 5, pages 386-387, Blend Words with Short or Long Vowel Phonemes, students hold up a finger for each sound beginning with their thumb then pull their fingers into a fist to create the words. Then, students blend the phonemes for practice words, including back, shack, shut, cube, and met.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 14, Lesson 2, Part 2, pages 444-445, Introduce Whale Talk, students sound out syllables in spoken words using Whale Talk, where students say words slowly.
Criterion 1.3: Phonics
Materials emphasize explicit, systematic instruction of research-based and/or evidence-based phonics.
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, provide explicit, systematic phonics instruction for phonics standards. The materials contain frequent opportunities to decode phonics patterns in isolation and in connected text. The materials contain student practice opportunities for encoding sound-spelling patterns in isolation and in connected text. While the materials have explicit modeling of encoding sound-spelling patterns in isolation, the materials do not contain explicit modeling of sound-spelling patterns in writing tasks.
Indicator 1F
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1f.
The Blast Grade 1 materials contain explicit, systematic phonics instruction. There is teacher scripting and repeated teacher modeling of all grade level phonics standards throughout all 25 units. There is explicit modeling for teacher tasks with the projections of the lesson materials. Blast Phonics lessons provide the teacher with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade level phonics pattern.
Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of all grade level phonics standards.
Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 130, Teach Digraph Sh, the teacher introduces the digraph sh: “Some phonemes are spelled with two letters. These are called digraphs.” The teacher posts the definition of digraph, as noted in the materials, on the board: “A digraph is two letters that spell one sound.” The teacher introduces the digraph sh as they use a forefinger to their mouth as if to ask a person to be quiet. Students repeat the movement while saying the phoneme sh. The teacher places the letter tile for sh on the board.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 3, Part 2, pages 194, Start Teaching Digraph th, the teacher leads students through an explicit direct instruction lesson by first reviewing the digraph sh, and explaining that th is an unvoiced sound represented by the letters th. The teacher models the word thin.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 12, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 393, Review Short Vowel Spelling Rule With Digraph CK, the teacher reminds students, “Remember, the two letters ck together are called a digraph. A digraph is two letters together that spell one phoneme.” The teacher tells students ck is not used at the beginning of words.
Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 92-93,
Explain Concept of Nonsense Words, the teacher explains that nonsense words can be read and spelled, but they have no meaning. The teacher shows students four nonsense words beginning with the word cac. Teacher instructions state: “Explain that this word has a consonant letter following the one vowel letter, so it is a Closed Syllable with a short vowel sound.” The teacher reads the word and displays nonsense words ban, tus, and dit as they ask students if the words contain open or closed syllables and short or long vowel sounds.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 4, Part 2, pages 202-203, Detective Work-Mark It! the teacher says, "Watch as I underline letters while saying their phonemes then read the whole word." The teacher models using the word hot; saying /h/ as they underline the letter h, saying /o/ as they underline the letter o, and saying /t/ as they underline the letter t. The teacher reads/says the word hot.
Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 19, Lesson 1, Part 2, pages 138-140, Introduce Vowel-Consonant-E, the teacher places the letter tile e at the end of the word at and explains that it changes the word to ate. The teacher points to both letter tiles a and e at the same time saying, “The letter a and e work together to spell the sound /a/. The letter e is not silent because it works with letter a to spell the long /a/ sound.” Later in the lesson, the teacher tells students, “The vowel-consonant-e pattern is not just for long a. Any vowel letter can follow the Vowel-Consonant-e pattern if a consonant and an e come right after it.” The teacher models with the word eve.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 20, Lesson 4, Part 2, page 197, Detective Work, the teacher models how to read words with a vowel-consonant-e syllable, one word at a time. The teacher models how to underline all of the vowel letters in the word and how to look for a vowel-consonant-e in the word. The teacher explains that when they see a vowel-consonant-e, they will connect the vowel and the e with a curved line to show that they work together to spell the long vowel sound.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 21, Lesson 1, Part 2, pages 214-216, Introduce Long E Vowel Teams EE and EA, the teacher explains they will be learning two new ways to spell the long e sound. The teacher explains the ee in the word free is a vowel team and shows students the motion for vowel teams. The teacher uses Touch and Say to touch the word teeth, says the sounds in the word, and says the word again. The teacher introduces the word beach, “In the word beach, the letters ea work together to spell the long e vowel sound. Just like the vowel team ee, ea is also a vowel team. The vowel letter e and a work together, like a team, to spell the long e sound.”
Use knowledge that every syllable must have a vowel sound to determine the number of syllables in a printed word.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 60-61, Teach Definition of a Closed Syllable, the teacher tells students, “A syllable is a word part. All words have at least one syllable. All the syllables that you will read will have at least one vowel.” The teacher discusses closed syllables, “Closed syllables have one vowel letter, and only one vowel letter, with one or more consonant letters after the vowel.”
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 16, Lesson 3, Part 2, pages 40-41, Introduce Open Syllables, the teacher removes the letter tile t from got to spell the word go and asks a student to read the word. The teacher asks all students if the vowel in go is long or short. The teacher explains, “Go is an Open Syllable. An Open Syllable occurs when a single vowel letter is at the end of a syllable. There are no consonant letters following the vowel letter in the syllable.” The teacher tells the students the vowel sounds in open syllables are usually long.
Decode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into syllables.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 14, Lesson 3, Part 2, pages 452-453, Teach Reading Two-Syllable Words, the teacher tells students that they will be looking at longer words that will contain two closed syllables and that they will learn a motion to help remember closed syllables have short vowel sounds. The teacher explains to students, “There is a special way to look at unfamiliar long words to help us read them accurately. It involves looking for the vowels.” The teacher reminds students that every syllable has a vowel and tells students that this word has two syllables because it has two vowels that are not next to each other. The teacher models using the word sunset.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 20, Lesson 1, Part 3, pages 175-176, Introduce Vowel-Consonant-e in Two Syllable Words, the teacher displays and reads the word locate. The teacher tells students, “The word has a vowel-consonant-e in the second syllable.” Students look for vowels in the word and underline all three vowels. The teacher tells students that the a and e work together to spell the long vowel sound, so they stay in the same syllable: “This word must have two syllables. The o is in the first syllable because it is apart from the other vowels. The a and e are in the second syllable. They stay together because they are the vowel letters in the Vowel-Consonant-e pattern.”
Read words with inflectional endings.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 23, Lesson 3, Part 4, pages 317, Teach When Suffix -ed Adds a Syllable or a Sound, the teacher reminds students they learned in Lesson 1 that when -ed is added to the end of a word sometimes, it adds a syllable; other times, it adds only a sound. The teacher provides the rules, “The suffix -ed always adds an extra syllable /ed/ when the last letter in the base word is a t or a d. The suffix -ed only adds one sound, /d/ or /t/, when the last letter in the base word is not t or d.”
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 24, Lesson 1, Part 3, page 345, Introduce Inflectional Endings -er, -s, and -es, the teacher points to the word helper on the board. The teacher tells students, “The special ending in this word is -er. When we add an -er to a word, it often turns an action word, or a verb, into a noun. A noun is a person, place or thing.” The teacher does Whale Talk and Syllable Stomp for the entire word helper, explaining that there are two syllables due to the added syllable in -er.
Lessons provide teachers with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade level phonics pattern.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 3, Part 4, page 165, Build Real Words With Short U, the teacher explains to students they are building words with short /u/. The teacher says the word nut, then stretches the phonemes in /n//u//t/ and places one color tile for each phoneme. The teacher places a letter tile for each color tile as they say each phoneme. The teacher uses Touch and Say to read the word nut. The teacher and students repeat the same procedures for the word gum.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 11, Lesson 5, Part 2, pages 375-377, Sentences to Read, the teacher calls on individual students to read sentences one by one from workbook page 51. A sentence on the workbook page is, “Did you make a big mess in the long hall?” In Part 3, Spell It!, the teacher tells students they will hear five words read aloud, and they are to listen for the number of phonemes in the word and place a dot for each phoneme in boxes. The teacher begins with the word mess. Teacher instructions state, “Remind students that because mess has three phonemes, it will also have three graphemes.” Students repeat each sound and write down the corresponding graphemes in the boxes provided.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 23, Lesson 2, Part 3, pages 315-316, Review of the Concept of Other Vowels, the teacher says, ”We have already learned that there are five short vowel phonemes, five long vowel phonemes and three r-controlled phonemes. Remember that in English there are some vowel phonemes that are not long, short or r-controlled; these are called ‘other vowels’. We have already learned about two other vowel phonemes, /oo/ and /oi/.” The teacher points to the other Vowels Poster and tells the students that they will learn about the /ou/ phoneme.
Indicator 1G
Materials include frequent practice opportunities for students to decode words that consist of common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns and provide opportunities for students to review previously taught phonics skills.
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1g.
The Blast Grade 1 materials provide students with frequent opportunities to decode phonetically spelled words. The Blast materials provide students with frequent opportunities to read complete words by saying the entire word as a unit using newly taught phonics skills. The materials allow students to review previously learned grade-level phonics in various methods, including decoding words with Whale Talk, Syllable Stomp, and Word Sorts.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode (phonemes, onset and rime, and/or syllables) phonetically spelled words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 4, Part 2, page 138, Detective Work-Mark It!, students practice decoding words with the digraph sh in workbook page 10. Students underline letters and say the corresponding phonemes. The students blend the phonemes to read the words. Practice words are rash, smash, and fish.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 14, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 455, Teach Reading Two-Syllable Words, students practice reading two-syllable words using Syllaboards to break the words into syllables. Words are unzip, cobweb, insect, contest, and pumpkin.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read complete words by saying the entire word as a unit using newly taught phonics skills.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 21, Lesson 2, Part 5, page 227, You Do: Finger Stretching Words with Other Vowel Phoneme /oo/, students stretch phonemes then count phonemes and look for long or short vowels to decode words, such as zoom, hoop, blue, new, shoe, and goose.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 23, Lesson 3, Part 4, page 317, Teach When Suffix -ed Adds a Syllable or a Sound, students practice reading words with -ed using Whale Talk and sorting words with -ed into categories of one and two-syllable words. Words included in the activity are dreamed, landed, blended, and played.
Materials contain opportunities for students to review previously learned grade-level phonics.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv, Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence, students learn digraphs in Units 6 (th), 8 (ch and wh), 9 (ck), and 12 (ck).
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv, Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence, students learn to read words with vowel-consonant-e in Units 19 and 20.
Materials contain a variety of methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade level phonics.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 7, Lesson 4, Part 4, page 238, Word Sort-Do You See a Digraph? What is a Vowel Phoneme?, students complete a word sort in their workbook pages. They begin with the words nut and wet.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 9, Lesson 1, Parts 4-5, pages 280-281, Look and Say, students watch letters appear on the screen. The students review and practice the individual sounds of the letters. Students review and practice saying grouped letter tiles and corresponding sounds in Pop-Up Letter-Sounds Review with Look, Think and Say!. In Read A Row Game to Practice Letter Sounds, students read a row of letter sounds aloud while the other students read to themselves and serve as “checkers”.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 14, Lesson 4, Parts 3-5, pages 18-21, Detective Work - Read it!, students produce the phoneme for each grapheme and subsequently blend the graphemes to produce real words with two syllables. In Word Sort- How Many Syllables?, students use their workbooks to read real words, identify the number of syllables, and categorize the vowel phoneme according to the vowel sound (/o/ or /i/). In Phrases to Read, students practice reading phrases that contain previously taught phonemes combinations.
Indicator 1H
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1h.
The Blast Grade 1 materials provide frequent opportunities for students to practice decoding phonetically regular words in sentences with Phrases to Read, Sentences to Read, and Decodable Passages. There are opportunities for explicit, systematic practice for decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence when students read Sentences to Read in Units 3-25, Lesson 5 and when students read Decodable Passages in Lessons 3-5.
Materials provide explicit, systematic practice for decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 4, page 98, the directions for Phrases and Sentences to Read Overview state, “In this lesson, students are asked to read simple sentences. In subsequent lessons, students will follow the same procedures and guidelines to read controlled sentences.”
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 13, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 435, Activity Sentences to Read, students take turns reading a sentence aloud from the student workbook. Sentences contain decodable words and previously-taught heart words marked with a heart. While one student reads aloud, the other students read silently as checkers and give non-verbal feedback on accuracy.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 20, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 206, Activity Sentences to Read, students take turns reading a sentence aloud from the student workbook. Sentences contain decodable words and previously-taught heart words marked with a heart. While one student reads aloud, the other students read silently as checkers and give non-verbal feedback on accuracy.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words in a sentence.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Scope and Sequence, pages xx-xxi, the materials indicate that Units 3-25 contain a weekly wrap-up activity that asks students to decode words in sentences.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 14, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 467, Sentences to Read, students read sentences from the workbook page 69. The sentences provide students with practice decoding words based on the phonics concepts taught within the unit, reading two-syllable words, and reading two-syllable words with closed syllables. Practice sentences include: She said we can chit chat by the cabin.; Did you like the fabric?
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 25, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 412, Sentences to Read, students read sentences from the workbook page 64. The sentences provide students with practice decoding words based on the phonics concepts taught within the unit, cumulative review with two-syllable words with open, closed vowel-consonant-e, and vowel team syllables. Practice sentences include: The teacher does not like kids eating in class.; Tommy went sailing in the tugboat with Joan.
Indicator 1I
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1i.
The Blast Grade 1 materials contain lessons for students to build, manipulate, spell, and encode words using common and newly taught phonics sound and spelling patterns. The Blast lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words using letter tiles and activities such as Touch and Say, Build Words, and Spell It! to practice common and newly-taught sound and spelling phonics patterns.
The materials contain teacher-level instruction/modeling for building/manipulating/spelling and encoding words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns of phonics.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 12, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 3, Build Real Words with Digraph sh, the teacher says the word rash, and finger stretches the phonemes in the word using three color tiles. The teacher adds a letter to each color tile to spell the word rash and then uses Touch and Say to read rash.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 13, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 422, Teach 2-Sound Blends, the teacher tells students they will build a word for them using the word trap. The teacher explicitly models building trap using the finger stretch routine, stretching out the phonemes and placing a color tile down for each phoneme. The teacher spells each sound, placing a letter under each color tile for the word trap. After spelling the word, the teacher uses Touch and Say to read trap.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 24, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 365-366, Read Two-Syllable Real Words with Inflectional Endings, the teacher models breaking the word patches into two syllables by manipulating the letters in the word onto two SyllaBoards. The teacher begins by finding the vowels and placing an a on the first SyllaBoard and e on the second SyllaBoard. They place the vowels and fill in the rest of the two SyllaBoards with the consonants in the word.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns of phonics.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 3, Part 4 and 5, page 165, 168, Build Real Words With Short U, the teacher explains to students they will be building words with short /u/ and modeling. The students stretch the phonemes in real and nonsense words and place one color tile for each phoneme. Then students place letter tiles for each color tile and then read the words using Touch and Say. Real words include bun, hush, fun, cub, cut, and rush. Nonsense words include fum, lud, and zush.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 5, Parts 2 and 3, pages 341-342, students practice encoding building and spelling words. Students open workbooks to page 45 and read teacher-selected sentences: Put that in the ditch.; Put it on the edge of the hutch. In Part 3, Spell It!, the teacher tells students they will hear five words read aloud, and they are to listen for the number of phonemes in the word and place a dot for each phoneme in the boxes provided. Students repeat each sound and write down the corresponding graphemes in the boxes with dots. Practice words include fetch, catch, pitch, ridge, and edge.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 15, Lesson 5, Part 4, pages 25-26, Sentences to Read, students read sentences in the workbook that contain phonemes to be practiced and spelling patterns. In Part 3, Spell It!, students practice spelling words first by listening for syllables and dividing words into syllables for each two-syllable word the teacher provides. Students stretch the parts of each syllable in the word out by phonemes placing a dot in each square on their worksheet for the first and then second syllable in each word. After students place dots on their worksheets per syllable, they add letters for each dot.
Indicator 1J
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 1j. (mid K-Grade 2)
In the Blast Grade 1 materials, there are missed opportunities for the teacher to explicitly and systematically teach phonics to encode sounds to letters and words in writing tasks. Blast Grade 1 materials have the application for students to encode words in phrases and sentences based on common and newly taught phonics patterns through activities and tasks. The materials provide opportunities to encode words in activities or tasks at the phrase or sentence level. There are three Blast Dictation Sentences for Units 3-25 within the Supplemental Resources.
Materials do not include explicit, systematic teacher-level instruction of teacher modeling that demonstrates the use of phonics to encode sounds to letters and words in writing tasks.
No evidence.
Lessons provide students with frequent activities and tasks to promote the application of phonics as they encode words in sentences or in phrases based on common and newly taught phonics patterns.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, there are Blast Dictation Sentences. There are three dictation sentences for Units 3-25. In Unit 5, students encode, The cub dug up a bug.; Our hut was in the sun.; He can run to the cat.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, there are Blast Dictation Sentences. In Unit 14, students encode, We want relish on our hotdog.; The catfish is our class mascot.; Twist the plastic cap to shut it.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, there are Blast Dictation Sentences. In Unit 22, students encode, He will coast on the highway.; I can read right before I sleep.; Mike drove the boat down the road.
Criterion 1.4: Word Recognition and Word Analysis
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, provide explicit and systematic instruction in high-frequency words. While the materials allow students to read and write high-frequency words in isolation and connected text, there is no explicit instruction or practice in using student-friendly reference materials and resources. The materials have explicit instruction in word analysis and student practice of word analysis.
Indicator 1K
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1k.
The Grade 1 Blast materials contain systematic and explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words through Heart Word videos. The materials include teacher modeling of spelling and reading high-frequency words in isolation. Students practice reading and identifying high-frequency words in isolation with activities such as Where’s That Heart Word and Heart Word Pop-Up. Students are exposed to a sufficient quantity of 110 grade-level appropriate high-frequency words throughout Units 3-24 to make reading progress.
Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words.
Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
In Blast Online, Unit 8, Lesson 1, the Heart Word Magic video explains that the word one has two tricky parts: the /u/ sound is spelled with the letter o, and the letter e does not spell any sound in the word. The teacher in the video models reading Heart Words, including words one and by.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 9, Lesson 1, Part 6, page 281, the teacher guides students through the Look, Think, Say process to introduce what, all, were, we, and when.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 23, Lesson 1, Page 312, Look, Think, Say, the teacher guides students through the Look, Think, Say process to introduce the words goes, always, because, own, and only.
Materials include frequent opportunities for the teacher to model the spelling and reading of high-frequency words in isolation.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Part 5, page 83, Pop-Up Heart Word Practice with Look and Say!, opportunities are included for the teacher to use systematic and explicit instruction to model the spelling and reading of five irregularly spelled words (Heart Words): the, of, you, and, and to.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 21, Lesson 1, Part 4, pages 219-220, Introduce Long A Vowel Teams ai and ay, the teacher models spelling and reading the words day and way.
In Blast Online, Unit 24, Lesson 1, the teacher in the Heart Word Magic video explains the word write has two tricky parts: the w does not make a sound, and the wr makes the / r/ sound. The teacher explains the i-e is also a tricky part. The teacher models spelling and reading the word.
Students practice identifying and reading high-frequency words in isolation.
Materials include a sufficient quantity of grade-appropriate high-frequency words for students to make reading progress.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page xii, Common Core Alignment chart, the materials state that five high-frequency words are taught explicitly in Units 3-24. In Unit 10, the Heart Words your, can, said, there, and down are taught.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv, in the Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence, there are 110 Heart Words listed within Units 3-24. Irregularly spelled words included within the units are you, is, they, be, by, said, were, down, their, these, make, look, old, every, because, and write.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 8, Lesson 5, page 274, Heart Word 3-Up, students practice identifying and reading three Heart Words in a row. Words include be, by, and or.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 13, Lesson 1, Part 5, page 411, the teacher guides students through the Heart Word Read a Row activity. A student reads a row of Heart Words aloud, and the other students read the words silently to monitor accuracy. The students use a thumbs up or thumbs to the side to provide feedback on accuracy.
In Blast Online, Unit 25, Lesson 1, Heart Word Pop-Up, students practice reading Heart Words in isolation, including make, like, them, and would.
Indicator 1L
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 1l.
The Grade 1 Blast materials provide students with frequent opportunities to read grade-level high-frequency words or Heart Words in sentences. Students have opportunities for writing grade-level high-frequency words. However, there is no repeated, explicit instruction in using student-friendly reference materials and resources. Dictation sentences with grade-level high-frequency words (Heart Words) are in the Supplemental Resources.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read grade-level high-frequency words in a sentence.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 5, Part 2, pages 108-109, Introduce Phrases and Sentences to Read, the teacher calls on individual students to read Heart Words in phrases and sentences. The remainder of the students are checkers as the individual student reads the sentences. The teacher expects Individual students to read the sentences accurately, and the checkers show a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to agree or disagree accordingly.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 341, Sentences to Read, students practice reading irregularly spelled words in sentences. Words included in sentences are that, this, said, he, with, and your.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 22, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 292, Sentences to Read, students practice reading irregularly spelled words in sentences. Words in the sentences are might, fight, your, when, again, and down.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to write grade-level high-frequency words in tasks (such as sentences) in order to promote automaticity in writing grade-appropriate high-frequency words.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, Blast Dictation Sentences, three dictation sentences are provided for Units 3-25. Sentences in Unit 12 include Jill will want the hot fudge.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, Blast Dictation Sentences, three dictation sentences are provided for Units 3-25. Sentences in Unit 21 include Our team will stay and play. Gail had a stain on her dress.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, Blast Dictation Sentences, three dictation sentences are provided for Units 3-25. Sentences in Unit 24 include Give mashed peaches to the baby. She teaches them how to be singers.
Materials do not provide repeated, explicit instruction in how to use student-friendly reference materials and resources and reading high-frequency words (e.g., word cards, word lists, word ladders, student dictionaries).
No evidence.
Indicator 1M
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1m.
The Blast Grade 1 materials provide lessons that explicitly teach word analysis strategies. There is teacher scripting and modeling and student practice opportunities in Lessons 3-5 of each unit, which include phonics lessons, student practice, and lesson wrap-ups. The Blast materials provide multiple and varied opportunities over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies through Blast Online video animations and teacher modeling in I Do, You Do, and We Do lesson formats along with student activities such as Touch & Say, Detective Work, Word Sorts, Nonsense Words, and Phrase Reading.
Materials contain frequent explicit instruction of word analysis strategies (e.g., phoneme/grapheme recognition, syllabication, morpheme analysis).
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 4, Part 3, page 139, Activity Detective Work, the teacher tells students they will underline letters and say the phonemes the letters make, then blend the phonemes to read the word. The teacher reminds students to keep the digraph sh together. The teacher models the Mark It activity, underlining letters in the word ash and saying the sounds each letter or digraph makes, then reading the word ash. Students repeat in their workbooks. The teacher and students repeat with the following words: fig, if, dish, fish, hat, dash, flat, mist, rash, flash, smash.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 16, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 40-43, in Introduce Open Syllables, the teacher displays the word got and removes the t to leave the word go and has a student read the word. The teacher asks students if the vowel sound in go is long or short and explains that go is an open syllable word because the vowel o is not followed by a consonant. The teacher explains that the vowel sound in an open syllable is usually long. The teacher models beginning with closed syllables then taking away the last consonant to create open syllable words. They model with met taking away the t to make the word me and shed taking away d to generate the word she.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 21, Lesson 1, Part 1, page 214, Activity Long E and Long A Vowel Teams, the teacher displays the word free and explains that ee is a vowel team. The teacher shows students the hand motion for vowel teams, index and middle fingers touching. The teacher guides students to use the Touch & Say routine to say each sound in the word free, using two fingers and one sound for the vowel team ee, then read the word as a whole. The teacher and students repeat the process with teeth, beach, and tea.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 24, Lesson 3, Part 2, pages 360-364, Review Inflectional Endings -er, -ed, -s, -es, and -ing, the teacher reminds students, “The special endings we are learning about are parts of a word that we add to the end of a base word. These endings change the meaning of the base word.” The teacher projects the words rent, rented, and -ed and reads the word rented. The teacher uses Whale Talk to sound out the two syllables in rented. The teacher asks students what the base word is in rented and what syllable the suffix -ed adds to rented. For the inflectional endings -er, -s, and -es, there are words to model and scripting to read the words and Whale Talk the syllables. The teacher asks students how many syllables the word has and the root word in each word. The teacher explains how the inflectional endings impact the meaning and syllabication of the words.
Materials contain frequent explicit instruction of word solving strategies to decode unfamiliar words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 14, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 452, Activity Reading Two-Syllable Words with Closed Syllables, the teacher reminds students of the definition of a closed syllable and shows them the hand motion for closed syllable, a closed fist. The teacher tells students they will be using Syllaboards to decode two-syllable words with closed syllables. The teacher displays the word sunset and underlines the two vowels in the word. The teacher displays a Syllaboard under each syllable and models recording each vowel on a Syllaboard. The teacher adds the consonants to each Syllaboard to close each syllable. The teacher guides students to use the closed syllable gesture and reminds them that closed syllables have short vowel sounds. The teacher points to and reads each syllable, then sweeps their hand under and reads the word. The teacher guides students to repeat the process with the word catfish. Students practice with the words unzip, cobweb, pumpkin, insect, and contest.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 17, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 72, Review Closed Syllables, the teacher opens Blast Online to Unit 17, Lesson 3 Closed and Open Syllables. The video reviews open and closed syllables. The video explains that open and closed syllables have a single vowel letter and that open syllables usually have long vowel sounds and closed syllables have short vowel sounds. They model reading the word motel and then dissecting it into syllables using Syllaboards. First, they look for vowels placing them in the appropriate Syllaboard then placing consonants in each Syllaboard. The video models analyzing words began and habit, breaking them into syllables using Syllaboards with questions: “How many vowels do you see? Are they together or apart?” They read the words flexing the middle consonant to see which part of the word is an open or closed syllable beg/an or be/gan or ha/bit or hab/it to pronounce the word correctly.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 20, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 191-192, Read Two-Syllable Real Words with Vowel-Consonant-E in the I Do portion of the lesson, there is teacher models writing the word mistake on the board, breaking the word into syllables using Syllaboards and reading the word. The teacher explains to the students that they read two-syllable words with vowel-consonant-e like they read one-syllable words with vowel-consonant-e: “We look for a vowel letter e and an e with a consonant letter in between them. The vowel letter and the e will work together to spell a long vowel sound.” The teacher first identifies the three vowels noting that they are all apart and noticing the vowel-consonant-e pattern: “When I see the Vowel-Consonant-e pattern, I know that the vowel, the consonant, and the final e will be on the same Syllaboard.”
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 24, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 365, Activity Read Two-Syllable Real Words with Inflectional Endings, the teacher displays the word patches. The teacher underlines the vowels in the word. The teacher shows a Syllaboard under each syllable and models recording each vowel on a Syllaboard. The teacher adds the consonants to the Syllaboard to close the first syllable and adds -s to the second syllable, noting that it is one of the special word endings. The teacher points to and reads each syllable, then sweeps their hand under and reads the word. The teacher guides students to repeat the process with the words painter and floating, modeling keeping vowel teams together in a syllable. Students practice with the words raining, raincoats, peaches, flashlights, witches, toaster, tested, and dreamer.
Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 11, Lesson 4, Part 4, page 370, Activity Word Sort, the teacher tells students that in this sort, they will determine if each word follows the Double Trouble spelling rule, then identify the vowel phoneme in the word. The teacher models with the first word, chin, as students follow along. The teacher models checking for double consonants and checks the No Double Rule box. The teacher guides students to identify the vowel sound and phoneme and checks the box under the corresponding image, itch. The teacher repeats modeling with the word fuss. Students independently complete the word sort with the following words: toss, much, get, back, swell, path, puff, patch, smell, dress.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 15, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 22, Activity Phrase Reading, students read phrases that contain both Heart Words and decodable words. Individual students read at least two phrases while the other students read silently as checkers and provide nonverbal feedback on accuracy.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 23, Lessons 3, Part 5, pages 319-323, Read One and Two-Syllable Real Words with Suffix -ed, the teacher models reading tested for students. The teacher models looking for vowels, breaking the words into syllables, and writing them on Syllaboards. The teacher explains that sometimes the suffix -ed adds a syllable to a word. Other times it will just add a sound. The teacher tells students they break the word into syllables and decide if they need just one Syllaboard or two depending on how many syllables the word has. The teacher tells students that this word will have two syllables because t is the last letter before the suffix -ed. The teacher places the appropriate letters on the Syllaboards then reads the word. Then, the teacher and students analyze the words roasted and cleaned using the same procedures, Students practice using the same procedures with the words seated, stayed, munched, loaded, and sanded.
Criterion 1.5: Decoding Accuracy, Decoding Automaticity and Fluency
Materials provide systematic and explicit instruction and practice in fluency by focusing on accuracy and automaticity in decoding in K and 1, and rate, expression, and accuracy in mid-to-late 1st and 2nd grade. Materials for 2nd grade fluency practice should vary (decodables and grade-level texts).
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, provide systematic, explicit instruction and practice in decoding accuracy and automaticity. The materials do not contain explicit instruction in rate, accuracy, and expression. The materials contain Blast Passages for students to practice reading fluently with purpose and understanding. While the materials contain instructions on confirming or self-correcting errors, students do not practice confirming and self-correcting independently.
Indicator 1N
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 1n. (K-1)
The Blast Grade 1 materials provide systematic and explicit instruction and practice with fluency by focusing on accuracy with Phrases and Sentences to Read using the Positive Error Correction instructions. The materials contain systematic and explicit instruction for automaticity in decoding at the word level. The materials allow students to engage in decoding practice focused on accuracy at the word and sentence levels in You Do portions of lessons and Sentences to Read activities. Blast Online references Blast Decodable Passages, where students can track their accuracy percentage of reads.
Materials provide systematic and explicit instruction and practice in fluency by focusing on accuracy and automaticity in decoding.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Part 1, Page 2, Activity Explain the Purpose of Blast Foundations Lessons, the teacher tells students that fluent reading is when a person reads smoothly and sounds natural. The teacher tells students that accurate reading is when a person pays attention to all the letters and words on the page while reading. The teacher tells students they will study phonics to become accurate readers.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Part 2, Page 3, Activity Explain the Importance of Reading Correctly, the teacher defines accurate reading, then reads aloud the following sentences: “The horse was very hot.” “The house was very hot.” Students discuss the differences in words and meaning. The teacher points out that the difference between the two sentences is just one letter and stresses the importance of accuracy. The teacher repeats the process with the sentences, “The horse got a cold. The horse got cold.” The teacher tells students that accuracy is more important than speed because accuracy helps readers understand the meaning.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 18, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 116-121, Teach Reading Two-Syllable Words with Schwa in the You Do portion of the lesson, the teacher reminds students that each syllable has a vowel and, “You may need help from Super Schwa to ‘flex’ one of the vowels to the schwa sound so the word makes sense.” Students practice reading seven words by breaking the practice words into syllables by looking for vowels in the word, then placing them on Syllaboards, and then reading each of the words. Students underline the vowel sound that spells the schwa sound in each word. The teacher helps students remember if the word is not making sense to “flex” one of the vowels using the schwa sound.
Materials provide opportunities for students in Kindergarten and Grade 1 to engage in decoding practice focused on accuracy and automaticity.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 5, Part 2, Page 147, Activity Phrases and Sentences to Read, the teacher explains the purpose of the activity, telling students that the goal is to read phrases and sentences accurately, without making mistakes. Students take turns reading a phrase or sentence aloud. Other students read silently as checkers, providing nonverbal feedback on accuracy. If a student misreads a word, the student rereads the word with more accuracy.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 13, Lesson 5, Part 2, pages 435-436, Sentences to Read, the teacher reminds students the goal is to read sentences accurately the first time. The teacher selects students to read a sentence or two aloud or has students select two sentences to practice before reading them aloud.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, “With the Blast Passages, students extend their practice to longer sections of text. As students develop mastery and automaticity with the skills taught in Blast, the Blast Passages can be used to reinforce these skills, to provide opportunities for practice, and, ideally, to build fluency. Students will also gain confidence as readers.”
Indicator 1O
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 do not meet the criteria for 1o. (Grades 1-2)
In Blast Grade 1 materials, there are missed opportunities for frequent explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements using grade-level texts and successive student practice for fluency and accuracy. The Supplemental materials include Blast Decodable Passages, Blast Differentiated Decodable Passages, and Blast Oral Reading Fluency Passages. The Blast Oral Reading Fluency Passages include instructions for calculating accuracy.
Materials do not include frequent opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements using grade-level text.
RF.1.4.B Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
No evidence.
Materials provide opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level text by a model reader. Students hear a model reader during Blast Decodable Passages.
In Blast Foundations Passages, page v, instructions state, “...then model fluent reading by reading the passage aloud to them. After modeling what it sounds like when the passage is read fluently, ask the students to read the passage aloud again, trying to make their reading sound like yours.”
Materials include a variety of resources for fluency. However, explicit instruction is not provided.
There are Blast Decodable Passages in the Supplemental Resources, Blast Differentiated Decodable Passages, and Blast Fluency Passages. In Blast Decodable Passages and Blast Differentiated Decodable Passages, there are limited directions for building fluency using explicit instruction. “To begin working on fluency, ask the students to read the passage out loud; then model fluent reading by reading the passage aloud to them. After modeling what it sounds like when the passage is read fluently, ask the students to read the passage aloud again, trying to make their reading sound like yours.”
Indicator 1P
Varied and frequent opportunities are built into the materials for students to engage in supported practice to gain oral reading fluency beginning in mid-Grade 1 and through Grade 2 (once accuracy is secure).
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 1p.
In Blast Grade 1 materials, there are opportunities for students to gain oral reading fluency. The materials contain core opportunities for students to engage in repeated reading. There are missed opportunities for feedback suggestions to the teacher for supporting students’ gains in oral reading fluency. While each unit contains a Phrases and/or Sentences to Read activity that focuses on accuracy and offers a positive feedback procedure, individual students read one or two phrases or sentences weekly in this activity. There are Blast Decodable Passages in the Supplemental Resources, Blast Differentiated Decodable Passages, and Blast Oral Reading Fluency Passages. Teacher guidance to support student gains in oral reading fluency is general and minimal.
Varied, frequent opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to gain oral reading fluency.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are Decodable Passages starting in Unit 4. To build fluency, “students should reread the passages multiple times over the course of several days. It is important to note that students should be reading accurately before they begin working on reading faster. A quick, informal way to check for accuracy is to have the student read the passage aloud to you. If the student can read the passage with three or fewer errors, he or she can use that passage to work on building his or her reading rate.”
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are additional differentiated passages. In Units 4-6, there are differentiated passages for Heart Words, Dolch Words, and phonics features. There are differentiated passages for strictly controlled consonants. In Units 7-25, there are differentiated passages for Heart Words, Dolch Words, and phonics features.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are Oral Reading Fluency passages. Students use the passages to conduct one-minute cold reads. Throughout the week, students do practice reads. At the end of the week, students do warm reads.
Materials contain opportunities for students to participate in repeated readings of a grade-level text to practice oral reading fluency.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, the materials outline procedures for teachers to calculate student accuracy and suggest a procedure of teacher modeling and student repetition in repeat readings of the passages.
Materials include minimal guidance and feedback suggestions to the teacher for supporting students’ gains in oral reading fluency.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are optional Blast Decodable Passages with information on Building Fluency. Students are to track cold and warm reads for an accuracy percentage. However, teachers have no guidance or feedback suggestions to support student gains in oral reading fluency.
Indicator 1Q
Grade 1 Score + Rationale + Evidence:
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 1q.
There are opportunities in the Blast Grade 1 materials for explicit instruction from the teacher and peers on confirming or self-correction in fluency. Students use Positive Error Correction to correct each other’s errors. However, students do not use context to confirm or self-correct errors in their own fluency. There are opportunities for students to read on-level texts for purpose and understanding over the course of the year when they read Decodable Passages. There are comprehension questions associated with the Decodable Passages.
Materials provide explicit lessons for the teacher in confirming and self-correcting errors in fluency.
Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
In Blast Appendix, the materials have a routine for Positive Error Correction for Phrases and Sentences to Read. The routine is:
If a Reader misreads any of the words in a phrase or sentence, provide Positive Error Correction.
Tell students how many words were read correctly.
Prompt a Checker to identify which word was misread by giving the position of the word in the phrase or sentence without saying the word itself.
Prompt Rader to use Touch & Say to read the word again. If the Reader reads the word accurately, the Reader then reads the entire phrase or sentence again. If the Reader reads the entire phrase accurately this time, you and all the Checkers congratulate the Reader.
Materials provide opportunities for students to practice using confirmation or self-correction of errors of peers. Students do not practice using confirmation or self-correct of their own errors without peers.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book, Unit 9, Lesson 4, students act as Checkers while classmates read phrases. Direct Checkers give a thumbs-up if the reader reads all the words correctly, and they give thumbs-to-the-side if students misread a word. The Checker names the position of the word. If the Reader misreads the word again, the Checkers read the sentence correctly.
Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to read on-level texts (Grades 1-2) for purpose and understanding.
Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, students read “A New Dog”. There are comprehension questions to check students’ understanding. In Unit 6, questions include, What color is the dog Thad wished for? Why do you think the dog will want a nap?
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, students read “The Puppet Show”. There are comprehension questions to check students’ understanding. In Unit 18, questions include, What time is the second puppet show? Why do you think the piglet puppet doesn’t get to eat the cricket?
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, students read “Trick or Treat”. There are comprehension questions to check students’ understanding. In Unit 22, questions include, Why does Randy go trick-or-treating with Betsy even though he is scared? What is the lady in the green dress holding in her hand?
Overview of Gateway 2
Implementation, Support Materials & Assessment
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, partially meet expectations for implementation, support materials, and assessment. There is a well-defined teacher’s manual with instructional routines, lesson objectives, and adult-level explanations. The materials contain lessons for a school year. However, the materials do not specify instructional timings. The materials contain a clear, cohesive hierarchy for phonological awareness skills. The materials contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. The materials contain decodable passages aligned to the phonics’ scope and sequence. The decodable passages do not align with the scope and sequence of the high-frequency words. There are opportunities to assess some foundational literacy skills, such as phonological awareness and phonics. The materials contain documentation of alignment to Common Core State Standards. The supplemental resources only provide resources for students who read, write, speak, and listen to Spanish. Within the lessons, there are differentiation options in the sidebars. There are Challenge options for students who need extensions. The materials contain digital materials compatible with many platforms and operating systems. Some of the materials can be personalized and customized.
Criterion 2.1: Guidance for Implementation, Including Scope and Sequence
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, contain a well-defined teacher’s manual with instructional routines for foundational skills. The materials have adult-level explanations and examples of foundational skill content. While the foundational skills content and lessons can be completed in a school year, the materials do not have specific times for each activity within the lesson plans. The materials contain an evidence-based explanation for teaching phonological awareness with a cohesive sequence. The materials contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. The materials have strategies for informing stakeholders. There are Parent Crash Course Videos explaining concepts, activities, and procedures.
Indicator 2A
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 2a.
The materials contain Blast Teacher Guides with introductions that provide an overview of the program and provide a well-defined teacher resource with teacher scripted lessons, sidebars, and prompting for when and how to use the Blast Online student facing digital materials. The Blast Teacher Guides contain detailed information and instructional routines to help the teacher effectively implement foundational skills.
Materials provide a well-defined, teacher resource (teacher edition, manual) for content presentation.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1, pages 41-44, the objectives are clearly listed and information that a teacher needs to know to effectively teach letter-sound relations and grapheme-phoneme relationship is clearly delineated. An explanation related to use the Blast Online tool and the activities included with the lesson precede the detailed scripted lesson.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Overview, page i, general information is provided on the purpose of the program, target audience, and necessary components to teach with fidelity including access to the online materials.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xix-xx, the materials explain that each unit has 5 lessons designed to be completed in 15-20 minutes. The daily format in a typical unit is organized to focus on a specific set of skills: Lesson 1 letter sounds and the corresponding high frequency words (Heart Words); Lesson 2 phonemic awareness; Lesson 3 phonics instruction; Lesson 4 student practice; and Lesson 5 wrap-up practice.
The teacher resource contains detailed information and instructional routines that help the teacher to effectively implement all foundational skills content (i.e. phonological awareness, print concepts, letters, phonics, HFW, word analysis, decoding).
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Part 3, pages 14-15, in the activity Word Sort-Consonant or Vowel, there is the explanation and purpose of the word sort activity for the teacher to share with the students. There is teacher scripting on how to complete the word sort. There are questions for the teacher to ask, “Is this letter a consonant or a vowel?”, and there are correct responses. The teacher is to place a checkmark in the Vowel column. There are additional questions with the correct answers along with detailed steps for the sorting activity.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Appendix, pages 472-491, the teacher resource contains detailed information and instructional routines including, Letter-Sound and Heart Word Fluency; Phonemic and Phonological Awareness; Phonics; and student practice that help the teacher to effectively implement all foundational skills content.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 15, Lesson 1, page 2, Teach Heart Words with Look, Think, and Say activity, there is the explicit routine for Teaching Heart Words, the With Look, Think Say routine. The teacher is to follow the script.
Any technology pieces included provide support and guidance for the teacher and do not create an additional layer of complication around the materials.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page xviii, the description of the Blast Online interactive teaching tool explains that a set of online manipulatives can be used to support specific lessons. Supports include using a whiteboard, laptop, or tablet to further engage emerging/ struggling readers. Within each of the 25 units instructional animations are available to support instruction with the Blast Online tool.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 3, Start Teaching, page 320, Teach Trigraph TCH, the teacher is prompted to open Blast Online to Unit 10, Lesson 3, Trigraphs.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Blast Online Supplemental Resources, pages xxii-xxiii, the PDF resources are Assessment, Blast Mini-Lessons, Printable Student Worksheets, Blast Decodable Passages, Posters and Charts, Challenge Words, and Blast Spelling Lists and Resources. Additional Video and Animation Resources are listed: Classroom Demonstration Videos, Vowel Sound Animations, and Blast Getting Started Webinar. There is the Interactive Resource of Letter Tile Free Play in the supplemental resource section. In the overview of these resources, there are descriptions of the resources but not explicit information on when to use the resources.
Indicator 2B
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 2b.
The materials contain full, adult-level explanations and examples of the foundational skills concepts included in the program. Teachers can use the materials to improve their own knowledge of the subject because the Blast materials provide adult-level explanations and examples of foundational skills concepts in the What You Need to Know section in the Introduction. Within the What You Need to Know sections of each lesson, there are detailed explanations of the concepts, routines, and procedures for teachers. The materials provide the teachers with the pedagogy needed to explicitly teach the program. There is a Glossary of Terms associated with foundational skills definitions in Appendix B. The definitions have detailed examples of those grade level foundational skills concepts.
Complete, detailed adult-level explanations are provided for each foundational skill taught at the grade level.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Philosophies and Principles, pages iv-viii, detailed adult-level explanations are provided for each foundational skill including phonemic awareness, high frequency words, and vowel sounds.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, What You Need to Know, pages 10-11, important definitions are included for the following terms: consonant, vowel, phonics, phoneme, phonemic awareness, grapheme and digraph.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Appendix B, Glossary, pages 448-450, foundational skill definitions are included for the following terms: accuracy, fluency, grapheme, long vowel, phonemic awareness, phonics, phonological awareness, short vowel, syllable, vowel team.
Detailed examples of the grade level foundational skill concepts are provided for the teacher.
In Blast Teacher Guidebook Book 1, Introduction, Scope and Sequence, pages xxiv-xxv, the foundational skills concepts are listed with explanations for each foundational skill.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 3, What You Need to Know, pages 193-194 , the concepts of voiced and unvoiced digraph th are included, such as that, them, bathe, breathe, mother, together, and worth.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 18, Lesson 2, What you Need to Know, page 107, specific information related to the r-controlled vowel ar are included.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Appendix B, Articulation, pages 442-444, detailed examples of the grade level foundational skill concepts are provided for the teacher.
Indicator 2C
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 2c.
The Blast Grade 1 program utilizes lesson plans with a limited research base which includes foundational concepts, such as phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, and high-frequency words. The program is intended to be taught in whole group lessons. Materials include assessments to identify if students need to use the program as a small group intervention. However, there is no reference to small groups in the lessons within the Blast Teacher Guides. Blast lessons are designed to be taught for 15-25 minutes daily. However, the teacher guides do not contain specific times for each individual activity within a lesson. Blast has 25 weekly units, which can be completed in one school year without modifications. Flexible scheduling is provided to complete more than one lesson or unit per week to complete the program in 16 weeks.
Lesson plans utilize some effective, research-based lesson plan design for early literacy instruction.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Grapheme-Phoneme & Heart Word Fluency, pages 41-48, in the activity letter sound fluency, the lesson utilizes an effective, research-based lesson plan designed to teach to the early literacy letter/sound relationship beginning with /m/ using an explicit I Do, We Do, You Do format the follows on a scripted lesson using the Blast Online tool and the Letter-Sound 3-Up teaching routine.
In Quick Links, Research Alignment, Really Great Reading for English Language Learners, “Tutor, Aceves, and Reese (2016) likewise summarize a body of research that has demonstrated that ‘interventions should include foundational skills (e.g., phonological awareness, decoding) along with other literacy and language skills’ (p. 18).”
The effective lesson design structure includes both whole group and small group instruction. However, materials do not provide guidance for small group instruction within the daily lesson plans.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Instructional Settings, pages xiii-xiv, pacing information is provided for use as core reading instruction as approximately 15-20 minutes per day and 75-100 minutes of foundational skills instructional time per unit in a whole group setting performed by the classroom teacher. Early Intervention guidelines are also provided as 75-100 minutes of instructional time in a small group setting performed by the classroom teacher or another educator, such as an interventionist, paraeducator, or specialist.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Grouping Matrix, pages xvii, instructions state that teachers can form large or small groups. However, the lessons are designed to be presented to an appropriate group using the I Do, We Do, You Do format. Because the lessons are designed to be presented in 20-minute segments, there are no opportunities for small-group differentiation.
The pacing of each component of daily lesson plans is clear and appropriate. However, the teacher guides do not contain specific times for each individual activity within a lesson.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Flexible Scheduling, page xxi, a chart is provided with lesson durations of 15-25 minutes with one lesson Monday through Friday and an alternative schedule with lesson durations of 30-50 minutes, which includes a combination of 1 ⅗ lessons in a week to be completed in 16 weeks.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit Structure of Blast Foundations GIA, pages xix-xx, the daily structure of a typical unit is provided, including four main lesson components: High-Frequency Words, Phonological and Phonemic Awareness, Letter-Sound Knowledge, and Phonics. The materials have a sample of what this may look like over the week, with Monday-Wednesday being direct instruction days and Thursday-Friday having guided and independent practice and assessment.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book I, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Grapheme-Phoneme & Heart Word Fluency, pages 77-83, in the activity letter sound fluency, the explicit lesson focuses on teaching letters and sounds using the Look, Think, Say routines to teach the /f/, /d/, and /r/ sound. With the Blast Online tool, the teacher follows a designed explicit, I Do, We Do, You Do model.
The suggested amount of time and expectations for maximum student understanding of all foundational skill content (i.e., phonological awareness, print concepts, letters, phonics, HFW, word analysis, decoding) can reasonably be completed in one school year and should not require modifications.
In Blast Teacher Guidebook Book 1, Overview, page ii, instructions describe 25 weeks of instruction, which is approximately 125 days. Lessons are 15-20 minutes per day of explicit foundational skills instruction totaling 75-100 minutes of weekly instruction in foundational skills.
In Blast Teacher Guidebook Book 1, Blast Online Supplemental Resources, page xviii, there are supplemental resources; however, there is a missed opportunity for an explicit link to an extended scope and sequence for students needing more practice.
For those materials on the borderline (e.g., approximately 130 days on the low end or 200 days on the high end), evidence clearly explains how students would be able to master ALL the grade level standards within one school year.
N/A
Indicator 2D
Indicator 2D.i
Scope and sequence clearly delineate the sequence in which phonological awareness skills are to be taught, with a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected hierarchy of phonemic awareness competence. (K-1)
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 2d.i.
The Blast materials provide a delineated sequence for phonological awareness skills to be taught within the year. The materials contain a clear evidence-based explanation for the expected hierarchy for teaching phonological awareness skills in the following progression found in the Introduction and throughout Lesson 2 within each unit: individual phonemes, segmenting, and blending phonemes with a focus on the identification and categorization of vowel phonemes building towards the manipulation of phonemes. The materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction and practice to build toward students’ application of skills that build in complexity.
Materials contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected hierarchy for teaching phonological awareness skills.
In Research Alignment, Early Literacy White Paper, page 4, research in the paper states, “Tolman said instruction should begin with the early phonological awareness skills of syllables, alliteration, and onset-rime, and then move down toward the narrower part of the hourglass, reaching basic phonemic awareness; this is where students segment and blend individual phonemes, or the individual sounds, they hear in words.” Really Great Reading states that first graders immediately work on individual phonemes and Blast emphasizes segmenting phonemes with a focus on the identification and categorization of vowel phonemes to perform more complex tasks such as the manipulation of phonemes, including the addition and deletion of initial and final phonemes and work on vowel substitutions.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, pages xxiv-xxv, the Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence contains information in Unit 2 that students define phonemes with finger-stretching. In Units 11 and 12, students review long and short vowels by practicing segmenting and blending phonemes focusing on medial vowel sounds.
Materials contain a phonemic awareness sequence of instruction and practice based on the expected hierarchy.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1 on pages xiv-xv, the Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence includes a column titled Lesson 2, subheading: Phonemic Awareness. There is a list of clearly delineated phonemic awareness skills for each of the 25 units. The order that these skills will be presented and practiced is in Lessons 3, 4, and 5 of each unit.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2, Part 3, page 52, students learn finger-stretching with the word cat. In Unit 13, Lesson 2, Part 3, page 416, students learn two-sound blends and finger-stretching of the word trap. Students practice finger-stretching words with two-sound blends.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book, Unit 4, Lesson 3, pages 131-132, Part 3, page 14, Build Real Words with Digraph Sh, the teacher says, “Let’s stretch out a few words together. The first word is rash.” The teacher models the finger stretch routine. The students respond by stretching their fingers and saying the sounds: /r/ /a/ /sh/. The teacher asks, “How many phonemes did you hear?” The students respond, “three.” This pattern continues as the students practice with shot, gish, pash, and lish.
Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ application of the skills.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv, the Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence provides the following for Phonemic Awareness lessons found in Lesson 2 of Units 1-16:
Unit 2: Define Phonemes, Introduce Sound boxes, Finger-stretching
Unit 3: Short A & Long A
Unit 4: Short I & Long I
Unit 5: Short U & Long U
Unit 6: Short O & Long O
Unit 7: Short E & Long E
Unit 8: Review Short & Long A, Short & Long I
Unit 9: Review Short & Long 0, Short & Long U
Unit 10: Review Short & Long E
Unit 11: Cumulative Review of Short & Long Vowels with segmenting
Unit 12: Cumulative Review of Short & Long Vowels with blending
Unit 13: Two-sound blends
Unit 14: Teach Whale Talk, Teach Syllable Stomp, Teach segmenting Syllables
Unit 15: Review Whale Talk, Review Syllable Stomp, Teach blending Syllables
Unit 16: Review Whale Talk, Review Syllable Stomp, Review blending Syllables
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 7, Lesson 2, Parts 3-5, pages 219-222, Part 3, students review and practice the short /e/ phoneme by finger-stretching words with a focus on the medial short /e/ vowel sound. In Part 4, students review and practice the long /e/ phoneme by finger-stretching words focusing on the medial long /e/ vowel sound. In Part 5, students practice segmenting words as they identify short /e/ and long /e/ phonemes.
Indicator 2D.ii
Scope and sequence clearly delineate an intentional sequence in which phonics skills are to be taught, with a clear explanation for the order of the sequence.
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 2d.ii.
Blast materials have a delineated scope and sequence. In addition to the Scope and Sequence in the Introduction, more detailed information about the strands and sub-strands is in each lesson in the What You Need to Know section. Blast strands include rhyming phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, sight words, and functional vocabulary. Skills are presented in a logical sequence presented in small manageable sections that move from simple to complex. The materials provide instruction and practice to build toward the application of the skills based on evidence and research. There is insufficient research on the particular sequence of phonics skills in the Scope and Sequence.
Materials clearly delineate a scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction and practice to build toward application of skills.
The Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page iii, Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence presents a stair-step diagram to show how the program aligns with the Common Core State Standards. It gives the phonemic awareness and phonics skills that students are expected to master by the end of Grade 1.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv, the Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence for all 25 Units provides the following information on phonics instruction:
Unit 1: Identification of short and long vowel sounds
Unit 2: Read and spell closed syllable words with short a and i
Unit 3: Read and spell closed syllable words with short a and i; Introduce Phrases and Sentences to read
Unit 4: Read and spell with short a and i; digraph sh
Unit 5: Read and spell with short u
Unit 6: Digraph th
Unit 7: Read and spell with short e
Unit 8: Digraphs ch and wh
Unit 9: Digraph ck
Unit 10: Trigraphs tch and dge
Unit 11: Double trouble rule; Chunk all
Unit 12: short vowel spelling rules; Double trouble, ck, tch and dge
Unit 13: Two-sound blends
Unit 14: Read two-syllable words with closed syllables
Unit 15: Read two-syllable words with closed syllables
Unit 16: Open syllables in one-syllable words
Unit 17: Read two-syllable words with open and closed syllables; Chunking ing
Unit 18: Read two-syllable words with schwa
Unit 19: Read one-syllable words with vowel-consonant-e
Unit 20: Read two-syllable words with vowel-consonant-e
Unit 21: Read one and two-syllable words with long e and long a vowel teams ee, ea, ai, ay; y spells long e
Unit 22: Read one and two-syllable words with long i spelling igh; Long o vowel team oa
Unit 23: 3 sounds of suffix -ed
Unit 24: Read words with inflectional endings
Unit 25: Cumulative review
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xix-xx, there is the lesson structure of typical units. Lesson 1 (Monday) is for Letter Sounds, Lesson 2 (Tuesday) Phonemic Awareness, Lesson 3 (Wednesday) is for Phonics Instruction, Lesson 4 (Thursday) is for Student Practice, and Lesson 5 (Friday) is for Wrap-up.
Materials have a limited research-based explanation for the order of the phonics sequence.
In Research Alignment, White Papers, Early Literacy White Paper, page 8, the paper states, “The scope and sequences for Countdown, Blast Foundations, and HD Word progress from simpler to more difficult concepts. Students begin by learning short vowel sounds and the closed syllable spelling pattern and gradually progress to more challenging long vowel sounds and the multiple spellings of those sounds.”
In Research Alignment, White Papers, Early Literacy White Paper, page 8, provides the research, “Adams (1994) also noted that ‘...programs that included systematic phonics resulted in significantly better word recognition, better spelling, better vocabulary, and better reading comprehension at least through third grade’ (p. 38) and that ‘approaches in which systematic code instruction is included alongside meaning emphasis, language instruction, and connected reading are found to result in superior reading achievement overall’ (p. 49).”
In Really Great Reading Research, page 9, How Does Really Great Reading Put This Research into Practice?, the text states that students focus on decoding and encoding increasingly complex words using explicit and predictable routines. “They are taught to incorporate functional strategies for breaking down words at both single syllable and multisyllabic word levels. Students begin by learning short vowel sounds and closed syllable spelling patterns and gradually progress to more challenging long vowel sounds and multiple spelling of these words.”
Phonics instruction is based in high utility patterns and/or common phonics generalizations.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page iii, in the letter-sound stair-step diagram, the order of the phonics pattern and generalizations are listed in order. Letter and sound correspondence with a single syllable is present in sequential order:
Units 1-3: CVC word
Units 4-9: digraphs
Units 2-13: two sound blends
Unit 10: trigraphs
Two syllable words presented as follows:
Units 14-15: closed syllables
Units 16-17: open syllables
Unit 18: schwa sounds
Units 19-20: Vowel Consonant-e
Units 21-22 vowel teams
Units 23-25: inflected endings
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv, the Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence shows a progression of phonics generalizations:
In Unit 2, students begin reading and spelling closed syllable words with short vowels.
In Unit 4, they begin work with digraphs.
In Unit 10 they begin work with trigraphs.
In Unit 19, they start reading one-syllable words with long vowel sounds.
In Units 21 and 22, they read words with one and two syllables with vowel teams.
In Research Alignment, White Papers, Early Literacy White Paper, page 8, “Blast Foundations and HD Word students also focus on decoding and encoding increasingly complex words using explicit and predictable routines and procedures. They are taught to incorporate functional strategies for breaking down words at both the single-syllable and multisyllabic word level.” When decoding, the paper states that students first look for vowel letter spellings, then write those on their boards, and then build in the word by adding consonants around the vowels. This provides students with multiple ways to try to decode unknown words.
Patterns and generalizations are carefully selected to provide a meaningful and manageable number of phonics patterns and common generalizations for students to learn deeply.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv, Blast Foundations Scope and Sequence specifically lists the lessons beginning with identifying short and long vowels in Unit 1. The program continues to progress to closed syllables in Unit 2. In Unit 3, students practice reading short /a/ and short /i/. Unit 4 is reading and spelling with short /a/ and /i/. In Unit 5, short /u/ is introduced. In Unit 7, short /e/ is taught. In Unit 12, the focus is on short vowel spelling rules. Unit 14 introduces two-syllable words and reading closed syllables. Units 15 and 16 reinforces Unit 14 with a focus on spelling two-syllable words. In Unit 17, the instruction has reading two-syllable words with open and closed syllables. In Unit 18, the schwa within two-syllable is the focus of instruction. Unit 19 has the vowel-consonant-e pattern. In Unit 21, the more complicated patterns of reading one- and two-syllable words with long /e/ and a vowel team are presented. The focus of Unit 22 continues with patterns of igh and oa. Unit 23 and 24 focus on suffix -ed and inflectional ending. A cumulative review of phonics skills is the focus of Unit 25.
Indicator 2E
In the Grade 1 Quick Link materials, Home Connection Activities section, there are Teacher and Parent Crash Course Videos that teachers and parents view to gain an understanding of the concepts, activities, routines, and procedures in the Really Great Reading Program. In the videos, teachers and parents see activities, routines, and procedures. There are additional Skills and Activities pages in the Blast Teacher Guide Book where teachers can see how foundational skills are aligned with the activity name and what lesson they can be found in.
Materials contain jargon-free resources and processes to inform all stakeholders about foundational skills taught at school.
In Quick Links, Teacher’s Tool Kit, Home Connection Activities, Tools and Resources, Teacher/Parent Crash Course Video, there are concepts, activity routines, and classroom procedures in a 20-minute video. Concepts introduced, defined, and modeled are finger-stretching, building words with color tiles then adding letters to the tiles, closed syllable words, digraphs using three-color tiles due to the digraph, blends definitions using color tiles, long vowel sounds and their spelling, silent e vowel-consonant-e, open syllables, vowel teams, multisyllabic words with a post-it note for each vowel, and how to lose the rules way if the word does not make sense.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Introduction to Blast Foundation, page 2, Explain, the teacher tells students the learning objectives in student-friendly language. For example, when introducing the program’s purpose, “For approximately 25 weeks we will be learning important information about words by studying phonics. Phonics is the link between letters and sound in words.”
Materials provide stakeholders with strategies and activities for practicing phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, and print concepts that will support students in progress toward and achievement of grade level foundational skills standards.
In Quick Links, Teacher’s Tool Kit, Home Connection Activities, Tools and Resources, Heart Word Magic, What is Heart Word Magic, a video provides an explanation and methodology behind Heart Words which include high-frequency words. The Student Introduction video contains a student-level description of Heart Words. The Heart Word Magic Animations library includes Heart Word activities for students to review. There are student practice activities such as Heart Word Magic Spelling.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Examples of Alignment of Blast Foundations GIA to Common Core State Standards for Foundational Reading Skills, pages ix-xii, it provides information that helps a teacher understand how the foundational skills taught within Blast align with foundational reading Common Core Standards. There are examples of activities that support the development of those skills. These descriptions give some examples and are not comprehensive, causing teachers to dig deeper to sufficiently develop their understanding of how phonological awareness, phonics, and word recognition, fluency, and print concepts are comprehensively covered within the program.
Criterion 2.2: Decodable Texts
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, contain decodable passages. The passages align to the sound-spelling patterns per unit. Decodable passages are available for every unit, starting with Unit 4. The decodable passages contain high-frequency words. However, the high-frequency words do not align with the scope and sequence of the high-frequency words.
Indicator 2F
Indicator 2F.i
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 2f.i.
The Blast Grade 1 materials contain opportunities for student use and repeated readings of program phonics aligned decodable texts. Blast Online provides decodable passages in Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources.
Materials include decodable texts to address securing phonics.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are 22 fictional Blast Decodable Passages. The materials state the Blast Passages are strictly controlled stories that align with the phonics skills, although some passages contain Heart Words not explicitly taught. The decodable passages begin with Unit 4. The Blast Passage for Unit 20, “Camping”, includes Words to Preview: after, better, keep, find, see, are. The passage includes words with Vowel-Consonant-e two-syllable words. There are 224 words. One sentence in the passage is, “Jolene brings a mattress to inflate inside the tent.”
Decodable texts contain grade-level phonics skills aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the Blast Passages are aligned to each unit’s phonics skills. For example, in Unit 9, students learn digraph ck. The passage, “Tick Tock” contains digraph ck.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the Blast Passages are aligned to each unit’s phonics skills. For example, in Unit 15, students learn two-syllable words. The passage, “The Attic” contains two-syllable words.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the Blast Passages are aligned to each unit’s phonics skills. For example, in Unit 23, students learn the suffix -ed. The passage, “Ted’s Bad Day” contains suffix -ed.
Materials include detailed lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to address securing phonics skills.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, there is a table explaining the Words to Preview and Diffentiation Suggestions. In the Blast Passage for Unit 25, “My Siblings”, the Words to Preview are never, blue, new, are, find. For Differentiation Suggestions, it states, “Teachers can direct students to mark any previously learned skills they are still struggling with.”
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, it states, “The Blast Passages can be used in the classroom, in small groups, or sent home for practice. Students can begin practicing with a passage after Lesson 4 of the corresponding unit in Blast Foundations has been taught. Students should practice with words, phrases, and sentences in the Lesson 4 student workbook activities for their current unit before moving on to read the passage. The passages can be read as part of the Blast lesson or at another time, such as at the beginning of guided reading groups or at a teacher-led center.”
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Passages, in Additional Activities, it suggests, “Underlining a new phonics concept in words, such as digraph th or 2-sound blends. Highlighting words containing a certain feature, such as short a or Open Syllables.”
Indicator 2F.ii
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 2f.ii.
The Blast Grade 1 materials have opportunities for student use and repeated readings of decodable texts with high-frequency words. However, the passages do not fully align with the program’s scope and sequence. Passages contain up to five additional words that have not been explicitly taught in Blast. Blast Online provides decodable passages with Heart Words in Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources.
Materials do not include decodable texts that utilize high-frequency/irregularly spelled words. Decodable texts are supplemental.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are 22 fictional Blast Decodable Passages. The materials state the Blast Passages are strictly controlled stories that align with the phonics skills, although some passages contain Heart Words not explicitly taught. The decodable passages begin with Unit 4. The Blast Passage for Unit 20, “Camping”, includes Words to Preview: after, better, keep, find, see, are. The passage contains 224 words and has words with Vowel-Consonant-e two-syllable words. One sentence in the passage is, “Jolene brings a mattress to inflate inside the tent.”
Decodable texts contain grade-level high-frequency/irregularly spelled words. However, the high-frequency/irregularly spelled words are not fully aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the Blast Passages, it states, “1) Heart Words that students have been explicitly taught in the current and previous Blast Foundations units; 2) up to 5 additional words per passage, not explicitly taught in Blast, from the Dolch 220 first through third grade lists (these are included in a “Words to Preview” section in the standard and differentiated versions of the passages since they may be unfamiliar to students); 3) additional words, not explicitly taught in Blast, from the Dolch 220 pre-primer and primer lists.”
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the Blast Passages are not aligned to the scope and sequence. For example, in Unit 18, students learn any, about, old, here, saw, however, only about is in in the passage for Unit 18. The passage, “The Puppet Show” contains thinks, which is not taught until Unit 21.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the Blast Passages are not aligned to the scope and sequence. For example, in Unit 21, students learn pretty, away, after, think, going. However, none of those words are in the passage for Unit 21. The passage, “The Beach” contains always, which is not taught until Unit 23.
Materials include detailed lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to address securing reading high-frequency words/irregularly spelled words in context.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are Blast Decodable Passages. The Blast Passage for Unit 25, “My Siblings”, includes Words to Preview: never (on grade level), new, are, find, blue (pre-primer/primer words). For the instruction of Heart Words, the materials state, “Heart Words the students have already learned in Blast Foundations are not marked in the standard versions of the passages. If a student struggles with a Heart Word, remind him or her this is a Heart Word he or she has learned and, if necessary, encourage the student to look at, think about, and say (Look, Think, Say) the word, or provide the word for the student.”
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Decodable Passages, the directions state, “The teacher should review these words with the students several times before reading the passage. Since students are not expected to know these words (as they are above grade level for most Blast Foundations students), the teacher may read these words to the students when they are encountered in the passage if necessary. Optionally, the teacher may consider devoting some instructional time to teaching words that frequently appear in the passages.”
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Decodable Passages, the Additional Activities suggests, “Circling the Heart Words.”
Criterion 2.3: Assessment and Differentiation
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, contain some assessment opportunities. There are no assessment materials for print concepts. The materials contain assessments for phonological awareness skills. However, the assessments do not contain instructional adjustments to help students progress toward mastery. There are assessments of phonics skills in the Reading Playground Formative Assessments, which provide information about students’ phonics skills. The phonics assessments do not assess students' phonics skills in context. The Grade 1 Foundational Skills Surveys and Reading Playground Formative Assessments provide information regarding students’ high-frequency word knowledge. There are no fluency assessments to measure and monitor reading fluency. The materials have a standards alignment documentation with tasks and assessments. In the Supplemental Resources, there are resources to support students who read, write, speak, or listen to Spanish. However, there are limited supports for all multilingual learners. The materials contain Ways to Differentiate in the sidebars of the lessons. However, there are no specific lessons within the materials for small group instruction. For students needing extensions or more advanced opportunities, the materials have Challenging, More Challenging, and Most Challenging activities.
Indicator 2G
Indicator 2G.i
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress through mastery of print concepts (K-1), letter recognition (K only), and printing letters (as indicated by the program scope and sequence) (K-1).
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 do not meet the criteria for 2g.i. (K-1)
The Blast materials offer limited assessment opportunities to measure student progress through mastery of print concepts and a Grade 1 Foundation Skills Survey. The materials provide suggestions to teachers about how to formatively assess students; however, there are no regular or systematic assessment opportunities that measure student progress through mastery of print concepts. While assessments within the supplemental resources of Countdown align with what has been taught and what will be taught within the materials, these assessments do not adequately address print concepts and printing letters. There are missed opportunities for regular and systematic assessment for print concepts, letter recognition, and letter formation.
Materials do not regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of print concepts, letter recognition, and letter formation.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, 1st Grade Foundational Skills Surveys, page 6, Administration Script for BOY1, includes the assessment where students will read words and sentences. There are three optional print concept questions for six points that can be asked as an informal observation to guide instruction. The questions include having students point to the first word in the sentences provided, having students point to a capitalized word that is not at the beginning of the sentence, and pointing to two punctuation marks.
In Blast Book, Introduction, page 21, the materials indicate that teachers can download and assess students using the Foundational Skills Survey.
Assessment materials do not provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of print concepts, letter recognition, and letter formation.
No evidence.
Materials do not support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in print concepts, letter recognition, and letter formation.
No evidence.
Indicator 2G.ii
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress of phonological awareness (as indicated by the program scope and sequence). (K-1)
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 2g.ii.
The Grade 1 Blast materials provide both a Phonological Awareness Survey and a 1st Grade Foundational Skills survey, which state they assess phonological awareness in rhyming, blending compound words and onset-rime, isolating sounds in spoken words, blending, segmenting, adding, deleting, and manipulating phonemes. However, there are missed opportunities for regular and systematic assessment that genuinely measure student progress of phonological awareness and inform teachers of students' current skill level and next steps after the assessments. However, the Beginning of the Year (BOY), Middle of Year (MOY), and End of Year (EOY) Blast Foundational Skills Surveys are listed as optional in the Recommended Timeline Flowcharts if teachers have access to the Reading Playgrounds and recommended for teachers/students without access to the Reading Playgrounds. The Reading Playground provides formative assessments for each unit. The first three games in each unit can be used as formative assessments. The Reading Playground Blast formative assessment games include phonological awareness skills. The Reading Playground formative assessment Games provide teachers with students’ current skill level and next step instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students progress toward mastery in phonological awareness. Although the Reading Playground also provides BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments with phonological awareness components, which provides teachers with students’ current skill level, they do not provide teachers with specific next steps to achieve mastery of phonological awareness.
Materials provide some assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence in phonological awareness.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, 1st Grade Foundational Skills Surveys, Overview, page 2, A Brief Explanation of the 1st Grade Foundational Skill Survey, it states that there are three primarily 1st Grade Surveys in the corresponding packet. They are to be used at the beginning of the year, middle, and end of the year. There are two forms, A & B. The Foundational Skill surveys in the packet allow the teacher to assess the foundational skills of emerging reading in young students. The teacher is to determine whether foundation reading skills are being established at an appropriate pace by comparing results against criterion-referenced benchmarks, pinpointing specific gaps in knowledge, and planning appropriately targeted instruction. One of these diagnostic assessments in the Letter Sounds Survey measures phoneme fluency.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, Phonological Awareness Survey, page 3, it states that the survey is composed of two separate surveys to assess the phonological and phonemic awareness skills of students. The Phonological Awareness Survey and the Phonemic Awareness Survey allow the teacher to determine young emerging readers' phonological and phonemic awareness. Both surveys assess the ability to hear, identify, blend, segment, and manipulate phonemes, sounds, syllables, and onset and rimes. Each of the surveys includes a Form A and Form B. Form B can be used to retest students to monitor students’ progress.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, 1st Grade Optional Foundational Skills Surveys, page 4, it states the survey contains a Phonological Awareness section to measure students ability to “Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).” Skills assessed in this portion of the survey include distinguishing short from long vowel sounds in single-syllable words, blending sounds including consonant blends to produce single-syllable words orally, isolating initial medial and ending sounds in single-syllable words, and segmenting single-syllable words into phonemes. The 1st Grade Foundational Skills Surveys are given at the year's beginning, middle, and end. The assessment can be given with paper hard copies or digitally. However, on pages 6, 12, and 23, in the Administration Guidelines for the BOY, MOY, and EOY, students are provided with a sheet to read words or words and sentences, which is not phonological awareness.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Cumulative and Controlled Practice as Formative Assessment, page v, it states that Lesson 4 and Lesson 5 of each unit provide practice activities that can be used to formatively assess students. The section says that the teacher has opportunities to formatively assess students during lesson activities as students respond during instruction. However, there is no mention of mastery assessment materials or forms (summative assessment).
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, in Reading Playgrounds EOY Summative Assessments for Blast, it states the assessment is a cumulative and controlled summative assessment made up of 18 games which include phonological and phonemic awareness skills. In the BOY Reading Playgrounds, Game 6 provides two words, and the student identifies which phoneme is different. Three color tiles are supplied, and the student is to pick the first, second, or third color tile. Words included in the assessment are loss and toss.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with some information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonological awareness.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, Phonological Awareness Survey, page 29, a Skills Level Guidelines provides information on how to determine students’ levels based on the scoring of recording forms data. The scoring and recording forms are supplied for Form A and Form B of the Phonological Awareness Survey and the Phonemic Awareness Survey, including Part I and Part II. On the Skills Level Guidelines for the phonological awareness portion of the survey, if students at the beginning of the year score 8-9, they are on track. If students score 5-7, they are emerging, and if they score 0-4, they are considered low. In the phonemic awareness portion of the survey at the beginning of Grade 1, students scoring 23-31 are on track. Students scoring 13-22 are emerging, and students scoring 0-12 are considered low.
There is no assessment material concerning students’ current skills or level in the 1st Grade Foundational Skills Surveys.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, in Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for Blast, Blast Benchmark Scores are provided, including the unit, game number and name, and mastery level along with Lesson Review and Practical Recommendations. Benchmark scores for all games are as follows: 80% or greater is listed as nearing proficiency, 60-79% is listed as practice, and 59% or below is listed as reteach.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, in Reading Playgrounds EOY Summative Assessments for Blast, it states teachers can go to the Reading Playgrounds Teacher Dashboards to review students’ scores in either Summary or Detailed by Games reports. Scores are provided for each game which can be sorted from low to high or high to low, and the percentages are also color-coded.
Materials do not support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in phonological awareness.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for Blast Lesson Review and Practical Recommendations, it lists all three formative assessment games in each unit. The Lesson Review and Practical Recommendations include lesson review and practice and animations, Additional Activities for Practice, Reading Playground games, and Workbook practice in units where workbook work is available. In Unit 11, Lesson Reviews and Practice include lessons Unit 11, Lesson 3. Reading Playground Games Unit 11, Game 3, and Workbook Unit 11, Lesson 5 are recommendations.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, in Reading Playgrounds EOY Summative Assessments for Blast provides the information that scores can be used to determine the student's level of mastery. However, no specific next steps are provided for BOY, MOY, or EOY Reading Playground assessments.
Indicator 2G.iii
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress of phonics in- and out-of-context (as indicated by the program scope and sequence). (K-2)
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 2g.iii.
The Blast Grade 1 materials regularly and systematically provide assessment opportunities that measure student progress in phonics out-of-context, as indicated by the program's scope and sequence with Reading Playground Formative Assessments. The Reading Playground Formative Assessments provide teachers and students with information about their current levels. The Reading Playground Formative Assessment materials support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in phonics. However, there are missed opportunities for regular and systematic assessment opportunities of phonics in context. The Recommended Assessment Timeline references the Foundational Skills Survey, but it is optional and may not be given to all students.
Materials provide resources and tools to collect ongoing data about students’ progress in phonics.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, page 1, Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for Blast, it states there are three games from each unit. The games can be formative assessments and focus on newly acquired knowledge first. On pages 2-8, it lists the first three games from each unit used as formative assessments.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, the materials indicate that three Reading Playground Games from each unit can be used as formative assessments. The Reading Playground assessments include, but are not limited to, newly-taught phonics skills from the unit.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide three Reading Playground Assessments that measure student proficiency over the year in building words with short vowels, digraphs, two-sound blends, identifying digraphs in words, building words with closed and open syllables, choosing the correct word to match a spoken word, and identifying words with the schwa sound.
In Blast, Assessments, First Grade Optional Foundational Skills Survey, the materials include a decoding assessment that increases in complexity over the year. The assessment requires students to read words in isolation and in sentences.
Materials offer assessment opportunities to determine students’ progress in phonics that are implemented systematically.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, the materials indicate that three Reading Playground Games from each unit can be used as formative assessments. The Reading Playground assessments include, but are not limited to, newly-taught phonics skills from the unit and are intended for use in each unit.
In Blast Online, Reading Playground, word sorts exist in the formative assessment games. In Unit 10, Game 1, students sort words by categories of digraphs and trigraphs. In Unit 24, Game 3, students sort words into categories of suffixes and no suffixes. Each Reading Playground assessment includes ten questions.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide three Reading Playground Assessments that measure student proficiency in a selection of phonics skills over the year. The Recommended Assessment Timeline indicates teachers should administer these assessments at the beginning, middle, and end of the year.
In Blast, Assessments, First Grade Optional Foundational Skills Survey, the materials include a decoding assessment. The materials indicate that the assessment should be administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Materials include assessment materials for progress monitoring in decoding.
Multiple assessment opportunities are provided regularly for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence with phonics. However, the assessments do not provide in-context phonics.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Groupings, in Reading Playground, all units provide phonics assessment opportunities.
In Blast, Assessments, the materials provide beginning, middle, and end of year assessments to measure progress in phonics skills, using the Optional Foundational Skills Surveys and/or the Reading Playground Assessments. The materials provide assessment opportunities focusing on newly-taught skills for each unit using the Reading Playground Formative Assessments.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information about students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonics.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, pages 2-8, Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for Blast, there is a chart of Blast Benchmark Scores, which lists Benchmark Scores categories for each formative assessment game. Scores of greater than or equal to 80% as nearing proficiency; scores of 60-79% as practice; and scores equal to or less than 59% as re-teach.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials indicate that teachers can access student scores on the beginning, middle, and end of year Reading Playground Assessments as percentages correct in each assessed skill.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, Pages 2-8, the Benchmark Scores chart provides a percentage score aligned with the following three categories: Nearing Proficiency, Practice, Reteach. The chart is organized by game name and lists the correlating Common Core standards assessed by each game.
In Blast, Assessments, First Grade Optional Foundational Skills Survey, Page 15, Utilizing the Error Column Totals to Pinpoint Deficits and Drive Instruction, the materials indicate that two or more errors in an error column indicate a deficit in that area. The materials suggest optional further assessments for students who cannot complete the survey or miss two to three high-frequency words on the survey.
In Blast, Assessments, First Grade Optional Foundational Skills Survey, Page 24, the materials provide a chart of criterion-referenced benchmarks to gauge proficiency in the areas of the survey.
Materials genuinely measure students’ progress to support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in phonics.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, pages 2-8, Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for Blast, there is a chart of Blast Benchmark Scores that includes Instructional Recommendations: Animation, Lesson Review/Practice, Workbook, and Reading Playground materials and lessons. In Unit 20, Instructional Recommendations include: Unit 20, Lesson 3, Vowel Consonant e Animation, games 2 and 3; Lesson Review and Practice of Unit 20, Lesson 2, You Do Finger Stretch with R-Controlled Vowel Phonemes; and Reading Playground Unit 20, Game 8.
In Blast, Assessments, Grouping Matrix, the materials indicate that the Grouping Matrix tool provides instructional recommendations for groups of students, including Really Great Reading materials. Instructional Recommendations include the sections Decoding Level, Suggested Instruction, and Suggested Max Group Size. The sample account provides the following student examples:
For students with a Significant Decoding Deficit, Phonics Boost is suggested with a maximum group size of six.
For students with a Moderate Decoding Deficit, HD Word Foundations, or Phonics Blitz is suggested with a group size of eight.
For students with Slow Reading Rates, Fluency Support and monitoring decoding accuracy are suggested. The group size is none.
Indicator 2G.iv
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress of word recognition and analysis (as indicated by the program scope and sequence). (K-2)
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 2g.iv.
The Blast Grade 1 materials contain Grade 1 Foundational Skills Surveys and Reading Playground Assessments, which provide opportunities to assess high-frequency word knowledge (recognition and analysis). These assessments provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills or level of understanding of word recognition and word analysis. Instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis are in the Blast materials Grouping Matrix Tool and Benchmark Scores Chart from the Reading Playground Assessments that provide specific instructional recommendations matched to assessment items. Blast Grade 1 materials provide optional Sight Word Surveys and Foundational Skills Survey as noted in the Recommended Assessment Timeline Flow Charts. However, there is no reference for administering the Sight Word Fluency Surveys throughout the year, although the Sight Words Skills Levels contain tracking data at the beginning, middle, and end of the year.
Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of word recognition (high-frequency words or irregularly spelled words) and analysis.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide three Reading Playground Assessments for the beginning, middle, and end of the year that measure student proficiency in identifying closed and open syllables, sorting words by syllable type, labeling word parts, identifying Heart Words, labeling syllable types, identifying suffixes, and syllabication of words with suffixes.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, the materials indicate that three Reading Playground Games from each unit can be used as formative assessments. The Reading Playground assessments include, but are not limited to, newly-taught word analysis skills from the unit and are intended to be administered with each unit.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of word recognition and word analysis.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, Pages 2-8, the Benchmark Scores chart provides a percentage score aligned with the following three categories: Nearing Proficiency, Practice, Reteach. The chart is organized by game name and lists the correlating Common Core standards assessed by each game.
Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis.
In Blast, Assessments, Grouping Matrix, the materials indicate that the Grouping Matrix tool provides instructional recommendations for groups of students, including Really Great Reading materials.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, Pages 2-8, the Benchmark Scores chart provides specific instructional recommendations in the following categories: Animations, Lesson Review/Practice, Workbook, Reading Playground.
Indicator 2G.v
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 do not meet the criteria for 2g.v.
The Blast Grade 1 materials do not provide assessment opportunities to measure student fluency progress. The Recommended Assessment Timeline indicates that teachers may give a Grade-Level Oral Reading Fluency Measure at the middle and end of the year and suggests DIBELS, AIMSWeb, and Easy CBM as examples. The materials do not include access to an oral reading fluency assessment.
Multiple assessment opportunities are not provided regularly and systematically over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of fluency.
No evidence.
Assessment materials do not provide teachers and students with information about students' current skills/level of understanding of fluency.
No evidence.
Materials do not support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in fluency.
No evidence.
Indicator 2H
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 2h.
The Blast Grade 1 Common Core Standards Alignment documentation contains specific standards aligned to lessons and tasks within the Teacher Guidebook. The materials include denotations of standards being assessed in the Reading Playgrounds End of Year (EOY) summative assessment and Reading Playgrounds formative assessments regarding the questions and tasks asked of the students.
Materials include denotations of the standards being assessed in the formative assessments.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Reading Playgrounds Game Mapping for Blast, there are the game number skills and standards. The formative assessments are the first three games denoted in green. In Unit 16, Game 2, the standard RF.1.3 is assessed as students identify graphemes, syllable type, and encoding words.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Reading Playgrounds Game Mapping for Blast, there are the game number skills and standards. The formative assessments are the first three games denoted in green. In Unit 20, Game 2, the standards RF.1.3 and RF.1.3c are assessed as students read words and drag them to the correct grouping of VCe or no VCe words.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessment & Grouping, Reading Playgrounds for Formative Assessments, the formative assessment materials provide a document citing the correlating Common Core standard for each Reading Playground assessment game.
Materials include denotations of standards being assessed in the summative assessments.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, Reading Playgrounds EOY Summative Assessment for Blast, a chart contains the Reading Playgrounds game number, the content assessed, and the standards alignment. In Game 9, the standards RF.1.2.d, RF.1.3, and RF.1.3.a are tested with short vowels, digraphs, and two-sound blends.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessment & Grouping, Reading Playgrounds BOY, MOY, and EOY Assessment for Blast, the summative assessment materials provide a document citing the correlating Common Core standard for each Reading Playground assessment game.
Alignment documentation is provided for all tasks, questions, and assessment items.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, Reading Playgrounds MOY Assessment for Blast, there is a chart that contains the Reading Playgrounds game number, the content assessed, and the standards alignment. In Game 11, the standard RF.1.3 is assessed with Heart Words.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessment & Grouping, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide documentation of CCSS alignment for each assessment task.
Alignment documentation contains specific standards correlated to specific lessons.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, a Blast Common Core Standards Alignment provides the domain, cluster, standard, expectation, and three to five citations within lessons. The chart provides the following information: standard RF.1.3.a is in Unit 4, Lesson 3, page 130, where students learn the sh consonant digraph and learn how to read and spell with the digraph.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, a Blast Common Core Standards Alignment provides the domain, cluster, standard, expectation, and three to five citations within lessons. The chart provides the following information: standard RF.1.3.c is in Unit 21, Lesson 1, page 214, where students learn the most common vowel team spellings for long /e/ and long /a/, including ee, ea and ai, ay.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Other Resources, Blast Common Core Standards Alignment, the materials provide an alignment document that provides each foundational skills standard and the lessons or supplemental materials that teach each standard. Each standard includes one to four lessons or supplemental materials from the curriculum, and the materials indicate when additional lessons address the standard, though not all lessons are specified.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Other Resources, Reading Playgrounds Game Mapping for Blast, the materials include a document that describes each learning game in the Reading Playground and names the corresponding standard by number.
Indicator 2I
Differentiation for Instruction: Materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding grade-level standards.
Indicator 2I.i
Materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen in a language other than English with extensive opportunities for reteaching to meet or exceed grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 2i.i.
The Blast Grade 1 materials contain general strategies and suggestions in Appendix B about supporting Multilingual Learners (ML) and in Supplemental Resources; however, there are missed opportunities to help ML students who read, write, speak, and listen in a language other than English or Spanish.
Materials provide support for English Language Learner (ELL) students. However, the resources are limited to students who read, write, speak, and listen to Spanish.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Really Great Reading for English Language Learners, the materials provide a research-based overview of how the program’s overall instructional approach matches ML students' needs.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Spanish Resources, there are articulation videos for short and long vowels.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Spanish Resources, there are videos for Phonemes & Finger-Stretching in Espanol, Open Syllables in Spanish, and digraphs.
General statements about ELL students or strategies are noted at the beginning of a unit or at one place in the Teacher Edition are then implemented by the materials throughout the lessons.
In Blast Teacher Guidebook 1, Appendix B, Page 500, the materials provide general strategies for supporting ML students, including emphasizing motions and visuals, using guidewords in students’ native languages when possible, using familiar words, working with partners, and focusing on CVC words in specific activities. The guidebook directs teachers to this appendix page to support ML students within the lessons.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, Phonics Suite Espanol, each unit has resources available in Spanish. Resources include animations, articulation videos, word work, or instructional routines.
Indicator 2I.ii
Materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade-level with extensive opportunities for reteaching to meet or exceed grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for 2i.ii.
The Blast Grade 1 materials provide limited guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support students who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level in extensive opportunities to learn foundational skills at grade-level standards through Ways to Differentiate sidebars in lessons with suggestions to enhance lessons for struggling students in Spell It!. Appendix B provides limited suggestions for students struggling to learn foundational skills. There are missed opportunities for small group reteaching within Teacher Guide Book lessons.
Materials provide limited opportunities for small group reteaching.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page xiii, Instructional Settings, instructions state that Blast is designed to be a flexible solution for various instructional settings: “It can be successfully taught as a whole class supplement to core reading instruction or a small group intervention.”
In Blast Online, Additional Resources, PDF Resources, Blast Mini-Lessons, the materials provide three additional units that review the content of Blast Book 1 and five additional units that review the content of Countdown Book 3. The materials indicate that these units may be used for students needing reteaching of specific skills before moving on to Blast Book 2. The supplemental resources are not core. According to Really Great Reading, “Online has a growing body of supplemental resources to enhance and extend your instruction. The Supplemental Resources section, which can be accessed through the home screen in Blast Online.”
In Blast Online, Additional Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Blast Alternative Start Lessons, the materials provide additional lessons in phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, phoneme segmentation, and phonics. The materials indicate that these lessons can be used for students who perform below expectations on the beginning of year assessment or during the year for reteaching and additional practice of specific skills.
Materials provide minimal guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support students who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level in extensive opportunities to learn foundational skills at the grade-level standards.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Appendix B, pages 498-500, Differentiation Strategies, there are suggestions for students struggling with spelling consonant sounds correctly in Build a Word Lessons, struggling to spell vowel sounds in Build a Word Lessons, and blending sounds to pronounce words in Build a Word Lessons. There are suggestions for making lessons easier for younger students, such as using Primary Student Workbooks, which provide simpler vocabulary and sentence structure, using words students are familiar with for finger stretching activities, having students build words with buddies, and focusing on CVC words with finger stretching.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 96, Build Nonsense Words with Short a and Short i, there is a Differentiation Strategies box, which references Appendix B, pages 498-499 for students struggling: to spell consonant sounds our vowel sound correctly, to blend sounds to pronounce words, and for younger students needing easier lessons.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 17, Lesson 5, Part 3, page 94, Spell It!, Ways to Differentiate, there is a sidebar box that informs teachers they can have students first build words with letter tiles before writing on the workbook page to increase understanding of the spelling concept.
Indicator 2I.iii
Materials regularly provide extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade-level.
The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for 2i.iii.
The Blast Grade 1 materials provide multiple opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level to investigate grade-level foundational skills at a greater depth through student practice in workbook activities such as Phrases and Sentences to Read and Word Sort which contain Challenging, More Challenging and Most Challenging levels of options in each unit. Supplemental resources provide challenge words for the Phonics Concepts lessons and extension options for other recurring instructional routines.
Materials provide multiple opportunities for advanced students to investigate grade-level foundational skills at a greater depth.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 11, Lesson 4, Part 4, page 370, Word Sort-Do You See the Double Trouble Rule? What is the Phoneme?, students work in the Student Workbook 1 on page 49, which provides Challenging, More Challenging, and Most Challenging words to select if the words have ff, ll, ss, or no double trouble in them. They check the correct picture for the corresponding vowel sound in each word. Words in Challenging are chin, fuss, toss, and much. Words in Most Challenging include puff, patch, smell, and dress.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Appendix B, page 447, there are four suggestions for making the lessons more challenging for older or more advanced students. Suggestions include using Elementary Student Workbooks, which contain more advanced practice activities with elevated sentence structure and vocabulary, using words unfamiliar for finger-stretching or Build a Word activities, and utilizing More Challenging and Most Challenging option activities for student practice.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Challenge Words, Blast Phonics Concept Challenge Words, the materials provide supplemental challenge content for each unit’s Phonics Concepts lesson. The supplement includes three challenge words that contain the lesson’s target phonics concept, using more challenging words for advanced students.
There are no instances of advanced students simply doing more assignments than their classmates.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 177, Introduce Phrases and Sentences to Read, students read phrases and sentences provided in Student Workbook, page 18, where there are Challenging and More Challenging phrases and sentences. In the Challenging section, there are phrases that contain three to four word phrases. In the More Challenging section, there are full sentences that contain seven, eight, and 10 words.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 338, Phrases to Read, there is a sidebar that advises teachers that now students are familiar with the activity, they can have students decide what section they want to read from Challenging, More Challenging, or Most Challenging. The Challenging section includes three word phrases, the More Challenging section includes four word phrases, and the Most Challenging section includes six to eight word phrases.
In Blast Teacher Guidebook 2, Unit 17, Lesson 5, Part 2, Page 91, Activity Sentences to Read, the materials provide two sets of sentences, Challenging and More Challenging. The teacher can select sentences from different categories to challenge individual students.
In Blast Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Blast Activity Extension Suggestions, the materials list suggests extension options for recurring instructional routines. Some of the extensions offer replacement work that is more challenging, such as asking students to brainstorm a sentence containing three target Heart Words instead of reading the three words aloud. Some extensions offer more challenging assignments for students after completing the target activity, such as identifying the part of speech of a target word or writing a sentence using the target word.
Criterion 2.4: Effective Technology Use and Visual Design
The Really Great Reading materials, Blast, are web-based. They can be opened with multiple internet browsers and are compatible with operating systems, inclusive of Windows and Apple. The materials integrate technology effectively. The Reading Playground materials are interactive and engaging for students. The materials have some opportunities for personalization. The Reading Playground can be personalized when teachers unlock students’ access to different games. The materials contain limited opportunities for customization. A teacher can customize lessons with the Heart Word Generator and Letter-Sound Generator. The visual design of the materials is not chaotic or distracting.
Indicator 2J
The Blast Grade 1 materials contain digital materials that are web-based and compatible with multiple Internet browsers, inclusive of Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome. The Countdown web-based materials are also “platform neutral”, compatible with operating systems inclusive of Windows and Apple, follow universal programming style, and allow iPad and Amazon Fire tablets and iPhone mobile devices. The instructional videos for the games do not load on the iPad.
Examples include but are not limited to:
In Reading Playground FAQs, the site states that Reading Playgrounds has “responsive capabilities, so it can be used across multiple devices and platforms.” It also states that “with a minimum of 200 students in your district or school, you can request rostering through the Clever or Classlink.” Further, the site states that it is “FERPA and COPPA compliant.”
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page xviii, it states that Blast Online is a “set of online manipulatives that works great on any interactive whiteboard, laptop, or tablet.”
Indicator 2K
The Blast Grade 1 materials integrate technology through Blast Online with animation videos referenced within Teacher Guide Book lessons for teachers to introduce and practice skills with students throughout all Blast units. The Blast Online activities are colorful, most include a built-in auditory component, and all activities require student interaction. Reading Playground is the online component of the program for independent student practice. The Reading Playground contains interactive games with activities for independent student practice in phonics, phonemic awareness, and high-frequency words. Reading Playground games are interactive, engaging, and colorful. There are no texts included in the Blast online components.
Examples include but are not limited to:
In Blast Online, Unit 4, Lesson 3, Digraph Sh Animation, the animation video reviews the concepts of phonemes and introduces the concept of digraph sh using the sh letter tile and one color tiles to explain the concept of the digraph sh having one sound.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page xviii, it states that Blast Online “includes visuals for the teacher-led instruction in Units 1-25, animations (videos) that deliver instruction on the concepts taught, virtual letter tiles, vowel posters, word sorts, spelling activities, and virtual SyllaBoards™.” The guide continues that Blast Online “contains a robust set of Supplemental Resources” that teachers can access in Blast Online to support instruction.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 21, Lesson 1, Part 5, page 221, Teach Heart Words with Look, Think, Say!, the teacher opens Blast Online to Unit 21, Lesson 1, where students see Heart Words. The students first see a letter with a red dot, indicating they are to look at the letter; then they see a yellow dot, indicating they are to think about the sound of the letter; finally, they see a green dot, indicating they are to say the Heart Words out loud.
In Blast Reading Playground, Unit 17, Game 6, students hear a word and finger-stretch the word, select the circle with the correct number of sounds, and select and drag the correct letter tiles to the right colored tiles to create the word. The game makes a ding sound when the correct number of sounds and the word is spelled correctly.
Indicator 2L
The Blast Grade 1 materials include some opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for all students through the online component Reading Playground. The Reading Playground provides students with independent practice in phonics, phonemic awareness, high-frequency words, encoding, and decoding. The Reading Playground provides teachers with access to their students’ accounts, so teachers can personalize individual student learning by unlocking or locking games by unit for students to complete.
Examples include but are not limited to:
The Blast Reading Playground (online component) allows the teacher to unlock the games/activities for students in each unit as they complete the unit. Teachers can lock units as needed. Each unit contains nine games.
In Blast, the digital materials include letter tile freeplay. The digital materials have Phoneme Sound Generator and Heart Word Generator to customize instructional content.
In Blast, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide three Reading Playground Assessments for the beginning, middle, and end of the year that measure student proficiency. Information on the site states that assessment data allows teachers to “anticipate the amount of additional support” that students may need. The PDF documents, Blast Foundations Beginning of Year Assessment, Blast Foundations Middle of Year Assessment, and Blast Foundations End of Year Summative Assessment, include denotations of the assessed standards. The assessment data is used to personalize learning for students in the Reading Playground.
Indicator 2M
The Blast Grade 1 materials contain limited materials to be easily customized for local use. The materials provide a Heart Word Generator, allowing teachers to customize high-frequency words for local use in Heart Word lessons. The materials have a Phoneme Sound Generator, which will enable teachers to customize letter sounds taught and practiced in Letter Sound-Fluency lessons. Although the Blast Grade 1 materials provide opportunities to customize the Reading Playground by unlocking and locking games by units for individual students, the games themselves are not customizable.
Examples include but are not limited to:
In Blast Online, the Heart Word Generator allows teachers to select five Heart Words to teach in Heart Word lessons. It will enable teachers to choose five Heart Words to practice in Heart Word lessons.
In Blast Online, the Phoneme Sound Generator allows teachers to select three phonemes to teach in Letter Sound-Fluency lessons. It will enable teachers to choose three phonemes to practice in Letter-Sound Fluency lessons.
The Blast materials include alternate introductory units, writing extensions, environmental play options, additional practice activities, optional spelling lists and spelling sentences, a distance learning guide, optional additional assessments, and differentiation options.
Indicator 2N
The Blast Grade 1 materials reviewed include a visual design (whether in print or digital) that is not distracting or chaotic. The visual design supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject. The Blast Grade 1 materials student digital platform, Reading Playground, and the teacher materials digital platform, Countdown Online, incorporate animation and color. The student platform engages students in thoughtfully learning and practicing foundational skills. The Blast Teacher Guide Books and Student Workbook print materials are organized.
Examples include but are not limited to:
The Blast Teacher Guide Books include digital and print material organized by units, lessons, and parts.
The Blast Online animation videos have color and animation.
The Blast Student Workbooks are organized by units. The print of headings and activities are easy to read.