1st Grade - Gateway 2

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

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

• 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.