Beginning Alphabetics Tests & Tools (~BATT~)

Developed by:

Beginning

Alphabetics

Tests & Tools

(~BATT~)

September 2015

Developed by:

Marn Frank, ATLAS Literacy & STAR Coordinator

mfrank06@hamline.edu

Kristin Perry, Hmong American Partnership ESL Teacher

This project was contracted and funded by Adult Basic Education Teaching and Learning

Advancement System (ATLAS). Housed at Hamline University’s School of Education, ATLAS is

made possible with a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education using federal

funding, Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), CFDA 84.002A and Minnesota

Statute 124D.22.

Acknowledgements

The developers extend a gracious thank you to these MN ABE/ESL language and literacy

teachers (in alphabetical order), who contributed their valuable piloting time, insightful

feedback, teacher-tested tools, and inspiring testimonials:

• Erin Evans, Lincoln Adult Education, ESL Teacher

• Emily Fischer, Central MN ABE-St. Cloud, ESL Teacher

• Kristin Klas, Hmong American Partnership, ESL Teacher

• Lori Leininger, Robbinsdale Adult Academic Program, PANDA Coordinator

• Eleanor Purdy, Minnesota Literacy Council, ESL Teacher

In Their Words

“This week’s dictation activity was encouraging to me [because] I observed students reading

their sentences to one another, pausing when they recognized a word family, and

correcting/adjusting their pronunciation independently.”

“My students have greatly enjoyed this more focused approach. I can tell they feel more

empowered by understanding more letters and sounds. As a teacher, I feel more empowered

because I now have more valid strategies at my fingertips.”

“Gobi was a classic ‘never held a pencil’ student who couldn’t write her name. Recently we

were doing a sentence writing activity [and] she wanted to use the names of her children.

Together we sounded out their names and she wrote the letters that corresponded with the

sounds. I could tell she was so proud!”

“My students have aphasia and expressing themselves and responding to questions can be

very challenging. One student rarely expressed emotion and her language was very limited.

We had completed a bingo activity with [taught] word families. At the end of the lesson, she

[exclaimed]: Boy, that was fun!”

“BATT has been very valuable for me when figuring out groupings (and what to teach) in my

multi-level class. It helps me narrow in on the specific skills [my students] need and take things

one step at a time.”

“So many students begin to sound out words rather than guess or ask someone else to tell

them what it says.”

Introduction

Developing Reading and Writing, a highly respected booklet based on Improving Adult

Literacy Instruction: Options for Practice and Research (NAP, 2012), an extensive report from

the National Research Council of the National Academies, summarizes evidence-based

principles shown to be effective for developing readers. The authors state all

the principles

“apply to all

adult literacy learners, including those learning English as a second language and

those with learning disabilities” (page 1). The five principles are:

1. Use explicit and systematic reading instruction to develop the major components of

reading - decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension - according to the

assessed needs of individual learners.

2. Combine explicit and systematic instruction with extended reading practice to help

learners acquire and transfer reading component skills.

3. Motivate learning through learners’ engagement with the literacy tasks used for

instruction and extensive reading practice.

4. Develop reading fluency to facilitate efficient reading of words and longer text.

5. Explicitly teach the structure of written language to facilitate decoding and

comprehension.

Beginning Alphabetics Tests and Tools (BATT) strives to provide a ‘principled’ system for ABE/ESL

teachers who want and/or need to develop their students’ knowledge of Roman alphabet

letters, English letter-sound patterns, sight or high frequency words, and transfer of those letter-

sound-word skills to text fluency and comprehension. BATT includes (1) teacher-friendly tests for

determining known and unknown skills, (2) evidence-based reading instructional practices,

orders, approaches, and lesson plans for teaching unknown skills, (3) teacher-tested lists of

other activities and materials, and (4) time-saving teacher resources.

BATT is closely aligned with four Reading Standards: Foundational Skills (K–5) from the

Minnesota Academic Standards (MDE, 2010) and Career and College Readiness Standards for

Adult Education (OCTAE, 2013):

• RF.1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

(Print Concepts)

• RF.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

(Phonological Awareness)

• RF.3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

(Phonics and Word Recognition)

• RF.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. (Fluency)

Table of Contents

Beginning Alphabetics Tests

Page(s)

Important Testing Notes 6

Test Directions and Word Lists (for teachers) 6-9

Test 1: Alphabet Letter Identification (Upper Case) 6

Test 2: Alphabet Letter Identification (Lower Case) 6

Test 3: Alphabet Letter Naming (Upper and Lower Case) 7

Test 4: Alphabet Letter Writing (Upper and Lower Case) 7

Test 5: Single Consonant Knowledge 8

Test 6A & 6B: Short Vowel Knowledge 8

Test 7: Consonant Blend and Short Vowel Knowledge 9

Test 8: Consonant Digraph/Trigraph and Short Vowel Knowledge 9

Test 9: Long Vowel Silent-e and Vowel Digraph Knowledge 9

Test 10: Vowel-R and Vowel Diphthong Knowledge 9

Test Pages (for students) 10-20

Test 1: Alphabet Letter Identification (Upper Case) 10

Test 2: Alphabet Letter Identification (Lower Case) 11

Test 3: Alphabet Letter Naming (Upper and Lower Case) 12

Test 4: Alphabet Letter Writing (Upper and Lower Case) 13

Test 5: Single Consonant Knowledge 14

Test 6A & 6B: Short Vowel Knowledge 15-16

Test 7: Consonant Blend and Short Vowel Knowledge 17

Test 8: Consonant Digraph/Trigraph and Short Vowel Knowledge 18

Test 9: Long Vowel Silent-e and Vowel Digraph Knowledge 19

Test 10: Vowel-R and Vowel Diphthong Knowledge 20

Answer Keys 21-25

Tests 4 & 5: Alphabet Letter Writing and Single Consonant Knowledge 21

Tests 6A & 6B: Short Vowel Knowledge 22-23

Tests 7 & 8: Consonant Blend/Digraph/Trigraph and Short Vowel Knowledge 24

Tests 9 & 10: Long Vowel Silent-e, Vowel Digraph, l-R, and Diphthong Knowledge 25

Beginning Alphabetics Tools Page(s)

Important Teaching Notes 26

Instructional Practices 27

Instructional Orders 28

Instructional Approaches 29

Five Lesson Plans 30-36

• Lesson 1: Print Concepts and Phonological Awareness 30

• Lesson 2: Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition 31

• Lesson 3: Phonics and Word Recognition 32

• Lesson 4: Phonics and Word Recognition 33

• Lesson 5: Fluency 34-35

• Lesson Plan Template 36

More Instructional Activities 37-40

Other Materials and Resources 41-42

Appendix 43-70

• Alphabet Letter Strips 43

• Upper Case Alphabet Letters 44

• Lower Case Alphabet Letters 45

• Single Consonant Flashcards 46-47

• Short Vowel Flashcards 48

• S-Blend Flashcards 49

• Long Vowel Silent-e Flashcards 49

• Consonant Ending and Digraph

Flashcards 50

• Consonant-L/-R Blend Flashcards 51

• Consonant Cluster Flashcards 52

• Vowel Digraph Flashcards 53

• Vowel-R and -L Controlled

Flashcards 54

• More Consonant Blend Flashcards 55

• S-Blend and Trigraph Flashcards 56

• Vowel Diphthong Flashcards 57

• Irregular Consonant and Vowel

Flashcards 58-59

• Fry’s Instant Word Lists 60-62

• Fry’s Phrases and Sentences) 63-65

• Word Sort Samples 66-67

• Word Sort Templates 68-69

• Bingo Template 70

Permission is granted by ATLAS to copy all of the tests, tools, and appendix resources.

References 71

Beginning Alphabetics Tests

Important Testing Notes

This section presents teacher-friendly tests for determining which Roman alphabet letters

and/or English letter-sound patterns are known and unknown by individuals or groups of

students (up to about 15-16). Some important test or testing information:

1. All tests include teacher directions, student pages, and answer keys.

2. Use your teacher knowledge of students’ reading strengths and needs to select an

appropriate ‘starting test’. If it is too hard, go back. If it is too easy, go forward.

3. Alphabet letter knowledge is tested with pointing, naming, and writing.

4. Single consonant knowledge is tested with sound dictation and spelling.

5. Short vowel sound knowledge is tested with minimal trios of simple words.

6. Other consonant and vowel knowledge is tested with word dictation and spelling,

which is considered a valid measure of important phonological processing skills.

7. Not all tests or items need to be given. Stop testing when you have what you need to

plan instruction or if students begin to show test fatigue or frustration.

8. If certain testing processes or test items are confusing for students, change the steps,

orders, or words as needed.

Test Directions and Word Lists

Test 1 (Upper Case) and Test 2: (Lower Case) Alphabet Letter Identification

Directions: Use as many of these explicit steps as necessary to ensure students’ test

understanding. They are written for group testing so adjust for individual testing.

1. Teacher projects or holds up student page 10 (upper case).

2. Teacher says the name of the first letter “L”, points to it, and repeats this process for

the second letter “F”.

3. Teacher says the third letter “Q” and has a student point to it.

4. Teacher passes out copies of page 10 to all students.

5. Teacher says the fourth letter “B” and has all students point to it.

6. Teacher tells students: “This is a test to tell me how to help you learn letters. No

looking, no talking, and no helping.”

7. Teacher says the alphabet from A to Z and observes students’ pointing. He/she uses

an identical copy, possibly in a sheet protector, and marks the letters unknown by

multiple students.

8. Teacher projects or holds up student page 11 (lower case).

9. Teacher repeats steps 2-7.

10. Teacher uses test results to plan group instruction for alphabet letter identification.

Test 3: Alphabet Letter Naming (Upper and Lower Case)

Directions: Use as many of these explicit steps as necessary to ensure students’ test

understanding.

1. Teacher projects or holds up student page 12 (upper and lower case).

2. Teacher points to and says the names of the first two letters “Rr and Cc”.

3. Teacher points to the third letter “Nn” and has a student say the letter name.

4. Teacher passes out copies of page 12 to all students.

5. Teacher points to the fourth letter “Jj” and has all the students say the letter name.

6. Teacher tells students: “This is another test to tell me how to help you learn letters. No

looking, no talking, and no helping.”

7. Teacher points to letters by rows and/or columns and has students say the letter

names together, take turns, or respond to being called upon.

8. Teacher uses an identical copy, possibly in a sheet protector, and marks the letters

unknown by multiple students. He/she uses test results to plan group instruction for

alphabet letter naming.

Test 4: Alphabet Letter Writing (Upper and Lower Case)

Directions: Use as many of these explicit steps as necessary to ensure students’ test

understanding.

1. Before this test, teacher covers up or removes alphabet posters, charts, or strips in

the classroom.

2. Teacher projects or holds up student page 13.

3. Teacher points to and says “#1”.

4. Teacher says “A” and traces upper case A and lower case a next to #1.

5. Teacher points to and says “#2”.

6. Teacher says “B” and traces B b next to #2.

7. Teacher tells students: “This is a test to tell me how to help you write letters. No

looking, no talking, and no helping.”

8. Teacher passes out copies of page 13 to all students. They can fold the page in half

or cover up #14-26 to reduce print distraction.

9. Teacher dictates letters for #3-26 in this order (also see Answer Key on page 20):

S L G E T Q X W V H U N J C M R F I D Z Y K O P

10. Teacher collects student pages and determines which letter formations are

unknown by multiple students. He/she uses test results to plan group instruction for

alphabet letter writing.

Test 5: Single Consonant Sound Knowledge

Directions: Use as many of these explicit steps as necessary to ensure students’ understanding.

1. Teacher projects or hold up student page 14.

2. Teacher points to the first Practice line.

3. Teacher says the sound /s/ two times. NOTE: Be sure to use “clipped” single

consonant sounds – not suh, luh, guh, etc. This may take some practice.

4. Teacher writes the letter “s” on the line or demonstrates at the board.

5. Teacher repeats steps #2-4 for the next Practice consonant sounds /l/ and /g/.

6. Teacher passes out copies of page 14 to all students.

7. Teacher tells students: “This is a test to tell me how to help you know sounds. No

looking, no talking, and no helping.”

8. Teacher points to #1, says the sound /t/ two times, and gives students enough time

to write the letter “t”.

9. Teacher repeats #8 for the remaining single consonant sounds in this order: n, r, m,

d, s, l, c, p, b, f, v, g, h, w, j, x, qu, z, y (also see Answer Key on page 21). Students

can fold the page in half to reduce print distraction.

10. Teacher collects student pages and determines which single consonants are

unknown by multiple students. He/she uses test results to plan group instruction and

administers Test 6A-6B soon so that the focus is on real words – not just single sounds.

Test 6A (a, i, u) and Test 6B (a, i, u, o, e) Short Vowel Knowledge

Directions: Use as many of these explicit steps as necessary to ensure students’ understanding.

1. Teacher projects or holds up student page 15.

2. Teacher points to A: and the shaded row of three words.

3. Teacher says “rat” clearly as a whole word (not sound-by-sound) two times.

4. Teacher finds “rat” and demonstrates the action of circling or underlining.

5. Teacher repeats #2-4 for B: “pin”.

6. Teacher passes out copies of pages 15-16 to all students. They can fold the page in

half to reduce print distraction.

7. Teacher tells students: “This is a test to tell me how to help you know sounds. No

looking, no talking, and no helping.”

8. Teacher says each word two times (see word dictation order below).

9. Teacher stops after #10 if multiple students do not know a, i, u. If most students do,

he/she goes to page16, which tests a, i, u, o, e.

10. Teacher collects student pages and determines which short vowels are unknown by

multiple students. He/she uses test results to plan group instruction for simple words.

Word dictation order: tap, tip, pit, pat, sap, sip, but, jab, fun, nut; cat, fun, rib, hum, sob, dug,

rod, led, vat, wet

Tests 7-10

Directions: Use these same steps for Tests 7, 8, 9, and 10

1. Teacher passes out a copy of the appropriate student page (see pages 17-20)

2. Teacher tells students: “This is a test to tell me how to help you read and spell more

words. I will say the words two times. You will spell the words on the lines. No looking, no

talking, and no helping.”

3. Students can fold the page in half to reduce print distraction.

4. Teacher says each word naturally and clearly (not sound-by-sound) and encourages

students to look at his/her face during pronunciation.

5. Teacher provides a reasonable amount of time for students to spell the words.

6. Ten real words with only one spelling are used to test the consonant or vowel patterns.

Stop after #10 if the patterns are unknown by multiple students. If mostly known,

continue with #11-20.

7. The word lists follow the letter-sound instructional order on page 28. However, the

irregular consonant and vowel spellings in the last row are not tested.

8. Tests 7-8 use words with only short vowel patterns. This ensures that consonant patterns

are (mostly) being tested.

9. Tests 9-10 use words with only single consonants or regular blends. This ensures that

vowel patterns are (mostly) being tested.

10. Teacher collects student pages and determines which consonant or vowel patterns are

unknown by multiple students. He/she uses test results to plan ‘orderly’ phonics

instruction.

Test 7: Consonant Blend, Cluster, and Short Vowel Knowledge

Word dictation order: step, slab, spit, clop, fled, plan, brim, drum, grip, trap; sing, rang, long,

hung, pink, bank, honk, junk, sting, slang

Test 8: Consonant Ending, Digraph, Trigraph, and Short Vowel Knowledge

Word dictation order: puff, bell, mass, fizz, lack, tuck, shot, rush, chat, chunk; moth, thin, when,

badge, dodge, judge, hedge, match, notch, switch

Test 9: Long Vowel Silent-e and Vowel Digraph Knowledge

Word dictation order: wade, mine, pole, tube, eve, late, dime, hope, rude, blame; paid, lay,

beam, feel, goat, my, few, row, train, stay

Test 10: Vowel-R and Vowel Diphthong Knowledge

Word dictation order: jar, term, lord, dirt, burn, lair, rare, gear, peer, soar; joy, mood, gown,

raw, hood, loud, boil, aunt, tread, flight

1. Alphabet Letter Identification

L F Q B

W H N D

C R I V

Y FREE X

K Z E T

O U M G

P A J S

2. Alphabet Letter Identification

b g s m

h l w r

d n i t

p FREE a

k f u z

j e v c

o y x q

3. Alphabet Letter Naming

Rr Cc Nn Jj

Tt Ll Qq Aa

Kk Dd Oo Ww

Ff FREE Yy

Mm Vv Gg Xx

Hh Zz Ii Ee

Ss Pp Uu Bb

4. Alphabet Letter Writing

Name: _______________________ Date: ___________________

1. A a

2. B b

3. _____ _____

4. _____ _____

5. _____ _____

6. _____ _____

7. _____ _____

8. _____ _____

9. _____ _____

10. _____ _____

11. _____ _____

12. _____ _____

13. _____ _____

14. _____ _____

15. _____ _____

16. _____ _____

17. _____ _____

18. _____ _____

19. _____ _____

20. _____ _____

21. _____ _____

22. _____ _____

23. _____ _____

24. _____ _____

25. _____ _____

26. _____ _____

5. Single Consonant Knowledge

Name: _______________________ Date: __________________

Practice: _____ _____ _____

1. _____

2. _____

3. _____

4. _____

5. _____

6. _____

7. _____

8. _____

9. _____

10. _____

11. _____

12. _____

13. _____

14. _____

15. _____

16. _____

17. _____

18. _____

19. _____

20. _____

6A. Short Vowel Knowledge

Name: _______________________ Date: ______________

Practice:

A: rat rot rut

B: pen pan pin

1. tap tip top

2. top tap tip

3. pit pat pot

4. pot pit pat

5. sip sap sop

6. sap sop sip

7. bit but bat

8. jab job jib

9. fin fun fan

10. not nit nut

6B. Short Vowel Knowledge

Name: _______________________ Date: _______________

1. cat cut cot

2. fin fan fun

3. rub rib rob

4. him ham hum

5. sob sub sib

6. dig dog dug

7. rod red rid

8. lad lid led

9. vit vat vet

10. wet wut wit

7. Consonant Blend, Cluster, and Short Vowel Knowledge

Name: _______________________ Date: _______________

1. ______________

2. ______________

3. ______________

4. ______________

5. ______________

6. ______________

7. ______________

8. ______________

9. ______________

10. _______________

11. ______________

12. ______________

13. ______________

14. ______________

15. ______________

16. ______________

17. ______________

18. ______________

19. ______________

20. ______________

8. Consonant Ending, Digraph, Trigraph, and Short Vowel Knowledge

Name: _______________________ Date: _______________

1. ______________

2. ______________

3. ______________

4. ______________

5. ______________

6. ______________

7. ______________

8. ______________

9. ______________

10. _______________

11. ______________

12. ______________

13. ______________

14. ______________

15. ______________

16. ______________

17. ______________

18. ______________

19. ______________

20. ______________

9. Long Vowel Silent-e and Vowel Digraph Knowledge

Name: _______________________ Date: ______________

1. ______________

2. ______________

3. ______________

4. ______________

5. ______________

6. ______________

7. ______________

8. ______________

9. ______________

10. _______________

11. ______________

12. ______________

13. ______________

14. ______________

15. ______________

16. ______________

17. ______________

18. ______________

19. ______________

20. ______________

10. Vowel-R and Vowel Diphthong Knowledge

Name: _______________________ Date: ______________

1. ______________

2. ______________

3. ______________

4. ______________

5. ______________

6. ______________

7. ______________

8. ______________

9. ______________

10. _______________

11. ______________

12. ______________

13. ______________

14. ______________

15. ______________

16. ______________

17. ______________

18. ______________

19. ______________

20. ______________

ANSWER KEY

4. Alphabet Letter Writing

1. A a

2. B b

3. S s

4. L l

5. G g

6. E e

7. T t

8. Q q

9. X x

10. W w

11. V v

12. H h

13. U u

14. N n

15. J j

16. C c

17. M m

18. R r

19. F f

20. I i

21. D d

22. Z z

23. Y y

24. K k

25. O o

26. P p

ANSWER KEY

5. Single Consonant Knowledge

Note: Both upper or lower case letters are correct

1. t

2. n

3. r

4. m

5. d

6. s

7. l

8. c or k

9. p

10. b

11. f

12. v

13. g

14. h

15. w

16. j

17. x

18. q or qu

19. z

20. y

ANSWER KEY

6A. Short Vowel Knowledge

1. tap tip top

2. top tap tip

3. pit pat pot

4. pot pit pat

5. sip sap sop

6. sap sop sip

7. bit but bat

8. jab job jib

9. fin fun fan

10. not nit nut

ANSWER KEY

6B. Short Vowel Knowledge

1. cat cut cot

2. fin fan fun

3. rub rib rob

4. him ham hum

5. sob sub sib

6. dig dog dug

7. rod red rid

8. lad lid led

9. vit vat vet

10. wet wut wit

ANSWER KEY

7. Consonant Blend, Cluster, and Short Vowel Knowledge

Note: Both upper and lower case letters are correct

1. step

2. slab

3. spit

4. clop

5. fled

6. plan

7. brim

8. drum

9. grip

10. trap

11. sing

12. rang

13. long

14. hung

15. pink

16. bank

17. honk

18. junk

19. sting

20. slang

ANSWER KEY

8. Consonant Ending, Digraph, Trigraph, and Short Vowel Knowledge

Note: Both upper and lower case letters are correct

1. puff

2. bell

3. mass

4. fizz

5. lack

6. tuck

7. shot

8. rush

9. chat

10. chunk

11. moth

12. thin

13. when

14. badge

15. dodge

16. judge

17. hedge

18. match

19. notch

20. switch

ANSWER KEY

9. Long Vowel Silent-e and Vowel Digraph Knowledge

Note: Both upper and lower case letters are correct

1. wade

2. mine

3. pole

4. tube

5. eve

6. late

7. dime

8. hope

9. rude

10. blame

11. paid

12. lay

13. beam

14. feel

15. goat

16. my

17. few

18. row

19. train

20. stay

ANSWER KEY

10. Vowel-R and Vowel Diphthong Knowledge

Note: Both upper and lower case letters are correct

1. jar

2. term

3. lord

4. dirt

5. burn

6. lair

7. rare

8. gear

9. peer

10. soar

11. joy

12. mood

13. gown

14. raw

15. hood

16. loud

17. boil

18. aunt

19. tread

20. flight

Beginning Alphabetics Tools

Important Teaching Notes

This section presents instructional practices, orders, approaches, lesson plans, more

activities, and other materials or resources. The five lesson plans are aligned with the

four Reading Standards: Foundational Skills (K–5) as described on page 3. Specifically,

these skills include:

RF.1. Print Concepts: knowing left>right, spoken>written, words+

spaces=sentences, upper and lower case alphabet letters

RF.2. Phonological Awareness: counting, pronouncing, blending, and

segmenting sounds

, syllables, and onsets + rimes into words

RF.3. Phonics and Word Recognition: knowing and applying single consonants,

short vowels, digraphs, blends, vowel teams, sight and irregular word skills

RF.4. Fluency: reading grade-leveled text with purpose, accuracy, appropriate

rate, expression, understanding, and self correction

ABE/ESL students’ beginning alphabetics or reading foundational skills will likely vary;

however, there are three adult reader profiles that can guide ‘entry points’ for

instruction. The test results identify the specific letter-sound-word skills that need to be

taught and learned.

• Many pre-literate and non-Roman alphabet ESL students need to start at the

very beginning and develop all Print Concepts.

• Many semi-literate ESL students with previous alphabetic experience and some

ABE students with life-long, reading difficulties know the Print Concepts, but need

to develop their Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition.

• Many ABE students and educated ESL students know Print Concepts and have

Phonological Awareness, but have gaps in their consonant and vowel

knowledge and application to unfamiliar words. They need to expand their

Phonics and Word Recognition.

Lesson plans 1-4 are intended to develop a blend of Print Concepts, Phonological

Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition at these entry points. They are based on the

proven instructional practices, orders, and approaches from pages 27-29. Because all

beginning (and intermediate) ABE/ESL students also need to develop Fluency, short

‘word to text’ activities are included at the end of each plan. Lesson plan 5 describes

more fluency steps and techniques for guided oral reading of shorter text (phrases or

sentences) and longer, connected text (stories, articles, passages, or books).

Instructional Practices

These evidence-based reading instructional practices are recommended for all

beginning readers of all

ages, from children to adults.

1. ALL ALPHABETICS INSTRUCTION SHOULD BE SEQUENTIAL AND SYSTEMATIC.

The English language includes between 42-44 sounds. Some are formed by one letter

and others by a combination of two or three letters. At least 20 sounds are 90%

predictable and another 10 are 80% predictable. Teaching alphabetics sequentially

and systematically means progressing from simple to complex, common to less

common, and predictable to less predictable letter-sound-word patterns. It also means

encouraging students to rely on reliable patterns that work 84% (or most) of the time!

2. ALL ALPHABETICS INSTRUCTION SHOULD BE EXPLICIT AND MULTI-SENSORY.

Teaching explicitly means scaffolding from teacher modeling (“I step”) to teacher-

student guided practice (“We step”) to independent student application of taught skills

(“You step”). This explicit process ensures ample opportunities to achieve mastery and

proficiency of reading (and writing, math) skills.

Multisensory alphabetics instruction (VAKT) links visual (seeing or looking), auditory

(listening or hearing), and kinesthetic-tactile (touching or feeling) modalities. It is based

on the work of Samuel Orton, Anna Gillingham, and Bessie Stillman and sometimes

called Orton-Gillingham or OG. It has been used extensively and successfully with

children diagnosed with specific learning disabilities or dyslexia. Here is a multi-sensory

letter-sound-word process optimizing all three modalities:

a. Teacher cuts and distributes small squares of sandpaper, fleece, or fun fur

b. Teacher shows a letter and says the name

c. Students repeat the name as they write (and feel) the letter

d. Teacher shows a letter and says the sound

e. Students repeat the sound as they write (and feel) the letter

f. Teacher shows and says a word

g. Students repeat the word as they write (and feel) the letters

3. ALL ALPHABETICS INSTRUCTION SHOULD BE INTENTIONAL AND ROUTINE.

Although challenging to organize in many ABE/ESL classrooms, routines benefit both

teachers and students. They provide a predictability that decreases

teachers’ planning

and preparation time and increases

students’ anticipation and engagement in reading

instruction. Teaching alphabetics intentionally and routinely means purposely offering

regular lessons for 10-40 minutes/day, 2-5x/week, over many months (if not years...).

Instructional Orders (similar to Henry, 2002)

This chart presents the Roman alphabetical order and an English letter-sound instructional

order that progresses from simple to complex, common to less common, and predictable to

less predictable or irregular. Because vowel sounds tend to be more difficult to teach and

learn, sample words are provided for teachers.

Roman Alphabet

(upper + lower)

Alphabetical Order

Names + formation

Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo,

Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

Letter-Sound Patterns

(consonants + vowels)

Instructional Order

Single consonants and short

vowels (1 sound)

m, l, s, t, a (cat), p, f, c, n, b, r, j, k, i (pin),

v, g, w, d, h, u (dug), y, z, x, o (box), e (yes), qu

S-blends (2 sounds) and long

vowel-silent e (1 sound)

st-, sm-, sn-, sl-, sp-, sc-, sk-

a_e (cake), i_e (hide), o_e (rope), u_e (tube), e_e (eve)

Consonant endings and

digraphs (1 sound)

-ff, -ll, -ss, -zz, -ck, -sh/sh-, ch-,

-th- (unvoiced and voiced), wh-

Consonant-l and -r blends

(2 sounds)

bl-, cl-, fl-, gl-, pl-

br-, cr-, dr-, fr-, gr-, pr-, tr-

Short vowels and consonant

clusters (3 sounds)

-ing, -ang, -ong, -ung

-ink, -ank, -onk, -unk

Vowel digraphs (1 long

sound)

ai (rain), ay (day), ea (heat), ee (feed), oa (boat),

y (my), ew (new), ow (low)

R and l controlled vowels

(2 sounds)

ar (car), er (her), or (for), ir (bird), ur (turn)

air (hair), are (care), ear (near), eer (deer), oar (soar)

al (salt), all (tall)

Less common consonant

blends (2 sounds)

sw-, tw-, -mp, -nd, -ft, -lk, -ld, -mp

S-blends (3 sounds) and

trigraphs (1 sound)

spr-, str-, scr-, spl-, shr-, sch-

-dge, -tch

Vowel diphthongs (mostly 1

glided sound)

oy (toy), oo (food), ow (cow), aw (saw), oo (look),

ou (loud), oi (coin), au (aunt), ea (head)

igh (sigh), augh (taught), ough (bought), eigh (weigh)

Irregular consonants and

vowels spellings (1-3 sounds)

soft c (rice), soft g (page), kn-, wr-, ph-, wor, war,

ui (suit), ey (they), ie (field), -ind (mind), -ild (child),

-old (sold), -ost (most), gn-, -mb

Three Phonics Instructional Approaches

Below are brief descriptions of three approaches for teaching any recommended order of

English letter-sound-word patterns. All are sequential, systematic, explicit, and multi-sensory. All

can be delivered in short, daily lessons offered regularly during the week over many months.

• Synthetic (meaning combining different substances or components) teaches individual

letter-sound patterns, blending, and segmenting of recognizable words. For example, a

teacher shows and says the consonants m, l, s, t and short vowel a. Students practice

saying the sounds and the teacher models how to blend (or combine) them into small

words: am, Sam, tam, Al, Sal, as, mat, at, sat. Then he/she guides them in reading and

spelling the same words.

• Analogy (meaning comparing things based on their similarities) teaches phonograms

(or rimes) and their related word families (formed by adding onsets or consonant

patterns at the front). For example, a teacher shows and says the phonogram -ab.

He/she models how to add the single consonants c, d, g, j, l, n, t at the front to form

similar relatives: cab, dab, gab, jab, lab, nab, tab. Then he/she guides students in

reading and spelling the same word family.

• Analytic (meaning separating something into components or parts) teaches analysis of

letter-sound patterns in known words and application to unknown words. For example,

a teacher shows and explains short vowel a and long vowel a-silent e headers, which

include phonetic spellings, example words, and sometimes pictures. He/she models

how to sort (or separate) by headers a list 12-21 other words: mad, fast, page, name,

same, hand, snap, came, grass, rake, made. Then he/she guides students in reading,

sorting, and spelling the same words.

Synthetic is the most common phonics approach and used in many print, software, and online

instructional materials. It is the best approach for ABE/ESL students who need to acquire or

improve knowledge of single letters and single sounds. It is used in lesson plans 1-2. Analogy

and analytic generally require knowledge of at least single letters and single sounds. They are

used in lesson plans 3-4. If appropriate for students or the class, use a combination of two or

three phonics approaches to motivate and engage them the long process of learning to

read, recognize, and spell words.

Five Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan 1: Print Concepts and Phonological Awareness

This lesson plan is most appropriate for pre-literate and non-Roman alphabet ESL students, who

have little to no knowledge of an alphabetic written language. It uses synthetic phonics.

ORAL to PRINT CONNECTION

• Teacher shows and says key vocabulary words from a previous unit or text.

• Students say words and teacher asks: “What’s the first letter? What’s the first sound?”

REVIEW or DRILL of TAUGHT PATTERNS (5-10 minutes/day)

Visual: Teacher shows or writes taught alphabet/single consonant letters and elicits their

names and sounds from students (see Appendix, pages 44-45).

Auditory: Teacher says taught alphabet/single consonant sounds and students write the letters

in the air, on textured material or paper.

MODELING and GUIDED PRACTICE of NEW PATTERNS (10-15 minutes/day)

1. According to test results and the instructional order on page 28, teacher writes 3-5 new

alphabet/single consonant letters on the board. One at a time, teacher says the letter

name and sound. For example: “This is letter b. Letter b says /b/.”

2. Teacher shows how to write each new alphabet/single consonant letter 3-5 times across

the board from left to right, saying: “b says /b/.” Students repeat writing each letter in the

air, on textured material or paper, or trace on flashcards (see Appendix, pages 46-47).

3. Teacher chooses a new short vowel letter and writes it 3-5 times across the board from left

to right, saying: “a says /ă/.” Students repeat writing the new letter in the air, on textured

material or paper, or trace on a flashcard (see Appendix, page 48).

4. Using alphabet strips (see Appendix, page 43), teacher says, “Show me b.” Students point

to b and teacher asks: “What sound?”

5. Using letter tiles or cut up flashcards, teacher says taught sounds and students search for

the corresponding letters. Using found tiles or flashcards, teacher models how to build a

small set of simple, 3-4 letter words.

6. Teacher models how to blend (or pronounce) each simple word.

7. Teacher demonstrates how to segment (or count) each word before students attempt to

spell with letter tiles or flashcards.

WORD to TEXT CONNECTION

8. Teacher asks students to find (underline, circle, or highlight) new letters or words within a

previously introduced story or worksheet. They list and read the isolated letters or words.

Lesson Plan 2: Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition

This lesson plan is most appropriate for semi-literate ESL or ABE students, who know all alphabet

letter names and single sounds, but need to learn more consonant and vowel patterns that

are common and predictable. It also uses synthetic phonics.

ORAL to PRINT CONNECTION (ESL)

• Teacher shows and says taught vocabulary words from a previous unit or text.

• Students say each word and teacher asks: “What’s the first letter? What’s the first sound?”

EXPLANATION (ABE)

Teacher explains that learning more English letters and sounds will improve reading and

spelling of words students know, but can’t always read or spell.

REVIEW or DRILL of TAUGHT PATTERNS (5-10 minutes/day)

Visual: Teacher writes and blends taught, 3-4 letter words and students read the words.

Auditory: Teacher erases the list, dictates each word, and students spell them in the air, on

textured material or paper.

MODELING and GUIDED PRACTICE of NEW PATTERNS (10-15 minutes/day)

1. According to test results and the instructional order on page 28, teacher writes 1-3

consonant blend patterns on the board.

2. Teacher says the letters and blends the sounds one at a time. For example: “s+t says /st/

and and s+n says /sn/ at the beginning of words.”

3. Students say the letters and blend the sounds 3-5 times.

4. Teacher says new consonant blends and students point to the flashcard spellings (see

Appendix, page 49).

5. Teacher says new consonant blends and students spell in the air, on textured material or

paper, or trace on flashcards.

6. Teacher writes 5-15 simple words using known patterns and models how to blend (or

pronounce) each one: stab, stag, stop, stub, stun, step, snag, snap, snip, snob, snug, etc.

7. Students blend each word 3-5 times and as needed, teacher provides brief definitions or

simple contexts: “Sharp knives are used to stab. A stag is a male deer. To snap means to

break.”

8. Teacher dictates the new words for spelling practice and provides immediate correction.

WORD to TEXT CONNECTION

9. Teacher asks students to find (underline, circle, or highlight) words with the new patterns

within a previously introduced story or worksheet. They list and read the isolated words

10. If language- and level-appropriate, teacher and students write and read short sentences

using the new words (plus sight or high frequency words – see Appendix, pages 60-62).

Lesson Plan 3: Phonics and Word Recognition

This lesson plan is appropriate for ABE/ESL students who need to learn consonant clusters,

digraphs, trigraphs, vowel teams (such as silent-e, digraphs, r/l controlled, diphthongs, and

irregular consonant and vowel spellings. It uses analogy phonics, but synthetic is also

appropriate.

EXPLANATION (ABE and ESL)

Teacher explains that learning English phonograms can improve reading and spelling of

words, reading fluency, and over time, comprehension. They will learn one phonogram

pattern at a time along with a word family that is made by adding consonants at the front.

This will build a large storage in their brains of familiar letter-sound-word patterns.

DRILL OR REVIEW of TAUGHT PATTERNS (5-10 minutes/day)

Visual: Teacher shows and reads a list of taught -aid (vowel digraph ai) words: laid, maid, paid,

raid, braid, staid, etc. Students read the words.

Auditory: Teacher erases the list, dictates the same words for students to air write together or

spell individually on paper.

MODELING and GUIDED PRACTICE of NEW PATTERNS (10-15 minutes/day)

1. According to test results and the instructional order on page 28, teacher writes and blends

a new phonogram pattern on the board: ai+l=ail (also vowel digraph ai).

2. Students blend the new phonogram pattern 3-5 times.

3. Teacher writes and blends 10-15 -ail words with single consonant and blend onsets that

make a new word family: b+ail=bail, f+ail=fail, h+ail=hail, j+ail=jail, m+ail=mail, n+ail=nail,

p+ail=pail, qu+ail=quail, r+ail=rail, s+ail=sail, t+ail=tail, w+ail=wail, fl+ail=flail, fr+ail=frail, etc.

4. Students blend the new word family several times as teacher underlines –ail in each word.

5. As needed, teacher quickly defines unknown words or gives simple contexts: “A quail is a

wild bird. To wail means crying long and loud. To flail means moving your arms or legs in a

wild way. Frail means very sick or weak.”

6. Teacher dictates the new word family for spelling practice and provides immediate

correction.

7. If language- and level-appropriate, teacher guides students in blending longer –ail words

with -s/es, -ing, -ed endings, as compounds, or with common suffixes and prefixes.

Examples include: bails, bailing, bailed, bailer, hails, hailing, hailed, jails, jailing, jailed, jailer,

mailbox, mailman, railroad, railway, sailboat, sailor, etc.

8. Teacher and students write and read short sentences using the new words (plus sight or

high frequency words – see Appendix, pages 60-62).

NOTE: Teaching Analogy Phonics (TAP) provides over 100 phonograms and word families

organized by highest frequency or increasing complexity and alphabetical order. Download

and print for FREE:

http://atlasabe.org/resources/ebri/ebri-alphabetics

Lesson Plan 4: Phonics and Word Recognition

This lesson plan is appropriate for some ABE/ESL students who know a number of letter-sound-

word patterns, but need to improve their application to unknown words. It uses analytic

phonics, which may work better as additional practice after synthetic or analogy phonics

instruction.

EXPLANATION (ABE and ESL)

Teacher compliments students on their growing letter-sound-word skills and explains that they

are ready to use what they know to figure out what they don’t know. Like scientists, they will

analyze data (letters and sounds) figure out patterns, and draw conclusions about new words.

This process may be difficult, but teacher modeling and guided practice will be provided.

MODELING and GUIDED PRACTICE of KNOWN to UNKNOWN PATTERNS

1. According to test results and the instructional order on page 28, teacher selects 2-3 letter-

sound patterns that are similar or different (see samples in Appendix, pages 66-67).

2. Teacher makes header flashcards that include the letter-sound spellings, known words, and

sometimes sample pictures (see templates in Appendix, pages 68-69).

3. Teacher shows the headers, explains the letter-sound patterns, and models how to

segment and blend the known

words.

4. Teacher models how to apply the letter-sound patterns and known words to reading the

unknown

words.

5. As needed, teacher quickly defines unknown words or gives simple contexts.

6. At the same time, the teacher demonstrates sorting the unknown words under the correct

headers.

7. Teacher and students read the two or three columns of sorted words.

8. Students read and sort the same unknown words alone or in pairs.

9. Teacher and students check the sort column by column, ensuring they see and hear the

same letter-sound patterns.

10. Teacher and students reflect on the sort, describe the new letter-sound patterns, and

teacher dictates some of the words for spelling practice.

11. Teacher and students write and read short sentences using the new words (plus other sight

or high frequency words – see Appendix, pages 60-62).

NOTE: Words Their Way™ is a popular, K-12 analytic phonics instructional series available for

purchase from Amazon. It is intended for students who struggle to spell one-syllable words. It

includes both picture and word sorts. There are also suggestions for English Language Learners:

• Reduce the number of words

• Spend extra time saying the words

and discussing meanings

• Pair ELLs with native English speakers

• Accept variations in pronunciation

Lesson Plan 5: Fluency

This lesson plan is appropriate for all ABE and ESL students, who are improving their letter-

sound-word skills and need to apply those skills to short and longer text. Teacher-guided, oral

reading of text is proven to improve accurate, smooth, oral and silent reading and

comprehension of intended meaning.

APPLICATION to SHORT TEXT (phrases or sentences)

1. Teacher writes and says a set of high frequency words (see Appendix, pages 60-62).

2. Students read and spell each new high frequency word 3-5 times. NOTE: Research

supports spelling irregular words forwards and

backwards to improve visual memory.

3. Teacher and student read related high frequency phrases or sentences (See Appendix,

pages 63-65).

APPLICATION to LONGER TEXT (stories, articles, passages, books)

1. Teacher selects a leveled story, article, passage, or even book that is slightly challenging

for students but manageable with modeling and guided practice. Connected text

(beyond a sentence) is often less controlled but more relevant and interesting for ABE/ESL

students (See page 42 for many FREE text resources).

2. Teacher selects a fluency technique (see below and on next page) that provides the

necessary amount of modeling to maintain students’ interest in oral reading and improve

their comfort and confidence. NOTE: Fluency instruction must be led by a proficient, native

English speaker/reader.

Echo Reading (provides highest level of individual or group modeling)

• Teacher (or tutor) fluently reads aloud each phrase or sentence of the selected text.

• Students repeat (or echo) the same phrase or sentence.

• Teacher provides gentle correction of word accuracy or text phrasing.

• Teacher fluently reads the entire paragraph.

• Students repeat (or echo) the entire paragraph.

Repeated Reading (provides a high level of individual modeling).

• Student reads selected text cold, or without any practice, to the teacher.

• They select a fluency goal such as improving word accuracy, efficient rate, meaningful

phrasing, or expression.

• Student listens to fluent readings (or audios) of the same text as many times as needed.

• When the student is ready, he/she rereads the text to the teacher and they discuss

fluency goals and next steps: another passage at the same level or at the next level?

Choral Reading (provides less individual modeling)

• Teacher and students read the selected text in unison, like a choir sings a song.

• Teacher’s role is to model good fluency, where all words are pronounced correctly, the

rate or pace allows for understanding, words are phrased or chunked into meaningful

units, and there is some expression.

• Teacher repeats choral reading of the same text with students as many times as

needed.

Collaborative Oral Reading (modeling is adjusted according to text length and complexity)

• Teacher and students gather in a circle or around a table.

• If a book is the selected text, teacher reviews the main events from the previous

reading.

• Teacher reminds students than only he/she provides correction.

• Teacher begins by reading a paragraph or two of the text aloud.

• Teacher calls on a student to take a turn and provides correction - only as needed - in

word accuracy or text phrasing.

• Teacher may also model a phrase or sentence with more or better expression.

• Students call on each other to take turns. They can pass if highly uncomfortable with

oral reading. Ideally, each student should read multiple times.

• Teacher takes turns as frequently as necessary. It is better to provide MORE modeling of

proficiency than LESS!

FLUENCY to COMPREHENSION CONNECTION

After each paragraph, page, or section, teacher briefly checks comprehension by asking

students a few 6W questions based on evidence from the text.

For example:

1. Who or what is the paragraph mostly about?

2. What important action or event happens?

3. Where does it happen?

4. When does it happen?

5. Why does it happen?

6. How is it important?

Lesson Plan Template

Class______________________________ Day(s) or Week____________________________

Activities Letters, Sounds, Words, or Text Used Notes

Oral to print

connection or

explanation

Visual drill of taught

patterns

Auditory drill of

taught patterns

Modeling and

guided practice of

new patterns

Sight or high

frequency word

instruction

Shorter text

application

Longer text

application

More Roman Alphabet Activities

These teacher-tested tools are for additional review of Roman alphabet letters. All of them

conveniently use the tests or appendix!

1. Daily Alphabet Drill

a. Make the 26 upper and lower case letters visible on a classroom poster or strips

taped to students’ desks (see Appendix, page 43)

b. Teacher calls out the 26 alphabet letters one by one (the pace can increase

over time)

c. One student comes up and points to the letter on the poster or all students point

to the letter on their alphabet strips

2. Alphabet Bingo

a. All students have copies of Tests 1, 2, or 3 (just one)

b. Teacher calls out upper, lower, or upper/lower letters

c. As letters are called, students cover them up with markers

d. Nobody wins or loses, but everybody has a good time!

NOTE: More FREE alphabet flashcards and bingo cards available at:

http://www.mcedservices.com

3. Alphabet Partner Quiz

a. Student pairs cut up Tests 1, 2, or 3

b. One student quizzes the other by showing a flashcard and asking for the name

c. Students switch roles

4. Alphabet Matching 1

a. Students cut up Test 1 or Test 2

b. They place the flashcards in matching boxes on the other test

5. Alphabet Matching 2

a. All students have copies of Tests 1 and 2 (both)

b. They cut out upper and lower case letters from magazines

c. They paste the magazine letters in matching boxes

6. Alphabet Memory Game

a. Student pairs cut up Tests 1 and 2, mix, and place them face down

b. They play a memory game by turning over and matching the letters

c. The student with the most correct matches wins!

7. Alphabet Tracing

a. All students have copies of Tests 1 or 2

b. Teacher names a lower or upper case letter

c. Teacher talks aloud their process of tracing: For b or d: “Start at the top, go down

the line, then go back up the line, and make a circle.”

8. Alphabet Air or Skywriting

a. Teacher cuts up Test 1 or 2 and mixes them up

b. A student pulls out one letter

c. He/she writes the letter “in the air or sky”

d. Other students guess the letter

9. Alphabet Ordering

a. Students cut up Test 3

b. They line up the flashcards in alphabetical order

c. They paste them in alphabetical order on another sheet of paper

10. Alphabet Quiz

a. Teacher forms student pairs

b. One student selects a Test 3 letter and says the name

c. The other writes the lower and upper case letter on Test 4

d. Students switch roles

FREE Instructional Websites!

Magic Keys, ABC Fast Phonics by Carol Moore

a. Go to

http://www.abcfastphonics.com

b. Students click on #4 Letter Names

Starfall by Starfall Education

a. Go to

http://www.starfall.com

b. Students select ABCs

English Code Crackers by Patsy Vinogradov, Kristin Perry, and Kristin Klas

a. Go to

http://www.englishcodecrackers.com

b. Look for information or files on code-cracking presentations, respected books,

published materials, multi-sensory instructional videos, and tile or flashcard

printables

More Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition Activities

These teacher-tested tools are for additional review of English letter-sound-word patterns.

1. Group (or Pair) Consonant Quiz

a. All students have copies of Test 5

b. Teacher calls out single consonant sounds

c. Students write the letters for the sounds

d. Teacher gives the correct answer immediately

3. In Phonics They Use (Cunningham, 2013), the author suggests this activity:

a. Teacher makes a list of action (run, jump, drive, fly, hop, kick, laugh, smile, etc.)

or food (banana, cake, crackers, fish, milk, soup, yogurt, pizza, etc.) words that

begin with taught sounds

b. Teacher says or acts the words and students write down the beginning sound

c. Teacher gives the correct answer immediately

4. Group Word Building

a. Teacher distributes LARGE letter-sound flash cards to students

b. She/he builds 2-3 letter words by sending students to the front of the classroom

c. All students read and spell the words together

5. Chart Practice

a. Teacher makes a chart on the board of taught sounds

b. He/she says 3 letter words beginning with taught sounds and asks students where

to write them

c. Teacher does the same for 2-3 letter words ending with taught sounds

6. Letter and Word Changes (the number of changes depends on sounds known)

a. Teacher writes a taught word on the board: sat

b. He/she changes the s to c to make cat and students say the word

c. He/she changes the t to b to make cab and students say the word

d. He/she changes the c to t make tab and students say the word

e. He/she changes the b to g to make tag and students say the word

7. Making New Words

a. Teacher writes a list of taught words on the board

b. Students change consonants to make new words

c. Students change vowels to make new words

d. Students write phrases or sentences for the words

e. Students sort the list and new words into letter-sound patterns

8. Minimal Pairs or Trios

a. Teacher creates (or finds) a worksheet of word pairs or trios with one difference in

consonant (bat, cat, hat or bad, fad, mad) or vowel sounds (bat, bit, but or bad,

bid, bud)

b. Teacher says one of the words (similar to Tests 6A and B)

c. Students circle the word spoken

d. Teacher gives the correct answer immediately

9. Word, Phrase, and Sentence Sharing

a. Students cut-up flashcard pages for taught letter-sound patterns

b. In pairs, they form as many words as possible; teacher checks for real words

c. Students share words with another pair

d. Students write phrases or sentences for those words

e. Students share phrases or sentences with the same pair

10. Phonics Bingo (see Appendix, page 70)

a. Teacher creates bingo cards for taught letter-sound or word patterns

b. Teacher calls out taught sounds or words

c. Students mark letters or words

d. First student to cover 4 or 5 in a row wins!

FREE Instructional Websites!

Magic Keys, ABC Fast Phonics by Carol Moore

a. Go to

http://www.abcfastphonics.com

b. Have students click on #3 Letter Sounds OR Words, Consonants and Vowels OR

Blends (#5-14)

Starfall by Starfall Education

a. Go to

http://www.starfall.com/

b. Have students select Learn to Read OR It’s Fun to Read OR I’m Reading

English Code Crackers by Patsy Vinogradov, Kristin Perry, and Kristin Klas

a. Go to

http://www.englishcodecrackers.com

b. Look for information or files on code-cracking presentations, respected books,

published materials, multi-sensory instructional videos, and tile or flashcard

printables

Other Materials and Resources

These other (not already mentioned) print, software, and online materials or resources have

been used by many MN ABE/ESL language and literacy teachers. They are categorized as

“print or software to purchase” or “online for free”.

Print to Purchase:

• Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself/Reading Horizons by Charlotte F. Lockhart, HEC

Reading Horizons. The print/software versions provide “a proven, multi-sensory

approach that teaches foundational concepts.”

• Phonics They Use, Words for Reading and Writing, Sixth Edition by Patricia M.

Cunningham, Pearson Education, Inc. This new resource provides more activities for

building a pre-reading foundation, alphabetic and phonics knowledge, fluency, and

spelling.

• Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists, 5

Edition by Edward B. Fry and Jacqueline E. Kress,

Jossey Bass. Lists 7-10 (pages 9-32) provide a phonics teaching order and example

words.

• Sequential and Systematic Phonics They Use: For Beginning Readers of All Ages by

Patricia M. Cunningham, Carson Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc. This earlier resource

provides activities for building alphabetic and phonics knowledge, fluency, and

spelling.

• Talk of the Block, New Reader’s Press. This set of engaging stories “provides phonetic

instruction of short or long vowel sounds, reading practice, and activities at the lowest

reading levels.”

• The Teacher’s Line and Basic Angling for Words Student Book by Dorothy B.

Montgomery and Angling for Words Study Book by Carolyn C. Bowen, Academic

Therapy Publications. These three books provide “a multi-sensory, structured, and

sequential approach” to reading and spelling.

• What’s Next? by Lia Conklin, New Reader’s Press. This two-level, series provides “easy-to-

read stories that follow Samsam, a Somali immigrant, through her daily life in the U.S.

where she is faced with learning English, finding a job, visiting a doctor, and more.”

Software to Purchase:

• Ultimate Phonics Reading Program by Spencer Learning. This software program teaches

“essential phonics skills” and is appropriate for all ages.

• Wilson Reading System by Wilson Language Training Corporation, 2007, 2010. This

research-based reading and spelling curricula is for readers of all ages.

Online for FREE:

• Center for the Study of Adult Literacy (CSAL) has organized an electronic library of over

1500 texts at grade levels 3.0-7.9. All have been reviewed by the CSAL team and are

recommended for use with adult readers. http://csal.gsu.edu/content/library

• Pre-Beginning and Beginning Curriculum Units with Transition Skills by the Minnesota

Literacy Council “builds CASAS competencies and systematically develops print

concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, word recognition, fluency, and

comprehension.”

http://mnliteracy.org/mnliteracy.org/tools/curriculum-lesson-plans

• Reading Skills for Today’s Adults by Marshall Adult Basic Education is intended “to help

adults become better readers and more informed consumers, parents, employees,

citizens and community members.” There is a wide variety of stories at Levels 0.7-8.0.

http://www.marshalladulteducation.org/reading-skills-for-todays-adult

• ReadWorks provides a wide variety of research-based units, lessons, and authentic,

leveled non-fiction and literary passages. A login is required to view and print over 2200

passages at K-12 levels, each with question sets to support text comprehension.

http://www.readworks.org

• Story by Story Online by Charles and Pam LaRue, MCED Services includes 12 audio

versions of short vowel and consonant digraph stories.

http://www.mcedservices.com/phonics/phonics.htm

• MN ABE You Tube Channel is a repository of visual resources for more than just reading.

Scroll to find the videos on how to each multi-sensory alphabetics and facilitate small

fluency groups. http://youtube.com/c/mnabeprofessionaldevelopment

Appendix

Alphabet Letter Strips

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M

N n O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M

N n O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M

N n O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z

Upper Case Alphabet Letters

A B C D E

F G H I J

K L M N O

P Q R S T

U V W X Y

Lower Case Alphabet Letters

a b c d e

f g h i j

k l m n o

p q r s t

u v w x y

Single Consonants

m l s

t p f

c n b

r j k

v g w

d h y

z x qu

Short Vowels

a a a

i i i

u u o

o e e

S-Blends and Long Vowel Silent-e

st- sm- sn-

sl- sp- sc-

sk- a_e i_e

o_e u_e e_e

Consonant Endings and Digraphs

-ff -ll -ss

-zz -ck -sh

-th ch- sh-

th- wh-

Consonant-L and -R Blends

bl- cl- fl-

gl- pl- br-

cr- dr- fr-

gr- pr- tr-

Consonant Clusters

-ing -ang -ong

-ung -ink -ank

-onk -unk

Vowel Digraphs

ai ay ea

ee oa y

(by)

(few)

(low)

Vowel-R and -L Controlled

ar er or

ir ur air

are ear eer

oar al all

More Consonant Blends

sw- tw- -mp

-nd -ft -lk

-ld -mp

More S-Blends and Trigraphs

spr- str- scr-

spl- shr- sch-

-dge -tch

Vowel Diphthongs

(toy)

(food)

(cow)

(saw)

(look)

(loud)

(coin)

(aunt)

igh

(sigh)

augh

(taught)

ough

(bought)

eigh

(weigh)

Irregular Consonants and Vowels

ce/ci ge/gi kn-

wr- ph- wor

war ui

(suit)

-ey

(they)

-ie

(field)

-ind

(mind)

-ild

(child)

-old

(sold)

-ost

(most)

gn-

-mb

THE INSTANT WORDS 100

Fry, E. B., Kress, J. E., & Fountoukidis, D.L. (1993). The reading teacher's book of lists, 3rd

edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, pp.185-187. By permission.

Words1-25

Words 26-50

Words 51-75

Words 76-100

the

and

you

that

was

for

are

with

his

they

this

have

from

one

had

word

but

not

what

all

were

when

your

can

said

there

use

each

which

she

how

their

will

other

about

out

many

then

them

these

some

her

would

make

him

into

time

has

look

two

write

see

number

way

could

people

than

first

water

been

call

who

oil

its

now

find

long

down

day

did

get

come

made

may

part

THE INSTANT WORDS 200

Words101-125

Words 126-150

Words 151-715

Words 176-200

over

new

sound

take

only

little

work

know

place

year

live

back

give

most

very

after

thing

our

just

name

good

sentence

man

think

say

great

where

help

through

much

before

line

right

too

mean

old

any

same

tell

boy

came

want

show

also

around

farm

three

small

set

put

end

does

another

well

large

must

big

even

such

because

turn

here

why

ask

went

men

read

need

land

different

home

move

try

kind

hand

picture

again

change

off

play

spell

air

away

animal

house

point

page

letter

mother

answer

found

study

still

learn

should

America

world

THE INSTANT WORDS 300

Words 201-225

Words 226-250

Words 251-275

Words 276-300

high

every

near

add

food

between

own

below

country

plant

last

school

father

keep

tree

never

start

city

earth

eye

light

thought

head

under

story

saw

left

don't

few

while

along

might

chose

something

seem

hard

open

example

begin

life

always

those

both

paper

together

got

group

often

run

important

until

children

side

feet

car

mile

night

walk

white

sea

began

grow

took

river

four

carry

state

once

book

hear

stop

without

second

late

miss

idea

enough

eat

face

watch

far

Indian

really

almost

let

above

girl

sometimes

mountain

cut

young

talk

soon

list

song

being

leave

family

it's

PHRASES AND SHORT SENTENCES 100

These phrases and short sentences contain words from Fry’s Instant Word Lists, 1-300,

which represent 50 percent of all words readers encounter in beginning-level materials.

Rasinski, Timothy V. (2003). The Fluent Reader. New York: Scholastic Professional Books.

The people

Look for some people.

Write it down.

By the water So there you are. Who will make it?

You and I A long time What will they do?

He called me. Have you seen it? We had their dog.

What did they say? One more time When would you go?

No way All day long A number of people

One or two It’s about time. How long are they?

More than the other Up in the air Come and get it.

How many words? Which way? Part of the time

This is a good day. He has it. Can you see?

Sit down. If we were older Now and then

But not me It’s no use. Go find her.

Not now With his mom At your house

From my room As big as the first It’s been a long time.

Will you be good? When will we go? Give them to me.

Then we will go. From here to there Now is the time.

An angry cat More people May I go first?

Write your name. Go down. This is my cat.

That dog is big. Did you like it? Get on the bus.

Two of us When did they go? Did you see it?

The first word She said to go. How did they get it?

I like him. Each of us Number two

Out of the water What are these? Look up.

We were here. There was an old man. All or some

Could you go? It may fall down. A long way to go

We like to write.

Into the water

See the water

But not for me

For some people

The other people

PHRASES AND SHORT SENTENCES 200

Over the river A good man My new place

After the game Another great sound Most of the animals

Take a little. Our best things Give it back.

Just the same Only a little My last name

It’s only me. That’s very good I know why.

Think before you act Three years ago Mother says to now.

Live and play. Where are you? I need help.

Try your best. I work too much. Move over.

Any old time We found it here. Through the line

Study and learn Right now Kind of nice

Mother means it. Spell your name. Same time tomorrow

The good American Tell the truth. Change your clothes

A little boy Play it again. The following day

Back off. We came home. Give it away.

We want to go. Answer the phone. Show us around.

Turn the page. Form two lines. The air is warm.

A small house also Read my letters. Another old picture

It’s still here. Write one sentence. Where in the world

Set it up. We need more. Put it there.

I study in school. Where does it end? I’m an American.

I don’t feel well. Such a mess My home is large.

Point it out. It turned out well. Right now

Read the sentence. It’s a small world. This must be it.

Big and small Hand it over. Home sweet home

Such a big house Around the clock The men asked for help.

Show and tell A different land You must be right.

They went here. Tell the truth. Get to the point.

Good and plenty Because we should. Help me out.

Even the animals It turned out well. It’s your place.

PHRASES AND SHORT SENTENCES 300

Near the car Stay a while. Between the lines

A few good men My own father Don’t open the door.

In the country You might be right. Add it up.

It seemed too good. Read every story. Along the way

Below the water Next time Plants and flowers

It’s hard to open. Will it last? Something good

Keep it up. For example Plant the trees.

In the beginning Light the fire. Those other people

The light in your eyes A group of friends In my head

We got together Under the earth We left it here.

We saw the food. Both children Close the door.

It’s my life. The big city Always be kind.

We started the fire. Read the paper. It never happened.

Run for miles. A good thought Once upon a time.

Do it often. Is it really true? We walked four miles.

It’s time to eat. Until the end Le me carry it.

A second later Near the sea Stop the music.

Talk to my father. Read your book. The young face

Sing your song. The long list State your case.

My family I miss you. I cut myself.

A very important person Above the clouds On my side

Watch the game. I took the car. The peaceful Indians

So far so good. Without a care The young girl

I like being on the team. My feet hurt. The tall mountains

The dark night Next to me A good idea

A few children It began to grow. A long life

Watch the river. A group of Indians White clouds

He started to cry. Too soon I hear the sea.

Leave it to me. An important idea I hear the waves.

The first day of school Almost enough Almost four miles

Sample Word Sort for Similar, Sequential Phonograms

-ăb -ăd -ăt

cab bad fat

bat dab dad

cat fad gab

jab fat had

lad hat lab

pat tab mad

vat slab clad

grad flat grab

stab glad scat

Sample Word Sort for Different, Ranked Phonograms

-āy -ĭll -ĭp

day bill hip

fill dip bay

lip hay gill

lay hill rip

pill sip may

tip pay will

play quill drip

drill clay snip

trip spill pray

Word Sort Template 2

Word Sort Template 3

Phonics Bingo Card

FREE

References

Cunningham, P. (2013). Phonics They Use: Words for Reading and Writing, Sixth Edition.

Fry, E. B. & Kress, J. E. (2006). The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists: Grades K-12, Fifth

Edition. Jossey Bass. San Francisco, CA.

Henry, M. K. (2010). Unlocking Literacy: Effective Decoding and Spelling Instruction,

Second Edition. Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Baltimore, MD.

Henry, M. K. & N. C. Redding. (2002). Patterns for Success in Reading and Spelling: A

Multisensory Approach for Teaching Phonics and Word Analysis. PRO-ED, Inc. Dallas, TX.

Laubach Literacy Action. (1994). Teaching Adults, A Literacy Resource Book. New

Readers Press. Syracuse, NY.

Literacy Connections, Promoting Literacy and a Love of Reading. Word Families Can

Help Struggling Readers.

http://www.literacyconnections.com/WordFamilies.php

McShane, S. (2005). Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults, First Steps for

Teachers. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy. http://lincs.ed.gov

National Research Council. (2012). Improving Adult Literacy Instruction: Options for

Practice and Research. Committee on Learning Sciences: Foundations and

Applications to Adolescent and Adult Literacy, A. M. Lesgold and M. Welch-Ross, Eds.

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The

National Academies Press. www.nap.edu

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. (2013).

College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education. Washington, D.C.

http://lincs.ed.gov

Invernizzi, M., Johnson, F., Bear, D. R., & Templeton, S. (2009). WORDS THEIR WAY™ Word

Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers. Pearson Education, Inc.

Wylie, R. E. & Durrell, D. D. (1970). Teaching vowels through phonograms. Elementary

English, 47, 787-791.