Daily Phonics

I’ve changed how I teach reading foundational skills to my students. I use a combination of Reading Horizons, the science of reading, and their IEP goals.

Let’s walk through how I teach foundational skills during small group instruction:

What is this word? We read the word together.
How many sounds or phonemes? (Honestly I usually just say the words sounds but I need to be more diligent about using the correct vocabulary.) Have them use their fingers or a pop-it to sound out the phonemes.
Write down the phonemes. Discuss any sound combinations we may have heard while we were writing them down. Do mini-lessons or reteaching during your discussion, if necessary.
Mark the vowels. If they are long or short vowel sounds, then have them tell you which vowel sound they heard. If you need to do a mini-lesson on short and long vowel sounds, this is the time to do that.
I also talk about how to mark the vowels with breves (short vowels) and macrons (long vowels). As the year continues on, I want to show them a dictionary or glossary pronunciation guide.
How many syllables do you hear? Have them write those down. I either have them hum, chin drop, raise fingers, or use a pop-it to determine the syllables and syllable breaks.

After we are finished with looking at the word, I often have them do a phonological awareness exercise. They need to be able to hear and manipulate sounds. My students love completing the phonological awareness exercises.

These are the sheets I have created as a template for my teaching.