• Skills are taught explicitly, systematically, and complexity.

• Practice is performed through playful, short, and interactive activities.

• Students mastering these skills are ready for phonics, decoding, and fluent reading.

References:

Ehri, L. C., & Roberts, T. A. (2006). The roots of learning to read and write: Acquisition of letters and phonemic awareness. Guilford Press.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching Children to Read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

O'Connor, R.E. & Notari-Syverson, A. (1995, April). Ladders to Literacy: The effects of teacher-led phonological activities for kindergarten children with and without disabilities. America Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Eric Document.

Temple, C. A., Ogle, D., Crawford, A. N., & Freppon, P., (2018). All Children Read: Teaching for literacy in today's diverse classrooms (5th ed.). Pearson.

• Rhyme Songs - Pause during nursery rhymes let students finish the rhyming word

• Rhyme Sort - Sort picture cards into rhyme families

• Rhyme Detectives - Listen to a story and raise hand when they hear a rhyming word

• Implementation Tips - Use bilingual rhymes for ELLs and use of visuals for diverse learners

• Mastery Check - Students generate at least one rhyme independently

• Nest Step - Syllable Segementation

• Clap it Out - Clap once for each syllable

• Syllable Hopscotch - Jump oce per syllable

• Picture Sort - Sort words by number syllables

• Implementation Tips - Kinesthetic learners benefit from movement; provide visuals for ELLs

• Mastery Check - Students can segment 2-3 syllable words

• Next Step - Phoneme Isolation

• I Spy Sounds - "I spy something that starts with /m/"

• Elkonin Boxes - Place a marker in the first, middle, or final sound box

• Sound Swat - Swat a sound/letter card when teacher calls it out

• Implementation Tips - Use mouth pictures to show sound production for ELLs or speech needs

• Mastery Check - Students identify initial, middle, and final sounds

• Next Step - Phoneme Blending

• Stretch and Say - Teacher slowly stretches sounds, students blend together

• Guess My Word - Teacher says /b/ /a/ /t/, students respond "bat"

• Digital Games - Online tools like ABCya

• Implementation Tips - Scaffold with 2-3 phoneme words before longer blends

• Mastery Check - Students blend orally to form words

• Next Step - Phoneme Segmentation

• Elkonin Boxes - Push counters into boxes for each sound

• Finger Tapping - Tap a finger for each sound

• Segment & Write - Say sounds, then write letters

• Implementation Tips - Link directly to spelling practice, add visuals for ELLs

• Mastery Check - Students can segment CVC words independently

• Next Step - Apply segmentation into phonics decoding lessons