Understanding how print works, such as book handling, text direction, distinguishing between letters and words.

Milestones:

• Text direction (left to right, top to bottom)

• Spaces between words

• Sentences consist of words

• Book handling (front/back, spine, pages)

Age/Grade Range: Develops between 3-6 (Pre-K to Grade 1)

Assessment Tools:

• Concepts about Print (CAP) Assessment

  • How students handle books

  • Directional awareness

• Environmental Print Assessment

  • Logos/signs

  • Documentation

  • Identifies areas of weakness

Evidence-Based Instruction

• Morning Message Strategy

  • Teacher models writing messages daily

  • Shows left-to right progression

  • Spaces between words

  • Emphasizes each word while reading by pointing to the word

Differentiation Strategies

• English Learners

  • Bilingual books

  • Visual supports

  • Culturally relevant texts

• Students with Dyslexia:

  • Multi-sensory approaches (tracing words when reading)

  • Color coded text

  • Enlarged text

Recognizing and manipulating larger parts of spoken language

Milestones:

• Recognition of rhyming words

• Segmenting sentences into words

• Identifying beginning/ending sounds

• Identifying syllables

Age/Grade Range: Develops between 4-7 (Pre-K to Grade 2)

Assessment Tools:

• DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)

  • Measures multiple skills

  • Identifies students at risk 

  • Tracks progress monitoring

• PAST Phonological Awareness Screening Test

  • Assesses developmental progression

  • Guided instructional planning

  • Identifies specific skill gaps 

Evidence-Based Instruction

• Syllable Segmentation Activity

  • Physical movements (claps and taps)

  • Start with compound words

  • Progress to multi-syllable words

  • Visual supports

Differentiation Strategies

• English Learners

  • Incorporate native language in songs and rhymes

  • Additional practice time

  • Use cognates when possible

• Students with Dyslexia:

  • Tactile/kinesthetic activities

  • Color coded text

  • Enlarged text

Description:

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words

Milestones:

• Identify initial/final sounds

• Blend phonemes into words

• Manipulate phonemes (deletion, substitution)

  
  

Age/Grade Range:Develops between ages 3-8 (Pre-K through Grade 2)

Assessment Tools:

• DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)

  • First Sound Fluency is measured

  • Administration: Individual, 1-minute timing

  • Weekly or bi-weekly progress monitoring

• PAST (Phonological Awareness Screening Test)

  • Individually administered

  • Skill analysis provided

    
    

• Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Assessment

  • Aligned with daily instruction

  • Quick administration

  • Clear scoring guidelines

Evidence-Based Instruction:

• Phoneme Segmentation

  • Quick administration

  • Clear scoring guidelines

  • Explicit instruction daily (10-15 minutes)

  • Manipulation tools such as chips and blocks

  • Progress from easy to complex skills

  • Corrective feedback

    
    

Differentiation Strategies:

• English Learners

  • Visual supports

  • Native language phonological awareness

  • Extra Practice

• Students with Dyslexia

  • Break tasks into smaller segments

  • Multi-sensory approach

  • Repetition and practice opportunities

Ability to write letters accurately, understand that letters have distinct features and recognize uppercase and lowercase letters

Milestones:

• Recognition of distinctive letter features

• Rapid automatic naming of letters

• Understanding letter-sound relationships

• Differentiation between similar-looking letters

  
  

Age/Grade Range: Develops between ages 2-7 (Preschool to 1st grade)

Assessment Tools:

• DIBELS Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)

  • Measures speed and accuracy of letter naming

  • One minute trials administration

  • Tracks progress through benchmark scores

• AIMSweb Letter Naming

  • Standardized assessment tool

  • Provides national norms for comparison

  • Identifies students who are at risk for reading difficulties

• Alphabet Recognition Assessment

  • Multiple Font assessment

  • Recognition of both uppercase and lowercase letters

  • Letter recognition

Evidence-Based Instruction

• Letter Recognition and Formation

  • Introduction of letters systematically

  • Multi-sensory approaches

  • Opportunities for daily practice

  • Connect to meaningful text

Differentiation Strategies:

• English Learners

  • Incorporate movement and music

  • Connection of familiar words in both languages

  • Provide bilingual letter-sound correspondence

• Students with Dyslexia

  • Use of tactile materials such as playdough

  • Technology incorporation 

  • Allow extra time for processing

  • Color coding strategies

• Adams, M. J. (2019). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. MIT Press.

• Ehri, L. C. (2005). Learning to read words: Theory, findings, and issues. Scientific Studies of Reading, 9(2), 167-188.

• Ehri, L. C. (2020). Development of sight word reading: Phases and findings. The Science of Reading: A Handbook, 135-154

• International Literacy Association. (2019). Meeting the Challenges of Early Literacy Phonics Instruction.

• McArdle, J. (2024, June 24). 12 Effective strategies for teaching phonemic awareness. My Teaching Cupboard. https://www.myteachingcupboard.com/blog/effective-strategies-for-teaching-phonemic-awareness

• National Early Literacy Panel. (2018). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. National Institute for Literacy.

• 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.

• Piasta, S.B., &Wagner, R.K. (2020). Learning to read: A meta-analysis of early literacy interventions. Review of Educational Research, 80(1), 50-80

• Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice.

• Yopp, H. K., & Yopp, R. H. (2000). Supporting phonemic awareness development in the classroom. The Reading Teacher, 54(2), 130-143.

  
  

Recommended Websites:

• Reading Rockets (www.readingrockets.org)

• International Dyslexia Association (www.dyslexiaida.org)

• Florida Center for Reading Research (www.fcrr.org)