• Rhyming recognition

• clapping syllables

• word awareness

Kindergarten (Ages 5–6)

• Rhyming production

• onset-rime blending

• simple phoneme isolation

1st Grade (Ages 6–7)

• Phoneme segmentation

• blending

• manipulation (add/delete/substitute)

2nd Grade (Ages 7–8)

• Mastery of phonemic awareness

• applied to decoding and spelling

• Use: Assesses a range of skills from simple (rhyming) to complex (phoneme manipulation).

• Progress Monitoring: Can be administered periodically to track individual student growth.

• Targeted Instruction: Results identify specific subskills in need of intervention.

DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)

• Use: Provides quick, research-based screening in phoneme segmentation and initial sound fluency.

• Progress Monitoring: Offers benchmark goals and ongoing checks to ensure students are on track.

Informal Observation & Sound Sorting Games

• Use: Teachers observe students during structured oral activities (e.g., rhyming games, clapping syllables).

• Progress Monitoring: Helps confirm whether formal assessments reflect actual classroom performance.

Subskill Focused: Phonemic Awareness — specifically, phoneme segmentation.

How It Works:

• Students are given a word (e.g., "dog").

• They move a counter or token into a box for each individual sound they hear: /d/ /o/ /g/.

• Visual and tactile support makes phoneme segmentation concrete.

Research Support:
According to the National Reading Panel (2000), explicit instruction in phonemic awareness—especially phoneme segmentation—is highly effective in improving early reading skills, particularly when paired with letters or manipulatives.

• Use Visual Cues and Real Objects: Pair oral sounds with images or items to build meaning and connections between English phonemes and vocabulary.

• Emphasize Listening Activities: Include listening stations with modeled correct pronunciation, rhyme songs, or audio books in English to develop phonological recognition.

Support for Students with Dyslexia:

• Use Multisensory Instruction (e.g., Orton-Gillingham): Incorporate kinesthetic (movement), auditory (listening), and tactile (touching) strategies to reinforce sounds.

• Provide Repeated, Structured Practice: Repeated exposure to sound-based games, segmented practice, and scaffolded support helps students internalize patterns.

• Recognizing individual sounds in words (e.g., first, middle, last sounds)“What is the first sound in dog?” → /d/

Phoneme Blending

• Combining a series of spoken sounds to make a word/s/ /a/ /t/ → sat

Phoneme Segmentation

• Breaking a word into its individual sounds “Tell me the sounds in cat.” → /k/ /a/ /t/

Phoneme Addition

• Adding a sound to a word to make a new wordAdd /s/ to the beginning of top → stop

Phoneme Deletion

• Removing a sound from a word“Say smile without the /s/.” → mile

Phoneme Substitution

• Changing one sound to anotherChange the /h/ in hat to /b/ → bat

• Isolate initial sounds and recognize rhymes

Kindergarten (Ages 5–6)

• Blend and segment simple words

Grade 1 (Ages 6–7)

• Demonstrates full phoneme segmentation and manipulation (add/delete/substitute sounds)

Grade 2 (Ages 7–8)

• Automatically decoding and spelling

PAST – Phonological Awareness Screening Test

• Use: Measures phonemic skills across levels (isolation to manipulation).

• Progress Monitoring: Helps identify which specific phonemic tasks need targeted support.

• How It Supports Instruction: Guides grouping and instructional planning by pinpointing deficits.

DIBELS – First Sound Fluency (FSF) & Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF)

• Use: Brief, timed assessments for phoneme isolation and segmentation.

• Progress Monitoring: Benchmark scores show whether students are on track in early literacy.

• Instructional Impact: Frequent assessment allows teachers to adapt instruction quickly.

Informal Observation/Running Records of Oral Activities

• Use: During oral sound games, teachers note responses and engagement.

• Progress Monitoring: Confirms that students are applying skills during instruction and play.

• Instructional Impact: Adjustments made in real time to support individual needs.

Subskill Focused: Phoneme segmentation and blending

How It Works:

• The teacher says a word (e.g., ship).

• Students move a token into a box for each sound they hear: /ʃ/ /ɪ/ /p/.

• Students then blend the sounds to say the word.

• Gradually, letters can be added to connect phonemic awareness to phonics.

Why It Works:

• Based on Elkonin box principles and supported by research on multisensory engagement.

• Helps children understand that words are made up of discrete sounds.

Research Support:

• The National Reading Panel (2000) confirmed that phonemic awareness instruction, especially when combined with letters, significantly improves reading and spelling outcomes.

• Use Real-Word Anchors and Visuals: Pair oral tasks with picture cards and familiar vocabulary to build sound-symbol connections in English.

• Focus on Phonemes Not Present in Native Language: Provide explicit modeling of unfamiliar English sounds (e.g., /th/).

Support for Students with Dyslexia:

• Use Multisensory Approaches: Include movement (e.g., tapping or clapping sounds), manipulatives, and visual cues to reinforce auditory learning.

• Intensify Instruction with Repetition and Smaller Steps: Break down complex tasks (like phoneme manipulation) into smaller, scaffolded activities with high repetition and support.

Age 4-5 (Pre-K):

• Recognize and name at least 10 uppercase letters.

• Begin recognizing and naming some lowercase letters.

End of Kindergarten:

• Accurately name all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters.

• Quickly and fluently identify letters in random order.

• Type: Timed assessment where students name as many letters as they can in one minute.

• Use: Measures automaticity and fluency.

• Progress Indicator: Increasing the number of correctly named letters over time shows growth.

Alphabet Knowledge Inventory

• Type- Checklist where students are asked to name, recognize, and match uppercase and lowercase letters.

• Use: Diagnostic tool to identify specific letters a student can or cannot name.

• Progress Indicator: Improvement in letter recognition and naming accuracy over time.

Observation & Anecdotal Records

• Type- Observation during literacy centers, shared reading, or games involving letters.

• Use: Captures informal learning and helps assess consistency and confidence in naming letters in context.

• Progress Indicator: Noting increased participation, accuracy, and independence in letter naming tasks.

Description: According to research on multisensory instruction (e.g., Orton-Gillingham approach), engaging multiple senses helps students internalize letter names and shapes more effectively.

Implementation:

• Teach one letter at a time using visual (see the letter), auditory (say the letter), tactile (trace with finger), and kinesthetic (body movement) strategies.

• Example:

  • Show the letter M on a card.

  • Say: “This is M. M makes the /m/ sound.”

  • Have students trace the M in sand or on textured surfaces while saying its name.

  • Students form the letter with their bodies or in the air.

• Include repetition and review over time.

Why it Works: This strategy helps anchor letter recognition in long-term memory by engaging multiple sensory pathways, which is especially effective for young learners and students with dyslexia.

• Support: Include picture cues with letters (e.g., “A a – apple”) to build vocabulary alongside letter naming.

• Use: ELs benefit from connecting the letter to a meaningful image and sound.

• Engagement: Practice with interactive games like letter scavenger hunts or matching games using cards.

Assistive Technology and Repetition for Students with Dyslexia

• Support: Use apps or tools (e.g., Starfall, ABCmouse) that provide auditory feedback and allow for repeated exposure.

• Use: These students often need more repetitions to solidify letter names and symbols.

• Engagement: Make practice fun and interactive with music, games, and digital stories that emphasize letters.

Key Components of the Skill:

• Print carries meaning.

• Print is read from left to right and top to bottom.

• Books have a front and back cover, title, author, and pages that turn from right to left.

• Words are made up of letters and are separated by spaces.

• Sentences begin with capital letters and end with punctuation marks.

• There is a difference between pictures and print.

• Concepts About Print Test (Marie Clay)

Type- Students are asked to demonstrate knowledge of print features using a specific book (e.g., pointing to the title, identifying directionality, punctuation, etc.).

Use: One-on-one, typically in early literacy assessments.

Progress Indicator: Demonstrated increase in accurate responses over time in understanding print concepts.

• Observational Checklists

Type: Checklists that track how students handle books, follow print, and identify print features during read-alouds or independent reading time.

Use: Used during natural literacy activities to capture authentic behavior.

Progress Indicator: Increasing independence and correctness in navigating books and identifying print features.

• Interactive Read-Aloud Anecdotal Records

Type: Teachers note students' responses to questions about book handling, print, and story structure.

Use: Helps assess understanding in a low-pressure, engaging setting.

Progress Indicator: More accurate, spontaneous observations and comments about print features (e.g., "That’s the end mark!" or “This is the title.”).

• Shared Reading with Print Referencing (focus: Directionality and Book Handling)

Description: Research supports using explicit print referencing during shared reading to enhance children's awareness of print. Teachers deliberately point out and talk about print features (Justice & Ezell, 2002).

Implementation:

• Use big books or enlarged text.

• Use verbal cues (e.g., “Let’s start here. Watch how I move my finger as I read.”).

• Physically point to each word (1:1 correspondence), showing left-to-right movement.

• Highlight features like the title, capital letters, and punctuation: “This dot is called a period. It tells us to stop.”

• Ask students to help you turn pages and point to the words.

Why it Works: Explicitly drawing attention to print helps young children notice and internalize print conventions that they might otherwise overlook during read-alouds focused only on story content.

Visual Supports and Native Language Access for English Learners (ELs)

• Support: Use bilingual books or labels in students’ home languages alongside English.

• Use: Helps ELs make connections between print features in both languages and supports comprehension.

• Engagement: Encourage students to point out parts of the book using their home language, then introduce the English terms.

Tactile and Kinesthetic Book Exploration for Students with Dyslexia

• Support: Use books with tactile elements (raised text, interactive flaps) or physical print manipulatives (sentence strips, magnetic words).

• Use: Allows dyslexic learners to experience print concepts with multiple senses.

• Engagement: Have students use finger-tracking while reading predictable text to reinforce directionality and word boundaries.