Phonics is …
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One of the several essential components of a complete
comprehensive reading program that teaches students the
relationships between the letters of the written language and the
individual sounds of spoken language.
Also referred to as “graphophonemic knowledge.”
Skills to develop:
Kindergarten
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Develop print awareness.
Know all letter names.
Know all letters’ main sounds (e.g., c says /k/).
Read some regular and irregular words by sight recognition (the,
a, and, etc.; Spanish: el, la, y).
Use word families to sort words.
Blend letter sounds to read one-syllable words such as cat, sat,
mat, Pat.
First Grade
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Develop letter-sound correspondence to produce sounds for
common letter combinations.
Gain advanced knowledge of letter sounds and letter
combinations (e.g., silent-e rule, ee, th, sh, ou blends; Spanish: que,
qui, gue, gui, ñ, ll) to decode words.
Sort words using knowledge of these letter combinations and
word patterns.
Use knowledge of letter sounds to sound out and spell words.
Increase sight-word vocabulary (words that are read “on sight”).
Second Grade
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Gain advanced knowledge of letter-sound correspondences such
as all vowel combinations (e.g., ee, ea, ou, ai), diagraphs (e.g., ph,
sh, ch, th, wh), and other sophisticated sounds (e.g., igh, soft c;
Spanish: ce, ci, se, si, za, zo, zu).
Connect word patterns to word meaning (e.g., compound words,
inflectional endings, affixes, root words).
Sort and spell words using knowledge of these letter
combinations and word patterns.
Read multisyllabic words.
Increase sight-word vocabulary (words that are read “on sight”).
©2008 University of Texas System/Texas Education Agency
Third Grade
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Gain advanced knowledge of word patterns (e.g., tion, ble, augh;
Spanish: sión, ción, able, mp, mb, nv).
Connect word patterns to word meaning (e.g., compound words,
inflectional endings, affixes, root words, orthographic patterns).
Sort and spell words using knowledge of these letter
combinations and word patterns.
Read multisyllabic patterns.
Increase sight-word vocabulary (words that are read “on sight”).
Effective strategies and grouping formats
Whole Group and Teacher-led Small Group
Direct Instruction: Teach word parts explicitly by modeling ways
that students can use word parts to make and read new words.
Guided Practice: Actively engage students in word-building, wordreading, and word-sorting activities.
Centers/Work Stations (Mixed-ability Groups)
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Students make connections between letters and sounds using
picture cards and letter cards.
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Students combine parts of words to make new words.
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Students sort words according to different word patterns.
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Students read decodable text that includes learned words.
Partner and Independent Work
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Students make connections between letters and sounds using
picture cards and letter cards.
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Students combine parts of words to make new words.
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Students sort words according to different word patterns.
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Students read decodable text that includes learned words.
©2008 University of Texas System/Texas Education Agency