The Best Phonics Scope and Sequence for Amazing Reading Growth

BY MELISSA GLENN, CERTIFIED EDUCATOR AND READING SPECIALIST

Inside: Discover key insights from analyzing various phonics scope and sequences to create effective guidelines aligned with The Science of Reading.

Okay, I’m ready. I’ve decided to shift my instruction to align with The Science of Reading.

I’m reading all the books, joining all the Facebook groups, and watching all the webinars I can find and afford.

But the question is- how do I actually put this into practice? I need a plan.

This shift feels like uncharted territory for someone who’s always meticulously followed the district reading program. But I’m committed. I want to give my students the best reading foundation, which means getting phonics instruction right.

Aligning Phonics with the Science of Reading

A scope and sequence is essential when figuring out a plan for phonics instruction. And aligning it with The Science of Reading means teaching reading in a way that syncs with how our brains are wired to learn language.

Let’s start from the beginning. What IS a phonics scope and sequence? Basically, it’s our roadmap for teaching essential phonics skills. It’s more than just a list of topics… it’s a strategic approach to teaching reading. This approach is crucial for developing strong, confident readers.

Phonics Scope and Sequence Must Haves

Phonics is an essential tool for teaching children how to read. It involves teaching them the sounds that letters make and how to blend those sounds together to form words.

However, to create an effective phonics sequence, we must balance systematic progression and flexibility.

So let’s talk about that. A systematic approach is important for ensuring children have a clear and structured path. It’s all about breaking phonics instruction down into small, manageable steps and building on each lesson in a sequential manner that makes sense. This helps our kiddos develop a strong foundation of phonics knowledge, which they can apply to even more complex words and texts. 👏🏻

However, flexibility is equally important. Our classrooms are filled with students with diverse needs and abilities, and we need to be prepared to accommodate them. This could involve adapting the pace of instruction, providing additional support or challenge, or varying the activities and materials used. With a bit of flexibility, we can make sure that all of our students can engage with phonics instruction in a way that is meaningful AND effective for them.

When forming an effective phonics sequence, we need to keep systematic progression and room for flexibility in mind. This balance will allow us to help our kids to develop the phonics skills they need.

The Phonics Scope and Sequences of Popular Programs

I’ve noticed vital similarities and differences while exploring various phonics programs for the perfect scope and sequence. Here’s a look at what I found:

1. Wilson Reading System

• Pre-K: Introduces basics like letter-sound relationships, initial sounds, blending, high-frequency words, and print awareness.
• Kindergarten: Expands to short vowels, CVC words, and word families and begins consonant blends and digraphs.
• Level 1: Advances to long vowels, silent ‘e’, further word families, r-controlled vowels, and advanced consonants.
• Level 2: Deepens understanding of vowel and consonant knowledge, including vowel teams, diphthongs, and multisyllabic words.

2. Orton-Gillingham

• Initial Sounds: Teaches initial sounds of consonants, blending with vowels to form CVC words.
• Short Vowels: Introduces short vowel sounds, blending with initial consonants to form CV patterns.
• Consonant Blends: Adds consonant blends, blending with vowels to form CCVC words.
• Digraphs: Teaches digraphs (e.g., ‘ch’, ‘sh’), blending with vowels in various consonant patterns.
• Long Vowels: Introduces long vowels, blending with consonants to form various word types.
• R-Controlled Vowels: Teaches r-controlled vowels, blending with consonants to expand decoding skills.
• Advanced Consonants: Introduces advanced consonants (e.g., ‘c’, ‘g’), blending with initial and final consonants to form CVCC words.
• Vowel Teams: Introduces vowel teams, blending with various consonant patterns (initial, final, and blends) to form multisyllabic words.
• Syllable Types: Briefly introduces the concept of syllable types (closed, open, vowel-consonant) and their relationship to decoding and spelling.

3. Keys to Literacy

• Pre-Alphabetic Phase (Pre-K-K): Focuses on print awareness, phonemic awareness, letter recognition, and letter formation.
• Alphabetic Principle and Phonics (K-1): Teaches letter-sound correspondence, CVC words, short vowels, and high-frequency words.
• Phonics (1-3): Expands to consonant blends, digraphs, long vowels, r-controlled vowels, advanced consonants, vowel teams, diphthongs, multisyllabic words, prefixes, suffixes, and syllable division.

4. UFLI Phonics Scope and Sequence

• Level Pre-K: Introduces letter-sound relationships, initial sounds, word segmentation, blending, high-frequency words, print awareness, and letter formation.
• Level K: Reviews initial sounds, introduces short vowels, CVC words, word families, consonant blends, and digraphs, and expands high-frequency words and print awareness.
• Level 1: Expands short vowel and consonant knowledge, introduces long vowels, silent ‘e’, expands word families, introduces r-controlled vowels, advanced consonants, and continues with high-frequency words and print awareness.
• Level 2: Further reviews and expands vowel and consonant knowledge, introduces vowel teams, diphthongs, prefixes, suffixes, and multisyllabic words, and continues with high-frequency words and print awareness.

5. Jolly Phonics

• Phase 1-2: Starts with unique sound actions (letter sounds with actions) for each letter and focuses on blending simple words. Introduces short vowel sounds and basic digraphs like “sh,” “ch,” and “th.”
• Phase 3-4: Expands to long vowels, more complex digraphs like “wh” and “ck,” and early introduction of vowel digraphs like “ai” and “ee.” Begins exploring consonant blends like “st” and “tr.”
• Phase 5-6: Deepens knowledge of vowel teams like “oa,” “oi,” and “ou” and diphthongs like “ow” and “oi.” Focuses on multisyllabic word decoding, including different syllable types (closed, open, vowel-consonant). Introduces prefixes, suffixes, and syllable division. Lays the foundation for further development of reading fluency and comprehension.

6. LiPS (Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing)

• It strongly emphasizes phonemic awareness, identifying and naming initial consonant sounds followed by short vowels.
• Gradually introduces consonant blends and digraphs, then transitions to long and r-controlled vowels.
• It concludes with a focus on vowel teams, diphthongs, and advanced consonants, integrating the teaching of multisyllabic words, prefixes, suffixes, and syllable division.

Commonalities in Progression of Sound/Spelling Instruction:

• Starting with Basic Phonemic Awareness:
  • All of these programs begin by introducing students to basic phonemic awareness. This includes recognizing and naming initial consonant sounds and understanding letter-sound relationships, setting the foundation for further phonics learning.

• Sequential Introduction of Vowels:
  • Following initial consonants, the programs systematically introduce short vowel sounds. The emphasis is on helping students master these fundamental vowel sounds, which are crucial for constructing simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.
• Incorporation of Digraphs and Blends:
  • As students become comfortable with individual sounds and simple CVC words, all of the programs introduce consonant blends (like ‘st’, ‘bl’) and digraphs (like ‘ch’, ‘sh’). This marks a progression to slightly more complex phonetic structures.
• Introduction of Long Vowels and Complex Vowel Patterns:
  • All of the programs eventually move on to teaching long vowel sounds and complex vowel patterns, such as vowel teams (like ‘ai’, ‘oa’) and diphthongs (like ‘oi’, ‘ow’). This stage is critical in advancing students’ decoding skills for more complex words.

• Advanced Phonics Concepts:
  • Later stages in each program involve teaching more advanced phonics concepts, including r-controlled vowels, multisyllabic words, and words with more complex spelling patterns. This progression ensures a comprehensive understanding of the English phonetic system.

Bringing it All Together

These reading programs underscore a crucial element in phonics education: a systematic and thoughtfully sequenced approach. They kick off with the basics, layering on complexity as students master each level. It’s like building a house, starting with a strong foundation and then adding the walls and roof. This progression isn’t just a coincidence; it’s rooted in solid, research-backed methods. 💥

Each phonics program’s progression of sounds and spellings reveals its unique approach to building phonemic awareness and reading skills. While all the programs share common foundational elements, they differ in the order and emphasis of specific phonetic concepts. These differences are a good thing, giving teachers and students flexibility to find what works best for them.

Crafting the Ideal Phonics Scope and Sequence

When teaching reading, one size doesn’t fit all. But with a bit of insight from some leading phonics programs, we can stitch together a phonics scope and sequence that’s effective and flexible enough to adapt to various classroom needs and learning styles. Here’s how:

1. Start with a Solid Foundation

• Begin with Basic Phonemic Awareness: Like most top-tier phonics programs, start with the basics. Ensure students can recognize and produce individual sounds (phonemes) and understand letter-sound relationships. This sets the groundwork for all future reading skills.
• Introduce Short Vowels Early: Short vowels are common and easier for children to grasp. Introduce them early in your sequence, as seen in most programs, to build confidence and a strong foundation.

2. Build Complexity Gradually

• Blend Consonants and Vowels: Once your students are comfortable with individual sounds, move into blending consonants with vowels to form simple CVC words. This is a natural progression seen in programs like Orton-Gillingham and Jolly Phonics.
• Introduce Blends and Digraphs: Start weaving in consonant blends (like ‘bl’, ‘st’) and digraphs (‘ch’, ‘sh’). This is where programs like Jolly Phonics excel, introducing these concepts relatively early to expand students’ reading capabilities.

3. Expand into More Advanced Concepts

• Long Vowels and Complex Patterns: Following the lead of programs like Wilson Reading System and LiPS, introduce long vowels (a_e, i_e, o_e, u_e) and complex vowel patterns next. This includes vowel teams (like /ai/, /ee/, /ie/, /oa/, /ue/) and diphthongs (/ow/, /ou/, /oi/, /oy/).
• R-Controlled Vowels and Multisyllabic Words: As students’ understanding deepens, introduce r-controlled vowels (/ar/, /er/, /ir/, /or/, /ur/) and more advanced phonics concepts like complex consonants (soft c and g) and silent letters (like kn and wr). Then, break down multisyllabic words, a critical step in advancing reading skills.

4. Customize for Your Classroom

• Adjust the Pace: Not every class moves at the same speed. Be prepared to linger longer on foundational concepts or accelerate through certain areas, depending on your students’ grasp of the material.
• Incorporate Multisensory Learning: Take a cue from Wilson and Orton-Gillingham. Use visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning methods to cater to different learning styles.

5. Regular Assessment and Adaptation

• Monitor Progress: Regularly assess students’ understanding and adapt your teaching accordingly. This ensures that each student keeps up and no one is left behind.

Final Thoughts

Creating the ideal phonics scope and sequence is about blending the best of what’s out there with a keen understanding of your students’ unique needs. It’s a dynamic process that evolves as you and your students journey together through the world of reading.

The ultimate goal is to foster a love for reading and a strong foundation in literacy – and with the right tools and approach, you’re well on your way to achieving that! 💜

Elevate Your Phonics Instruction with Engaging Literacy Centers

To make phonics instruction effective and fun for students, I’ve created resources that align perfectly with our optimized phonics scope and sequence. My line of literacy centers offers a dynamic way to reinforce these crucial reading skills.

Why These Literacy Centers Are a Game-Changer:

• Interactive and Themed Activities: Each center turns learning into a detective adventure. Students become word sleuths, engaging in activities far beyond your typical worksheets.
• Tailored for Phonics Mastery: These centers focus on specific phonics skills. They’re designed to deepen understanding and mastery through hands-on, detective-themed activities.
• Flexible and Diverse Learning Options: With full color and black & white versions and activities suited for different learning needs, these resources fit seamlessly into any classroom setting.
• Comprehensive Skill Development: From sound blending and segmentation to orthographic mapping, these centers cover a wide range of phonetic skills, enhancing reading fluency and comprehension.

Inside Resources:

• Each set includes seven engaging activities, each elevating phonics practice above the ordinary. With cut-and-paste exercises, word “sleuthing,” and “case file” sorting, students explore sounds and spellings in a tactile, interactive way with an engaging word detective theme.
• The additional no-prep activities are perfect for reinforcement, homework, or those last-minute lesson plan changes.

Why You’ll Love It:

As a teacher, you’ll appreciate the time-saving aspect of these ready-to-go centers. They offer a holistic solution to your phonics challenges, boosting student engagement and confidence. The detective theme adds an extra layer of excitement, transforming your classroom into an investigative hub.

Putting it All Into Practice

Just like when I first decided to shift to The Science of Reading, armed with books, Facebook groups, and webinars, I understand the need for practical, hands-on tools in our teaching toolkits.

Our exploration of phonics scope and sequence, the comparison of various approaches, and the discussion of how to effectively implement these strategies in the classroom all lead to one essential element: resources that make these theories actionable. My line of literacy centers is crafted with this very purpose.

Every step we take towards enhancing our teaching methods is toward nurturing confident, capable readers. Check out my line of literacy centers aligned to The Science of Reading today to get started!