Many of us hear the words “science of reading” and automatically assume it’s just about phonics.  While phonics is an essential part of learning to read - it’s not the only thing.  Let’s take a look at how phonics is related to another very important aspect of reading: comprehension. Full Show Notes Here

 

Additional Resources & References:

Resources:

Comprehension Visuals

Mystery Words Phonics Activity

Phonemic Awareness Activities (Blending & Segmenting CVC)

 

Blog Posts:

What is Comprehension?

5 Engaging Phonics Activities

Mentor Texts

Full Show Notes Here All About Jessica:

• Former elementary school teacher for 13 years, mostly in 1st grade

• Certified in reading grades K-12

• Jessica learned about the science of reading in 2019 and although her heart sank with guilt at how she was initially teaching her students, she began to read and learn all she could about the science of reading.  Fast forward and she’s now sharing Tik Tok phonics videos that help both teachers and parents learn about phonics so they can best teach their students and kids!

• Connect with Jessica Farmer:

• Tik Tok

• Instagram

• YouTube

• Facebook

All About Orthographic Mapping:

• Orthographic Mapping is NOT an activity - it’s something that happens in our brain.  

• Our brain is not hard-wired to read.  Because of this, we must create pathways and roads that help our brains learn how to read. 

• Orthographic Mapping pathways look a little like this:

Full show notes can be found here. 

When we sit down to plan our small group time, we must keep the end goal of phonics in mind:  we want to produce strong decoders and strong writers.  When students are strong in decoding, they can become fluent.  And when they become fluent, they can comprehend - that is our ultimate goal!  I’ve put together a checklist of six things to keep in mind when choosing the right activities for your small group time. 

Resources:

Word Detectives - Short Vowels CVC Words

Word Chaining Bundle

Letter Sound Fluency Grids & Successive Blending

Blog Posts:

5 Engaging Phonics Activities

My Favorite Phonics Activities

Phonics Routines That Work

 

Full Show Notes Here

With all of the rules out there on how to teach phonics, it can all feel overwhelming.  I’ve put together a reference of Do’s and Don’t’s when it comes to teaching phonics so you can feel confident in your instruction.

Additional Resources & References:

Blog Posts:

5 Engaging Phonics Activities

Phonics Routines That Work

A Deeper Look at Phonics

 

Full Show Notes Here

We know that small group time is so important.  We have a group of students who have a need, and we want to be the ones to meet it!  Take a look at Part 2 of our phonics lesson to learn how.

 

Helpful Phonics Resources:

• Phonics Reading Roadmap: phonics instruction with the science of reading in mind.  Learn how to teach systematic and explicit phonics instruction.

• Kindergarten Roadmap: focus on letter sounds and phonemic awareness, be equipped with tools you’ll use in your small group lessons that will encourage phonics and decoding

• Phonics Lessons & Activities MEGA Bundle: includes a scope and sequence, blank templates, phonemic awareness warm-ups, drill cards, sentence pyramids, and so, so much more.

• Blog Posts:

• 5 Engaging Phonics Activities

• A Deeper Look at Phonics

• Does Phonemic Awareness Belong in Your Phonics Lesson?

• Orthographic Mapping

 

(Full Show Notes Here)   When preparing a phonics lesson, we need to be sure we’re conducting it in three parts: a warm-up, explicit teaching, and application of skills.  Below, you’ll find the first part of the lesson (the warm-up) and its four parts: a visual drill, an auditory drill, a blending drill, and a vowel intensive.

Helpful Phonics Resources:

• Phonics Reading Roadmap: phonics instruction with the science of reading in mind.  Learn how to teach systematic and explicit phonics instruction.

• Kindergarten Roadmap: focus on letter sounds and phonemic awareness, and be equipped with tools you’ll use in your small group lessons that will encourage phonics and decoding

• Phonics Lessons & Activities MEGA Bundle: includes a scope and sequence, blank templates, phonemic awareness warm-ups, drill cards, sentence pyramids, and so, so much more.

• Blog Posts:

• 5 Engaging Phonics Activities

• A Deeper Look at Phonics

• Does Phonemic Awareness Belong in Your Phonics Lesson?

• Orthographic Mapping

(Full Show Notes Here)

Wondering how to ensure your phonics time is effective?  Here’s a quick look at what solid phonics instruction looks like, plus a little lesson in how our brain reads words.

FIRST, WHAT IS PHONICS?:

• Phonics is the connection between sounds of spoken words and the individual letters or groups of letters that make up that word.

• Solid phonics instruction is so important because it is a key contributor to future reading success.

• This process is nuanced and complex as it happens in our brains

 

WHERE CAN I FIND RESOURCES TO HELP ME?

• Phonics Reading Roadmap: phonics instruction with the science of reading in mind.  Learn how to teach systematic and explicit phonics instruction.

• Kindergarten Roadmap: focus on letter sounds and phonemic awareness, and be equipped with tools you’ll use in your small group lessons that will encourage phonics and decoding

• Phonics Lessons & Activities MEGA Bundle: includes a scope and sequence, blank templates, phonemic awareness warm-ups, drill cards, sentence pyramids, and so, so much more.

• Blog Posts:

• 5 Engaging Phonics Activities

• What Is Phonics?

• Does Phonemic Awareness Belong in Your Phonics Lesson?

• Phonics Routines That Work

 

The Importance of Letter Sounds (full show notes here)

• Alphabetic Principle - having knowledge of letters and the sounds that make up those letters. 
• Letter name knowledge is the best predictor of reading achievement from kindergarten to 2nd grade. 
• We must be sure that letter sounds stick.
  • Explicit
  • Systematic
  • Consistent 
• Alphabet instruction must be three things:

Explicit

• HOW we are teaching letter sounds.
  • If you’re teaching the letter m to your students, you may not initially show them the actual letter. Instead, you may show them a picture of a mouse, moon, or muffins.
  • Teacher:  “Mindy the mouse makes muffins.  What sound do you hear at the beginning of those words?”
  • Students: “/m/!”

Systematic (Sequential)

• WHY we are teaching letter sounds.
• We must:
  • Example: A scope and sequence that covers letters b, d, p in the same week would not be beneficial to students because of how similar those letters are.
• teach in a variety of ways - from simple to complex.
• be purposeful.
• choose a scope and sequence that makes sense.

Consistency

• WHAT we are teaching our students.
• What activities are we using to help move the needle forward?
• Choose 4-5 activities that students are familiar with and use them for each letter sound you teach.  When you introduce a new letter, do it in the same manner you did it for the previous letter.
• Routine, routine, routine!

Additional Resources & References:

FREE Resources: 

FREE Short Vowel Intensive

FREE Find It! Dot It!

FREE Spin It, Say It, Write It

Letter Sound Resources:

Alphabet Boot Camp

Letter Name and Sound Sorts

Letter Name Recognition

Letter Sound Strips

References:

Episode 5: Five Fun Ways to Practice Phonemic Awareness

10 Simple Letter Sound Recognition Activities

Teacher Prerequisites for Teaching Letter Sounds

Making Letter Sounds Stick

**Want my most requested resources for FREE?? No problem, gift-giving is my love language! Head to this link and snag them!! 

(Full Show Notes Here )We all know how important it is that our students learn their letter sounds.  But how? Where do we start?  Sounds first, or letters?  What ones?  Is there a scope and sequence? How do we choose the best one?  When it comes to the all-important alphabet, the questions are truly endless.  I’m here to help you answer some of these questions as to where to start!

• Check out my courses!

• Phonics Reading Roadmap: phonics instruction with the science of reading in mind.  Learn how to teach systematic and explicit phonics instruction.

• Kindergarten Roadmap: focus on letter sounds and phonemic awareness, and be equipped with tools you’ll use in your small group lessons that will encourage phonics and decoding

• Check out my resources! 

• Brand New Letter Sound Curriculum is 50% through 1/30/29

• Check out my blog posts on:

• The Alphabetic Principle

• Five Ways to Use an Alphabet Chart

• Assessing Alphabet Knowledge

• Teaching Letter Names and Sounds

Main Questions about Independent Reading:  (full show notes here)

Is there a place for independent reading in the classroom?  If so, what does it look like?

Independent Reading Is:

• Intentional, purposeful reading 
• Tailored to each specific student and their needs
• Looks different on each reader based upon their level
• Within a student’s range of skills
• Sitting with a decodable!
• Dinner with a little dessert (see below)

Independent Reading Is NOT:

• The age-old direction of “Drop Everything and Read”
• Reading alongside students and modeling reading for them at your desk
• Showing your students how much YOU love reading by reading a book yourself
• Sustained and silent
• Strictly timed
• A substitution for what we are doing in our small group time

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