Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio
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the ending sound? (/p/). Similarly, other lessons ask students to listen to three CVC — consonant-vowel-consonant — words, two of which have the same beginning sounds — sat sit mat (response: mat has a different beginning sound). Students are also asked to use three CVC words, two of which have the same ending sounds. Children must name the word that ends with a different sound than the other two — tap sat map (response: sat has a different ending sound). Students are then asked to blend and combine three- sounds words to say a word (e.g., students sound out /r/ /a/ /n/ and then say ran ). Finally, they segment each phoneme in a word (e.g., tell me each sound in yam — the response is /y/ /a/ /m/) and manipulate phonemes (e.g., tell me what word sun becomes if you change the /s/ to /f/ — response: sun becomes fun ). Because working with beginning sounds is easier than ending sounds, initial instruction focuses on continuous sounds at the beginning of words and incorporates more difficult ones over time. • Alphabet Knowledge: The program’s instruction begins by teaching students the name, sound, shape, and formation of the 26 alphabet letters and their most common sounds to encourage students to build and read words as they become available. Students in Ready4Reading are expected to learn letter names and sounds through visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile activities. These include the alphabet song, chants, articulation cards and videos, mirrors, sound boxes, letter-sound flash cards, alphabet cards, picture-sound sort activities, magnetic tiles, and alphabet books. The first introduction of ABC s is in alphabetical order. When learning to blend words, letters are introduced based on frequency and utility ( m, s, t, short- a, p, c, n, d, r , short- i, h, b, l, f o , j, x, k, e, g, v, w, u, y, q, and z ). Instruction uses mnemonics, pictures, and words when introducing letter-sound relationships. Lessons stress the differences and key features of letters that may look similar. Instruction also engages students in letter-writing practice, where they say a le tter’s sound each time they write it to reinforce the letter-sound connection. Students have multiple opportunities to practice letter identification to foster mastery and automaticity.
All alphabet lessons follow a three-step instructional routine that employs a gradual release model:
o Step 1: Develop Phonemic Awareness and Letter-Sound Correspondence: Students are first tasked with identifying the target sound in spoken words. For example, in the “ Alphabet: Mm ” lesson in Wiley Blevins ’s Teaching Phonics, students are asked to say /m/ whenever they hear the words mop, man, mess, mix, and monkey . In order to prepare children to produce the sound, teachers use articulation guides and mirrors to point out how the /m/ sound is made (lips together). Children put their hands on their throats and watch their mouths as they form the /m/ sound. Then students engage in oral blending, beginning with onset and rime then sound by sound. For example, students say /j/ /a/ /m/ and then the word (jam). Finally, they segment whole words ( mat, meat, mean, time, team, and steam) into their sounds. For support, students use program scaffolds such as Sound Boxes and Counters.
Teachers then explicitly teach the letter name and its primary sound using a mnemonic (e.g., stating that Mm stands for /m/ and showing a picture of a muffin). The teacher then
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