Standard 1: Reading Foundations

Students will develop foundational skills for future reading success by working with sounds, letters, and text.

PHONICS AND WORD STUDY: Students will decode and read words in context and isolation by applying phonics and word analysis skills.

Students will continue to review and apply earlier grade level expectations for this standard. If these decoding skills are not mastered, students will address skills from previous grades. 

3.2.PWS.1 Students will decode multisyllabic words using their knowledge of:

• “r” controlled vowels (e.g., ar, er, ir, or, ur)

• vowel diphthongs (vowel combinations having two vowel sounds e.g., oi as in boil, oy as in boy)

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students will decode words with more than one syllable that have “r” controlled vowels (e.g. “er” in hermit).

• Students will decode words with more than one syllable that have vowel diphthongs (combinations with two vowel sounds e.g., “oi” in checkpoint, or “oy” in cowboy).

• Students use word sorts to learn spelling patterns. For r-controlled vowels, provide students with a sort containing words with different r-controlled vowels (ar, or, ir, er, ur).  Introduce students to the words and encourage them to identify the pattern in the words. Many activities can be done with their words.

• Sound sort: Students sort their words by the sound they hear. Students should say each word aloud before grouping it with similar sounding words.

• Blind sort: Partner activity - One student should write the headers at the top of their paper. The partner picks up a word card and reads the word without showing it to the student. The student listens to the sounds in the word and points to the category in which the word belongs. After EACH word card is named by the partner, the card is revealed to the student to check the category. The student can change their decision and move the card. The emphasis here is on the sound, not the spelling.

• Blind Sort Writing: The same procedure as above except this time, the student writes the word in the correct category and checks the spelling after each card is called. Students do this sort after several exposures to the word. If the sort has blends/digraphs and not words, the student just writes the blend and does NOT attempt to spell the word. The emphasis is on the sound of the blend.

• Word Hunt: Students use their texts to find words that belong in  their sort. Students should write the headers for the sort at the top of the pages and record words that belong in the sort.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge of major syllable patterns to decode words.

• Teachers monitor student use of syllable patterns to decode words and give feedback or interventions as needed.

• Teachers explain the structure of contractions.

• Teachers model reading contractions with more than one syllable.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge of contractions when reading words  with more than one syllable.

• Teachers encourage students to look at word structure when trying to decode an unknown word in texts.

• Teachers monitor and provide feedback or interventions with structural analysis as needed.

• Teachers explain that abbreviations are  a shortened form of a word.

• Teachers model reading abbreviations with more than one syllable.  

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge of abbreviations when reading words with more than one syllable.

• Teachers encourage students to look at word structure when trying to decode an unknown word in texts.

• Teachers monitor and provide feedback or interventions with structural analysis as needed.

• Teachers model decoding words with common roots, prefixes, and suffixes that have more than one syllable.  

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge of common roots, prefixes, and suffixes. to decode words with more than one syllable.

• Teachers encourage students to look at word structure when trying to decode an unknown word in texts.

• Teachers monitor and provide feedback or interventions with structural analysis as needed.

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Supporting Resources 

Teacher Insights 

Teaching Decoding by Louisa C. Moats (PDF)

Different Syllable Patterns(PDF)

• Explicit, systematic approaches to phonics instruction include the following:
• Pre-planned scope and sequence
• Easy to more difficult
• Cumulative reviews
• Guided to independent practice
• Word sorts give students exposure and experience with words that contain a specific spelling pattern.
• r-controlled - A syllable with er, ir, or, ar, or ur. Pronunciation of the vowel usually changes before /r/.

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.