Literacy Progression for Letters and Sounds

Code

Standard 2

Progression

objectives in chronological order with shifts bolded

how the objectives develop & change through the grade levels

PK.2.PWS.1

Students will name the letters in their first name.

In Pre-K, students should see their names in various places, both handwritten and typed. With explicit instruction and support, students should be able to name the letters in their first name.  

PK.2.PWS.2

Students will name a majority of uppercase and lowercase letters.

Pre-K students will be explicitly taught uppercase and lowercase letters with instruction that includes shape, form, and characteristics of each letter.  With explicit instruction, students should be able to name most of the uppercase and lowercase letters.

K.2.PWS.1

Students will name all uppercase and lowercase letters.

In kindergarten, students will increase their recognition of uppercase and lowercase letters through explicit instruction that includes shape, form, and characteristics. By the end of the year, students should be able to name all uppercase and lowercase letters. 

K.2.PWS.2

Students will sequence the letters of the alphabet.

Through repetitive, multisensory activities, students should be able to put all alphabet letters in order.  

Literacy Progression for Word-Level Decoding 

Code

Standard 2

Progression

objectives in chronological order with shifts bolded

how the objectives develop & change through the grade levels

K.2.PWS.4

Students will blend letter sounds to decode simple Vowel/Consonant (VC) and Consonant/Vowel/ Consonant (CVC) words (e.g., VC words = at, in, up; CVC words = pat, hen, lot).

Kindergarten students will use their knowledge of the most common consonant sounds and short vowel sounds to decode VC and CVC words. This includes individual words and words within the context of a decodable sentence or text.   

1.2.PWS.1*

Students will decode one-syllable phonetically-regular words by using their knowledge of the following phonics skills: 

A. single consonants (e.g., b = /b/, f = /f/, t = /t/) 

B. short vowel sounds (i.e., a, e, i, o, u)

C. consonant blends (e.g., bl, br, cr) 

D. consonant digraphs and trigraphs (e.g., sh-, -tch)

E. vowel-consonant-silent e (e.g., lake) 

F. r-controlled vowels (i.e., ar, er, ir, or, ur)

G. vowel digraphs (e.g., ea, oa, ee)

First grade students are expanding from decoding VC and CVC words by using their knowledge of phonics skills to decode one-syllable phonetically-regular words that include consonant blends, digraphs and trigraphs, VCe, r-controlled vowels, or vowel digraphs. This includes individual words and words within the context of a decodable sentence or text.   

2.2.PWS.1*

Students will decode one- and two-syllable words by using their knowledge of the following phonics skills: 

A. single consonants, including those with two different sounds (e.g., soft and hard c [cent, cat] and g [gem, goat]) 

B. consonant blends (e.g., bl, br, cr, spr, spl) 

C. consonant digraphs and trigraphs (e.g., sh-, -tch) 

D. vowel-consonant-silent e (e.g., lake) 

E. r-controlled vowels (i.e., ar, er, ir or, ur) 

F. vowel digraphs (e.g., ea, oa, ee) 

G. vowel diphthongs (i.e., vowel combinations having two vowel sounds [e.g., oi as in boil, oy as in boy]) 

H. schwa (e.g., banana) 

I. silent letter combinations (knew, could, ghost)

Second grade students are building to decoding two-syllable words with the same phonic skills as first grade but adding vowel diphthongs, schwa, or silent letter combinations. Students should have opportunities to decode individual words and words within the context of sentences, paragraphs, and texts. 

3.2.PWS.3

Students will use decoding skills and semantics in context when reading new words in a text, including multisyllabic words.

In the third grade, students are building on their knowledge of one- and two-syllable words and wording to decode multisyllabic words. Students in the third grade are also decoding the vowel silent e words instead of just the vowel-consonant-silent e. Third-grade students are also learning and applying meaningful parts of words such as prefixes, suffixes, base words, and roots when decoding and reading text. 

3.2.PWS.1

Students will decode multisyllabic words using their knowledge of the following phonics skills: 

● vowel diphthongs 

● all major syllable types (i.e., closed, consonant +le, open, vowel digraphs, vowel silent e, r-controlled)

Literacy Progression for Syllable Types 

Code

Standard 2

Progression

objectives in chronological order with shifts bolded

how the objectives develop & change through the grade levels

1.2.PWS.2

Students will decode words by applying knowledge of syllable types in one-syllable words: 

A. closed 

B. open

First grade students are moving from simple CVC words to applying their knowledge of closed and open syllable types to decode one-syllable words both in individual words and also in text.  These words may contain blends and digraphs.

2.2.PWS.2

Students will decode words by applying knowledge of all major syllable types: 

A. closed 

B. open 

C. vowel digraphs 

D. vowel-consonant silent e 

E. r-controlled 

F. consonant +le

Second grade students are building from decoding open and closed syllable words to all of the six syllable types.  Instruction should include explicit instruction in each syllable type, with focus on one at a time so students may obtain mastery in recognition and decoding of each syllable type in isolation and also in text.  

3.2.PWS.1

Students will decode multisyllabic words using their knowledge of the following phonics skills:

● vowel diphthongs

● all major syllable types (i.e., closed, consonant +le, open, vowel digraphs, vowel silent e, r-controlled)

In third grade, students extend their decoding to multisyllabic words and add diphthongs to the types of syllables they will decode.

4.2.PWS.1

Students will decode unfamiliar and multisyllabic words using their combined knowledge of the following phonics skills:

● letter-sound correspondences

● all major syllable types (i.e., closed, consonant +le, open, vowel digraphs, vowel silent e, r-controlled)

In fourth grade, students will apply decoding skills to unfamiliar multisyllabic words utilizing their knowledge of letter-sound correspondences and syllable types both in isolation and in text. 

Literacy Progression for Structural Analysis

Code

Standard 2

Progression

objectives in chronological order with shifts bolded

how the objectives develop & change through the grade levels

PK.2.PWS.3

Students will produce some sounds represented by letters.

Pre-K students primarily focus on identifying letters by name.  Explicit instruction should include letter sounds. Students will be able to identify the sounds of some letters by the end of the year.  

K.2.PWS.3

Students will produce the sounds for short and long vowels and the most common sound for consonants

(e.g., a = /ă/ & /ā/, f = /f/, s = /s/, x = /ks/).

In Kindergarten, students will build upon previously learned letter sounds and produce sounds for short and long vowels as well as the most common sounds for consonants.  

1.2.PWS.3*

Students will decode words by applying knowledge of structural analysis: 

A. compound words 

B. inflectional endings (e.g., -s, -ed, -ing)

By first grade, students are able to apply their knowledge of letters, sounds, and structural analysis to decode compound words and words with inflectional suffixes.   

2.2.PWS.3*

Students will decode words by applying knowledge of structural analysis:

A. compound words

B. inflectional endings (e.g., -s, -ed, -ing)

C. contractions

D. abbreviations

E. common roots and related prefixes and suffixes

By second grade, students are able to extend their knowledge of structural analysis to decode not only compound words and inflectional endings but also contractions, abbreviations, and common roots and related prefixes and suffixes.  

3.2.PWS.2

Students will decode words by applying knowledge of structural analysis: 

● contractions 

● abbreviations 

● common roots and related prefixes and suffixes 

● morphology

In third grade, students will continue to review contractions, abbreviations, common roots, and related prefixes and suffixes. They will now also apply morphology, or the meaningful units of words such as base words, common roots, prefixes, and suffixes, to spelling.  

4.2.PWS.2

Students will decode words by applying knowledge of structural analysis:

● contractions

● abbreviations

● common roots and related affixes

● morphology

● semantics

In fourth grade, students extend their knowledge of structural analysis by applying the meaning of words. As students progress, phonics and word study overlaps with vocabulary (Standard 4).