13 Powerful Lessons for Phonics that You Need to Know
Are you searching for lessons for phonics to help your older students who are struggling to connect phonics skills to text? Don’t have time to explore and piece together the resources you need for Rockstar Phonics Lesson Plans? This phonics intervention for struggling readers is just what you are looking for! These lesson plans for phonics encompass phonics skill work, decoding and blending, word mapping, and connecting phonics skills to decodable text. You will be fully prepared to teach EVERY phonics pattern! These Lessons for Phonics are Science of Reading Aligned and systematically teach each phonics pattern using proven effective methods while increasing reading fluency. These Phonics Lesson Plans provide structured, systematic, and sequential phonics intervention for students who are identified as needing Tier 1 or 2 phonics instruction. Below, you will find 5 Sample Consonant Digraph Lessons for Phonics that I encourage you to use during your phonics intervention!
Lessons for Phonics
Reading for Phonics
This all-inclusive program will have everything you need to teach lessons for phonics and phonics review. This curriculum was created to provide structured, systematic, and sequential phonics lesson plans for students who are identified as needing Tier 1 or 2 phonics instruction. This Science of Reading and 95 % Group aligned program provides opportunities to teach phonics step by step to close the gap in students’ phonics skill development. You can use these lesson plans each year, and the student books can be used for instruction and then taken home when done. There are phonics reviews for all phonics patterns.
As a Title 1 Reading Teacher, I use these guided phonics lessons with all students who do not meet state benchmarks. This can be used for Kindergarteners through older students who are continuing to struggle with connecting phonics skills to fluently reading words. These lessons for phonics are designed for you to teach during a whole or small group reading phonics lesson. This curriculum provides explicit phonics instruction in each critical component, including skill work, decoding and blending, word mapping, connecting phonemes to text, and purposeful phonics practice.
This Phonics Program Includes:
Teacher Lesson Plan for Phonics
Lesson Plan for Phonics
This lesson plan for phonics has everything you need to teach specific phonics patterns to make words. Each lesson has all of the phonics components planned for you. You will enter your classroom fully prepared to introduce the new phonics pattern and lead meaningful daily discussions. Don't worry, and you can use these as sub plans! They are already made for you. These lesson plans are easy to follow for anyone.
Phonics Student Workbook for Phonics Pattern
Phonics Student Workbook
Students will each have their ready-made phonics packet. Each lesson is 4 pages long. All you will need to do is print. These phonics student books include phonics activities for skill work, decoding, blending, word mapping, connecting skills to text, and purposeful phonics practice.
Strategies to Teach Phonics
Components
Skill Work: Students will be able to work with specific phonemes during word sorts, word chains, identifying sounds, segmenting and blending, multisyllabic real and nonsense words, and decoding (breaking apart) and encoding (spelling) words.
Decoding and Blending: Phonics Word Lists are provided so students can decode and blend real and nonsense words using the specific phoneme.
Word Mapping: This program will provide a variety of ways for students to map words orthographically. This process will allow students to recognize words and store them in memory. Students will map words using sound boxes with visuals, text, and auditorily. Check out my blog on 5 Effective Strategies to use Orthographic Mapping for Reading Success to see more ideas for orthographic mapping.
Connecting Phonics Skills to Text: lessons for phonics will provide fluency practice with decodable text and more. Students will practice fluency using the following processes: fluency phrases, sentence fluency, sentence sorts, high-frequency words, punctuation and expression, and dictated sentences. There are NEW decodable texts for phonics instruction.
Purposeful Phonics Practice: Student engagement is critical for the importance of learning how to read. This phonics practice holds students’ attention and helps direct them to what’s essential to know (Phonic Skill). The multiple phonics practice pages are Word Search, ABC Order, Make Words, Sound Maze, Find the Sounds, and Roll Read and Write.
Phonics Lessons Plans Scope and Sequence:
Here’s how some teachers have used these phonics lessons and student workbooks:
Print and laminate lesson plans to use plan year after year. Optional: Spiral bind the student books or print them off for each lesson.
Each day, you will be able to teach the specific phoneme your need instruction on.
These lessons for phonics are designed for you to teach during a whole or small group reading phonics lesson.
This can be used for Kindergarteners through older students who are continuing to struggle with connecting phonics skills to fluently reading words.
Classroom Teacher (Small Group)- Instruction for your lowest readers struggling to connect sounds to words they are reading.
Classroom Teacher (Whole Group)- Great for warm-ups or reviewing previously taught phonics sounds.
As a Title 1 Reading Teacher, I use these guided phonics lessons with all students who do not meet state benchmarks. Once they are identified as needing phonics intervention, I give each student the Quick Phonics Screener (QPS). This tells me which phonics skill I need to start with.
How to Teach Phonics Step By Step
Skill Work
There will be seven skill work lessons that will cycle throughout this unit. Each phonics pattern is targeted so your students can work on the specific phoneme being taught. See the description of each phonics skill work below.
Word Sorts: Students will sort Real and Nonsense Words. Reading nonsense words gives you an indication of what your students know. It is a great way to measure if your kids can decode phonemes. Have your students read the list of words. Then the students will sort each word by real or nonsense words. Have them write the words in the correct column.
Word Chains: In this routine, you will have your students create a “chain” of words by adding, deleting, or changing 1 sound at a time to spell a new word. You will read each word to the students. They will need to write the words. With each word that you say, one sound will change. Students will write the new word in the box below, changing the sound attached to the arrow. (Answers are in your Lesson Plans.)
Phonics Word Chains
Identify Sounds: This multi-sensory activity encourages our learners to focus on phonics patterns to help them read words. Students will color the phonics skill sounds. After that, they will read each word three times, coloring in a star after each read.
Segmenting and Blending: This will help students to transition from sound by sound to reading whole words blending. 1. Students tap out the sounds in the given word. 2. Students will then touch the dots and say each sound. 3. Fill in sound dots (fill in the consonant sound with a blue marker and a vowel sound with a red). (See example below). 4. Write each sound you hear. 5. Finally, read the whole word.
Segmenting and Blending
Multisyllabic Real and Nonsense Words: Nonsense words help with learning syllables. Many students get hung up on reading that they get stumped on longer or more complex words they can’t understand. Teaching them a process for working through multisyllabic words will empower them to read through text with ease. Find the vowels, underline the vowels, draw a line between the syllables, map out the syllables, read each syllable and then read the word.
Decoding the Words: The decoding of words is the ability to break down a written word by its letter-sound relationship to rapidly and correctly pronounce words. Understanding letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) and their connection will help your students recognize familiar words quickly and figure out words they haven't seen before. Students will “Crack the Code” and unscramble the words. They will read and write the correct word.
Decoding
Decoding of words is the ability to break a written word down by its individual letter-sound relationship to rapidly and correctly pronounce words. Understanding letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) and their connection will help your students recognize familiar words quickly and figure out words they haven't seen before. You are building a solid foundation for reading when you comprehend decoding skills. Using phonics-based word lists in your decoding of words lessons will help guide your reading word recognition lesson plans. These targeted lists of words have allowed my students to build their sight word vocabulary and increase their fluency benchmark score on our state reading assessment. Check out my blog on 7 Fun Activities for Decoding of Words Using Phonics-Based Word Lists to see more ideas for decoding words. Emma from Kidequip has a detailed blog on How to teach the decoding of words to increase your child’s reading skills. Please check that out!
In the decoding section of this systematic program, the students will be able to transition from sound by sound to reading whole words. Steps: 1. Tap out each sound. 2. Fill in the sound dots (fill in the consonant sound with a blue marker and a vowel sound with a red). 3. Say each sound. 4. Blend the sounds to read the word. 5. Read the whole word. Do this for all words.
Decoding of Words
Blending
After students decode a word, they will blend (fluently join together) the individual sounds (phonemes). To do this, Phonics-based word lists are used. They are a list of real & nonsense dynamic words that are targeted to the specific phonics skill being taught. The word lists are systematic and sequential. They start with the phonics skill your students need to work on and will continue to review previously taught phonemes throughout each list.
Phonics Word Lists
Word Mapping
Word mapping is the process of looking at a word, reading the word, breaking down the words into sounds, writing the letter combinations of each phoneme, and writing the entire word. This resource will allow students to build their word recognition skills to connect speech phonemes to the graphemes permanently. The Science of Reading tells us that Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping is the most effective way to help students build their word recognition and become stronger readers.
Visual
Map Words with Pictures: Tap, Map, and Graph using the pictures in the student book. Students will then read each word 3 times. Picture description in Lesson Plan.
Visual Word Mapping
Mapping With Words: Tap, Map, and Graph using the words in the student book. Students will then read each word 3 times. Picture description in Lesson Plan
Mapping with Words
Auditory
Students will Listen and Write the Words: The teacher will read words to orthographically map. Tap, Map, and Graph the words you hear below. Then read each word 3 times.
Listen and Write
Check out my blog on 5 Effective Strategies to use Orthographic Mapping for Reading Success to see more ideas for word mapping.
Connect To Text:
Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. It occurs when students recognize most of the words in a text. For readers to achieve this, they need to have background knowledge and know high-frequency words. They also need skills to help them when they encounter an unfamiliar word. Here are the following processes that this curriculum uses.
Fluency Phrases: To work on their fluency, students will practice reading short phrases from the decodable text. The students will read these phrases for 1 minute. If students finish the list before the 1 minute, they will return to the top and continue reading. When the timer goes off, they circle the last phrase they read.
Fluency Phrases
Fluency Sentences: You will continue with the fluency practice. Students need to be exposed to text to become confident and fluent readers. You will have the students highlight and find the phonics-focused words. They will read these sentences below for 1 minute. If students finish the list before the 1 minute, they will return to the top and continue reading. When the timer goes off, they circle the last phrase they read.
Sentence Sort: Students will read the sentences for 1 minute. After they read, have them highlight, sort & write the targeted phonics words. If the sentence is “Is the fan tan?” They will highlight fan and tan and write them in the sort below.
High-Frequency Words: Sight words are not a substitute for teaching phonics. Instead, sight word instruction helps students master reading words that frequently occur in a text, so they don’t have to stop and decode every single word. These word lists are taken from the Dolch sight word list. Students will use and read these words in the decodable text. This practice will expose students to these words and increase their automatic recognition of words through fluency. Students will read these words for 1 minute. If students finish the list before the 1 minute, they will return to the top and continue reading. When the timer goes off, they circle the last word they read.
High-Frequency Practice
Read with Expression: Meaningful and intentional practice with expression will help students become fluent readers. Have students find the punctuation marks and read with the correct expression. Each sentence is the same. The only thing different is the punctuation marks. Students will need to identify the correct ending mark and read with expression.
Dictated Sentences: Students will write the sentence the teacher says. Correct the sentences when done.
Decodable Text
Decodable text is a type of text often used in beginning reading instruction. Decodable texts are carefully sequenced to progressively incorporate words consistent with the letters and corresponding phonemes taught to the new reader.
Decodable Text: Students will read each decodable story. The choices of the style of reading are up to you. Choral, Echo, and Partner reading are what I find to be the most beneficial. Before reading, have students highlight and find the phonics-based words in the story. As a group or individually, read the story 3 times. Students will color a star each time that they read.
Comprehension Checks: There will be comprehension checks with the Review Decodable Texts!
Purposeful Phonics Practice
It would be best if you were purposeful about how and where to fit phonics practice into your lesson. To build in this review and repetition, you can include words with patterns you have previously taught. This requires students to thoroughly analyze and carefully distinguish spelling patterns that are very similar to each other. Purposeful phonics practice included:
Phonics Word Search:
These are not just your average word searches. These meaningful phonics word search worksheets allow your students to practice reading and finding decodable and high-frequency words! Word mapping and sentence writing with each word search.
ABC Order: How Does ABC Order Help Students? This lifelong skill will help students use phonetic principles and improve word study and manipulation of phonemes. It will also enhance students’ spelling skills. With this practice, we must teach students how to alphabetize words using only the first letter. After students are proficient with putting words in ABC order by the first letter, move on to practicing with talks with the same first two or three letters.
Make Words:
Making Words is a phonics activity that promotes students' phonological awareness and spelling skills. Students must change, add, and move letters around to spell new words. After they make 6 real words, they will write a sentence that uses 2 of the words
Sound Maze:
To complete the mazes, students work their way from Start to End by identifying the phonics skill in each word. They will connect or color each word blue that has the assigned skill. After they complete the maze, your students will read each word. They will read all of the words 3 times.
Stretch the Sounds: Stretch the sounds is a great way to support beginning/ struggling readers. Students see a picture using phonics skills; they color in the beginning, medial, and ending sounds by stretching out the word. Next, students read and write the word on the line.
Roll, Read and Write: This phonics-focused practice allows students to read and use phonics patterns in a sentence. How to play: Students roll a die and read a word in the corresponding row. Keep rolling until all the words are covered with a counter. Students will love reading independently or with a partner. Roll the dice, and read a word corresponding to the number. Write the words you would like to use in a sentence. Write a sentence using 2 words you rolled.
Lessons for Phonics
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