Phonics

Over the years curriculums have come and gone and I have taken bits and pieces out of all of them to form my phonics block. Have you heard of Jen Jones? If you haven’t look her up! She has amazing videos, training, and resources. There hasn’t been much that I haven’t implemented and loved from her. I just recently moved across the country and being in a new state, I wasn’t sure how the grade level would plan out our phonics block. I am here to say that using what we are doing now, I have seen the most growth in my student’s decoding and writing skills than I have with anything else. Here is what my 45-minute block looks like for the week.

Phonics Block on Monday

Every day we start phonics with the Secret Stories Better Alphabet Song. With this being the first day of the week and of our phonics skill, I like to review what we did last week. Each week on one of my whiteboards I have a grammar skill and the current phonics skill. Throughout the week the students can go back there when we are working independently, and they can write words that match the skill. On Mondays we go back and read them, check them for spelling, and try to beat last week’s number of correct words. If they beat them everyone gets 2 Dojo points as a challenge!

After we do that, we go over the sight words for the week. I have a big copy of the words and we code them. They do this on a little half sheet and keep them in the clear pocket of their folder for the week. Each day they review the words with a partner. I have seen a significant difference in how well they can remember it by doing this 1-minute activity.

Then we do some sort of phonics craft that goes with the skill. This is not necessary, but it is fun and hands-on. I am all about having fun while we are learning, plus it is a great way to ease in the week and take time to go over the skills of the week in the beginning. Here are 2 packs that I use, they are not free.

Phonics Friends

Phonics Crafts

 Tuesday-Thursday

1. Better Alphabet Song
2. Practice sight words with their partner
3. Skill of the week video (I usually find one on YouTube or use our reading series videos)
4. 6.1 Phonics Worksheet

The worksheet is something that our grade level created, and it is still constantly changing to fit the needs of our students. At the beginning of the year, were less decoding words and less encoding boxes. Now it looks like this.

For the first part, we practice handwriting. At the beginning of the year, we practiced the skill we were working on. Now we are practicing things I notice in class that they are doing such as reversals, backward letters, or their names. During this time, I stole an amazing idea from my daughter’s teacher. I walk around and the person with the best handwriting gets to wear a crown! The kids try so hard and are so excited.

Decode Words

Every day we have a new 6 words that go with the skill of the week. I try to incorporate past skills like adding ing, es, s (z sound), ck, or names. When students are done with handwriting practice, they know to get out their highlighter and start coding the words. I walk around and have students go up and write on the board what they have on their paper. Then we say the words together and talk about tricky parts, patterns, or the meaning of the word.

For the auditory review, you can do any past or present skill. The Secret Stories comes in handy during this time because they know the different sounds that certain letters make so I always try to trick them. Like I might say write down all the ways to make the /k/ sound. They would need to write down k, c, ck, and ch.

Encode Words

This is the part that was missing in my daily phonics routine that I have seen transform how my students write. No more, “how do you spell…” Okay, not going to lie they still say that, but not as much as in years past. They are learning how to tap out each sound and what sounds go together. It is great practice for when they get to a tricky word when writing. They know what to do!! I do not have them write the words from the front. I will pick ANY words that go with the skill of the week. This way they are practicing so many more words than just memorizing 10 spelling words a week.

Correct the Sentence

This is something we just added for the second semester, but next year I will keep it year-round. I read the sentence and tell them how many mistakes there are. They will correct the sentence and I will have different students come up to the board and correct it. I walk around and help students while they are going up to the board.

Sentence Dictation

I give students a simple sentence with a few of the words that go with our skill of the week. I make sure to do different types of sentences, not just a telling sentence each time. When they are done I walk around and give them SMELLY STICKERS (just flavored ChapStick circles) on their paper and they put it in their cubbies.

Friday

On Friday, I play BLOOKET! If you haven’t played this amazing game, check out my post about it HERE. Then we take the test.  I LOVE IT! I want to see what they can do and know, not what they can memorize. We do not give the parents the 10 spelling words each week. We give them examples, but the 10 words come from the practice sheets we do Tuesday-Thursday. What does the test look like? Here is the Phonics Quiz 6.1 you can have and make your own.

1. 10 spelling words
2. Sight Word Hunt- We say a sight word and they have to highlight it
3. Fix the Sentence- I tell them how many mistakes and they find them and fix them.
4. Sentence Dictation- 2 sentences with the phonics skill. I grade them on capital, punctuation, and spelling words spelled correctly.

Hope you were able to take something out of my phonics block and make it your own. Every year I find new ideas and what works with one class, might not be the best for another. That is why I love teaching. I love that each year is new, and you can never be bored. If you have any fun phonics ideas share them below!