First Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students are asked to show that letters represent the sequence of sounds in a spoken word (Skills). In Activity 2 Option 1, students are prompted to sound out room labels, use a finger to follow sounds, and add missing letters. In Activity 2 Option 2, students are asked to label rooms and are explicitly invited to sound out the words and write them phonetically before copying if needed. Activity 4 gives tracing and writing practice for words such as "bath" and "bed," reinforcing letter-sound mapping.
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
In Activity 2 Option 2, students are explicitly asked to "sound out each word and to spell it the way it sounds," and to label each item on the map, which requires producing spellings for pictured words. Activity 2 Option 1 has students complete partially filled labels while an adult can "sound them out with him as he writes them," giving practice in segmenting sounds and mapping letters to sounds. Activity 3 asks students to label items in their own room (cutting/pasting or drawing and labeling), providing additional opportunities to spell words they may not have been explicitly taught.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
The lesson asks students to write the names of living things they recognize (Option 2) and provides activity pages with blank lines and boxes labeled for "Plants" and "Animals" across habitats where students can record names. Activity 5 prompts students to write responses for "Plants can...", "Plants are...", and "Plants have...", requiring students to spell words as they record ideas. Several student pages include spaces specifically intended for students to fill in words (e.g., consumer/energy source cards and habitat lists).
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
The lesson's skills list includes "Identify beginning letters and sounds in words," and Activity 1 (Option 1) asks students to add the first and last letter for each habitat and to attempt to read/sound out the word. Several activities require students to label habitats (Option 2, Activity 5 Option 2) and to write habitat names on activity pages. Activity 4 has students practice writing specific words ("jungle" and "Jeep"), reinforcing letter–sound correspondence and handwriting.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students are asked to dictate a story and are encouraged to "sound out the words in the story or to read it back to you," which prompts phonetic spelling during the writing of their narrative. The handwriting activity has students trace and copy words (zoo, zebra) and practice letter formation, giving opportunities to apply letter-sound correspondences. The habitat drawing activity suggests labeling objects as the child draws, which requires children to attempt spellings of words they may not have been taught.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
Students are asked to record the names of three chosen tools and are encouraged to write the names independently or copy them. The lesson instructs students to "attempt to record at least the beginning letter, and then encourage her to sound out the words and identify letter sounds as you write them." Teachers/readers are prompted to "read the names of the tools with your child using her finger to point at the letters as you sound them out," and a handwriting page has students practice writing words (it, inch) and the letter I.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students are prompted to "begin to write words" and to "write beginning consonants of words" in the Skills section, indicating practice with emergent spelling. In Option 2 students are encouraged to write the name of each habitat in the boxes, which requires them to produce written spellings for vocabulary. Several activities ask students to record or write short responses (e.g., labeling habitats, recording reasons on a separate sheet, and writing a story in Activity 4).
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
Students are asked to write names and labels on multiple activity pages (e.g., Page 1 "The ______": draw a picture of the animal and write its name; pages that prompt "What _____ Eats and Drinks" and blanks like "The ______ is found in ______"). The instructions tell a helper to "help your child label his pictures," and students complete the top-of-page descriptions before drawing/illustrating. Several student activity pages provide blank writing spaces where students must generate and write words for their book.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
The lesson lists the skill "Identify beginning letters and sounds in words" and includes activities where students write vocabulary words (Option 2) or label pictures (advanced Option 2 asks students to cover the word bank and label weather pictures). In Option 2 students are asked to write the word beneath each picture and to write a sentence using the vocabulary words, providing opportunities to produce spellings in writing. The Weather Words pages and the calendar require students to record words or dates in writing, which can prompt phonetic attempts at spelling untaught words.
Lesson 6
Winter
Students are asked to dictate a story and then attempt to record the story themselves, with the instruction that the adult can "help him sound out words as needed." Activity 2 tells students to "circle the beginning letter of each word" to help him sound out number words. Activity 4 has students write and copy the words wind and winter, providing practice linking letters to sounds and spelling familiar vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked to identify and underline rhyming words in each poem, which practices phonemic awareness. Students are asked to attempt to read each poem and to write their name in a poem blank, engaging basic writing. The Language Arts extension invites students to write their own spring poem (or dictate it), providing an opportunity to produce written words that could include untaught words.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
Students copy or cut out community vocabulary words to complete sentences in Activity 2, and in the advanced option they read vocabulary words and fill them into sentences. Students draw a new page for the book in Activity 3 and then write or dictate a sentence or two about Charlie visiting a unique place in their community. Activity 4 has students trace and write the letter P and practice writing the words "people" and "park."
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Students are asked to name and sound out each letter and to circle the first and last letters of labels in Activity 1, which practices phoneme–grapheme awareness. Activity 2 (Option 2) asks students to write the names of community workers and then read through their list, giving them opportunities to attempt spelling. Activity 5 explicitly tells students to attempt to write the words they are capable of sounding out, even if spelled incorrectly, and allows dictated recording for harder words.
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
The lesson asks the child to read the names of buildings, goods, and services and, if needed, to be helped to sound out the words. For each word the child is asked to circle the beginning letter, linking initial sounds to letters. The activities also prompt adults to help children 'sound out' words while reading labels on activity cards.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
Students are asked to "label each picture" in Activity 2 (Option 2), which requires them to write words describing their drawings. In Activity 3 students are asked to write the name of each family member beneath a picture and to "describe them" (either dictating or attempting to record independently). The activities explicitly involve students producing written words for pictures and personal observations.
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students practice writing letters and words in Activity 7, where they trace and write Kk and the words "kid" and "kind." Students write or copy sentences to accompany drawings in Activity 5 (The Boy Who Cried Wolf) and record jobs, consequences, and responses in Activities 2, 4, and 6 (e.g., "I am respectful when I __"). Several activities require students to produce written responses (marking R/D, filling in blanks, totaling kindness points), giving opportunities to attempt spellings during authentic tasks.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
Students are asked to "circle the first letter in each word and sound out the word" (Activity 3, Option 1) and then copy or paste the words beneath pictures, which has them link letters to sounds and practice writing. In Option 2, students must write words from a word box under pictures and are encouraged to think of and write two additional descriptive words for each object, giving them opportunities to produce spellings for words they generate. Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence describing an object, providing further practice in encoding words in writing and letter formation.
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
Students are asked to read texture words, circle the beginning letter of each word, and either copy the texture words beneath pictures or cut and paste the words, which practices letter–sound/letter recognition and word copying. Students are asked in Option 2 to record two words from a list and then think of a new describing word for each object, which may prompt them to generate unfamiliar words. Activity 3 asks students to write or copy a sentence about an object's texture, providing writing practice with vocabulary.
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 6
Experimenting With Our Senses
Students practice letter knowledge and phonemic awareness as the Skills list includes "Recognize beginning consonant sounds of words" and "Recognize and write letters." In Activity 2 students attempt to read spice names on jars and copy the name of each spice onto index cards, and are asked to write at least the first letter if they cannot write the whole word. In Activity 4 students write or dictate and copy a sentence about something they smelled or tasted, providing additional opportunities to produce written letters and words.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students are prompted to attempt to write the words in the blanks on the "A Sensible Report" about popcorn, and to attempt to read what they have written. The plan asks students to think of sensing words and to write a word, phrase, or sentence for each sense in "Sensing My Day." The Handwriting activity has students write or dictate and copy a sentence that describes the popcorn, and the skills list includes "Write letters of the alphabet."
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
Activity 1 directs students to sound out words for their answers and "write the letters he hears," explicitly encouraging phonetic spelling of untaught words. The Skills list includes "Represent spoken language with phonetic spelling (LA)," reinforcing that students will produce spellings based on sounds. Activity 4 has tracing and writing practice of the word "unique," giving a chance to connect spoken form to written letters.
Lesson 3
Different Personalities
Activity 1 asks the child to attempt to sound out vocabulary words and, if unable to read a word, to circle the first and last letters and say the sounds those letters make. Activity 4 provides repeated tracing and handwriting practice for the letter Q and the word "quiet," reinforcing letter-sound connections in writing. Activity 2 involves writing or pasting personality words into webs, with the option to provide assistance as needed.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students are asked to "point to the title of the story and to sound out the letters in the word," which has them practice phonemic decoding. Students are encouraged to "dictate a short description" and "record his ideas," providing an opportunity to attempt spellings when writing their descriptions. Students are also asked to "write or copy a sentence on handwriting paper," giving practice with written production of words and phrases.
Lesson 6
Different Families
The lesson's skills list explicitly states students will "attempt to write words and sentences using inventive spelling (LA)." Activity 2 asks students to complete sentence prompts with blanks (e.g., "My family is similar to a family from _______ because we both _______."), requiring written responses. Activity 3 provides handwriting practice including tracing the letters D/d and the word "different," giving students practice writing words and letters.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Students are asked to write three sentences about their favorite holiday and to create sentences for each page of a Book of Holidays, which requires them to attempt spelling words while writing. The Skills list explicitly includes "Represent spoken language with temporary spelling (LA)," indicating students are expected to use invented/phonetic spelling. Activities instruct that children can attempt to write sentences themselves (or dictate and copy), providing opportunities to spell untaught holiday-related words independently.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students are asked to fill in missing letters on labeled pictures of transportation (Activity 1, Option 1) and to write entire labels for modes of transportation (Activity 1, Option 2). In Activity 2 (Option 2) students draw and write the mode of transportation for scenarios, and Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence about a mode of transportation. Activity 3 asks students to dictate a story and attempt to read it aloud after it is recorded, providing additional opportunities to produce spellings of words related to transportation.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
Students copy or write a sentence about a pattern on handwriting paper (Activity 4), giving them practice producing written words. In Activity 2 Option 2, students write the names of the objects they used for patterns on a separate sheet of paper, which requires them to attempt spellings for item names. Students also complete sentence prompts on the "Writing About a Pattern" activity pages, which involves writing or filling in word responses about pattern items.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
In Activity 2 (Option 1) students are asked to "circle the beginning letter of each word in the pattern" and to "sound out each word," which engages phonemic awareness and letter-sound correspondence. In Reading Patterns (Option 2) students "read the words that describe the pattern" and then create patterns, reinforcing decoding skills. Activity 3 has students write or copy a sentence about a pattern, and the "Words to Practice" section has students practice writing the words shape, color, and size with modeling.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Students listen for and identify rhyming endings and are asked to circle repeating word parts (e.g., identifying -ake or circling the common endings on activity sheets). Students label pictures, add a new word to extend each pattern, and record rhyming words on handwriting paper (Activities 1, 2, 3, and 5), providing opportunities to produce written words. The skills list and advanced activities ask students to recognize identifiable speech sounds and to write novel rhyming words and sort rhymes that share or differ in spelling, linking sound awareness to written forms.
Lesson 2
Making Word Patterns
Students are asked to recognize that the sequence of letters represents the sequence of sounds and to identify word families and rhyming words (Skills and Facts). In Option 2, students are asked to create words by trying different beginning letters to complete a rime (e.g., use an alphabet sheet to try letters to make words). Activity 1 and Activity 3 ask students to produce rhyming words to fill blanks and to identify and record words from texts that share sound or spelling patterns.
Lesson 3
Poetry Patterns
Students are asked to write another verse to the song and record it on the "A Rhyming Song" page, and to fill in blanks such as "We'll find a ____ put it _________" (Activities 2 and 4). Students identify and record rhyming words from poems and songs and are asked to circle the parts of words that follow the same letter pattern (Activities 1 and 3). The materials note that adults should "provide assistance with spelling," indicating occasions when students produce written word choices.
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
Students are asked to write or dictate sentences for the beginning, middle, and end of stories (Activity 2 Option 1 and Option 2) and to create their own short story by dictating while the adult records it (Activity 3). Activity 4 asks students to copy or write a sentence from the story they created, and several activities encourage students to attempt to read their own writing. These tasks require students to produce written words that may include untaught vocabulary.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 2
Patterns of Growth
Activity 2 instructs students to "identify the initial letter of each plant part, sound out the word, and record the first letter of each word on the diagram," so students are prompted to use phonemic awareness to map sounds to letters. Activity 6 has students write the words plant, grow, and part five times each after a modeled example, giving practice with spelling conventions through copying. The student activity pages require students to draw and "write a sentence to record" growth, which asks students to produce written words in context.
Lesson 3
Night and Day
Students are asked to "write letters of the alphabet," "record dominant consonant letters," and "write from left to right," which requires them to produce letter strings. Students label the pictures of the Sun, Moon, and Earth on the Student Activity Page and draw and then "record or dictate a few sentences" about daytime/nighttime activities, providing opportunities to attempt spellings. The activities require students to generate written forms of words (labels and sentences) rather than only recognizing words.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students are asked to fill in the first letter of days of the week and to dictate or record scheduled daily activities (Activity 1), which requires them to attempt writing words. Students practice writing dates daily and record day, month, and year on index cards to order (Activity 3). Students are asked to practice writing specific words (day, month, year) five times and to focus on spelling days and months correctly if they already know them (Activity 6 and Activity 5 note).
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
Students are asked in Activity 4 to write or dictate and then copy a sentence about the clowns, and to begin transitioning into writing their own simple sentences. The lesson explicitly states not to worry about spelling and notes that children at this age still spell phonetically. The lesson also asks students to identify the subject and verb and to begin sentences with a capital letter and end with a period.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
Students are asked to write location words and complete prepositional phrases (Activity 1 Option 2) without a provided word box, and they are encouraged to attempt writing words rather than only cutting and gluing. Activity 2 (Option 2) and Activity 3 ask students to write simple sentences describing locations and to record three or four sentences about object relationships, providing repeated opportunities to produce spellings of words in writing. The activities explicitly include prompts to write sentences that name locations and to use new vocabulary in writing.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 1
People and Families Change
Students are asked to write a sentence about how they have changed (Activity 3) and may copy dictated sentences, which requires producing spellings for words. Students dictate ideas for the "Writing About Change" sheet and then fill in responses (Activity 5), giving them opportunities to write unfamiliar words. Students label names and ages for future predictions (Activity 6) and the skills list includes "Read or attempt to read a dictated story," all of which involve producing spellings for words they may not have been explicitly taught.
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
Students are prompted to write sentences on multiple activity pages (e.g., "I was different because," "Now I am," "In the future I will be") and to complete comparison pages with sentences such as "In the past _____" and "Today _____." The materials instruct that the child can write or dictate sentences and that she should illustrate and read through her book or comparison pages when finished. Several pages provide open-ended writing lines and boxes where students must generate words and phrases about past, present, and future.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
Students practice segmenting and blending sounds to build and read words (Activity 3.2 describes students selecting letter cards for /s/ /a/ /t/ to spell "sat" and then sounding it out). Students write letters while saying their sounds (Activity 2.2 and Activity 4.1 ask students to write letters and say the sound as they write or trace). Students write words by identifying a picture, saying the word slowly to hear all sounds, and writing the word as they say the sounds (Activity 5.2 Writing Words).
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students are asked to sound out and write words by segmenting sounds (Activity 5.1: say the word slowly, hear all the sounds, then write). Students build and blend sounds with letter cards to form known and novel words, including practice with nonsense words to sound out unfamiliar items (Activity 4.2: "It's fine if she makes nonsense words..."). Students are prompted to spell challenge words that may not have been explicitly taught (Activity 3.2: "If your child is ready for a challenge, ask her to spell 'ramp' and 'list'") and to identify/write ending sounds for spoken words (Activity 2.3).
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
Students are asked to say words slowly to hear all sounds and then write the word below the picture (Activity 5.1 Writing Words). In Activity 3.2 Building Words, students use letter cards to create three-letter words, say them slowly while pronouncing each sound, and write the words on a laminated sheet. Activity 2.2 and other word-family tasks prompt students to stretch and segment words (drawing out beginning, middle, and ending sounds) and place or write words based on vowel sounds.
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students are asked to say words slowly, hear each sound, and write the words under pictures (Activity 5.1), showing they segment phonemes and map them to letters. In Building Words (Activity 3.2) students use letter cards to create many three-letter words, say each sound slowly, and write the words on a sheet. The guidance allows students to make and sound out nonsense words and to read/write words in word families (Activity 4.3), indicating practice spelling by phonetic approximation. Letter-sound instruction (e.g., qu = /kw/, x = /ks/) and the Short Vowel Sort give students conventions to draw on when spelling unfamiliar words.
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students use letter cards to spell and change words aloud in Word Chains and are asked to say each letter sound as they spell. In Guess My Word, students write and say words from phonemic clues (e.g., identify initial sound, middle vowel, final sound to write dock, Pam, sock, hogs). Students build and sort word-family words (ack, eck, ick, ock, uck) and apply the ck spelling convention after short vowels, and they add -s to make plurals and write plural words to match pictures.
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students manipulate lowercase letter cards to build and change words (for example making wet → we, met → me, and spelling words such as this, thin, with, math, them, path) and are asked to read words as they construct them (Activities 2.2, 4.2). Students write words and copy sentences while being prompted to say each word as they write (Activity 3.2, Activity 4.3, Activity 5.3). The skills list also explicitly includes segmenting spoken words into sounds and demonstrating one-to-one letter–sound correspondences, which students practice when adding or substituting sounds to make new words.
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students practice spelling and writing words that contain the target digraphs by building words with letter and digraph cards (Activity 3.2), by writing dictated words that emphasize beginning, middle, and ending sounds (Activity 4.2), and by completing fill-in-the-blank picture pages where they supply missing digraphs based on the pictured words (Activity 5.1). Students also write sentences from dictation (Activity 5.3) and are asked to say and segment sounds as they spell (e.g., "Say them slowly so that he can hear their beginning, middle, and ending sounds").
Lesson 8
Blends with s
Students are asked to say each word slowly, hear all the sounds, and write the word beside the picture (Activity 3.3 Writing Words). Students spell words using letter and word-building cards while saying each letter sound and change words in word chains (Activity 4.2). Students complete fill-in-the-blank pages by choosing and writing the correct initial blends and do sentence dictation where they write sentences they hear, attending to sentence-initial and sentence-final punctuation (Activity 5.1 and 5.2). The lesson also teaches specific spelling conventions (the ck rule and open syllable vowel rule) and asks students to apply those when spelling.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students use letter cards and word-building cards to create and spell words (Activities 2.1, 3.1, and Word Chains), with explicit instruction to say each letter sound as they spell. Students fill in missing initial blends for pictured words (Activity 4.1 Fill in the Blanks) and cut/sort pictures by beginning blends (Activity 1.2), applying blend knowledge to produce correct spellings. Students write words from dictation and are reminded to listen for and emphasize sounds as they write (Activities 2.2 and 3.2).
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students are asked to say each word slowly, hear all the sounds, and write the word beside the picture (Activity 2.2), which requires segmenting and phonetic spelling. In Alphabet Soup (Activity 3.2) students create words from letters/blends and write at least 12 words, including identifying nonsense words, which engages spelling by sound. Word-building activities (Days 2 and 3) ask students to assemble words from letter cards and to spell words from prompts (e.g., "spell the word for something you might do if you hurt yourself"), requiring them to map sounds to letters.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
Students repeatedly use lowercase letter cards and word-building cards to spell words the teacher says (Activity 2.2, Activity 4.1, Activity 5.1). They are asked to say letter sounds as they spell, to segment and blend sounds (/n/ + /d/ → /nd/), and to add or change letters to form new words (e.g., pan → pant, word chains). Sentence dictation and independent writing pages require students to write words after hearing them, and sorting/word-building pages ask students to write words under the correct ending-blend headings.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students are asked to spell words using letter and word-building cards (Activities 1.2, 2.2, Day 3 groups), including tasks to spell buzz, sniff, well, miss, huff, puff, mass, mess, etc. Students are directed to "spell three or more ss and ff words on her own" and to create words from the "Alphabet Soup" bowl, then read and revise nonsense words into real words. The lesson repeatedly has students segment and blend sounds (emphasizing /s/ vs /z/) and apply the FLOSS spelling convention when constructing and writing words and sentences.
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students practice spelling and phonics by building words with lowercase letter cards and word-family cards (Activities 2.1, 3.1) and by substituting letters to form new words (e.g., change k to r to make ring). Students complete Fill in the Blanks pages by writing the missing digraphs (Activity 4.1) and write dictated words and sentences (Activity 4.2 and 5.3). The skills list explicitly includes segmenting spoken single-syllable words, producing primary letter sounds, and demonstrating one-to-one letter–sound correspondences.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
Students use lowercase letter cards and word-building cards to spell and read many words containing three-letter blends (e.g., scrap, scrub, strap, spring, sprint, splash). Students complete fill-in-the-blank pages and word sorts by selecting and writing the correct blend for each picture, and they write words and dictated sentences on handwriting paper. The introduction and activity directions encourage students to sound out unknown words, to say and emphasize letter sounds, and to attempt pronunciations before being modeled.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students use letter cards and word-building cards to spell words (Day 2 word building, Day 3 dictation, Activity 2.2 and 3.1). In Activity 4.4 (Alphabet Soup) students are asked to use letters, blends, and digraphs to create and write at least 12 words and to note any nonsense words they produce. The Skills list specifies activities that build phonemic awareness and mapping sounds to letters (segmenting, blending, producing consonant sounds, and spelling-sound correspondences).
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
Students are asked to use lowercase letter cards and word-building cards to spell and read words (e.g., spell "cat" then change it to "car," spell bar, far, car, tar, jar, par) and are encouraged to sound out words they don't know. Students complete Fill in the Blanks pages by writing the missing blends (ba___ = barn, sha___ = shark, etc.) and write words from word-building groups (e.g., park, shark, yard, harm). Students write words from oral clues (Guess My Word) and write dictated sentences, prompting them to convert heard sounds into written letters and blends.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students are asked to sound out words they don't know in Weekly Message #17 and to spell words using lowercase letter and word-building cards in Activity 1.2, practicing construction of words like bank, flags, lick, chop, rash, nest, black, brush, shelf, stand. In Activity 3.1 students play a word-building game that requires choosing vowels, consonants, and word-building cards to create and extend words, and in Activity 2.3 students write dictated words and answer questions about spelling conventions (FLOSS rule, Bossy R, open syllables). Activities also prompt students to say words aloud to hear beginning sounds (Activity 2.2) and to segment/blend sounds in multiple places in the skills list.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students manipulate lowercase letter cards to build and spell words (Activity 2.3, Activity 3.2, Activity 4.1). They are asked to create words from the letters in the "Alphabet Soup" bowl and write as many long-a and long-i words as they can, including being encouraged to produce nonsense words (Activity 4.1, Wrapping Up). The skills list explicitly includes segmenting spoken single-syllable words into sounds, blending sounds, and adding/substituting individual sounds to make new words, which supports phonemic spelling.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students use lowercase letter cards to spell words as the teacher calls them (Activity 2.3, Activity 3.2, Activity 4.1), practicing mapping sounds to letters. Students are prompted to sound out words they don't know and to add or remove the silent e to change vowel sounds (Activity 2.2, Activity 3.2, Activity 3.3). Students complete a spelling test and write words the teacher dictates, applying phonics patterns (Activity 4.3, Sentence Dictation).
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students repeatedly use lowercase letter cards and laminated writing sheets to build and spell words (e.g., clap, ice, race, cent, mice, price, lace, cave; cage, game, gust, age, huge). Students complete a spelling test by writing words read aloud (cent, race, cage, face, gem, give, space, huge, mice, age and challenge words girl, stage). Activities ask students to manipulate given letter groups to form words that match phonetic prompts (word scramble groups such as a,c,e,r to make care and race).
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students are asked repeatedly to spell words as the teacher calls them (Activities 2.2, 4.1) using lowercase letter cards or by writing on the laminated writing sheet, and then to read the words aloud. Students complete a Fill-in-the-Blanks page (Activity 5.1) where they write the correct vowel pairs to name pictured items, and they take a Spelling Test (Activity 4.2) writing words dictated to them. The Skills list and multiple activities require students to segment and blend sounds, produce primary letter sounds, apply silent-e and soft c/g rules, and use letter-sound correspondences when decoding and spelling.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students are asked to build and spell words using letter cards (Activities 2.2 and 3.2), putting a and i or a and y together and then adding letters to form words (e.g., way, mail, paint). Students generate additional words for word-ending groups (Activity 1.2) and complete word chains by changing one letter at a time to create new words (Activity 4.1). Students also sort and write words with ai/ay spellings and complete a fill-in-the-blank page and a spelling test that require them to produce spellings based on taught vowel-team conventions.
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
Students use letter cards and word-building cards to spell words called out by the teacher (Activity 2.2) and to create at least 12 words from the letters/blends in the "Alphabet Soup" bowl, writing and then reading the words they invent (Activity 3.1). Students write words for pictured items that use the ea long-e pattern (Activity 3.2) and complete sentence dictation and spelling tests that require them to produce spellings. The Skills list explicitly includes segmenting single-syllable words, blending sounds, adding/substituting sounds, and knowing vowel-team conventions, which guides students to use phonemic awareness and spelling conventions when writing words.
Lesson 7
Long i Spellings y, igh, ie
Students repeatedly practice spelling words by assembling lowercase letter cards in Activities 2.2, 3.2, and 4.1 (e.g., spell cry, fry, sly, night, fight, pie, tie). Students segment and blend sounds in oral activities and the Skills list explicitly includes segmenting single-syllable words, producing letter-sound correspondences, and adding/substituting sounds to make new words. Students sort words by long-i spelling patterns (i_e, y, igh, ie) and take a spelling test that asks them to write long-i words independently.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students spell words aloud and with letter cards in Activity 2.2 (word building) using ow, oa, and oe cards to form words. Students write words from pictures in Activity 3.1 (Writing oa Words), applying the oa convention to map sounds to letters. In Activity 3.2 (Word Scramble) and the optional letter challenge (l, o, b, w), students use their knowledge of long-o spellings and letter-sound correspondences to form and write words from mixed letters.
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students practice mapping sounds to letters by using lowercase letter cards and word-building cards to spell dictated long u words (Activity 2.1, 3.1). Students perform word scrambles where they must unscramble mixed letters to make long u words and are encouraged to use knowledge of where ue/ew/ou typically appear (Activity 4.2). Students segment and blend spoken single-syllable words and add or substitute sounds to make new words in review activities, and they write words and sentences from dictation (Segmenting/blending skills, Activity 5.2).
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students use lowercase letter cards and word-building cards to construct words (Activities 1.2, 2.1–2.2, 3.1, 4.1), practicing letter-sound correspondences and blending as they spell words like mild, wild, colt, and bolt. In the Alphabet Soup activity students are asked to create words from letters and blends, write at least 14 words, and identify nonsense words, which requires them to apply phonics knowledge to generate and spell unfamiliar letter sequences. The lesson repeatedly instructs students to sound out words they don't know and to read or spell words aloud as they build them, encouraging use of phonemic awareness when approaching unknown words.
Lesson 11
Long Vowel Sounds Review
Students repeatedly manipulate letters and spellings to represent long vowel sounds (Activity 1.2 matching a_e with "bake" and placing pairs under vowel columns; word-sorting activities for long a, e, i, o, u). Students use lowercase letter cards to spell or unscramble words (Activity 3.3, Activity 5.2) and are asked to write words they find in readers or from clues (Activity 2.1, Activity 4.3). The Life Application prompts the child to spell words given a long vowel sound using lowercase letter cards, encouraging independent spelling of words with that sound.
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students are prompted to "sound out words that he doesn't know" when reading the Weekly Message and to point to and read words they know. In Activity 1.2 and Activity 3.2 students draw lowercase letter cards and word-building cards and use them to create and spell words by blending sounds and forming vowel teams (e.g., using oi/oy, o_e, ow, oa, oe). The skills list and multiple activities require students to segment spoken single-syllable words, blend sounds, and apply phonics patterns when spelling and decoding (e.g., sorting oi/oy, noting silent e, and spelling words called aloud).
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
Students are asked to spell words aloud and in writing using letter cards and word-building tasks (Activity 3.1: "ask her to spell the words as you call them out one at a time"). Students unscramble letter sets to make /ou/ words and are prompted to "use what she knows about /ou/ spellings to make words" (Activity 3.2). Students write words from pictures (Activity 1.2) and fill in blanks with ou or ow (Activity 4.2), explicitly attending to sound-letter correspondences and consonant patterns (t/d with ou; l/n with ow).
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
Students practice spelling words by manipulating letter cards and writing words in activities such as Word Building (Activity 3.1 and 4.1), Alphabet Soup (Activities 3.2 and 4.2), and the Spelling Test (Activity 4.3). The skills list explicitly includes segmenting spoken single-syllable words, producing letter-sound correspondences, blending sounds to make words, and applying grade-level phonics and word analysis skills. Several tasks ask students to create words from given letters (encouraging them to put sounds together) and to read aloud words they form.
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students use letter cards to spell words in Activity 2.2 and Activity 4.1, where they are asked to spell words called aloud (e.g., wood, mood, seam, bear) and to spell words for given prompts (food, hoot). The Life Application asks students to make up nonsense words and spell/pronounce them (for example, spelling "seach" and pronouncing it three different ways). The skills list and multiple activities also require students to segment sounds, blend sounds, and apply letter-sound correspondences when decoding and building words.
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
Students use letter cards to build kn and wr words (Activity 2.2, Activity 3.2) and complete word-scramble tasks that require them to assemble letters into target words (Activity 5.1). Students read and write word lists on multiple "Writing Words" and "Writing Sight Words" pages and take a spelling test where they write words aloud to them (Activity 4.3). The skills list and multiple activities ask students to segment sounds, blend sounds, and apply phonics and spelling-sound correspondences (Skills; Activities that prompt sounding out and phonics review).
Lesson 17
Year-End Review
Students complete Alphabet Soup activities (Day 3 and Day 5) in which they use letters and letter pairs to build and write at least 12 words, including teacher-provided support with lowercase letter cards for moving letters to form words. The materials instruct students to create words with many different vowel sounds, read the words they created, and identify nonsense words and replace them with real words. The Skills list and multiple activities require students to segment and blend sounds, sort words by vowel sounds, and apply specific spelling conventions (e.g., long-vowel spellings, glued sounds, digraphs, FLOSS, silent starts).