Foundational Skills

Learning Alphabets

Children learn how to identify and form the letters in handwriting. They notice letters in environmental print and learn to sing the ABC song. By the time children enter kindergarten, they usually recognize some letters, especially those in their own names and in common words in their homes and communities. Children also write some of these familiar letters.

Children recognize :

The letter’s name
The formation of the letter in upper- and lowercase manuscript handwriting
The features of the letter that distinguish it from other letters
The direction the letter must be turned to distinguish it from other letters (e.g., b and d )
The use of the letter in known words (e.g., names and common words)
The sound the letter represents in isolation
The sound the letter represents in combination with others (e.g., ch, th)
The sound the letter represents in the context of a word (e.g., the c sounds in cat, city, and chair)

Phonological & Phonemic Awarness

Phonemic awareness is children’s basic understanding that speech is composed of a series of individual sounds, and it provides the foundation for phonics and spelling. When children can choose a duck as the animal whose name begins with /d/ from a collection of toy animals, identify duck and luck as rhyming words in a song, and blend the sounds /d/ / ŭ / /k/ to pronounce duck, they’re phonemically aware.

Two strategies as students manipulate sounds orally:

Blend
Segment

Children practice these strategies orally as they play with words, identify rhyming words, and with nonsense words. Children can apply these strategies to written language when they decode and spell words. If students struggle, reteach the strategies, making sure to name them, model their use with both oral and written language, and talk about their application in reading and writing.

Phonics, Spelling & Word Recognition

Students need to learn to spell words conventionally so that they can communicate effectively through writing. Learning phonics during the primary grades is part of spelling instruction, but students also need to learn other strategies and information about English orthography. In the past, weekly spelling tests were the main instructional approach; now, they’re only one part of a comprehensive spelling program.

Children learn to segment spoken words into sounds and convert the sounds into letters to spell words. Those who have learned to spell conventionally understand English phoneme–grapheme correspondences and spelling patterns, and they can use spelling strategies to spell unfamiliar words. Students learn spelling strategies that they can use to figure out the spelling of unfamiliar words. As they move through the stages of spelling development, they become increasingly more sophisticated in their use of phonological, semantic, and historical knowledge to spell words; that is, they become more strategic. Important spelling strategies include the following:

Segmenting the word and spelling each sound, often called “sound it out”
Spelling unknown words by analogy to familiar words
Applying affixes to root words
Proofreading to locate spelling errors in a rough draft
Locating the spelling of unfamiliar words in a dictionary

There are a variety forms of reading

Shared Reading - draws students attention and gets students engaged. As the teacher I demonstrates concepts, points out letters, words, and punctuation. Ask questions about the story or concepts.

Choral Reading - Students read a text aloud together in unison, which helps build fluency, pronunciation, and confidence.

Echo Reading - As the teacher, I read a sentence or passage first, and the students “echo” by repeating it, reinforcing phrasing, expression, and comprehension.

Partner Reading - Two students take turns reading a text aloud to each other, providing support, feedback, and shared practice in fluency and expression.

Readers Theater - Students perform a script derived from a text, focusing on expressive reading and interpretation rather than memorization, which strengthens comprehension and engagement.

Listening Center - Students listen to recorded readings while following along in the text, improving listening skills, pronunciation, fluency, and word recognition.

Decoding, Encoding & Morphological Awareness

Students use the decoding to identify words by associating them with words they already know. Readers might notice the phonogram -all, think of the word ball, and decode the word by analogy.

Students apply this strategy when they read and write “word families,” using -at, -ell, -ice, -own, -unk, and other phonograms.

Students use morphemic analysis to identify multisyllabic words. They locate the root word by peeling off prefixes and suffixes. A root word is a morpheme and most meaningful part of a word. Prefixes are added to the beginning of a root word, and suffixes are added to the end.

Text Reading Fluency

Students become fluent readers once they recognize most words automatically and read quickly and with expression. This is a milestone because students have limited cognitive resources to devote to reading. Beginning readers use most of this energy to decode words; fluent readers, in contrast, devote most of their cognitive resources to comprehension.

Fluency has three main components:

Automaticity – recognizing familiar words instantly and decoding unfamiliar words quickly.
Speed – fluent readers read at least 100+ words per minute by 3rd grade, 150 by 8th grade, and 250 when they are adults
Prosody – reading with natural expression, pace, and appropriate phrasing.

Structured, Direct, Systematic, and Explicit Instruction

Teachers provide explicit instruction to build students’ background knowledge, introduce vocabulary, and present information. Then they supervise students as they complete practice activities and, finally, provide opportunities for independent application.

Explicit: Teaching is clear, direct, and leaves little to chance; students know what they're learning and why, with no ambiguity.
Systematic: Instruction follows a logical, planned sequence, building from simple to complex, integrating different language systems (like phonics, spelling).
Direct: The teacher actively demonstrates, models ("I do"), and guides practice ("we do") before students try independently ("you do").
Structured: The lesson has clear routines, organized components, and a focus on specific critical content, often using frameworks like the Gradual Release of Responsibility.

Foundational Skills – English Language Learners

English learners benefit from participating in the same instructional as other students. It's important to create classroom learning contexts that respect minority students and meet their needs. Learning to read and write is more challenging for students learning English as a new language because they’re learning to speak English at the same time they’re developing literacy. Teachers scaffold students’ oral language acquisition and literacy development by Guided Reading, Literature Circles, and Reading Workshops.

It’s important that teachers understand that English learners have different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and plan instructional programs accordingly. Teachers who learn about their students’ home language and culture and embed them into their instruction are likely to be more successful.

Dyslexia Guidelines and Structured Literacy

Dyslexia is a neurobiological learning disability shown by challenges in accurate or fluent word recognition, spelling, and decoding. This is usually caused by phonological challenges in relation to cognitive abilities.

Multiple genes contribute to dyslexia risk and severity. Dyslexia, like reading skill is dimensional rather than categorical.

● Having dyslexia can run in families. There is a greater genetic likelihood of having dyslexia if you have close relatives with dyslexia.

● Although there are advantages and disadvantages of receiving a dyslexia label, the advantages---for example, both supports and increased understanding of why an individual has trouble learning to read---outweigh the disadvantages.

Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction

Evidence-based instruction is necessary for supporting students with dyslexia and has been proven effective through decades of research.

With early, intensive intervention focused on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension, 90–95% of struggling readers can reach average or above-average reading levels.
Using these strategies in general education classrooms allows most students to succeed without needing special education services, reserving that support for the most severe cases.

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)

MTSS is a framework that guides educators in providing appropriate support for all students.

Universal (Tier 1): High-quality core instruction and positive practices for all students in general education classrooms, focusing on nurturing environments and equitable access.
Targeted (Tier 2): Small-group interventions for students needing more support than Tier 1 provides, addressing specific skill gaps in academics or behavior/social-emotional needs.
Intensive (Tier 3): Highly individualized, intensive support plans for the few students who don't respond to Tiers 1 & 2, often involving formal assessments and specialized strategies.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies offer flexible ways to present information to engage students, and let them show learning. These strategies focus on removing barriers by using multiple formats through technology like video and audio. UDL offers diversitifation in assignments such as projects, essays, presentations, and providing varied supports to meet diverse needs, all built around three core principles: Multiple Means of Representation, Action & Expression, and Engagement.

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