ELM 545 RS-T3 Phonics Instruction.

Phonics Instruction Assignment Instructions

Designing explicit phonics lessons aligned with state standards prepares educators to support young learners in building strong reading foundations through structured and engaging activities.

As a teacher, it is important to understand the components of explicit and systematic phonics instruction. Recognizing these elements can truly empower you to make a difference in your students’ literacy journeys.

Intentional phonics instruction is complementary to phonological awareness and can have positive effects on word recognition, fluency, spelling, and vocabulary achievement. Teachers explicitly teach the relationships between letters/graphemes and the sounds of spoken language. Explicit instruction requires that teachers provide step-by-step directions for the relationships between letters (patterns) and sounds.

The goal in phonics instruction should always be to teach students to decode patterns to move words into sight word memory. Teachers are encouraged to develop intentional and robust instructional routines to support all students. The research shows that the brain responds to phonics instruction that is engaging, multisensory, and cumulative.

While there is not one specific phonics scope and sequence, most research-based phonics instruction follows an organized structure that involves less complex letter-sound relationships to more complex ones. Utilize the “Phonics Instruction” template to complete this assignment. Part 1: Explicit Instruction and Intentional Instructional Routines Choose a grade level K-3 for this assignment and review the standards from Tennessee.

After reviewing the grade level reading foundational standards, choose one and create a 10-15 minute explicit introductory phonics lesson. Part 2: Reflection After reviewing the grade level foundational standards and creating an explicit phonics lesson, write a 150 word reflection on how the Science of Reading was used to address the components of the phonics lesson. Support your assignment with a minimum of two scholarly resources.

Phonics Instruction Part 1: Explicit Instruction and Intentional Instructional Routines Standard Choose one K-3 reading foundational standard that addresses a phonics skill. Recent updates to Tennessee standards emphasize early literacy skills integration.

Learning Objective Write a developmentally appropriate and measurable learning objective that aligns with the standard and identifies the concept or pattern being taught throughout the lesson.

Phonological/Phonemic Awareness Review Describe a phonological/ phonemic awareness routine that reviews the previously learned patterns and introduces the new pattern in an auditory way. Refer to strategies discussed in the Topic 2 assignment. Include both the routine and words that will be used during the routine.

Introduction of New Phonics Pattern Describe how the new phonics pattern will be introduced to students.

Blending Describe an instructional routine that allows students to practice blending words with the concept or pattern. Include both the routine and words that will be used during the routine. Interactive digital tools can enhance blending practice in current classrooms.

Chaining/Making Words Describe an instructional routine that allows students to practice building words with the concept or pattern. Include both the routine and words that will be used during the routine.

Dictation Describe an instructional routine that allows students to practice writing words with the concept or pattern. Include both the routine and words that will be used during the routine.

High-Frequency Words Describe an instructional routine that allows students to learn new high frequency words and review previous words learned. Include both the routine and words that will be used during the routine. Gamification elements boost engagement in high-frequency word drills today.

Decodable Text Identify or create text that allows students to practice reading words with the concept or pattern.

Formative Assessment Describe one formative assessment that can be used to assess the learning objective.

Differentiation Explain two ways to differentiate the lesson to support diverse student needs.

Technology Provide one way that technology can be used in the lesson. Adaptive apps offer personalized phonics reinforcement in modern education.

At-Home Practice Activity Describe an at-home activity that families can do with students to practice the concept or pattern learned throughout the lesson.

Part 2: Reflection

References

Sample Answer Pool

Standard: K.FL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding isolated words and in connected text. Learning Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will decode and blend five short vowel words with 80% accuracy as measured by teacher observation. Phonological/Phonemic Awareness Review: Begin with a sound blending game where students echo blend sounds like /c/ /a/ /t/ to form ‘cat’, reviewing previous short a sounds before introducing short e. Introduction of New Phonics Pattern: Present the short e sound using a story about an elephant named Ed, sounding out words like ‘bed’ and ‘red’ together. Blending: Use magnetic letters to blend words such as ‘hen’, ‘pen’, ‘ten’, guiding students to sound out each phoneme and blend smoothly. Chaining/Making Words: Start with ‘bet’ and change one letter at a time to form ‘net’, ‘pet’, ‘set’, encouraging students to read each new word aloud (Ehri, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.334).

How can educators integrate the Science of Reading into phonics lessons effectively? Research from the National Reading Panel indicates that systematic phonics boosts decoding skills by 20-30% in early grades, as shown in longitudinal studies across diverse classrooms. Case examples from Tennessee schools demonstrate that multisensory routines, like those in the What I Need program, improve fluency metrics according to data from the Tennessee Department of Education.

• Create a 10-15 minute explicit phonics lesson plan with routines, assessment, and 150-word reflection in a 500-750 word document, supported by two scholarly resources.
• Teachers develop a 2-3 page phonics instruction template including standards, objectives, activities, and differentiation strategies for K-3 students.
• Choose a standard and create an explicit introductory phonics lesson with reflection.

References

1. Ehri, L. C. (2020) ‘The science of learning to read words: A case for systematic phonics instruction’, Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), pp. S45–S60. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.334.
2. Dilgard, C., Hodges, T. S. and Coleman, J. (2022) ‘Phonics Instruction in Early Literacy: Examining Professional Learning, Instructional Resources, and Intervention Intensity’, Reading Psychology, 43(8), pp. 541–575. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2022.2126045.
3. Glazzard, J. and Stones, S. (2020) ‘A rigorous approach to the teaching of reading? Systematic synthetic phonics in initial teacher education’, Frontiers in Education, 5, p. 587155. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.587155.
4. Bowers, J. S. (2023) ‘There is still little or no evidence that systematic phonics is more effective than common alternative methods of reading instruction: Response to Brooks (2023)’, Review of Education, 11(3), p. e3432. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3432.
5. Wyse, D., Esposito, R. and Sumner, E. (2026) ‘Mapping the Field of Effective Teaching and Interventions for Children With Reading Difficulties: A Systematic Tertiary Review, Qualitative Meta‐Synthesis, and …’, Reading Research Quarterly. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.70075.