Phonics instruction aligned with the Science of Reading is the best way to teach students to read. Gone are the days where we just randomly expose students to words and text. No more telling students to use the picture or “make a guess” when they come to an unknown word. With explicit instruction, students can show more growth in reading than ever before. But, what about the fun games and engaging activities? Let me help you out!

What Is the Science of Reading?

The Science of Reading is a body of research-based findings that explore how people learn to read and how reading can be effectively taught. It draws upon various fields such as cognitive psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and education to understand the complex process of reading acquisition. The Science of Reading emphasizes several key principles, including:

1. Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken language. Phonemic awareness is a foundational skill for reading.
2. Phonics: The relationship between letters and sounds. Phonics instruction teaches students the rules and patterns of these relationships, helping them decode words.
3. Fluency: The ability to read text accurately, quickly, and with expression. Fluency is developed through practice and is essential for reading comprehension.
4. Vocabulary: The knowledge of words and their meanings. Building vocabulary is crucial for understanding text and developing reading comprehension skills.
5. Comprehension: The ability to understand and interpret written text. Comprehension strategies help readers construct meaning from what they read.
6. Decodable Text: Text that is written with a high proportion of words containing the letter-sound relationships that have been taught. Decodable text supports early readers in applying their phonics skills.
7. Structured Literacy: An instructional approach that explicitly teaches the principles of the Science of Reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, and morphology, in a systematic and cumulative way.

Challenges of Implementing Science-Based Phonics Strategies

It’s not easy to implement science of reading strategies using just any resource you find on TPT or the internet. Here’s why this one is the best:

1. It is 100% decodable. You won’t find the word ‘strawberry’ on the blends unit. The units build on each other, so a student practicing with unit 6 will only have words and skills from units 1-6. There are no words with vowel teams or r-controlled vowels in the packet.
2. Every game is identical across units. Teach the game to your students, and then (without them knowing) give out the unit for the words they need. No one will feel “different” or “less than” because EVERYONE will be playing the exact same game – they won’t notice that their list is harder or easier than their peers.
3. 5 minute prep? Uh, enough said. Print and cut. That’s it. (I mean, lamination is recommended, but not required). Oh, and the cuts? They are all straight lines so run to that paper cutter!

The Solution: 5-Minute Prep Unit Bundle

The beauty of this bundle is in its name—minimal preparation is required. Print the necessary materials, and you’re ready to go. Each activity is designed to be straightforward, requiring no elaborate setup, which means you can spend more time interacting with your students and less time on preparation.

Examples of Science-Based Activities in the Bundle

The bundle is super unique, let me tell you why.

1. It is 100% decodable. You won’t find the word ‘strawberry’ on the blends unit. The units build on each other, so a student practicing with unit 6 will only have words and skills from units 1-6. There are no words with vowel teams or r-controlled vowels in the packet.
2. Every game is identical across units. Teach the game to your students, and then (without them knowing) give out the unit for the words they need. No one will feel “different” or “less than” because EVERYONE will be playing the exact same game – they won’t notice that their list is harder or easier than their peers.
3. 5 minute prep? Uh, enough said. Print and cut. That’s it. (I mean, lamination is recommended, but not required). Oh, and the cuts? They are all straight lines so run to that paper cutter!

Aligning Phonics Instruction with Evidence-Based Practices

Phonics instruction is a critical component of early literacy development, and aligning it with evidence-based practices is key to ensuring its effectiveness. Systematic and sequential practice that follows a logical progression from simple to complex phonics patterns is key. This helps students build a strong foundation in phonics skills.