Let's talk phonics....

Phonics: a method of teaching people to read by correlating sounds with letters or groups of letters in an alphabetic writing system; also known as the fundamental part of learning to read and write...kind of a big deal I'd say. 

In first grade we talk phonics throughout the whole year. We start with consent sounds and move to cvc short vowel words and eventually work our way through digraphs, blends and long vowels. As adults and parents we see this as something that we just learned many many years ago. Can you imagine if parents could see all the work their little humans do each and every day to expand their phonemic awareness? 

We look at sounds in isolation, we blend sounds with daily word work, and we hunt for works in our books and read alouds. 

I don't know about all of you but the struggle comes when students start asking "why do those letters make that sound?" or "why do we spell that word that way?" 

The English language is HARD, COMPLEX and has so many things that are unexplainable...for example why is the long a sometimes created from ai and other times a_e? How do you know which one to use in words like rain or tame? My coworkers all just say it is something that in context exposure will help with and that eventually it just becomes something they know... 

So more phonemic specific exposure is my goal this year. I have found many resources but none that fit my exact need and fit in my the short time frame in my already filled schedule (full schedule-story of every teachers day right?). 

I created and started using these phonics stories a month ago and they have been really helpful. I am able to differentiate by having my higher students read and work independently on the passages, and my struggling students have been using these in their small reading groups with me. Not only do we use the passages to find the phonemic themes and carefully examine/decode each word, but also we are able to work on our fluency when reading. 

It will be interesting to see if there is an impact on their phonics when writing on demand pieces, working with their words their way sorts, and when they take their end of the year ELA assessments. 

I just uploaded them on my TPT site! Check them out-they are 50% off for the week! That is only $1.50!!!
Check them out here--> Word Study Stories.
Don't forget to leave feedback too please :)