Benchmark Phonics Intervention, Level 4 Texas Edition

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include an explanation of the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., additional instruction and/or practice, targeted remediation or acceleration).

Benchmark Advance Phonics Intervention is a supplemental program with a clearly stated purpose: targeted remediation. Each level of the program includes a “Program Structure” resource that states, “Phonics Intervention provides intensive phonics and phonological awareness instruction for students who are two or more years below grade-level expectations.”

The Program Guide includes a “Program Structure” section that states, “Benchmark Phonics Intervention is designed to be used alongside any core ELA program, providing targeted, research-based tier-3 intervention for students who need additional instruction in foundational literacy skills.”

In addition, the materials state that “explicit, systematic, and multimodal” instruction aligns with the definition of specially designed instruction (SDI) provided by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include guidance on how to appropriately use the supplemental program to support an existing core reading and language arts program.

Educators administer a comprehensive phonics survey to “identify gaps in students’ foundational phonics skills.” The materials provide educators with additional steps for students who demonstrate multiple decoding difficulties, including the administration of a Phonological Awareness Assessment to determine whether weaknesses in prerequisite skills are contributing factors. Educators then use this assessment data to plan targeted small-group instruction used in addition to an existing core reading and language arts program.

Benchmark Advance Phonics Intervention includes a Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook. This handbook explains how educators can use program phonics assessments, such as the Quick Phonics Assessment (QPA) and Quick Spelling Assessment (QSA), to place students into appropriate intervention levels and identify a suitable starting unit. Educators administer this instruction to support an existing core reading and language arts program.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include a scope and sequence outlining student expectations, skills taught, and a rationale for the design of the scope and sequence.

Benchmark Advance Phonics Intervention Level 4 includes a scope and sequence that outlines student expectations and the skills taught. The Program Guide includes the scope and sequence, in which every unit lists phonological awareness, a focus skill, high-frequency words, the TEKS, and ELPS.

Benchmark Advance Phonics Intervention Level 4 includes a rationale for the design of the program’s scope and sequence in the “Phonics Intervention Routines” videos. These videos explain each routine and describe the research to support every lesson component. In addition, lessons are intentionally structured so components build on one another and increase in complexity. Students begin with rereading text for fluency and conclude with applying the lesson focus skill with writing and dictation.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include guidance on time requirements (e.g., duration, frequency) and suggested pacing for effective implementation.

The Program Guide includes the “High-Impact Instruction Walk-Through of Teacher’s Guides” section that specifies expectations for lesson structure and instructional flow. The materials state, “Each daily lesson is divided into three distinct sections: ‘Warm-Up, Review, and Repetition,’ ‘Multimodal Mini-Lessons,’ and ‘Apply to Reading and Writing.’” The materials structure each lesson to last 20–30 minutes and provide a time allocation for each subsection.

Benchmark Advance Phonics Intervention Level 4 includes guidance on the time requirements and suggested pacing for effective implementation, which are outlined in the Intensive Phonological Awareness: Phonological & Phonemic Awareness Routines & Activities document. In the document, a “Next Steps” section dictates how much time educators and students should spend on phonological awareness and offers a weekly planning chart. This chart outlines Monday through Friday instruction and recommends planning five to 10 minutes per day for focused phonological awareness activities.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance to support educators with implementing the materials as designed.

The materials include a “Foundational Skills Assessment” video tutorial that guides educators on the administration and use of student assessments via the “Overview,” “Getting Started,” “Views/Reports,” and “Recommended Placements” sections. This video tutorial details assessment administration and how to interpret assessment results.

In the Teacher’s Guide, each lesson provides approximate timing for each component: five minutes for “Warm-Up Review and Repetition,” five minutes for the “Multimodal Mini-Lesson,” 10 minutes for the “Vocabulary Booster,” and 10 minutes for “Apply to Reading and Writing.” Lessons also outline precise educator and student actions, such as directing students to listen to a sound and explaining that “the letter o stands for the /o/ sound,” followed by guided student practice.

Evaluation for 1.1f
Materials contain supports for families in both Spanish and English with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student.

Benchmark Advance Phonics Intervention Level 4 materials include supports for families in both English and Spanish that offer guidance on how to reinforce student progress at home. These resources include Home–School Connection Letters in English and Spanish for each of the 30 units, which explain the unit’s focus and suggest ways families can help. For example, the unit 1 English letter encourages families to read a text from the Student Reading Collection together, complete activities in the Student Book, and support their child as they practice reading and writing decodable and high‑frequency words at home.

The materials contain a resource library with a Home–School Connection Letters and Activities PDF. This area contains the Home–School Connection Letters in English; however, there are no activities present. Instead, each lesson’s activities appear on the back cover of the Student Book.

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include appropriate instructional assessments for the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., diagnostic placement assessments for targeted remediation or acceleration).

The level 4 materials include a comprehensive set of assessments to place students in one of four instructional levels, with accompanying starting points for each level. The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook states that educators “can use district core ELA assessments to identify students who need additional support.” Educators “then use Phonics Intervention assessments such as the QPA and QSA to identify specific areas of need.”

The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook includes the “Progress Monitoring: One-Minute Oral Reading Fluency Assessment Rubric.” This rubric directs educators to score students on a one to four rating scale across the categories of Phrasing and Fluency, Intonation, and Comprehension. The “Rubric Score Key” section provides the following guidance: “1 and 2: Student has not achieved an appropriate level of fluency for the level of passage, 3: Fluent reading is being refined at the Phonics Intervention level of the passage, 4: Fluent reading has been achieved for the Phonics Intervention level at which the passage is written.”

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the instructional assessments included.

The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook includes guidance on assessment administration, types of assessments, and the purposes of a variety of tests in the program, including phonics, spelling, phonological and phonemic awareness, fluency, and high-frequency words. The handbook includes explicit guidance, such as: “This phonics survey … is organized around related categories of phonics skills and aids in determining which skills students have and have not mastered.”

The materials include the purpose of Progress Monitoring Assessments. The Phonics and Intervention Program Guide states, “The One-Minute Oral Reading Fluency Quick Checks are used to evaluate students’ reading rate.” The materials recommend that educators “formally assess students’ reading fluency in the beginning, middle, and end of the school year.”

Evaluation for 2.1c
For instructional assessments administered by educators, materials include guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

In the Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook, the materials include one-minute oral reading “Fluency Quick Checks” with tools for the educator to compare each student’s performance to the “Hasbrouck and Tindal norms at 50th percentile, for the grade level and time of year.” The handbook advises educators to assess students’ oral reading fluency multiple times throughout the school year.

In the Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook, directions guide educators to administer four assessments: QPA, QSA, Phonological Awareness, and Fluency. Guidance is clear to ensure consistent administration, such as, “Say to the student: I’m going to ask you to tell me the names (sounds) of some letters so that I can find out which ones you already know and which ones you still need to learn. I want you to try to do your best. We’ll stop if they get too hard. Do you have any questions?”

Evaluation for 2.1d
Instructional assessments include items at varying levels of complexity.

The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook contains a Phonological Awareness assessment that has 18 sections, including “Word Awareness” and “Rhyme Identification.” Each section has items at varying levels of complexity. For example, in the “Word Awareness” section, the student has to repeat a sentence spoken by the educator and state the number of words in the sentence. The sentences increase in word length and vary in complexity, ranging from two to six words.

Each unit has a cumulative assessment that increases in complexity, in alignment with the program’s scope and sequence of skills. For example, the unit 1, lesson 10, “Dictation” subsection of the cumulative assessment includes the words branch and stamp, and the sentence “The tall plants are getting the most sun.” The same section in unit 10, lesson 10 of the cumulative assessment includes the words silent, open, and happen, as well as the sentence “The fly is stuck in the spider’s web.” The cumulative assessments begin with words that include blends and move to more complex multisyllabic words and a sentence with a possessive noun.

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments and scoring information provide guidance for interpreting student performance.

The QPA provides guidance to help educators accurately score and interpret student performance data. The “Interpreting QPA Results” section explains that skill sets are ordered by difficulty, allowing educators to determine which skill sets students have mastered and which specific phonics and decoding skills they still need to learn. Detailed examples are also included that show how to use scores, observations (e.g., confidence and response rate), and stopping points to make instructional decisions.

The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook provides detailed instructions in the “Introduction” section for the administration and scoring of the QSA. These checks use a rubric to measure students’ spelling development. Educators are advised to use this assessment to determine if students need more practice with encoding before they move on to more complex phonics skills. The handbook also states that the QSA helps educators adjust the program’s starting point. The program includes a rubric to help educators determine where to place the student that states, “If the student scores 20 or more correct in the skill sets 1–2, move on to the next skill set. If the student scores over half correct in skill sets 3–12, move on to the next skill set.” The material also states to “stop the assessment when the student correctly spells less than half of the items, or scores more than half but struggles through the word sets and/or displays frustration.”

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of the supplemental program to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook provides detailed instructions in its “Introduction” section on the different assessments that can be given to place students “into one of 4 levels of the program.” These include the QPA, QSA, Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Assessment, one-minute Oral Fluency Assessment, High-Frequency Word Screeners, and Progress Monitoring Assessments. These assessments help the educator determine each student’s most appropriate starting point in the Benchmark Advance Phonics Intervention Program. Level 4 materials also include when to assess students, a chart that details the steps the educator should take based on the data collected from the assessments, one-minute fluency assessments, and a rating rubric.

In the Teacher’s Guide, unit 3, lesson 5, educators are directed to use tools such as the Student Observation Form and other assessment notes to identify specific phonics and high-frequency word skills that require additional support in upcoming lessons 6–10. The program includes explicit guidance for educators on how to respond to students’ performance trends, such as whether to move students to the next unit or continue targeted lessons based on their demonstrated proficiency. The guidance states that if students show “basic proficiency in reading and writing words with short a, then progress to unit 4.”

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for educators to track student progress and growth, and tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook includes data-recording sheets to track data for several literacy skills: high-frequency words, print concepts, letter names, letter sounds, and handwriting. These tools support educators as they track student progress and growth.

The Benchmark Assessment and Screener Handbook includes student record forms to track individual progress across beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year assessments, as well as class record forms to monitor skill development across the group. These tools help students track their progress and growth.

The program includes the Benchmark Universe dashboard, which allows educators to view student data, assign lessons, and interact with students. Educators and students can interact using the Reading Log tool that allows both educators and students to track students’ reading progress. Reading Log information is sorted based on class, type (independent vs. assigned), status, and time frame. Educators can access student reviews, approve them, or ask students to revise them, and send comments back to students.

Evaluation for 2.2d
If applicable for the stated purpose of the supplemental program, materials include guidance for entry and exit criteria.

The “Placement and Assessment” section of the Phonics and Intervention Program Guide provides guidance on student placement, progress monitoring, and exit strategies. The monitoring and exit area contains four reference points—monitor mastery, cumulative review, pacing adjustment, and repetition—as well as student observation forms.

The materials include diagnostic tools, such as the QPA and QSA, to identify students who need targeted intervention and to determine appropriate entry points. These assessments help educators pinpoint specific gaps in phonemic awareness, phonics, and spelling skills to guide instruction.

Evaluation for 3.1a
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills.

The Teacher’s Guide includes an “Additional Supports” section with routines that target specific skills. For instance, students interact with Vocabulary Picture Cards as they name each picture, read the sentence on the back, and then build the corresponding word with Letter Cards to reinforce decoding. Educators also sing letter songs to review letter formation and sounds, use handwriting practice pages, and incorporate lessons from the Phonological Awareness Kit for more intensive instruction. Educators are also directed to use the Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) Overview to ensure appropriate support for students with special needs throughout the unit.

In the Teacher’s Guide, unit 16, lesson 1, under “Corrective Feedback,” the materials state, “For students who mispronounce sounds, model the sound and have students repeat. For students who need support with letter formation, provide a model and have students trace and repeat. For students who misread a high-frequency word, say the word. Have students repeat, trace, and spell, then repeat again. Point out any irregular spelling patterns in the word.”

In the Benchmark Advance Teacher Resources, the Fluency Instruction Routines provide educators with guidance to help students build accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. Educators are guided to administer the comprehensive phonics survey and/or the Phonological Awareness Assessment, depending on student needs. Specifically, there is guidance and explicit instructions for educators to incorporate a repeated reading routine into weekly independent and small-group work.

Evaluation for 3.1b
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level skills.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because the program has a stated purpose of targeted remediation or acceleration, not additional instruction and/or practice.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include educator guidance for providing specially designed instruction (SDI) for students receiving supports and services through special education.

In the Phonics and Intervention Program Guide, the “Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities” section highlights multiple opportunities for the integration of SDI within the Phonics Intervention to support student access to content. For example, when students experience difficulty with sound–spelling correspondences, the guide provides targeted lessons and activity recommendations designed to address disabilities that impact oral language, decoding, and writing skills.

Each lesson contains an “Additional Supports” section, and lesson 9 of every unit specifically includes an audio accommodation. In unit 4, lesson 9, educators are directed to have students listen to the e-book Julie’s Bike to “frontload words and content,” and to use it after the lesson for additional practice and to build fluency.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Educator-led supplemental programs include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance to support the educator in modeling and explaining the skill(s) to be learned.

The “High-Impact Instruction Walk-Through of Teacher’s Guides” section details clear routines, such as in the “Vocabulary Booster” section, which directs educators to “display the photos on the other side of the Read-Aloud Card as you read.” Educators are then directed to “use the prompts to highlight the words materials, enormous, species, and generate and check for understanding.” Additional structured support is provided in unit 10, lesson 1, where educators are guided to “display the Sound–Spelling Card open syllable (zero) and explain that an open syllable ends in a vowel and usually has a long vowel sound. Model with ze/ro.”

In the Teacher’s Guide, unit 3, lesson 1, the “Blend Words” section provides direct modeling guidance and clearly outlines educator actions. For example, the materials direct educators to “model how to blend words with long o and long u sounds,” and “point to each letter.” The section further demonstrates explicit modeling by directing educators to model blending the sounds in the words not and note to contrast the sounds and letters. In unit 16, lesson 1, further direct modeling guidance in the “Blend Words” section instructs educators to “model how to blend words with irregular plurals” and “point to each letter,” which clearly outlines educator actions. The lesson further demonstrates explicit modeling by directing educators to model with blending the sounds in the words man and men.

Evaluation for 3.2b
Educator-led supplemental programs include educator guidance and recommendations for effective delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches.

The Teacher’s Guide provides daily lessons that incorporate explicit instruction, modeling, guided practice, corrective feedback, and cumulative review to support skill development. Lessons also include structured questioning and comprehension checks to guide instruction and student understanding throughout the lesson cycle.

The Teacher’s Guide contains scripted lessons and student questions labeled by skill and instructional approach. In unit 29, lesson 1, the materials guide educators to “Check Comprehension: When completed, ask the following questions to check comprehension. Prompt students to answer each question with a partner before you call on volunteers to answer the question. Use what you know about suffixes to find the word that names what tsunami waves that crash against the shore can cause. (flooding) (Phonics) What can cause a tsunami? Find the sentences that answer the question. (Text Evidence) Have you seen damage caused by weather? How do you stay safe during dangerous weather conditions? (Making Connections) Model how to make a connection. This makes me think of when there was a big storm coming. I got a ‘Severe Weather’ warning, and I followed the instructions to stay safe, like staying indoors and boarding up the windows.”

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials include guidance for educators on recommended structures (e.g., whole group, small group, individual) to support effective implementation.

The Phonics and Intervention Program Guide includes the “Program Structure: Intensive Tier-3 Phonics” section. The overview states that educators “can integrate daily small-group or one-on-one sessions to reinforce phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and high-frequency word recognition introduced in the core curriculum.”

In unit 4, lesson 3, the “Apply to Reading and Writing” section directs educators to use partner and independent practice, such as having students “point to and read those words to a partner,” and “have students write a sentence and read their sentence to a partner.” The lesson also includes whole-group routines such as directing students to “whisper-read each sentence. Then ask them to chorally read it.” In unit 10, lesson 7, whole-group instruction takes place during “Multimodel Mini-Lessons” as students review Sound–Spelling Cards. An example of individual learning is provided through corrective feedback during the review of letters and word cards.

Evaluation for 3.3a
Materials include educator guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

The Program Guide includes “Supporting Multilingual Learners Through ELPS Linguistic Accommodations,” which provides educators guidance on linguistic accommodations across the materials aligned to ELPS.

The materials provide educator guidance for linguistic accommodations aligned to the ELPS and differentiated by students’ levels of English language proficiency, such as in the Program Guide, “Supporting Multilingual Learners Through ELPS Linguistic Accommodations” section.

Evaluation for 3.3b
Materials include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.

In the Program Guide, “Implementing Benchmark Phonics Intervention Texas Edition in Texas Bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) Programs” provides specific guidance for educators in bilingual and ESL programs. For example, the materials describe that educators “build on students’ home-language knowledge while explicitly teaching English sounds, spelling patterns, vocabulary, and language structures.”

The materials provide specific guidance for use in bilingual and ESL programs, including strategies that build on students’ home-language knowledge as they develop English phonics, vocabulary, and language skills.

Evaluation for 3.3c
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Evaluation for 4.1a
Materials do not include the three-cueing method as defined in Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0062. TEC, §28.0062 defines three-cueing as a method of reading instruction for the identification of words in which a student is encouraged to draw on context and sentence structure to read words without sounding the words out or using a phonics-based approach.

No evidence of three-cueing as defined in Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0062 was found in this program.

Evaluation for 4.2a
Materials include a systematic sequence of phonological awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose that progresses from basic skills and larger units of sound to more complex skills and smaller units of sound.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2b
Materials include a systematic sequence of phonemic awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose that progresses from basic skills (e.g., identifying, blending, and segmenting phonemes) to more complex skills (e.g., adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes).

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2c
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological or phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2d
Materials include cumulative student practice of phonological and phonemic awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological or phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2e
Student practice includes only phonological and phonemic awareness skills that have been explicitly taught.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological or phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.A.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing sound-spelling patterns in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The Program Guide highlights key sections, including “Four Levels to Support All Students” and “Scope and Sequence,” with the latter clearly outlining progression across all levels. For example, level 1 begins with lessons on short vowels, while in level 4, students advance to more complex skills such as vowel-r syllables. This progression demonstrates a systematic approach to teaching.

Students begin with short vowel sounds and spellings in unit 1, progress to more complex long vowel spellings in units 2–5, and then move to compound words and morphemes in unit 6. In unit 6, lesson 1, the “Multimodal Mini-Lesson” explains that “a compound word is made up of two or more smaller words.” The lesson models how students can “use the smaller words to figure out the meaning of the longer word,” including examples such as snowball from snow and ball, as well as side, inside, rain, rainbow, boy, and cowboy.

Evaluation for 4.A.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in decoding and encoding words using sound-spelling patterns in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

In unit 14, lesson 1, the “Multimodal Mini-Lessons” begin with explicit decoding to introduce the short u sound. Students say the short u letter and sound, repeating as necessary. In the “Blend Words” section, students progress to reading words that contain the short u sound and then read short u words in sentences. Finally, under “Apply to Reading and Writing,” students practice using the short u sound in context with the decodable text “Fun with my Pup.”

Unit 12 directly teaches the letter h (initial) and spellings by having students write and say the corresponding sounds. This provides structured blending and word reading practice. “Apply to Reading and Writing” directs students to reread previous text and new text that focus on the learning skill. For example, in unit 15, lesson 2, the “Review and Repetition” component states, “Use the lesson 1 letters and blending words (with additional review words) to apply the skill.” Students use a structured word list to practice decoding words that contain the target sound–spelling pattern Rr = /r/. Students then practice encoding the pattern as they write the target grapheme and produce its corresponding phoneme.

Evaluation for 4.A.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice in decoding and encoding words using sound-spelling patterns in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text, to develop automaticity.

In unit 14, lesson 3, the “Multimodal Mini-Lessons” begin with explicit decoding instructions to introduce r-controlled syllables. Students say the letter and the sound of the r-controlled syllables, repeating as necessary. In the “Blend Words” section, students progress to reading words that contain r-controlled syllables, then to reading r-controlled words in sentences. Finally, under “Apply to Reading and Writing,” students practice using r-controlled syllables in context with the “Storm Chasers on the Move” connected text.

In unit 3, lesson 1, the “Multimodal Mini-Lessons” section provides isolated decoding practice with long o and long u words, such as goat, cube, and toe. Educators are directed to “point to each letter or spelling as students say the sound,” “run your finger under the letters as students blend the sounds orally,” and “have students say the word.” Students then apply the learned sound–spelling patterns in connected text as they read the decodable text “African Wildlife—at the Beach?!” Students decode sentences in the Student Book, such as “Would you want a goat as a pet?” and “How many ice cubes does this tray hold?” Students then practice encoding as they write a sentence with the word hole.

Evaluation for 4.A.3d
Student practice includes only sound-spelling patterns that have been explicitly taught.

Lessons begin with explicit instruction and practice of targeted sound–spellings and word patterns, which enables students to build accuracy at the word level. Instruction advances to structured practice with short phrases and complete sentences, giving students opportunities to apply decoding skills in increasingly meaningful contexts. For example, in unit 18, lesson 1 begins with a review of taught sounds and an introduction to the new sound /ou/ in the letter patterns ou and ow in isolation. Students practice the new sound within words and sentences.

In unit 3, lesson 1, the “Multimodal Mini-Lesson” first teaches long o by directing educators to “display the Sound–Spelling Card for long o,” explain that “the oa spelling stands for the /o/ sound as in boat,” and continue with additional long o spellings such as “o (go), ow (snow), o_e (bone), oe (toe),” before repeating the instruction for long u. After the explicit instruction, students practice the taught patterns as they write the spellings and say the sound. Students then blend words with long o and long u as the educator “point[s] to each letter or spelling as students say the sound,” and students read words such as note, menu, and toe.

Evaluation for 4.B.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words from a research-based list in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The Scope and Sequence document identifies which high-frequency words are taught in each lesson and unit. In the first few units, students begin with regular high-frequency words such as I, a, can, saw, and jump, while later units introduce irregular high-frequency words such as when, soon, and are, along with regular high-frequency words. At the end of grade 3, students are taught more difficult regular and irregular high-frequency words, including who, too, and through.

Units 1–3 are a review of high-frequency words that are learned in the level 1 and 2 materials. New high-frequency words are introduced in unit 4, and each unit thereafter adds eight to 10 new words at a time. The high-frequency words are introduced at the beginning of each unit, practiced throughout lessons 1–9, and assessed in lesson 10. For example, the “High-Frequency Words” cumulative assessment, located in the Student Edition, unit 16, lesson 10, assesses accuracy and automaticity of words learned in units 11–16.

Evaluation for 4.B.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words from a research-based list in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

In unit 14, lesson 2, in the “Introduce High-Frequency Words” section, the educator is directed to use the Say, Spell, Read, Write routine to introduce the high-frequency words who, through, many, ate, and eight. Several of these words contain irregular spellings that cannot be fully decoded using regular phonics patterns, which makes them appropriate high-frequency words for explicit instruction. The “Spelling and Write” section uses encoding to have students connect the spoken word to its letter sequence, supporting encoding and orthographic mapping. In addition, the “Write” section uses the word in an oral sentence to reinforce accurate spelling and meaning.

In unit 1, lesson 2, the Teacher’s Guide teaches the words of, for, from, said, and all by directing educators to “write the high-frequency words one at a time,” “point to and say the word,” and then “orally segment the word.” Educators then discuss “known and unknown word parts” and note that “the word of doesn’t follow the rules.” The “High-Frequency Words” video provides additional explicit decoding and encoding instruction. The video states, “The word said has three sounds /s/ /e/ /d/.” The video uses Elkonin boxes to connect sounds to spellings, and explains that “the letter s makes the /s/ sound,” “the letters a-i do not follow the rules in this word and say the sound /e/,” and “the letter d says the /d/ sound.”

Evaluation for 4.B.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice in decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words from a research-based list in alignment with grade-level skills as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text, to develop automaticity.

In unit 20, lesson 4, “Multimodal Mini-Lessons: Review High-Frequency Words,” students review the words day, time, show, like, and green, which were introduced in unit 20, lesson 2. The educator displays High-Frequency Word Cards one at a time, says each word, and students repeat. Next, students chorally spell the high-frequency words along with the educator before they chorally read each word along with the educator. Finally, students make their own flashcards by writing each high-frequency word on one side of an index card and writing a class-created sentence on the other side. In the “Apply to Reading and Writing” section, students read the decodable text “Humorous Homophones,” in which they practice reading the words day, time, show, like, and green, along with previously taught high-frequency words. The “Additional Supports: High-Frequency Word Sentences in Writer’s Notebook” section states, “Students write one sentence for each high-frequency word in a section of a writer’s notebook.” Educators then direct students to “read their sentences from the beginning of the year to a partner,” which “will increase the amount of times they see the word in context.”

In unit 15, lesson 2 demonstrates cumulative practice as it uses a sequenced set of High-Frequency Word Cards (141–145) and provides repeated Say, Spell, Read, Write practice with high-frequency words (why, with, laugh, draw, eat) to explicitly teach irregular spelling features within high-frequency words. This method includes having students reread a previously taught text (“A Shiny New Friend”) to build fluency and automaticity, and provides opportunities for students to read and write words within connected sentences.

Evaluation for 4.B.3d
Student practice includes only regular and irregular high-frequency words that have been explicitly taught.

In unit 14, students are introduced to new high-frequency words with the Say, Spell, Read, Write routine, including words such as who, through, many, ate, and eight in lesson 2, and different, do, to, long, look, and why in lesson 4. In lesson 6, students review only previously taught high-frequency words from lessons 1–5 using the same routine, including who, through, many, ate, eight, different, do, to, long, and look. In lesson 10, students engage in cumulative review by reading previously taught high-frequency words from units 9–13 to ensure that practice remains limited to explicitly taught words.

Across units, instruction follows a consistent cycle in which high-frequency words are explicitly introduced, then repeatedly practiced only after instruction. For example, in unit 10, lessons 1–10, students begin each lesson with “Warm-up Review and Repetition: Reread to Build Fluency,” where they reread previously introduced decodable texts that contain taught high-frequency words. Lesson 2 introduces new high-frequency words with the Say, Spell, Read, Write routine, while subsequent lessons reinforce only previously taught words through multimodal practice using High-Frequency Word Cards and Letter Cards for reading, writing, tracing, and choral repetition. Lessons 4, 6, and 8 provide additional structured review through the Say, Spell, Read, Write routine and the Trace, Read, Build, Write routine. Lesson 10 concludes with a cumulative assessment to measure accuracy and automaticity with both newly introduced and previously taught high-frequency words. Throughout the program, student practice consistently includes only those high-frequency words that have already been explicitly taught, which supports cumulative review and mastery.

Evaluation for 4.C.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing syllable types and syllable division principles in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The scope and sequence for the grade identifies when each syllable type is taught throughout the program. Students begin the year learning short vowel sounds in CVC words, then move into vowel teams and VCe words in the middle of the year, and end the year by learning to segment multisyllabic words.The progression shows a systematic sequence from basic syllable patterns to more complex.

Teacher Resources include a PDF titled Multisyllabic Word Division for Reading and Writing Big Words that provides a guide for educators to better understand syllable types, division patterns, and generalizations. Example lesson scripts are provided for dividing words when reading and writing. Other resources included are the Sample Multisyllabic Words by Syllable Type, Common Syllable Types, and Tips for Dividing Syllables charts that may be displayed or placed in student notebooks.

Evaluation for 4.C.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in decoding and encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

In unit 10, “Multisyllabic Word Division Resources” provides structured materials, including sample lessons, syllable type charts, syllable division instruction, and model lessons for reading and writing multisyllabic words. Weekly “Reading Big Words” opportunities, along with spelling and dictation activities, support students in applying decoding and encoding strategies to increasingly complex words, in alignment with grade 3 TEKS and the program’s stated purpose.

In unit 9, lesson 1, students are taught that closed syllables end in a consonant and usually have a short vowel sound, and the educator models the word nap/kin. Unit 20, lesson 2 provides explicit, educator-directed instruction in decoding and encoding one-syllable words through phoneme substitution routines, homophone analysis, and the structured Say, Spell, Read, Write process. Students are taught to manipulate sounds, read words accurately, spell targeted high-frequency words, and write those words, which demonstrates systematic instruction aligned with grade-level foundational literacy skills.

Evaluation for 4.C.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice in decoding and encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text, to develop automaticity.

In unit 9, lesson 1, the “Introduce: Display, Model, and Build” section allows students to practice decoding the multisyllabic words kitten and muffin. In the “Blend Words” section, students are given a word list of one-syllable and multisyllabic words, such as cab, cabinet, pump, and pumpkin, to decode. Students are tasked with both encoding and decoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words as they read and answer questions about the “Teamwork Gets the Job Done” decodable text.

Cumulative practice continues in unit 15, lesson 2, where students engage in repeated decoding and encoding through phoneme manipulation, word building, spelling, reading, and writing activities. Students work with word lists and suffix routines in isolation and then apply these same skills in connected text through fluency rereading and sentence reading and writing. Across lessons, students repeatedly revisit previously taught patterns in both word-level tasks and contextual reading, which reinforces decoding and encoding skills and supports the development of automaticity.

Evaluation for 4.C.3d
Student practice includes only syllable types and syllable division principles that have been explicitly taught.

In unit 11, lesson 3, students participate in “Multimodal Mini-Lessons” focused on consonant -le syllables. Instruction follows an Introduce, Model, Blend, and Write routine, followed by guided practice using a blending chart. Students chorally read and compare words such as lit and little, and identify differences in syllable structure and sound.

In unit 28, students continue to practice only previously taught syllable types through daily “Multimodal Mini-Lessons” focused on unaccented final syllables. Educators explicitly explain that syllables such as -en, -on, -ain, and -in occur at the end of words and are pronounced with a schwa sound due to reduced emphasis. Students then apply this understanding through blending charts, Letter Card and Syllable Card word-building activities, and dictation tasks. Across lessons, students consistently practice only those syllable types and division principles that have already been explicitly introduced, which ensures that instruction and practice remain aligned.

Evaluation for 4.D.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing morphemes in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

During the middle and end of the school year, students learn about morphemes such as inflectional endings, irregular plurals, suffixes, and prefixes. This instruction supports students’ understanding of word parts and aligns to the grade-level TEKS.

The Phonics Intervention Correlated to Grade 3 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills guide breaks down each of the TEKS strands by student expectation. Each strand lists where it is taught in both the Teacher’s Guide and the Student Book. For example, TEKS 3.2Avii (decoding words using knowledge of suffixes) is introduced in units 19, 25, and 29, in lessons 1–10.

Evaluation for 4.D.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction on morphological skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

In unit 25, lesson 1 includes direct instruction on morphological skills through systematic instruction in the derivational suffixes -able, -ful, and -less. The lesson explicitly defines suffixes and models how they change the meanings of base words; demonstrates word formation with examples such as walkable, helpful, and helpless; and provides guided practice in adding suffixes to base words and discussing resulting meanings. Students decode, build, read, and analyze morphologically complex words and apply suffix knowledge during reading comprehension activities. This demonstrates alignment with grade-level TEKS and the program’s stated purpose.

In unit 15, lesson 1, the “Multimodal Mini-Lessons” section teaches the suffixes -ing and -ed. The educator is given a script to follow to ensure that explicit guided instruction is given. The materials state, “Explain that a suffix is a word part that is added to the end of a word. It can change the word’s meaning and sometimes its part of speech, or how it is used in a sentence. Model how to add suffixes -ing and -ed to the following words: like (liking, liked), hope (hoping, hoped). Model how to double the final consonant before adding the suffixes -ing and -ed. Use the following words: run (running), hop (hopped).” In the “Apply” section, students independently add -ing and -ed to the words save, stop, jump, and rain.

Evaluation for 4.D.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice of morphological skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in connected text, to develop automaticity.

In unit 29, lesson 2, students review the morphemes -ing, -ment, and -ness in the “Multimodal Mini-Lessons: Review: Model and Blend” section. The educator models adding the suffixes -ing, -ment, and -ness to words, such as add, adding, move, movement, kind, and kindness. Students then use the word list to practice blending words such as ill, illness, build, building, treat, and treatment. This skill is practiced in connected text in the “Apply to Reading and Writing: ‘The War of Currents’” section.

Students read a cumulative word list at the end of the unit in lesson 10. This list contains the words precook, reused, disagree, unable, useful, helpless, pointing, germs, and greater. Additionally, several decodable stories in the Student Book, such as “Our Space Mission” in lesson 1, contain these words: teacher, explorer, students, learning, warned, disappears, easily, and weightless.

Evaluation for 4.D.3d
Student practice includes only morphemes that have been explicitly taught.

In unit 25, lesson 1, suffixes -able, -ful, and -less are introduced. Specifically, the “Introduction” section states, “Explain that a suffix is a word part added to the end of a word. It changes the word’s meaning and sometimes its part of speech, or how it is used in a sentence.” The “Model” section states, “Model adding suffixes -able, -ful, and -less to: wash(able), help(ful), help(less). Explain that -able, like the word able, means ‘can do something,’ -ful, like the word full means ‘full of,’ and -less, like the word less, means ‘without.’ Something washable ‘can be washed.’ Helpful means ‘full of help.’ Helpless means ‘without help.’” Additionally, students practice the suffixes in each of the following lessons in the “Multimodal Mini-Lesson” section in activities such as reading words on blending charts, building words with cards, and dictation.

In unit 19, lesson 2, the materials ensure that student practice includes only those morphemes that have already been explicitly taught. The lesson first defines suffixes and explicitly teaches the meanings and functions of -er and -or, models their use with example words (farmer, editor), and then provides guided and independent practice with words that contain those same suffixes (player, baker, worker, reader, visitor, actor, editor). No new or untaught morphemes are introduced during student practice.