Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Toolkit Intervention: Foundational Skills | Grade K | 8yr eReader Access | 1 Manipulatives Kit for 4 Students

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).

In the Implementation Guide, materials explain that the supplemental program is designed to provide basic reading instruction for small groups of students who need intervention in foundational literacy skills. The guide states that the lessons support skills typically taught in grades K–2, showing that the program is intended for targeted remediation and additional instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics.

The materials explain the purpose of the program by providing lessons and routines that support additional practice, review, and targeted skill development. The Implementation Guide includes guidance on phonological awareness routines, oral language routines, phonics routines, accommodations, and rationales for using explicit phonics instruction. The Teacher Guide includes lessons for additional practice, allowing students to review and strengthen skills from previous lessons.

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.

The Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Toolkit, Intervention: Foundational Skills Teacher Guide includes a section titled “How to Use the Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Intervention Toolkit,” which provides guidance for implementing the supplemental lessons and instructional routines. The guide explains that each lesson includes clearly identified objectives; detailed materials lists; guided and independent activities; outlined skills and applicable words; differentiation options; manipulatives; and step-by-step, hands-on instruction. The materials describe the program as support for students needing intervention in foundational skills and provide opportunities for additional practice and review of foundational literacy concepts.

The Teacher Guide provides clearly labeled lesson components that identify objectives, materials, instructional steps, and targeted skills. Lessons follow an “I Do, We Do, You Do” instructional model and include guided practice, independent application, differentiation supports, and supplemental word lists. These features provide educators with guidance for incorporating the lessons alongside existing reading and language arts instruction.

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.

The materials include a scope and sequence that identifies the literacy skills addressed throughout the program and provides Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) alignment to support instructional planning. The “Standards Alignment for Intervention: Foundational Skills” section in the Implementation Guide outlines the sequence of skills taught throughout the program, and multiple pacing guides (165-, 180-, and 210-day) help educators understand when skills and grade-level expectations are taught across varying instructional calendars. The materials align lessons to the corresponding TEKS and ELPS from grades K–2, allowing educators to identify and address foundational skill needs across grade levels.

The scope and sequence is organized by instructional skill areas and progresses from foundational phonological awareness and phonemic awareness skills to increasingly complex phonics and word-analysis concepts. The sequence includes Phonological and Phonemic Awareness and Short Vowel Closed Syllables; Long Vowels and Irregular Consonants; Diphthongs, Vowel Teams, and R-Controlled Vowels; Prefixes and Suffixes/Inflectional Endings; Consonant Digraphs; Contractions and Compound Words; Trigraphs; Syllable Types; Consonant Blends; High-Frequency Words; and Multisyllabic Words. The materials present skills in a progression that builds from basic phonological awareness and phonics patterns to more advanced decoding and word-analysis concepts.

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

The Implementation Guide provides guidance on time requirements and pacing for effective implementation, identifying lessons as 15-minute instructional sessions. The program includes 80 structured lessons and provides educator-facing lesson plans, pacing guides, and assessment pacing guides to support implementation throughout the school year.

The “Benefits of 15-Minute Lessons” section explains the recommended lesson duration and the use of brief, targeted instructional sessions. The materials also provide 165-, 180-, and 210-day pacing guides that outline suggested lesson schedules across different instructional calendars and identify when lessons and assessments should be administered.

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

The materials include resources and guidance to support educators in implementing the supplemental program as designed. The Implementation Guide includes an “Effective Lesson Delivery Framework” section that outlines expectations for lesson delivery, instructional approaches, lesson structure, grade-level focus areas, and best instructional practices. The framework identifies the use of clear objectives, structured instruction, research-based instructional approaches, manipulatives and visuals, small-group instruction based on assessment data, and supports designed to provide universal access for all learners.

The materials also provide implementation guidance through detailed lesson-design expectations and instructional resources. The framework identifies lessons as 15-minute instructional sessions and explains that each of the 80 lessons incorporates multimodal learning experiences and includes visual representations of required materials and instructional steps. Guidance for implementation includes explicit and systematic instruction, modeling and guided practice, immediate feedback and correction, progress monitoring, repetition and reinforcement, and the use of instructional materials such as Sound & Phonics Cards, Elkonin Boxes, Reading Rods®, Word Cards, colored chips, and Phoneme Phones.

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

The materials include limited family supports in both English and Spanish. The “Resources” tab within the educator platform contains a downloadable Family Letter (in both English and Spanish) that describes the literacy skills students are learning through the supplemental program and explains the purpose of the lessons. The letter provides families with general information about foundational reading instruction and encourages communication between families and educators.

The Family Letter includes suggestions for supporting student progress, such as providing additional modeling and guided practice, using visual supports and gestures, practicing high-frequency words, and engaging students in word-study and sentence-writing activities. However, the materials do not include ongoing family resources, progress-monitoring tools, student-specific reports, or home-practice materials designed to support literacy development over time.

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 materials include appropriate instructional assessments aligned to the stated purpose of the supplemental program by providing diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment opportunities that support literacy intervention and progress monitoring. The program includes beginning-of-year, middle-of-year, and end-of-year assessments, as well as formative progress-monitoring tools such as Quick Checks and Spiral Reviews, which educators can use to identify literacy skill gaps, monitor mastery of targeted skills, and measure student growth over time.

The Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Toolkit Assessment Guide includes structured scoring guides for Spiral Reviews and Quick Check assessments that provide clear criteria and procedures for interpreting student responses, supporting consistent and accurate administration across instructional settings. These assessment supports enable educators to identify student strengths and needs, monitor progress in foundational literacy skills, and make instructional adjustments that support targeted intervention and remediation.

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

The Assessment Guide provides an overview of the instructional assessments included in the supplemental program and explains when and how each assessment should be administered. The materials identify diagnostic, progress-monitoring, and summative assessments and describe their role in identifying skill needs, monitoring progress, and evaluating student performance throughout instruction.

The materials define and describe the intended purpose of Quick Checks, Spiral Review assessments, and Teacher Guide assessments. The Assessment Guide identifies Quick Checks as formative assessments used to monitor student progress and determine mastery of targeted literacy skills. Spiral Review assessments measure cumulative skill development across clusters of lessons, while Teacher Guide assessments are used to evaluate student understanding of skills taught within the program. The materials also provide administration guidance and assessment timelines for each assessment type.

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

The materials include guidance to support educators in the consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments. Assessment resources provide directions for administration, pacing, implementation procedures, and recommended instructional settings to support consistent assessment administration.

In the “Administration Guidelines” section of the Assessment Guide, the materials provide setting recommendations and procedural guidance to support consistent administration of instructional assessments. The materials direct educators to administer assessments in a quiet, distraction-free environment, provide clear instructions and examples before each section, avoid giving answers or excessive prompting, and record student responses verbatim when possible.

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

The assessments include items at varying levels of complexity that align with the sequence of skills taught throughout the program. The Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Toolkit (PAPT) Intervention Assessment Pacing Chart in the Assessment Guide demonstrates a progression from foundational phonological awareness skills, including rhyming and blending phonemes, to increasingly complex phonics and word-analysis skills, such as decoding closed syllables, vowel patterns, diphthongs, and prefixes.

As instruction advances, assessments measure students’ mastery of progressively more complex foundational literacy skills across the K–2 continuum. The assessment sequence moves from early phonological awareness and simple decoding tasks to more advanced concepts, including r-controlled vowels, inflectional endings, and other phonics and word-analysis skills. Quick Check assessments monitor mastery of targeted skills following instruction, while Spiral Review assessments measure retention of previously taught content across increasingly complex foundational literacy skills.

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

The materials provide guidance for interpreting student performance through assessment scoring tools and instructional recommendations. The Assessment Guide includes answer keys and scoring guides for Spiral Reviews and Quick Checks that identify performance levels, raw scores, percentages, and corresponding instructional recommendations. The materials also provide leveled activity guidance that helps educators select appropriate instructional supports based on assessment results. The scoring tools support analysis of student performance and instructional planning.

The Teacher Guide includes beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year assessments that allow educators to monitor student growth over time. These assessments provide educator-facing word lists and Student Score Sheets that support consistent administration, scoring, and documentation of student progress.

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

Assessment scoring guides provide educators with performance levels, raw scores, percentages, and recommended next steps to support interpretation of student data and instructional decision-making.

The Scoring Guide directs educators to specific lessons and leveled activities that align with student performance needs, enabling educators to target instruction based on assessment results. Additional supports, including scripted direct-instruction models, pacing guidance, and student resources, help educators address identified literacy skill gaps and adjust instruction in response to student performance trends.

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 materials include Student Score Sheets that allow educators to record and monitor student performance on foundational literacy skills assessed throughout the program. Assessment items focus on phonological awareness and phonics skills, including identifying and analyzing sounds within words. For example, students are asked questions such as “How many sounds are in the word clap?” to demonstrate understanding of phoneme segmentation and sound analysis. The score sheets support educators in documenting individual student performance on assessment tasks aligned to the lessons taught within the program. While these forms support the collection of individual assessment data, the materials do not provide tools for analyzing cumulative performance or monitoring growth across multiple assessments.

The materials do not include tools that allow students to track their own progress and growth. Educators can document student performance using individualized score sheets. However, these tools are educator-facing and do not provide students with opportunities to independently record, monitor, or reflect on their performance over time. The program does not include student-facing progress-monitoring tools, goal-setting resources, or tracking features designed to support student ownership of growth across assessments.

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

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

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 materials include instructional accommodations and differentiated supports for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills. The Teacher Guide provides scaffolded instructional supports within each lesson through differentiation guidance that offers alternative approaches for teaching targeted skills. For example, in a lesson on rhyming-word identification, the materials recommend providing three additional rhyming words so students can hear more examples of the pattern. In another lesson on identifying the letter a and the short vowel sound /a/, the materials direct students to use a small mirror to practice the appropriate mouth positions when producing letter sounds. Similar differentiation supports are embedded throughout the lessons to help educators adjust instruction and provide targeted support during foundational literacy instruction.

Lessons include differentiated activities that provide additional practice opportunities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in the lesson objective. For example, in a lesson on isolating phonemes, the materials recommend reviewing the sounds in the two-letter words at, it, us, and on before students engage in more complex phoneme-isolation tasks, allowing students to practice identifying individual sounds in simpler word patterns before applying the skill to words with three phonemes.

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.

The Teacher Guide includes differentiation guidance with suggestions for students who are exceeding expectations, and lessons provide extension opportunities for students who have mastered the targeted skill. The materials also include an “Extension Activities for Proficient Learners” resource that provides enrichment ideas for a variety of phonics skills, including sentence stems, educator guidance, and cross-curricular activities.

Lessons include extension activities that provide enrichment opportunities for students who demonstrate proficiency in the lesson objective. For example, during a lesson on encoding words with closed syllables, the materials challenge students who successfully encode three-sound words to work with more complex four- and five-sound words such as tusk, blend, and switch. Students then place chips in Elkonin Boxes to represent each sound and identify the vowel sound in each word.

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

The materials provide general scaffolds and differentiation supports. However, they do not include educator guidance for delivering SDI to students receiving special education services. On the “Accommodations” page of the Implementation Guide, a link directs educators to a resource titled “Scaffolded Questions to Support Understanding.” This resource provides questions, sentence stems, and educator guidance for supporting students before, during, and after lessons. While these supports may assist educators in differentiating instruction, the materials do not identify them as SDI or explain how they should be used to address the individualized needs of students receiving special education services.

The materials do not provide accommodations, modifications, or instructional recommendations specifically designed for students with disabilities. The scaffolded questions and educator guidance offer general support for student learning but do not include guidance tied to special education services, individualized goals, or disability-specific instructional needs.

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 Teacher Guide provides explicit prompts and guidance that support educators in modeling and explaining phonemic awareness skills. Lessons follow an “I Do, We Do, You Do” instructional structure that moves students from educator modeling to guided practice and then to independent application. Throughout the lessons, the materials provide direct educator language, questioning prompts, and modeling routines that help educators introduce new skills and demonstrate expected thinking before students practice independently.

For example, in a lesson on isolating phonemes using words such as pet, bus, lip, can, and pot, the “I Do” section directs the educator to model the word pet slowly, ask where the /p/ sound is heard, and demonstrate how to place a chip in an Elkonin Box to represent the sound’s position. Similarly, in lesson 7, the educator models each sound in the word band by saying the word, identifying each phoneme, and raising a finger for each sound — /b/, /a/, /n/, and /d/ — before students practice identifying and segmenting sounds independently.

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 materials include educator guidance and recommendations for effective delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches. The Implementation Guide contains an “Effective Lesson Delivery” section that provides guidance on lesson objectives, lesson structure, grade-level focus areas, and instructional best practices. In addition, the Teacher Guide includes a “How to Use Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Toolkit, Intervention: Foundational Skills” section that explains key lesson components, including objectives, materials, educator modeling, scripted instruction, differentiation, skills, words, and manipulatives. Lessons incorporate multiple instructional approaches, including gradual release (“I Do, We Do, You Do”), multimodal learning experiences, small-group instruction, visual supports, and hands-on activities.

The materials provide additional implementation guidance through embedded educator scripting and structured lesson routines. Educators receive guidance for incorporating manipulatives, writing activities, chants, educator modeling, and guided questioning into instruction. For example, educators are directed to hold up the A Sound & Phonics Card and lead students in the chant, “Letter is A. Sound is /a/,” while modeling the short a sound. In a fluency lesson on blending short a words, students use Reading Rods to build and manipulate words such as cab and can. The lesson also provides options for students to write the words on whiteboards or explain orally which letter changed and how the change affected the word.

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

The materials provide educator guidance on recommended instructional structures that support effective implementation. In the “Introduction to Pre-Teaching Routines” section, the Implementation Guide explains that educators introduce concepts using the same instructional language used during whole-group instruction and then provide follow-up support through targeted small-group instruction. The materials recommend using assessment data to create small, educator-led groups for center instruction, allowing educators to address specific skill gaps and provide focused intervention based on student needs.

The materials also incorporate instructional structures that support whole-group participation and independent application. For example, in lesson 2, “Rhyme Recognition,” students participate in a group chant and respond collectively using thumbs-up or thumbs-down to demonstrate understanding. The lesson also provides extension opportunities for students who are exceeding expectations by having them independently echo read a longer sentence using a conversational tone.

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 materials provide educators with guidance for supporting multilingual learners through a variety of linguistic accommodations. The “Accommodations” section of the Implementation Guide includes a list of linguistic accommodations such as simplified language, pre-teaching vocabulary, Total Physical Response (TPR), Cooperative Learning, and assessment and interactional accommodations through English Learner (EL) and PAPT integration. Lessons also include a “Differentiate” box with an “EL Support” section. For example, a lesson recommends pairing images with unfamiliar words used in Elkonin Box activities to help students connect vocabulary to meaning.

However, the materials do not provide accommodations differentiated by the ELPS. The materials do not identify specific accommodations for “Beginning,” “Intermediate,” “Advanced,” and “Advanced High Proficiency” levels or provide a progression of linguistic supports that develop students’ use of increasingly sophisticated academic language. Instead, the same accommodations are broadly applied to emergent bilingual (EB) students regardless of proficiency level.

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.

The materials include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the program with multilingual students in bilingual and ESL settings. The Implementation Guide provides specific recommendations for supporting language development and accessing phonics instruction. In the “Opportunities for Extension” section, the materials note that multilingual students may need additional time to develop sound-symbol relationships and understand spelling patterns due to differences between languages. The guide recommends providing additional modeling and guided practice to help students develop phoneme-grapheme correspondence and strengthen foundational literacy skills.

The materials also provide guidance for promoting meaningful language use during instruction. The “Accommodations” section recommends structuring academic conversations that encourage students to discuss phonics concepts and word patterns using oral language. To support participation, the materials provide sentence frames such as “I noticed that this word has a ___ pattern.” These language supports help students engage in academic discussions while practicing content-specific vocabulary and literacy concepts.

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.

The materials include a systematic sequence of phonological awareness skills aligned to the grade K TEKS and the program’s stated purpose. The “Intervention: Foundational Skills” scope and sequence introduces phonological awareness skills in a developmental order, beginning with rhyming in lesson 1, progressing to blending and segmenting compound words in lesson 2, deleting and substituting compound words and syllables in lessons 2–3, and then introducing onset and rime activities before transitioning to phonemic awareness. This sequence moves from larger units of sound to progressively smaller units of sound.

Lesson-level instruction reflects this progression. For example, students first identify and produce rhyming words before blending and segmenting compound words using hand motions. They then manipulate compound words and syllables by deleting and substituting word parts before advancing to onset and rime activities and phonemic awareness lessons. The organization of the lessons demonstrates a systematic progression from foundational phonological awareness skills to increasingly complex oral language tasks appropriate for grade K.

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).

The materials include phonemic awareness instruction aligned to the program’s stated purpose, including phoneme isolation, blending, segmenting, adding, and deleting. However, the sequence does not consistently progress from basic phoneme-level skills to more complex phoneme manipulation skills as described in the indicator guidance statement. For example, lesson 5 introduces adding and deleting phonemes before lesson 6 introduces phoneme isolation and lesson 7 focuses on segmenting phonemes. The organization of the lessons does not clearly establish a progression from foundational phoneme awareness skills to more advanced phoneme manipulation.

Lesson-level instruction demonstrates explicit teaching of individual phonemic awareness skills. Students isolate phonemes using Elkonin boxes in lesson 6 and segment phonemes with colored chips and Magnetic Wands in lesson 7. Earlier lessons, however, introduce phoneme addition and deletion before students receive instruction in these foundational phoneme-level skills. As a result, the materials do not clearly demonstrate the systematic progression from basic phonemic awareness skills to more complex phoneme manipulation required by the indicator guidance statement.

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.

The materials include explicit instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness skills aligned to the grade K TEKS and the program’s stated purpose. Lessons provide scripted educator language, step-by-step modeling, multisensory routines, guided practice, and independent application to introduce each target skill before students practice it.

The materials provide explicit instruction across both phonological and phonemic awareness. In lesson 5, “Add/Delete Phoneme,” the educator explicitly models phoneme addition by stating, “I am going to build words. First, I will build words with at. I will add a beginning sound to it. I have -at. I add /b/. What do I have? Bat.” The educator then guides students through adding additional beginning phonemes to create new words. The lesson also explicitly teaches phoneme deletion. The educator states, “I am going to take apart a word. The word is fit. I hear /f/ and -it. I want to take off the /f/. Now I have -it.” Students then practice deleting beginning phonemes from additional words through guided instruction before independently applying the skill using hand motions.

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.

The materials provide repeated practice within individual phonological and phonemic awareness lessons but do not demonstrate cumulative student practice across previously taught skills as described in the indicator guidance statement. Each lesson focuses on a single target skill and provides opportunities for educator modeling, guided practice, and independent application of that skill.

For example, in the Additional Lessons “Segmenting Syllables” lesson, the educator models segmenting before into be and fore using hand motions before students segment zipper during guided practice and independently segment picture. Similarly, in the Teacher Guide “Encode Short i” phonemic awareness lesson, the educator models segmenting the sounds in in using Elkonin Boxes and colored chips, guides students in segmenting hit, and then has students independently segment pin, dim, and fig. In both lessons, students receive multiple opportunities to practice the targeted skill within the lesson. However, subsequent lessons introduce new phonological or phonemic awareness skills rather than revisiting syllable segmentation or phoneme segmentation of short i words for cumulative review. Although the materials consistently reuse instructional routines, such as hand motions, Elkonin Boxes, colored chips, and Magnetic Wands, they do not include review lessons, spiral warm-ups, mixed-skill practice, or cumulative application activities that require students to apply previously taught phonological or phonemic awareness skills alongside newly introduced content. Instead, each lesson teaches and practices a single target skill before moving to the next lesson. As a result, the materials do not demonstrate cumulative student practice of phonological and phonemic awareness skills as described in the indicator guidance statement.

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

The materials ensure that student practice includes only phonological and phonemic awareness skills that have been explicitly taught. Each lesson introduces the target skill through educator modeling before students participate in guided and independent practice. Students practice the same phonological or phonemic awareness skill presented during instruction without being asked to apply untaught skills.

During the “Deleting and Substituting Syllables” lesson, the educator models deleting tell from telling before substituting read to create reading. Students then complete guided practice with reading and raining before independently manipulating additional words using the same hand motions. Likewise, during the “Adding Phonemes” lesson, the educator models building the word bat by adding the phoneme /b/ to -at before students build additional words, including sat, log, and dog, during guided practice and independently add phonemes to form new words. In both lessons, students practice only the phonological or phonemic awareness skill that the educator explicitly models before guided and independent application.

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 materials provide a systematic sequence of sound–spelling instruction that develops grade K students’ knowledge of letter-sound relationships before progressing to decoding and encoding increasingly complex phonics patterns. Instruction begins with explicit teaching of individual short vowel correspondences and simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words before expanding to consonant blends, consonant digraphs, high-frequency words, and additional one-syllable word patterns. The sequence consistently builds students’ ability to apply sound–spelling knowledge while remaining aligned to the grade K TEKS.

Instruction addressing grade K sound–spelling patterns begins with explicit instruction in short vowel correspondences in lessons 49–54, followed by opportunities to decode simple CVC words in lessons 55–60. Students extend their application of letter-sound knowledge through encoding and decoding VC, CVC, and CCVC words in lesson 18, consonant blends in lessons 19–20, consonant digraphs in lessons 21–37, and high-frequency words in lesson 38. Each set of lessons builds on previously taught sound–spelling relationships, providing a logical progression from individual letter-sound correspondences to increasingly automatic decoding and encoding of simple words consistent with the grade K TEKS.

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.

Lessons provide explicit educator modeling before students apply grade-level sound–spelling patterns through guided and independent practice. Each lesson follows an “I Do, We Do, You Do” structure that gradually releases responsibility to students.

For example, the lesson “Encode and Decode Initial and Final th Words” explicitly teaches the th consonant digraph. During the “I Do,” the educator says, “Let’s sound out words with th,” and models segmenting the word thud by placing colored chips in Elkonin Boxes while saying each sound. The educator then asks, “Where do you hear the /th/ sound?” before using the Magnetic Wand to blend the sounds and read the word. During guided practice, students identify the digraph in this and bath before independently applying the pattern in path and then. In the companion Reading Rods lesson, the educator models decoding by saying, “Watch as I use Reading Rods to build the word moth,” and demonstrates how each rod represents a sound before guiding students to build than and thank and independently build and read, thin, and think. These lessons provide explicit educator modeling before students apply the consonant digraph in guided and independent encoding and decoding tasks.

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.

Lessons move students from encoding and decoding isolated words to connected-text reading while revisiting previously taught sound–spelling patterns throughout later instruction. Students repeatedly apply target patterns during phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency activities to build accuracy and automaticity.

In the “Encode and Decode Initial and Final sh Words” lesson, students encode and decode words such as dish, shift, trash, and shelf after educator modeling with Reading Rods. Students first identify and blend the sh pattern while building individual words before applying the same pattern during the “Read with Expression” activity. Students read connected sentences, including “The fish will brush the sand off the shell” and “Get the trash off the shelf and shut the bin.” The lessons revisit the previously taught sh spelling pattern across isolated words and connected text, allowing students to build fluency while continuing to apply the same sound–spelling pattern.

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

In the Teacher Guide, lesson 8 asks students to practice short a words such as ant, man, van, ham, Sam, can, and pan. These words include the -am and -an spelling patterns, but the instructional sequence does not introduce short a nasal patterns until lesson 9. Students therefore practice these spelling patterns before receiving explicit instruction.

The Additional Lessons resource also includes practice with sound–spelling patterns before they are introduced. In lesson 19, “Initial Blends,” students read and build words such as black and snack, which contain the -ck spelling pattern. The instructional sequence does not introduce ck until lesson 35. Other lessons follow the intended progression. For example, lesson 10 explicitly teaches the short i pattern before students encode and decode words such as pig, big, hid, tin, and rip. Because the sequence is not applied consistently across all lessons, students sometimes practice sound–spelling patterns before they have been explicitly taught.

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 Additional Lessons resource includes a lesson on high-frequency words that references the INCLUSION in Texas High-Frequency Word List (Texas Education Agency, 2021). In lesson 38, the educator explains, “A high-frequency word is a word that is super common in the English language. However, it might not follow the sound–spelling patterns that we have already learned.” Students read, write, map, and build high-frequency words such as the, in, for, are, at, they, one, will, there, when, get, see, now, know, and back using Elkonin Boxes, Reading Rods, and gradual release routines. The lesson also includes word lists for review of previously taught high-frequency words before students move to new concepts.

The materials include a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words throughout the program. Fluency lessons identify high-frequency words, provide explicit instruction for regular and irregular high-frequency words, and include opportunities for students to read and identify those words in connected text. A lesson-by-lesson progression establishes when high-frequency words are introduced and revisited, and cumulative review supports continued practice across the grade level.

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.

The Additional Lessons resource includes direct instruction for recognizing, reading, writing, mapping, and building selected high-frequency words from the INCLUSION in Texas High-Frequency Word List (Texas Education Agency, 2021). In lesson 38, the educator explains, “A high-frequency word is a word that is super common in the English language. However, it might not follow the sound–spelling patterns that we have already learned.” Students then read, write, map, and build words such as the, in, for, are, at, they, one, will, there, when, get, see, now, know, and back using whiteboards, Elkonin Boxes, colored chips, and Reading Rods.

Fluency lessons include explicit instruction for decoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. Educators identify high-frequency words in connected text, explain irregular spellings, and model how irregular spellings affect word reading before students practice reading the words in sentences. However, the materials do not include explicit instruction for encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. Although students read and identify high-frequency words during fluency practice, the lessons do not model how to encode regular and irregular high-frequency words or explain how irregular spellings affect the encoding process.

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.

The Additional Lessons resource provides explicit practice with selected high-frequency words in lesson 38. Students read, write, map, and build words such as the, in, for, are, at, they, one, will, there, when, get, see, now, know, and back using whiteboards, Elkonin Boxes, colored chips, and Reading Rods. The lesson also includes a word list that educators may use to review the lesson’s high-frequency words before moving to new concepts.

The materials include cumulative student practice in decoding regular and irregular high-frequency words from the referenced list. Fluency lessons provide repeated opportunities for students to read high-frequency words in isolation and in decodable connected text. Students identify high-frequency words in sentences; practice reading them with fluency, expression, and chunking; and reread connected text to build automaticity. The materials also include a lesson-by-lesson progression and cumulative review of high-frequency words across the grade level. However, the materials do not include cumulative student practice in encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. Although students read and identify high-frequency words during fluency practice, the lessons do not provide opportunities for students to encode high-frequency words in isolation or connected text to build automaticity.

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

The Additional Lessons resource explicitly introduces selected high-frequency words in lesson 38, where students read, write, map, and build words such as the, in, for, are, at, they, one, will, there, and when from the INCLUSION in Texas High-Frequency Word List (Texas Education Agency, 2021).

The materials provide student practice using only regular and irregular high-frequency words that have been explicitly taught. Fluency lessons identify the high-frequency words for instruction before students practice reading them in connected text. Students then reread those explicitly taught high-frequency words in isolation, in sentences, and during cumulative review. The lesson-by-lesson progression and cumulative review ensure that student practice includes only previously introduced high-frequency words.

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.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list syllable types or syllable division principles.

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.

This guidance statement is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list decoding and encoding one-syllable or multisyllabic words.

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.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list decoding and encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words.

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

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list syllable types or syllable division principles.

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.

The guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list morphemes.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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