CONNECTIONS

Letter Names
Phonics
Skill Sequence 1 Understanding the associations between letter shapes and names
is a critical step in developing a foundation for letter-sound
• Letter Matching associations. Additionally, understanding where a letter belongs in
the alphabetic sequence increases students’ ability to remember
• LETTER NAMES
individual letters.
• Consonant Sounds

• Matching Sounds & Letters Classroom Ideas

• Short Vowel Sounds Teach or Review

As necessary, teach or review a small group of letter names. Give
• Medial Vowels
students tiles and have them point to the letter you name. Then
give students multiple opportunities to say the letter name while
• Simple Word Chains
performing an action (e.g., air-writing the letter, tracing its shape
on a letter card, making a clay model of it). Once students have
• Reading CVC Words
mastered this, provide groups of visually similar letters and have
them find the letter you name (e.g., b d h p g; e c o a; r m n w).
• Consonant Digraphs

• Building Words Handwriting Zone

Guide students in writing a target letter by verbalizing steps in
• Long Vowel Sounds letter formation. Provide paper marked with divided lines and
models of the letter for students to trace and copy. Say each letter
• Reversible Letters name aloud and have students repeat the name before forming
the letter.
•  ords with Blends
W
& Digraphs Listening Lab
Play a letter-naming listening game. Provide each student with an
• Word Families note card that represents one letter in a consecutive series (e.g.,
I have G. Who has H?). Have the student with the first letter in the
• Contractions
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series begin the game by reading from the card. Other students
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should follow in turn when they have the letter in question.

• Silent E Recognition
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Pair Share
Play a partner game with letter tiles. Have students pairs work
together to sequence the tiles in alphabetical order. Then, have
Curriculum Connection one student turn over a letter tile (face down) within the sequence.
Partners must identify the hidden letter. Model for students by
Provide students with thinking aloud (e.g., The missing letter is after B and before D. It
pictures of objects from must be C.)
within the curriculum
with the initial letter Super Sort
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printed next to them. Provide students with a piece of paper with the first letter of their
Have students work name. In small groups, have students work together to sequence
together to sequence the their names by first initial, using an alphabet chart if needed.
objects in alphabetical Students can also practice writing the letters on index cards and
order (e.g., F/flower ➜ sorting them based on their attributes (e.g., letters with a curve,
S/seed ➜ T/tree). letters with straight lines).
 CONNECTIONS
Beginning Sounds
Phonological
Awareness The ability to isolate beginning sounds in words is an important
Skill Sequence phonemic awareness skill. Phonemic awareness is a component
of phonological awareness that focuses on individual sounds, or
• Rhyming & Alliteration phonemes within words, and is critical for mapping sounds onto print.

• Segmenting Sentences
Classroom Ideas
into Words

•  lending Syllables
B Teach or Review
into Words As necessary, teach or review the concept that words are made
up of sounds. Say a pair of words with the same beginning sound
•  egmenting Words
S (e.g., soup/sandwich) and have students listen for the first sound.
into Syllables Stretch out the beginning sound for students, using a rubber band
as a visual cue if needed. Practice this concept with additional
• BEGINNING SOUNDS word pairs, focusing on words that begin with a continuant sound,
such as /s/, /f/, /v/, or /z/.
• Blending Sounds
into Words
Art Studio
• Segmenting Words Create sets of pictures with the same beginning sound and put each
into Sounds set into a small plastic bag. Distribute one bag to each student. Have
students name the pictures in their bag and identify the beginning
• Ending Sounds sound. Students can rotate the bags and repeat the process. They
can also create an additional picture to place in the bag.
• Sound Manipulation
Make a Match
Display a number of objects for students, making sure to include
multiple objects with the same sound. Say a sound for students
and ask a student to find an object that begins with that sound.
Curriculum Connection Have the student say the name of the object and repeat the
beginning sound. Students should take turns, until no objects
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Play a guessing game remain with the target sound. Repeat with other beginning sounds.
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to review content-based
vocabulary. Give a Listening Lab
phonemic clue and one Say a set of three to four words that all begin with the same sound.
or more meaning clues Have students give the beginning sound that they all share, and
to help students guess then draw a picture of an additional word that begins with the
the word. For example, same sound. Students can share their illustrations.
the following clues could
be used for the word Brainstorm
desert: “I am thinking of Say a target phoneme and have students take turns naming as
an area of land that gets many things as they can that begin with that sound. Emphasize
very little rain and begins the initial sound as you repeat the word. Focus on the sound, and
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with the sound /d/.” not the spelling of the word. For example, phone begins with the
target sound /f/, and ceiling begins with /s/.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Beginning Sounds–continued

Initial Sound Sample Words

/b/ boy, bus, bat, big, bed

/c/ or /k/ cat, car, cone, kite, kid

/d/ dog, duck, dip, den, door

/f/ fish, fin, fox, fog, fast

/g/ goat, gum, get, game, girl

/h/ hen, heart, home, horn, horse

/j/ job, junk, January, jacket, jar

/l/ list, lake, lamp, lemon, log

/m/ man, map, moose, magnet, mess

/n/ nine, nap, nose, night, nest

/p/ pen, pot, paper, paint, pizza

/r/ rain, robot, rose, rug, rest

/s/ sun, sock, sand, sip, sail

/t/ ten, top, tent, team, test

/v/ violin, vine, valentine, van, volcano

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/w/ water, wait, win, wolf, wig

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/z/ zip, zero, zoom, zoo, zebra

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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Blending Syllables into Words
Phonological
Awareness Phonological awareness refers to the ability to analyze and
Skill Sequence manipulate the sound structure of language. As students develop
this awareness, they recognize that syllables can be blended
• Rhyming & Alliteration together to form words. A syllable includes one vowel sound and
corresponds to a single “beat” within a spoken word.
• Segmenting Sentences
into Words
Classroom Ideas
• BLENDING SYLLABLES
INTO WORDS
Teach or Review
•  egmenting Words
S As necessary, teach or review the concept of a syllable. Say a
into Syllables compound word, such as cupcake, and then clap out the syllables
in the word, one at a time. Explain that the word has two parts or
• Beginning Sounds beats that are called syllables. Then, say additional words, pausing
between syllables. Have students clap and repeat the syllables with
• Blending Sounds you, blending them together to make a word they know (e.g., pa/
into Words per ➜ paper, pea/nut ➜ peanut).

• Segmenting Words Mystery Word

into Sounds Play a syllable-blending guessing game using names of familiar
people. For example: “I’m thinking of someone in our class. The
• Ending Sounds syllables in her name are: oh/liv/ee/uh. Who is she? [Olivia!]”

• Sound Manipulation Listening Lab

Use visuals, such as blocks, to model blending. Show blocks that
are set apart and present a word in syllables, tapping a block for
each syllable. Then, slowly move the blocks closer and, as you
do, say the syllables closer together. Eventually, move the blocks
Curriculum Connection together and say the word as a whole. Present additional words to
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students, one syllable at a time, and have students move blocks

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Collect pictures (e.g., together as they blend the parts to make a word.
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dolphin, octopus,
lobster) that represent Bingo
vocabulary that students Provide students with a bingo board showing pictures that
have learned and represent multisyllabic words. As you say a target word, syllable by
distribute each to a syllable, students should mark the picture that matches the word
different student. Say they hear. When students earn bingo, have them say each word
one vocabulary word represented on their board.
at time, syllable by
syllable (e.g., lob...ster). Get Moving
When students hear
Select a word with two or more syllables (e.g., mi/cro/wave) and
the word to match their
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assign a group of students one syllable each. Have the students

picture, should hold
stand in a row in the correct order as they repeat their syllables,
up the picture, say the
moving closer together each time. Then, have a different classmate
whole word, and offer
blend the syllables together and use the word in a sentence.
a definition of (or fact
about) it.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Blending Syllables into Words–continued

Sample Words
Two Syllable
Two Syllable Words Three Syllable Words
Compound Words

pan-cake pen-cil pep-per-mint

door-mat bas-ket co-co-nut

milk-shake can-dy bum-ble-bee

tooth-brush ban-jo val-en-tine

back-pack mar-ket kan-ga-roo

tea-spoon pa-per straw-berr-y

post-card can-dle an-i-mal

gold-fish jack-et grand-moth-er

grape-fruit sneak-er as-tro-naut

sun-shine base-ment ba-na-na

sea-shore lock-er ra-di-o

down-town buck-et in-stru-ment

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Printed by Class Demo.

page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Segmenting Sentences into Words
Phonological
Awareness Phonological awareness refers to the ability to analyze and
Skill Sequence manipulate the sound structure of language. As students build this
awareness, they are able to hear and discriminate individual words
• Rhyming & Alliteration within spoken sentences.

•  EGMENTING SENTENCES
S
Classroom Ideas
INTO WORDS

•  lending Syllables
B Teach or Review
into Words As necessary, teach or review the concept that sentences are made
up of individual words. Say a short sentence for students. Then,
•  egmenting Words
S repeat the sentence, lining up blocks or objects to represent each
into Syllables word that you say. Have students say the same sentence, lining up
their own objects as they do so. Alternatively, give each student a
• Beginning Sounds marker to make dots on paper for each word they hear. Students
can then count the dots and write the number at the end of the line.
• Blending Sounds
into Words
Listening Lab
• Segmenting Words Read a sentence to a pair of children and have them say the
into Sounds sentence back to you. Then, ask them to pass an object back and
forth as they repeat the sentence, one word at a time. For example,
• Ending Sounds if you said, “We love to dance,” one child would say “we” and then
pass to the next child, who would say “love” and so forth.
• Sound Manipulation
Get Moving
Place a series of large, numbered circles on the floor, lined up so
that students can hop from one to the next. Say a sentence to each
student. Have the student repeat the whole sentence and then
Curriculum Connection have them jump to a circle as they say each word. Then, he
or she can tell you the number of words in the sentence.
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Read sentences that

Pair Share
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relate to learned content

(e.g., Stars make up Have students work with a partner. Using sentence starters (e.g,. I
constellations). Have like to eat…), have one student create a sentence. The other student
students represent in the pair should use blocks or objects to count out the words in the
each word that they partner’s sentence. Students should alternate between tasks.
hear visually, such as by
drawing a line, making Show & Tell
a dot or lining up As you read aloud, use a large text that all students can see. Point
blocks, for each word. to each word, reinforcing the concept that sentences (and books)
Have students repeat are made up of words. Use this opportunity to show that we read
the sentence and then from left to right, and from the top of the page to the bottom.
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answer a challenge As you read, have students point to words, including those with
question about the topic uppercase letters at the beginning of a sentence and those
(e.g., What is the name followed by punctuation at the end of a sentence.
of one constellation?)
 CONNECTIONS
Segmenting Words into Syllables
Phonological
Awareness Phonological awareness refers to the ability to analyze and
Skill Sequence manipulate the sound structure of language. As students develop
this awareness, they recognize that words can be segmented into
• Rhyming & Alliteration smaller units called syllables. A syllable includes one vowel sound
and corresponds to a single “beat” within a spoken word.
• Segmenting Sentences
into Words
Classroom Ideas
• Blending Syllables
into Words
Teach or Review
• SEGMENTING WORDS As necessary, teach or review the concept that words are made
INTO SYLLABLES up of syllables. Say a word, such as crayon, aloud and tell students
that it is made of two syllables, cray and on. Model this by moving
• Beginning Sounds a token or block for each syllable in the word, saying the word
one syllable at a time, and then blending the entire word back
• Blending Sounds together. Have students continue to practice this with additional
into Words words that contain two or three syllables.

• Segmenting Words Listening Lab

into Sounds Show students various ways to practice separating words into
syllables. As they segment presented words, they can move beads
• Ending Sounds along a string, hold up fingers, tap individual tokens, or use a
marker to dot on piece of paper. Have students blend the word
• Sound Manipulation back together once they have segmented the syllables.

Mystery Word
Play a word-completion game. Have students listen to and repeat
a familiar two syllable word, such as playground, and clap the
Curriculum Connection
syllables. Then, say the first syllable of the word (play), and have
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students tell what part is missing (ground). Repeat the activity with
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Collect pictures or other two syllable words.

objects that represent
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vocabulary and concepts Get Moving

that students have
Label three areas of the room with number 1, 2, or 3. Give each
learned. Place one on
student a picture card that represents a single or multisyllabic
each student’s desk.
word. Have students move to the corner of the room that
Have students name
represents the number of syllables in their word. After moving to
the picture or object,
the correct area, students should work together to come up with
segment the word into
additional words with the same number of syllables.
syllables, and then use
the word in a sentence.
Super Sort
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Provide a pair of students with a deck of picture cards. Have

students flip over one card at a time, say the word, segment it into
syllables, and count the number of syllables. Students can then sort
each card into groups based on the number of syllables.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Segmenting Words into Syllables–continued

Sample Words
Two Syllable
Two Syllable Words Three Syllable Words
Compound Words

pan-cake pen-cil pep-per-mint

door-mat bas-ket co-co-nut

milk-shake can-dy bum-ble-bee

tooth-brush ban-jo val-en-tine

back-pack mar-ket kan-ga-roo

tea-spoon pa-per straw-berr-y

post-card can-dle an-i-mal

gold-fish jack-et grand-moth-er

grape-fruit sneak-er as-tro-naut

sun-shine base-ment ba-na-na

sea-shore lock-er ra-di-o

down-town buck-et in-stru-ment

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Reproduction rights for Lexia Demo District for use until April 26, 2024.

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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Basic Concept Words
Vocabulary
Skill Sequence Basic language concepts, such as shape, characteristic, emotion,
and function, and the words that describe them are important in
• Basic Categories everyday life and academic learning. As students focus on details
and make generalizations about these concepts, they develop
• BASIC CONCEPT WORDS
receptive and expressive language skills.
• Describing Words

• Combining Adjectives Classroom Ideas

• Categorizing Words Teach or Review

As necessary, teach or review basic concepts. Display and discuss
• Multiple Meaning Words pictures that illustrate a range of concepts (e.g., a big, happy
elephant sitting on a chair; a scared, wet dog running). Model the
• Synonyms & Antonyms
use of concepts words to describe the pictures. Have students
practice describing the same pictures.
• Similes & Metaphors

• Idioms
Act It Out
Play charades to help students understand and use words that
• Simple Analogies name concepts. List and model concepts related to how people
feel (tired, scared, happy, sad, angry) or actions (caring, speaking,
•  ffix & Root Meaning
A pulling). Provide each student with a card that illustrates a concept.
(Structural Analysis) Students should take turns acting out the concept on their card.

• Academic Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt

Play “I Spy” with students using an illustration or photograph of a
• Shades of Meaning detailed scene. For example, you might say: “I spy someone who is
eating” or “I spy something that is cold.” Then, have students play
• Complex Analogies the game with each other using a different scene.

Pair Share
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Give each pair of students a word that describes a basic concept

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(e.g., wet). Ask them to generate a sentence using the word (e.g.,
Curriculum Connection The cat fell in the bathtub and was wet) and draw a picture. Then,
have them share their sentences and drawings with each other.
Emphasize and stress
basic concepts to Art Studio
compare and contrast Introduce additional basic concepts. Have students cut out
objects in math or examples of the concepts they find in advertising circulars or
science. For example, magazines. Students can glue the pictures on a large paper and
“The clock on the wall share with the class or a partner.
and this paper plate
are both the shape of a
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circle.” Or, “The magnet

is heavy, but the paper
clip is light.”
 CONNECTIONS
Automaticity for Letter Names
Automaticity
& Fluency Emerging readers need to be able to name lowercase and uppercase
Skill Sequence letters accurately and quickly. The ability to automatically identify
letters is a critical piece of the foundation that leads to fluent
• AUTOMATICITY FOR reading, and ultimately, to effective reading comprehension.
LETTER NAMES

•  utomaticity for Letter-

A
Classroom Ideas
Sound Correspondences
Teach or Review
• Automaticity for As necessary, review the lowercase and uppercase forms of
Sight Words each letter. Using letter cards or tiles, have students name each
letter, ensuring that they do so accurately before moving on to
• Automaticity for the automaticity activities described below. If students require
Regular Words additional practice learning the letter names, see the Letter Names
sheet in the Phonics 1 sequence.
• Passage Fluency
Letter Pop
• Fluent Reading
Write a variety of lowercase and uppercase letters on note cards.
In addition, write POP! (or show a popcorn icon) on several cards.
Then, place the cards face down in a pile. Students should take
turns drawing a card from the pile and naming the letter on the
card. If the student gives names the letter correctly, they earn the
Curriculum Connection card. If they get a POP! card, they must return all of their cards to
the pile, removing that particular POP! card from the game.
Write a content-based
word (e.g., dinosaur) Show & Tell
in large letters that Write a selection of letters on a whiteboard. The letters should not
are spread out. Have be in alphabetical order. As students name each letter, they should
students name the erase it or cross it off. Challenge students with a mix of uppercase
letters in the word as and lowercase letters.
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quickly and accurately as

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they can. Then, tell the Beat the Clock

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students the word whose Distribute a selection of letter tiles to pairs of students. Have them
letters they named, and flip over the letters so that they are not visible. Then, explain that
see if they can share a they should build a letter tower together as quickly as they can. For
fact about the word. each turn, a student should flip over a tile, name the letter, and then
add it to the tower. Give students a time limit (e.g., 30 seconds) and
see how high a tower they can build.

Make a Match
Put uppercase (or lowercase) letter tiles or cards into a bag. Then,
provide students with a written alphabet of the opposite case.
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Students should pull a letter from the bag, name it, and then
place it on the written alphabet, matching it with its partner of the
opposite case. If appropriate for particular students, have them
compete to complete their alphabets.
 CONNECTIONS
Automaticity for Letter-Sound
Automaticity
& Fluency
Correspondences
Skill Sequence Emerging readers need to be able to say the sound(s) associated with
each letter accurately and quickly. The ability to provide the sounds
• Automaticity for
automatically is a critical piece of the foundation that leads to fluent
Letter Names
reading, and ultimately, to effective reading comprehension.
•  UTOMATICITY FOR LETTER-
A
SOUND CORRESPONDENCES
Classroom Ideas
• Automaticity for
Sight Words Teach or Review
As necessary, review the vowel and consonant sounds associated
• Automaticity for with each letter. Show students letter cards or tiles. Have them name
Regular Words each letter and then provide its corresponding sound(s), ensuring
that they do so accurately before moving on to the automaticity
• Passage Fluency activities described below. If students require additional practice
learning letter-sound correspondences, see the Consonant Sounds,
• Fluent Reading Short Vowel Sounds, and Long Vowel Sounds activity ideas in the
Phonics 1 sequence.

Beat the Clock

Present students with a deck of letter cards. Flip through the cards,
Curriculum Connection having students name the sound(s) each letter makes as quickly and
accurately as they can. If appropriate for particular students, have
Write a variety of letters them name the sounds twice, using a stopwatch to see if they can
on a whiteboard. Then, improve upon their first time.
name a letter. One
student should point to Get Moving
the letter and say the Write letters on the ground with chalk. Say a letter name, and
sound(s) it makes. Next, have students jump to the letter and give the sound(s) it makes.
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the class should name

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Alternatively, create a hopscotch for students to move through,

words that start with saying the sound(s) made by each letter as they land on a spot.
© 2023 Lexia Learning LLC, a Cambium Learning® Group company

that sound. If they can

generate a word that Letter Pop
is related to content Write a variety of lowercase and uppercase letters on note cards.
learned in school, In addition, write POP! (or show a popcorn icon) on several cards.
they “earn” the letter Then, place the cards face down in a pile. Students should take turns
and may erase it from drawing a card from the pile and saying the sound(s) made by the
the board. Challenge letter on the card. If the student gives the correct sound(s), they earn
students to provide the card. If they get a POP! card, they must return all of their cards to
the sound(s) made by the pile, removing that particular POP! card from the game.
each letter in a certain
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amount of time (e.g., Make a Match

under five seconds). Spread a variety of small objects and pictures on a table. Then, show
a letter card or tile. Have students name the letter, give the sound(s)
made by the letter, and then take an object whose name starts with
that sound. Give students a time limit (e.g., 30 seconds) and see how
many objects they can “capture” in that time.
 CONNECTIONS
Picturing Stories
Comprehension
Skill Set 1 Listening activities teach early learners about the structure of text
and provide a framework for later reading comprehension. Students
• Print Concepts build their understanding of main events and details as they learn
(Oral Language)
to visualize.
• Picturing Keywords
(Oral Language) Classroom Ideas
• PICTURING STORIES
(ORAL LANGUAGE)
Teach or Review
As necessary, teach or review the concept of picturing. Explain that
• Sequencing we can make pictures inside our head as we listen to stories, helping
(Oral Language) us to understand what is happening. Present a descriptive sentence
to students (e.g., The bright sun shines in the blue sky). Talk about
• Understanding Phrases what you picture when you hear this sentence (e.g., I think of a big
sun, high in the sky, on a summer day). Then, have students draw
• Sentence Comprehension a picture to match this sentence. Have students share pictures and
discuss similarities and differences between illustrations.
• Sequencing Sentences
Art Studio
• Sentence Building Use a picture book to develop awareness of visual details. Describe
a scene from the book without showing the picture to students. Ask
• Sentence Structure questions to encourage students to visualize what is happening
(e.g., In this picture, rain is falling on a city street. What do you think
• Grammar Concepts
it looks like?). Have students draw what they imagine. Then, display
the picture in the book, examine the details together, and compare
• Signal Words
with student drawings.

Bin go
Have students play bingo while you read a short story, fable, or
fairy tale (e.g., Goldilocks). Create bingo boards with a variety of
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Curriculum Connection
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images from the story (e.g., a girl, a young bear, a large chair,a
bowl of porridge). Students should mark each image when they
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As you give directions or hear it described in the story.

explain a new concept,
encourage students to Pair Share
stop and visualize what When reading aloud from a picture book, give students
you are describing. opportunities to discuss what they picture in their mind. Before
Have them retell back you display an illustration, have students turn and talk to a partner
to you what you have about what they expect to see. After students have seen the
explained; encourage illustration, have them turn and talk to a different partner about
students to identify the details that match what they imagined and details that are different.
main thing that you are
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talking about, as well as Listening Lab

important details. Show students a detailed picture from a book. Describe the picture
to students, using at least one inaccurate detail. Have students
identify inaccurate information and correct it.
 CONNECTIONS
Consonant Sounds
Phonics
Skill Sequence 1 When learning to read, students need to recognize letters in a
word and associate sounds with letter patterns. Letter-sound
• Letter Matching correspondence is the foundation for phonic word attack strategies.
• Letter Names
Classroom Ideas
• CONSONANT SOUNDS
Teach or Review
• Matching Sounds & Letters
As necessary, teach or review consonants and their sounds,
one at a time. Show students a letter and present a target word.
• Short Vowel Sounds
Emphasize the initial consonant sound of each target word, being
sure to avoid adding a vowel sound (e.g., /m/-ilk instead of
• Medial Vowels
muh-ilk). Together, say the keyword, the beginning sound and the
• Simple Word Chains letter name (e.g., milk, /m/, m says /m/.). Have students listen and
repeat as you say other words that start with the target letter
• Reading CVC Words (e.g., map, mat, mirror, mouth).

• Consonant Digraphs Super Sort

Display a target letter and show a group of images, being sure to
• Building Words include 2-3 images that begin with the target letter. Have students
give a thumbs-up if the word begins with the target letter sound or
• Long Vowel Sounds a thumbs-down if it does not. After presenting multiple letters and
sounds, have students sort the images into groups.
• Reversible Letters
Brainstorm
•  ords with Blends
W
Show a target letter to students and say the sound that this letter
& Digraphs
makes. Have students brainstorm words that start with the target
letter. Have them say the word, the initial sound and then the letter.
• Word Families
Students can air-write the letter while saying the sound.
• Contractions
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Make a Match
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• Silent E Recognition Provide students with two picture cards for each letter introduced
© 2023 Lexia Learning LLC, a Cambium Learning® Group company

(e.g., ball and butterfly). Play a memory matching game with

students: a pair is formed when students find two cards that start
with the same consonant. Have students say the letter and the
sound for each picture they flip over (e.g., b says /b/, ball). Students
Curriculum Connection can also write the letter to match the beginning sound when a pair
is made.
Give each student a
letter card. Say the name Get Moving
of a word or object Post a selection of consonant letters in different parts of the room.
related to the curriculum Hold up a picture of an object that starts with one of the selected
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and emphasize the consonant sounds. Students should whisper the name of the object
initial sound. Students to identify the beginning sound. Then, they should move to the
should stand up if their part of the room that matches the consonant sound.
consonant matches the
beginning sound of the
word they hear.
page 1
 CONNECTIONS Consonant Sounds–continued

Initial Consonant Word List

bike key sun
bird king soap
box kite sink

card lake tent

cone lip toast
carrot lunch tiger

desk map van

door moose vine
doctor milk violin

fan nap wind

feet nest watch
fish night wolf

gift pie yarn

goose pizza young
guitar pool yellow

ham quick zebra

horse quiz zipper
home question zoo

jacket rabbit
jet robot
junk rug
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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Blending Sounds into Words
Phonological
Awareness The ability to blend sounds to form words is an important phonemic
Skill Sequence awareness skill. Phonemic awareness is a component of phonological
awareness that focuses on individual sounds, or phonemes within
• Rhyming & Alliteration words, and is critical for mapping sounds onto print.

• Segmenting Sentences
Classroom Ideas
into Words

• Blending Syllables Teach or Review

into Words As necessary, teach or review the concept that words are made up
of sounds. Begin by saying a word such as sock aloud and explain
•  egmenting Words
S that it is formed by blending three sounds (/s/ /o/ /k/) together.
into Syllables Present a new word and see if students can blend the sounds
together to make a word they know. Have students match the word
• Beginning Sounds they say to a picture or object.
• BLENDING SOUNDS
Listening Lab
INTO WORDS
Use visuals, such as blocks, to model blending. Show blocks that
• Segmenting Words are set apart and present a word one sound at a time, tapping a
into Sounds block for each sound. Then, slowly move the blocks closer and,
as you do, say the sounds closer together. Eventually, move the
• Ending Sounds blocks together and say the word as a whole. Present additional
words to students, one sound at a time, and have students move
• Sound Manipulation blocks together as they blend the parts to make a word.

Puzzle Pieces
Find pictures of single syllable words (e.g., cat, rake, flag). Cut the
pictures into strips, one for each sound in the word. Present the
Curriculum Connection picture strips to students and say the word, one sound at a time.
Have the students blend the sounds and say the complete word as
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Give students single they place the strips together to form the completed picture.
syllable words to blend
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that relate to learned Bingo

content (e.g., /m/ /oo/ Provide students with a bingo board showing pictures that
/n/). Then, have them represent single syllable words. As you say a target word, sound
share a fact about the by sound, students should mark the picture that matches the word
word with a partner. they hear. When students earn bingo, have them say each word
Discuss ideas as a group. represented on their board.

Get Moving
Select a word with one syllable (e.g., flag), and assign a group of
students one sound each. Have the students stand in a row in the
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correct order as they repeat their sounds, moving closer together

each time. Then, have a different classmate blend the sounds
together and use the word in a sentence.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Blending Sounds into Words–continued

Sample Words

2 sounds 3 sounds 4 sounds 5 sounds

up mug nest blast

at bus grape twist

add moth flute spent

ate tail skate drift

bow cake stop stump

boy pail most street

day roof crack scream

egg dish jump split

in cup swim brunch

on phone best blocks

may bag grin blend

hi book slim frost

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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Segmenting Words into Sounds
Phonological
Awareness The ability to segment words into sounds is an important phonemic
Skill Sequence awareness skill. Phonemic awareness is a component of phonological
awareness that focuses on individual sounds, or phonemes within
• Rhyming & Alliteration words, and is critical for mapping sounds onto print.

• Segmenting Sentences
Classroom Ideas
into Words

•  lending Syllables
B Teach or Review
into Words As necessary, teach or review the concept that words are made
up of sounds. Say a word, such as up, aloud and show students
•  egmenting Words
S that it is made of two sounds, /u/ and /p/. Model this by moving
into Syllables a token or block for each sound in the word, saying the word
sound by sound, and then blending the entire word back together.
• Beginning Sounds Have students continue to practice this with additional words that
contain two or three sounds.
• Blending Sounds
into Words
Listening Lab
•  EGMENTING WORDS
S Show students various ways to practice separating words into
INTO SOUNDS sounds. As they segment each word into phonemes, they can
move beads along a string, hold up fingers, tap individual tokens,
• Ending Sounds or use a marker to dot a piece of paper. Have students blend the
word back together once they have segmented the sounds.
• Sound Manipulation
Super Sort
Present students with a grid with four boxes. Label each box with
the number 2, 3, 4, or 5. Then, have students segment presented
words into sounds. Present words that contain two to five sounds.
Curriculum Connection Students can make a tally mark in the grid box that shows the
number of sounds in the word.
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Collect pictures or
Word Play
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objects that represent

vocabulary and concepts Provide students with a deck of single syllable picture cards. As
that students have students flip over a card, they should say the name of the picture
learned. Place them in a and then segment the word into sounds. Students can move a
bag. Have each student game piece along a generic game board, moving one space for
pull out an item, name it, each sound that they identify.
segment it into sounds,
and then give another Get Moving
word related to it For Label each corner of the room with the number 2, 3, 4, or 5. Then,
example, if the original give each student a word to segment into sounds. Have students
word was snake ➜ /s/ /n/ move to the corner of the room that represents the number of
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/ae/ /k/, they might give sounds in the word. After moving to the correct corner, students
the word lizard, as they should work together to come up with additional words with the
are both reptiles. same number of sounds.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Segmenting Words into Sounds–continued

Sample Words

2 sounds 3 sounds 4 sounds 5 sounds

up mug nest blast

at bus grape twist

add moth flute spent

ate tail skate drift

bow cake stop stump

boy pail most street

day roof crack scream

egg dish jump split

in cup swim brunch

on phone best blocks

may bag grin blend

hi book slim frost

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Reproduction rights for Lexia Demo District for use until April 26, 2024.

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Printed by Class Demo.

page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Describing Words
Vocabulary
Skill Sequence Adjectives are describing words that tell what something looks like,
feels like, sounds like, tastes like, or smells like. Students build their
• Basic Categories vocabulary as they determine the meanings of unfamiliar adjectives
and begin to use the new words on their own.
• Basic Concept Words

• DESCRIBING WORDS Classroom Ideas

• Combining Adjectives
Teach or Review
• Categorizing Words As necessary, teach or review the concept of a describing word.
Show pictures or objects that can all be described with one adjective
• Multiple Meaning Words (e.g., small, fuzzy, heavy) and talk about similarities between the
objects or pictures. Then, mix in one object or picture that cannot
• Synonyms & Antonyms be described by this adjective. Ask students to explain why this
object does not fit. See if students can generate another adjective to
• Similes & Metaphors describe this object.

• Idioms Show & Tell

Divide students into small groups and give each group an adjective
• Simple Analogies
(e.g., silly, strong, broken, fancy). Have each student in the group
draw a picture to illustrate the word and have them compare and
•  ffix & Root Meaning
A
discuss their drawings. Talk about similarities and differences in the
(Structural Analysis)
drawings and the different ways in which this adjective may be used.
• Academic Vocabulary
Beat the Clock
• Shades of Meaning Play a game in which students need to generate as many items as
they can to match a presented adjective in a set amount of time.
• Complex Analogies For example, present the word “shiny” and have students give words
that could be described with this adjective (e.g., coin, diamond,
shoes). Display ideas using a word web with the adjective stated in
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the center. Use pictures or words as appropriate.

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Curriculum Connection Art Studio

Introduce a new adjective and the meaning (e.g., nutritious) to
Apply newly learned students. Distribute magazines to students and ask them to find
adjectives to previously pictures that represent the adjective. Ask students to share findings,
learned content. For describing why each picture is an appropriate selection. Create a
example, if students collective picture collage to illustrate the meaning of the new adjective.
learn the adjectives
fragile and sturdy, have Brainstorm
them describe elements Display an object for students. Have them generate adjectives to
of nature using one of describe the object. Help them select two or three of their more
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the two adjectives (e.g., interesting suggestions and ask the students to come up with other
newly hatched chicks are objects that could also be described using the same adjective(s).
very fragile and must stay Students may illustrate some of those additional objects.
with their mothers; oak
trees are sturdy and do
not bend in the wind).
 CONNECTIONS
Matching Sounds & Letters
Phonics
Skill Sequence 1 Listening for sounds within words and associating sounds with
letters is an essential early phonics skill. Specifically, identifying
• Letter Matching the letters that make the initial consonant sound in CVC words is
fundamental to reading and spelling.
• Letter Names

• Consonant Sounds Classroom Ideas

• MATCHING SOUNDS & LETTERS
Teach or Review
• Short Vowel Sounds As necessary, teach or review consonants and their sounds. Display
two pictures of rhyming CVC words (e.g., dog, log) and the word
• Medial Vowels ending (e.g., ___og). Label the pictures, isolating and emphasizing
the initial consonant sound. Show a letter and have students point
• Simple Word Chains to the picture that starts with the letter shown. Have students make
the sound and write the letter to complete the word. Repeat with
• Reading CVC Words additional pairs of rhyming CVC words.

• Consonant Digraphs Mystery Word

Provide students with images of CVC non-rhyming words (e.g., cat,
• Building Words
map, ten) with the initial consonant sound missing (e.g., _at, _ap,
_en). Have students say the initial consonant sound and write the
• Long Vowel Sounds
letter in the blank. Alternatively, have students air-write the letter or
trace the letter shape on a card.
• Reversible Letters

•  ords with Blends

W Word Play
& Digraphs Present a word ending to students (e.g., _at). Read the ending to
students. Then, have students pull a letter tile from the bag, place it
• Word Families in the initial position, and read the word. Students earn a point for
all real words created.
• Contractions
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Make a Match
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• Silent E Recognition
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Create letter dice with one letter on each side. Distribute the dice,
as well as picture cards of CVC words, to pairs of students. For each
turn, students should roll the die, name the letter and its sound,
and then find a picture that begins with that sound. Continue until
Curriculum Connection all cards have been collected.

Label CVC items (e.g.,

Bingo
map, fan, pen, bag, rug) Give each student a bingo board with consonant letters. Show
in the classroom with a picture of a CVC word to students and say the word. Students
the initial consonant should place a chip on the letter that makes the initial sound in the
word. Once they have earned bingo, they should name each letter
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missing. Distribute letter

cards to students and covered, along with its sound.
ask students to complete
each word.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Matching Sounds & Letters–continued

CVC Word List

b bug, big, bud, bog, bat, bed

c cap, can, cat, cub, cut, cop

d dad, dog, did, dug, dim, den

f fed, fog, fit, fun, fan, fox

g gum, gap, got, gab, gas, gob

h hid, hat, hen, had, hot, hug

j job, jet, jam, jab, jog, jug

k kid, kin, kit, Kim

l lad, led, lid, log, lap, lug

m mad, men, mop, mud, mug, map

n net, nod, nap, nut, not, nip

p peg, pop, pan, pig, pup, pet

qu quit, quiz

r red, rug, rib, run, rob, rat

s sap, sip, six, sob, sub, sad

t tub, ten, tug, top, tin, tap

v vet, van
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w wag, web, win, wet, wed, wax

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y yes, yam, yap, yak, yum, yip

z zip, zap, zit

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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Short Vowel Sounds
Phonics
Skill Sequence 1 Learning letter-sound correspondence for short vowels allows
students to apply phonic word attack strategies to read closed
• Letter Matching syllable words. Closed syllables end in one or more consonants and
contain a short vowel sound.
• Letter Names

• Consonant Sounds Classroom Ideas

• Matching Sounds & Letters
Teach or Review
• SHORT VOWEL SOUNDS As necessary, teach or review short vowels and their sounds, one
at a time. Provide pictures of objects that start with short vowels.
• Medial Vowels Isolate and emphasize the initial vowel sound of each word,
pausing slightly before saying the rest of the word (e.g., a...pple).
• Simple Word Chains Together, say the picture name, the beginning sound and the letter
name (e.g., apple, / ă /, a says / ă /). Have students listen as you say
• Reading CVC Words other words that start with the target letter (e.g., alligator, ant, actor)
and repeat the word after you.
• Consonant Digraphs
Listening Lab
• Building Words
Provide students with letter cards for two vowels. Say one word at
a time and have students repeat the word, listen for the first sound
• Long Vowel Sounds
and hold up the matching letter card. As students progress, do this
activity with three or more vowels.
• Reversible Letters

•  ords with Blends

W Super Sort
& Digraphs Present pictures of objects that start with a short vowel sound (e.g.,
elephant, ambulance, igloo, umbrella, octopus, olive, ax). Have
• Word Families students work in pairs to sort these images into piles based on the
initial vowel sound. Students can brainstorm additional words for
• Contractions each group and draw pictures to represent these words.
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• Silent E Recognition Get Moving

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Post the vowel letters in different parts of the room. Hold up a

picture of an object that starts with a short vowel sound. Students
should whisper the name of the object to identify the beginning
Curriculum Connection sound. Then, they should move to the part of the room that
matches the vowel sound.
Provide students with
bingo boards consisting
Make a Match
of vowels for review. Provide students with at least two picture cards for each short
Say a word that starts vowel introduced (e.g., apple, astronaut). Play a memory matching
game: a match is formed when students find two cards that start
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with a short vowel

sound, choosing with the same short vowel. Have students say the letter and the
words that relate to sound for each picture they flip over (e.g., a says / ă /, apple).
the curriculum (e.g., Students can also write the letter to match the beginning sound.
animals: ant, ox, octopus,
elephant) when possible.
page 1
 Reproduction rights for Lexia Demo District for use until April 26, 2024.
Printed by Class Demo.
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echo
actor

enter
apple

elbow
athlete

elephant
astronaut

ox
itch

otter
igloo

office
infant
insect

octopus
CONNECTIONS

uncle
uphill
under
Words that Start with Short Vowel Sounds

umbrella
Short Vowel Sounds–continued

page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Ending Sounds
Phonological
Awareness The ability to isolate ending sounds in words is an important
Skill Sequence phonemic awareness skill. Phonemic awareness is a component
of phonological awareness that focuses on individual sounds, or
• Rhyming & Alliteration phonemes within words, and is critical for mapping sounds onto print.

• Segmenting Sentences
Classroom Ideas
into Words

•  lending Syllables
B Teach or Review
into Words As necessary, teach or review the concept that words are made up
of sounds, and then give an example word (e.g., bag). Say the word
•  egmenting Words
S slowly, isolating and emphasizing the final consonant sound. Have
into Syllables students say the word with you, making the last sound stronger (e.g.,
ba...g...bag). Repeat this procedure with additional words.
• Beginning Sounds
Listening Lab
• Blending Sounds
into Words
Have small groups of students stand in a row. Give them a word
(e.g., pin). Have the first student say the first sound (/p/), the
• Segmenting Words second student say the next sound (/i/), and the final student say
into Sounds the last sound (/n/). Then ask, “What is the last sound in pin?” All
students should repeat the sound given by the final student.
• ENDING SOUNDS
Get Moving
• Sound Manipulation Play a version of Simon Says. Give students a direction that
involves tapping something. For example, “Simon Says tap your
leg.” Students should respond with the final sound in leg, tapping
their legs as they say, “/g/, /g/, /g/.”

Curriculum Connection Make a Match

Display a piece of chart paper with 4–6 boxes with pictures that
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Give each student a represent a different ending sound in each box. Give individual
picture or object that
© 2023 Lexia Learning LLC, a Cambium Learning® Group company

students a set of three words, all of which have the same final
represents a content- sound (e.g., pot, get, hat) that matches one of the boxes on the
based word. Make sure chart paper. They should identify the final sound and put a sticker
that you have created on the chart paper in the box that matches that ending sound.
pairs or trios that have
the same final sound Scavenger Hunt
(e.g., toad, cloud). Have students go on an ending sound scavenger hunt. Give
Students should find pairs of students picture cards and have them find an object
their partners (i.e., those in the classroom that has the same ending sound. If possible,
students whose pictures/ have students tape the card to the object they have found. Once
objects have the same everyone is finished, have students name both objects in each pair,
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final sound). Then, as well as the ending sound.

students should share
facts about their words.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Ending Sounds–continued

Ending Sound Sample Words

/b/ cab, tub, sob, rib, job

/d/ pad, bed, read, seed, hid

/f/ wolf, golf, shelf, sniff, cuff

/g/ log, wag, pig, rag, big

/k/ sock, lake, make, weak, bike

/l/ rail, heel, tool, mail, seal

/m/ jam, game, ram, gum, name

/n/ can, win, pin, sign, vine

/p/ top, hip, keep, soap, sheep

/s/ bus, mess, fuss, yes, pass

/t/ cat, hat, kit, pit, pet

/v/ cave, hive, live, dive, glove

/x/ box, six, fox, mix, wax

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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Combining Adjectives
Vocabulary
Skill Sequence Adjectives are describing words that tell what something looks like,
feels like, sounds like, tastes like, or smells like. Students develop
• Basic Categories word knowledge by applying the same adjective to varied objects
and by identifying objects that are described with two adjectives.
• Basic Concept Words

• Describing Words Classroom Ideas

• COMBINING ADJECTIVES
Teach or Review
• Categorizing Words As necessary, teach or review the concept of an adjective.
Describe objects using a single adjective and then explain that
• Multiple Meaning Words you can also put two adjectives together to describe one item
(e.g., This is both blue and round). Display a number of different
• Synonyms & Antonyms colored construction paper shapes. Describe one at a time and
have students identify the paper that matches your description.
• Similes & Metaphors Students can use the sentence frame “This is both ____ and ____”
to talk about the paper shape.
• Idioms
Mystery Word
• Simple Analogies
Play guessing games using pairs of adjectives. Use illustrations in
a picture book or display a variety of classroom objects. Take turns
•  ffix & Root Meaning
A
saying two words to describe an object without naming the object
(Structural Analysis)
(e.g., “I see something that is round and shiny.”). Students need to
choose the item that is being described.
• Academic Vocabulary

• Shades of Meaning Brainstorm

Name something that students can observe, and then ask
• Complex Analogies questions to elicit varied adjectives to describe it. Challenge
students to name more than five describing words. For example,
these adjectives could describe a tree: green, brown, tall, living,
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strong, thick, old, leafy.

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Curriculum Connection Pair Share

Distribute a secret item (in a paper bag) to each student. Have
Collaborate with the students evaluate the object (what it looks like, feels like,
students to write sounds like, smells like) and come up with at least two adjectives
sentences that use to describe it. Then, students should present the adjectives to a
thoughtful pairs of partner to see if they can guess what the secret item is.
adjectives to describe
learned content. For Make a Match
example, “Smooth, Create a set of picture cards that students can use to play a
wriggly worms can be memory matching game. Example picture pairs may be: an
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found under bumpy orange basketball, a large brown bear, a shiny green car, and a
rotting logs.” smooth black snake. When students turn over a match, they should
describe their pictures using two adjectives.
 CONNECTIONS
Sequencing
Comprehension
Skill Set 1 Listening activities teach early learners about the structure of text
and provide a framework for later reading comprehension. Students
• Print Concepts build their understanding of text structure as they learn to visualize
(Oral Language)
and sequence events.
• Picturing Keywords
(Oral Language) Classroom Ideas
• Picturing Stories
Teach or Review
(Oral Language)
As necessary, teach or review the concept that stories have a
•  EQUENCING
S beginning, a middle, and an end and explain that we can use the
(ORAL LANGUAGE) words first, next, and last to talk about that order. Tell a brief story
or sequence of events, encouraging students to make a movie
• Understanding Phrases in their mind. Display pictures that represent each event in the
sequence. Have students sequence the pictures correctly.
• Sentence Comprehension
Act It Out
• Sentence Building Explain that the words first, next and last can be used to describe
steps in a process (e.g., brushing your teeth). Select sets of
• Sentence Structure three students to act out three steps of a process (e.g., putting
toothpaste on toothbrush, brushing teeth, rinsing). After students
• Grammar Concepts act out the steps, ask others to describe the process using the
words first, next, and last.
• Signal Words
Tell Me More
Read a familiar story to students, pausing to ask questions about
sequence. For example: Whose porridge did Goldilocks try first?
Next? Last? Whose bed did Goldilocks sleep in first? Next? Last?
Curriculum Connection
Art Studio
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Use and emphasize Tell a brief story, being sure to discuss the beginning, middle, and
sequencing words as
© 2023 Lexia Learning LLC, a Cambium Learning® Group company

end. Then, have students create illustrations for each segment of

you talk about daily the story, and retell the events using their pictures as prompts.
events and routines. Students can also create pictures to depict the story of their day,
Additionally, present showing three things, in sequence, that they have done so far in
a visual schedule to their day.
students and choose one
student to describe the Show & Tell
events on this schedule Provide students with picture sets of common processes (e.g.,
to classmates using making a bed) and/or content-related concepts that lend
sequencing words. themselves to sequencing (e.g., the life cycle of a butterfly). Have
students organize the pictures into the correct order. Then, have
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students use sequencing words, such as first, next, and last to

explain the steps in the process to the group.
 CONNECTIONS
Medial Vowels
Phonics
Skill Sequence 1 Discriminating short vowel sounds in the medial position of words is
essential when learning to read and spell CVC words. Discrimination
• Letter Matching of medial short vowel sounds is more challenging than identifying
beginning or ending sounds in words.
• Letter Names

• Consonant Sounds Classroom Ideas

• Matching Sounds & Letters
Teach or Review
• Short Vowel Sounds As necessary, teach or review short vowels and their sounds, one
at a time. Provide words with a medial short vowel sound. Say the
• MEDIAL VOWELS word, stretching out the middle sound (e.g., caap for cap). Then,
together say the word, the medial vowel sound and the letter name
• Simple Word Chains (e.g., cap, / ă /, a says / ă /). Have students listen as you say other
words that have the same medial vowel sound (e.g., bag, rat, sad).
• Reading CVC Words Students should repeat the word after you and air-write the letter
that makes the vowel sound.
• Consonant Digraphs
Super Sort
• Building Words
Provide students with picture cards of objects with medial short
vowels. Have students name the picture and then sort into groups
• Long Vowel Sounds
based on the medial vowel. Students should label the group with
the letter that matches the medial vowel sound.
• Reversible Letters

•  ords with Blends

W Mystery Word
& Digraphs Give students vowel letter tiles and an incomplete word (e.g., c_t).
Provide a clue for a word for students to create (e.g., an animal that
• Word Families purrs and has whiskers and a long tail). Then, give students a clue for
another word with the same initial and final letter (e.g., what we do
• Contractions with scissors). Have them change the vowel to make the new word.
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Continue with similar word pairs (e.g., pen/pan, bug/bag, tip/tap).

• Silent E Recognition
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Bingo
Create a vowel spinner and a bingo board with pictures of CVC
words. Have students spin, name the vowel, and say the short
Curriculum Connection vowel sound. Then, students should mark the picture on their
board that contains the named medial vowel.
Present a list of CVC
words from a curriculum
Make a Match
unit (e.g., animals: fox, Have students play a memory matching game using pictures of
pig, cat, bug, hen). Have objects with medial short vowels. A match is made when students
find two pictures with the same medial vowel. When students make a
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students underline the

medial vowel and say match, they should write the letter and say the medial vowel sound.
the sound the vowel
makes. Students can
then copy the words on
a separate page.
page 1
 CONNECTIONS Medial Vowels–continued

CVC Words with Medial Short Vowels

short a short e short i short o short u

cab bed bib cob cub

tab fed rib job rub
bad led did mob sub
dad red hid rob tub
had wed kid dog bud
pad beg lid fog mud
sad leg big hog bug
bag peg dig jog dug
rag den fig log hug
sag hen jig cop jug
tag men pig hop mug
jam pen wig mop rug
ham ten dim pop tug
can bet him top gum
fan jet rim cot hum
pan met bin dot bun
man net fin hot fun
cap pet pin lot run
gap set tin not sun
lap wet win pot cut
map vet dip rot hut
nap yet hip nut
bat rip rut
cat sip
fat tip
mat bit
pat fit
sat hit
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rat kit
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sit
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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Reading CVC Words
Phonics
Skill Sequence 1 Consonant vowel consonant (CVC) words are closed syllables. As
students learn to recognize CVC words, they are able to move toward
• Letter Matching becoming more accurate and fluent readers.
• Letter Names
Classroom Ideas
• Consonant Sounds
Teach or Review
• Matching Sounds & Letters
As necessary, teach or review closed syllables. Display a CVC word
(e.g., log). Point to each letter as you sound out the word and then
• Short Vowel Sounds
run your finger underneath the letters as you blend them together.
Have students practice reading additional examples.
• Medial Vowels

• Simple Word Chains Listening Lab

Place two word cards on a table and read one of the words to the
• READING CVC WORDS students. Have the students point to the word that you say. Once
the students have selected an answer, have them check their
• Consonant Digraphs answer as you sound out and blend the word with them.

• Building Words Make a Match

Divide students into pairs. Give each pair four word cards and four
• Long Vowel Sounds matching pictures, all shuffled together. Students should set out
the pictures and find the word to match. Continue with multiple
• Reversible Letters
sets of cards. Students can also practice writing the words after
matching the word cards and pictures.
•  ords with Blends
W
& Digraphs
Go Fish
• Word Families Create a deck of cards with CVC words and corresponding pictures
for students to play a version of Go Fish. Students should try to
• Contractions collect pairs of words and pictures. When all cards have been
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matched, challenge students to generate oral sentences that use

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• Silent E Recognition the words they collected.

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Mystery Word
Give each student a card with a CVC word to sound out. Then, give
a clue (e.g., “I’m thinking of something a baby might wear during
Curriculum Connection
dinner”). The student who has the correct word (e.g., bib) should
raise the card and read the word.
Present a few sentences
from a classroom text,
story book or poem.
Have students highlight
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CVC words. Tell students

how many words they
are looking for (e.g.,
Look for three CVC
words on this page).

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Reading CVC Words–continued

Sample CVC Words

b bug, bit, bad

c cat, cop, cud

d dig, dot, dad

f fit, fog, fan

g got, gum, gal

h ham, hip, hot

j jet, job, jam

k kid, kip, kin

l lid, lap, log

m man, map, mod

n nut, nap, not

p pan, pod, pin

r ram, rug, rip

s sad, set, sip

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t top, tag, tin

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v vet, van, vat

w wet, wax, wig

y yam, yet, yip

z zip, zag, zit

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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Simple Word Chains
Phonics
Skill Sequence 1 To create word chains, students begin with a single word, and
then substitute or manipulate letters in order to form subsequent
• Letter Matching words. Through this sound manipulation, students strengthen the
connection between letters and sound sequences.
• Letter Names

• Consonant Sounds Classroom Ideas

• Matching Sounds & Letters
Teach or Review
• Short Vowel Sounds As necessary, teach or review initial consonant sounds. Then,
display letter tiles for a word without the initial sound (e.g., _at) as
• Medial Vowels well as two consonant letter tiles that can complete the word (e.g.,
h, m). Say one word and have students hold up the letter tile that
• SIMPLE WORD CHAINS completes the word. Then, have students substitute the other letter
tile and tell you the new word that is created with this substitution.
• Reading CVC Words
Listening Lab
• Consonant Digraphs
Have students create a target word (e.g., pet) with letter tiles. Then,
present a new word that differs by one sound (e.g., Change pet
• Building Words
to net). Have students identify where the words differ (beginning
or end) and identify the consonant sound that must be changed.
• Long Vowel Sounds
Continue with additional changes to the initial or final sound.
• Reversible Letters
Make a Match
•  ords with Blends
W Create a deck of cards that contains pairs of CVC words that differ
& Digraphs by one letter (e.g., pop/mop, cat/cut, run/rug). Arrange cards face
down and have students work with a partner to turn over two cards
• Word Families at a time, looking for a word chain pair. Students should identify the
letter that changes in each pair.
• Contractions
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Art Studio
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• Silent E Recognition
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Dictate word chains for students that start and end with the
same word (e.g., bit/big/pig/pin/pit/bit). Students can write the
word chains on interlocking loops of paper to create a “necklace”
of words. As a challenge, have students generate their own word
Curriculum Connection chains to turn into necklaces.

Present a classroom
Pair Share
topic to students (e.g., Practice sound changes to medial vowels. Present student
Winter Vacation; Plant pairs with a set of vowel letter tiles and a deck of cards with an
Lifecycles). Spell out incomplete CVC word written on each (e.g., m__p). Have students
take turns drawing a word card and inserting each short vowel,
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this word or phrase for

students using letter one at a time, to create words (e.g., map, mep, mip, mop, mup).
tiles. Then, have students When a real word is formed, students can write it and earn a point.
move and manipulate
the letter tiles to form
smaller words.
page 1
 CONNECTIONS Simple Word Chains–continued

Initial Consonant Final Consonant Initial and Final

Substitution Substitution Consonant Substitution
cap ➜ map ➜ tap ➜ nap ➜ lap tag ➜ tab ➜ tan ➜ tap sat ➜ sad ➜ bad ➜ bag ➜ rag

log ➜ fog ➜ dog ➜ jog ➜ hog bun ➜ bus ➜ bug ➜ bud bed ➜ beg ➜ leg ➜ let ➜ met

hen ➜ ten ➜ pen ➜ men ➜ den cab ➜ cat ➜ cap ➜ can him ➜ hit ➜ sit ➜ sip ➜ lip

hug ➜ bug ➜ dug ➜ rug ➜ jug bit ➜ bib ➜ big ➜ bin nod ➜ not ➜ dot ➜ dog ➜ fog

Advanced Sample Word Chains

(Words differ by one sound at a time)

rot ➜ cot ➜ dot ➜ got ➜ get ➜ bet ➜ beg ➜ leg ➜ log ➜ dog

map ➜ cap ➜ tap ➜ top ➜ tip ➜ hip ➜ hit ➜ bit ➜ bat ➜ bag

fit ➜ bit ➜ big ➜ bug ➜ tug ➜ tub ➜ rub ➜ rob ➜ rib ➜ rip

jet ➜ wet ➜ bet ➜ beg ➜ leg ➜ log ➜ hog ➜ hug ➜ bug ➜ big

red ➜ bed ➜ bad ➜ mad ➜ map ➜ tap ➜ top ➜ tip ➜ sip ➜ sap
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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Sound Manipulation
Phonological
Awareness Sound manipulation is a phonemic awareness skills that involved
Skill Sequence moving, deleting, substituting and sounds in words. Phonemic
awareness is a component of phonological awareness that focuses
• Rhyming & Alliteration on individual sounds, or phonemes within words, and is critical for
mapping sounds onto print.
• Segmenting Sentences
into Words
Classroom Ideas
•  lending Syllables
B
into Words
Teach or Review
•  egmenting Words
S As necessary, teach or review the concept that words are made up
into Syllables of sounds. Then, using only tokens or blocks (no letters), tap out
the sounds in one word such as mat ➜ /m/ /a/ /t/. Present another
• Beginning Sounds word that differs by one sound, such as hat. Tap out the sounds in
the word hat and explain that the first sound differs in this word.
• Blending Sounds Change the token to demonstrate this change. Continue the
into Words process, changing hat to bat. Continue with additional examples,
giving students their own tokens to practice.
• Segmenting Words
into Sounds Listening Lab
Have three students stand in a row. Say a word (e.g., net) and have
• Ending Sounds each student say one sound in the word (/n/ /e/ /t/). Then, say a
new word (e.g., pet). Have a fourth student take the place of the
• SOUND MANIPULATION person who represents the changed sound. Continue playing,
changing one sound (and one student) at a time.

Pair Share
Give student pairs sets of picture cards representing words with
Curriculum Connection three sounds that differ by one sound (e.g., mop/top, rug/rag). Have
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students work together to identify the part of the word—beginning,

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Present a target sound middle, or end—that is different and what the difference is.
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to students and explain

that they will be giving Mystery Word
classroom objects or Present clues to describe a word chain to students. For example,
vocabulary words a new, “The first word is the color of fire engines.” Students should use
silly name that begins tokens to tap out /r/ /e/ /d/. Then say, “Now change red to something
with the target letter. For that you sleep on at night.” Students should now tap out the sounds
example, if you present /b/ /e/ /d/ and represent the changed sound with a new token.
the target sound /v/ and
point to a map, they Word Play
should say, “vap”. You Say a word with an initial blend to students, such as bread or crab.
may do the same activity
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Tell students to take off the first sound of the word and tell you
by having students what the new word is. Students can decide if this is a real word
substitute the final sound (red) or a nonsense word (rab).
in words with the target
sound (e.g., map ➜ mav).

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Sound Manipulation-continued

Initial and Final

Initial Consonant Final Consonant Initial Consonant
Consonant
Substitution Substitution Deletion
Substitution

cap ➜ map ➜ tap ➜ sat ➜ sad ➜ bad ➜

tag ➜ tab ➜ tan ➜ tap slip – /s/ = lip
nap ➜ lap bag ➜ rag

log ➜ fog ➜ dog ➜ bun ➜ bus ➜ bug ➜ bed ➜ beg ➜ leg ➜

flash – /f/ = lash
jog ➜ hog bud let ➜ met

hen ➜ ten ➜ pen ➜ cab ➜ cat ➜ cap ➜ him ➜ hit ➜ sit ➜ sip
grip – /g/ = rip
men ➜ den can ➜ lip

hug ➜ bug ➜ dug ➜ nod ➜ not ➜ dot ➜

bit ➜ bib ➜ big ➜ bin twin – /t/ = win
rug ➜ jug dog ➜ fog

Advanced Sample Word Chains

(Words differ by one sound at a time)

rot - cot - dot - got - get - bet - beg - leg - log - dog

map - cap - tap - top - tip - hip - hit - bit - bat - bag

fit - bit - big - bug - tug - tub - rub - rob - rib - rip
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page 2
 CONNECTIONS
Automaticity for Sight Words
Automaticity
& Fluency Sight words include the most frequently used and repeated words in
Skill Sequence text. Some sight words follow regular, phonic patterns, while many
are irregular. Rapid and automatic sight word recognition leads to
• Automaticity for more fluent reading and improved comprehension of text.
Letter Names

•  utomaticity for Letter-

A
Classroom Ideas
Sound Correspondences
Teach or Review
• AUTOMATICITY FOR As necessary, teach or review the definition of a sight word (i.e.,
SIGHT WORDS words that we see all the time in reading and use often in writing).
Explain that we will learn these words as whole words since many
• Automaticity for cannot be sounded out. Display an example (e.g., you). Then,
Regular Words model the steps of learning a new sight word: look at the word,
spell and say it, and close your eyes to try to picture the whole
• Passage Fluency word. Finally, have students apply the steps to other sight words
as needed.
• Fluent Reading
Make & Take
Have students create a deck of cards with a sight word on one side
and a picture clue on the reverse side. Place the cards on a table,
words facing up, and have students point to each word after you
Curriculum Connection say it. Repeat until they identify each sight word automatically.
Place cards on a ring so students can review independently.
Provide a paragraph
or page from content- Go Fish
area reading. Have Create pairs of sight word cards. Students can use these cards to
students highlight or play common games (e.g., Go Fish) to reinforce their reading and
underline specific sight spelling of sight words. Encourage students to use the word in a
words in the passage, sentence after collecting a pair.
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create a tally, and share

their findings. Word Play
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Give students the letter tiles for one sight word at a time. Display
a word and read it to students. Have students spell the word with
letter tiles, using the displayed word as a model. Then, take away
the displayed word. Have students scramble their letters and spell
the word independently. Finally, ask students to practice writing the
word in a dictation.

Get Moving
Write sight words on large pieces of paper and place on the
ground. Have students step or hop from one word to the next,
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saying the word as they land on it. Or, create a hopscotch for
students to move through, reading the words as they land on a
spot. Students can also generate a spoken sentence with each
sight word.

page 1
 CONNECTIONS Automaticity for Sight Words–continued

Common Sight Words

Kindergarten

Core5 Level 3 are, be, go, he, here, is, me, my, no, one, she, so, the, two, we, you

all, black, blue, brown, come, do, down, four, green, has, said, there, they,
Core5 Level 5
three, to, was, what, where, who, yellow

Grade 1

again, any, by, could, every, from, give, have, how, just, know, live, of, old,
Core5 Level 6
once, out, put, round, some, were

always, because, been, before, buy, does, first, friend, goes, many, orange,
Core5 Level 9
other, says, very, walk, which, why, would, write, your

Grade 2

about, both, done, eight, full, grow, laugh, light, only, own, people, purple,
Core5 Level 10
seven, their, today, try, want, warm, watch, water

Grade 3

above, against, almost, brought, build, busy, carry, choose, enough, gone,
Core5 Level 14
half, ninth, none, rough, should, sugar, sure, thought, touch, tough

Grade 4

although, answer, beautiful, caught, certain, danger, during, earth, either,

Core5 Level 16 except, instead, ocean, opinion, separate, though, through, together, usually,
whose, young
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page 2