Phonics Routines that Work
Teaching phonics can seem tricky and overwhelming. There are so many ideas and strategies that it can be hard to decide on the best approach. Phonics should be explicit, systematic, and consistent.
Having a phonics routine that works is half the battle. Phonics routines help not only you as the teacher plan, but they also help students know what to expect.
When I first started teaching, I made phonics planning so tricky. I had what you call “shiny object syndrome” I was continuously searching for new phonics activities because I felt it would help keep my students engaged.
The truth: It caused me to be unorganized, and unprepared, and it left my students unsure of the expectations. I quickly realized that I needed a better solution. That's when I started creating a system and routine that I could quickly implement.
Today I am going to share that routine with you. But first, it is important to note that this routine can be used with any phonics skill you are teaching and can be implemented in small groups (my preference) or whole group.
Step 1: Visual Drill
When using a visual drill, the teacher flashes previously leaned sound cards at the student and the student then orally provides the sound. This helps students become more automatic.
Step 2: Auditory Drill
In this drill, students are asked to spell the sounds they hear. These too are previously taught sounds and help connect the phoneme and grapheme. Students hear the sound and then say the letter and sound as they write it. This approach should be multisensory. Here are some of my favorite multi-sensory approaches.
Step 3: Vowel Intensive
The goal of the OG Vowel Intensive Drill is for students to master their short vowel sounds. Daily practice will ensure that students have a solid understanding of short vowels. This step may not be necessary every single day. I try to incorporate it at least twice a week. To complete this activity, I simply give students a sound or syllable. They must decide what vowel they hear and hold that sound up as they say the letter and its sound.
Step 4: Review & Automatic Word Recognition
One important component of phonics is REVIEW! We cannot teach a phonics skill and then forget all about it, right? For this portion of the lesson, I like to add fun activities. Some of my favorites are
Roll and Read
Fluency Grids
Sentence Level Games
Sentence Pyramids
Step 5: Teaching New Skills
This is where the explicit part comes in. When we are teaching a new skill, we MUST be very explicit with our students. For example: If I am teaching CVC (short a). I am going to discuss the sound, the pattern, and any irregular (or partially irregular) words that align with that sound. I am also going to scaffold instruction in such a way that it provides support to my students as they learn the skill. Scaffolding includes providing a multi-sensory approach, repetition, and picture support (to name a few). I am also going to ensure that I am connecting sound to symbol, whenever possible.
Some of my favorite activities include:
Word Building
Step 6: Dictation
I have to admit, dictation used to be the component that I left out. I honestly felt like writing did not have a place in my phonics lesson. I am not embarrassed to say that I was wrong! Students MUST see this connection. I have students dictate words and/or sentences every single day. You can download these easy dictation steps here!
Step 7: Decodable Text
Last but not least, we have to apply our knowledge to context. It is so important that we allow our students time to practice the phonics skills they have just been taught to print. Decodables can be
Words in isolation
Sentences
Passages or Text
Sometimes, when we first begin decodable texts, especially with our emerging readers, it can be tough. Watch this video to see how I scaffold this instruction for them.
As I said before, having a phonics routine that works is half the battle. Phonics routines help not only you as the teacher plan, but they also help students know what to expect.
I hope this helped to simplify phonics for you. I hope that you are able to take this routine into your classroom and feel confident teaching phonics!
Click the pictures below to snag these goodies to take into your classroom!
