If you are like me, you want to ensure that every student in your class gets the phonics instruction needed to be successful readers and writers. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to achieve that goal. I know that to make something work in my classroom, I need a routine. Unfortunately, there are too many kids and not enough time to figure things out in the moment.
That’s why I created my small group phonics review routine. It combines many ideas I found from books, websites, blogs, and many pins on Pinterest. I planned out everything I was going to say and do so that I could focus on the students instead of the lesson.
This is one of the pages from the small group phonics review routine. This page is focused on teaching the voiced and unvoiced /th/ sound.
Every day, we follow the same routine to learn a new sound. Learning a sound a day is too much for regular instruction, but this small group work is designed to be a review. If your students get stuck on a sound, you can always repeat the day for as long as they need it. Also, you can use this routine with any grade, but I created it for my second grade students.
Here is the routine we follow:
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As we transition: Students get sound/letter cards for the day. (I write a list for them.)
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Students read the review list for the day. Each review list has words from the past six lessons. I read that students need four to six weeks to master a new sound pattern. Introducing a sound per day won’t give students that long, but the repetition is still helpful.
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Phonological Awareness Activity: I use lists from Equipped for Reading Success A Comprehensive, Step-By-Step Program for Developing Phonemic Awareness and Fluent Word Recognition
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The teacher points to each sound card, and students say the letter and sound as a review.
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The teacher holds up the new sound card for the day and tells the students the sound the letter(s) make.
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The teacher builds a word using the sound cards and models saying each sound and blending the sounds into a word.
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Students build more words using the sound/letter cards.
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Students read the word list for the day. (Some days have multiple lists to give you added flexibility.)
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Students practice writing words the teacher dictates using the sound pattern.
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Students read a decodable reading passage based on the sound pattern. I will share the resource I use for free decodable reading passages as soon as I find it again.
I know it is ten steps, but it is so simple. Plus, the kids catch on really fast. I send home the review list, word list, and decodable reading passage for extra practice. I print two sheets per page to save as much paper as possible.
Here is the great news for you. I have been using this resource in my classroom with great results, but I need more eyes on it before it is ready to sell. For a limited time, you can download the file and use it in your classroom totally for free. If you find a mistake or discover something that could be better, email me to tell me about it, and I will make sure you get access to the updated file, even when I list it for sale. You can email me anytime at cate@forthelove.com.
Small Group Phonics Review Lessons
At some point, I will be taking this link down, so grab the file today and share your thoughts via email!
You will notice I often refer to sound/letter cards in this routine. You can use any sound/letter cards you have, make your own, or get mine! Read all about them here.
