General FAQs

Why does EL Education use a structured phonics approach as one key component of its comprehensive literacy curriculum?

The National Reading Panel has concluded that a structured phonics approach is the most effective way to teach students how to read. It is imperative that students receive explicit instruction and differentiated practice to know how phonemes (sounds) map to graphemes (letters). Some students figure this out inferentially. Many, particularly those who are most behind, do not.

What about the science of reading?

We believe, based on a large body of research in multiple ﬁelds, that a structured literacy approach is the most eﬀective way to teach reading. This means direct, explicit instruction in both word recognition and language comprehension skills. The K–2 Skills Block focuses on the word recognition aspects of reading: phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition of familiar words. To support the building of these skills, the Reader’s Toolbox routine provides instruction and practice using letter-sound correspondences, spelling patterns, and knowledge of syllable types to decode unfamiliar words, even in isolation. The routine provides instruction using a gradual release format that ensures students have the knowledge they need to successfully approach unknown words. Success increases motivation and launches students into increasingly independent reading.

Consider how a math lesson usually works: When teaching a speciﬁc math skill, teachers give students math problems that provide an opportunity to apply those speciﬁc skills that they were just taught, without the complication of the problem requiring math skills or concepts they have not yet learned. Similarly, when learning a spelling pattern, students need opportunities to read texts that let them apply that spelling pattern. In the Skills Block whole group instruction, students practice and apply what they have learned using a decodable text instead of leveled readers to ensure that they get to practice the skills they have been taught.

On the language comprehension side of reading instruction, much of this skill building work (aligned to the standards for Reading Informational Text and Reading Literature) is addressed in the module lessons and Labs, not the K–2 Skills Block. Note, though, that automaticity and ﬂuency are taught and assessed in the Skills Block. Although these skills do not necessarily demonstrate comprehension, they tend to be strong indicators of whether a student is reading with meaning. Targeted focus on automaticity and ﬂuency in the Skills Block (including basic comprehension) allows teachers to focus on deep comprehension of complex texts in the module lessons, primarily through read-alouds of the texts. And as students’ alphabetic skills become more automatic and consolidated (making more complete and automatic connections between letters and sounds), they are then able to focus on comprehension independently.

I’m confused: So where does comprehension live in EL Education’s K–2 Language Arts Curriculum?

Basic comprehension of grade-level text lives in the K-2 Skills Block, aligned to the Reading Foundations Standard: “Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.” Students have regular practice with basic comprehension (see preceding FAQ regarding “comprehension focus”). But comprehension is not the primary purpose or focus of the K-2 Skills Block. Deep comprehension—the ability not only to understand, but also to analyze complex text—lives in the module lessons alongside basic comprehension. All Reading for Literature and Reading for Information standards are explicitly taught and formally assessed in the module lessons. Most of this is done through read-alouds of complex text (although as students move toward second grade, they do more independent and buddy reading).

Is there a conversion chart that aligns the decodable readers with Fountas & Pinnell/A-Z leveling systems?

Yes and no. Fundamentally, comparing EL Education’s K-2 Skills Block to programs that are not based on structured phonics is an “apples to oranges” comparison. However, in the Assessment Overview, the “Approximate Alignment of Phases and Grade with Levels of Common Reading Assessments” chart shows an approximate correlation. This chart can be used to get a sense of the approximate range of leveled texts that align with a given microphase and help identify appropriate books for students to use during Accountable Independent Reading.

What if the whole group lesson takes longer than 15 minutes?

When first implemented, the whole group lessons may take a little longer as students familiarize themselves with the instructional practices. Because the instructional practices repeat, students should become familiar with the routines and it will become easier to finish within the allotted 15–20 minutes. That said, each module includes five “flex” days. These days can be used any time throughout the module. If a lesson takes longer than anticipated, the teacher might choose to use a flex day to make up for the time lost in small groups due to an extended whole group lesson.

During differentiated small group instruction, can I use materials from other programs?

Yes. However, note that the purpose of this time is for students to have reinforcement with particular patterns: the same letters, letter sounds, and spelling patterns suggested in the differentiated small group instruction section of the particular lesson. So, for example, if you choose to use Words Their Way sorting materials, be sure to use words that contain relevant spelling patterns and/or word features.

What if I am already doing a bunch of district-mandated benchmark assessments? Do I still need to administer all of the K-2 Skills Block Benchmark Assessments?

It is not necessary to duplicate all assessments. But it is strongly suggested that “priority assessments” (i.e., Letter Sound and Recognition for readers in the Pre- and Partial Alphabetic phases; and Decoding and Spelling for readers in the Full and Consolidated phases) are administered. These assessments tightly align with the design of the K–2 continuum and provide important information necessary to determine lessons within the continuum that may need reteaching or extension.

What about students who are way, way behind?

The beginning-of-the-year Benchmark Assessments provide valuable information about how far behind a student might be. Using this information, the teacher can consult the Assessment Conversion Chart to identify lessons within the K–2 Continuum to best meet the student’s needs (or specific instructional practices if students are below the earliest lessons of the continuum). In addition, the Meeting Students’ Needs column (in the whole group lesson) and the suggested differentiated small group section provides suggested accommodations and activities to meet the needs of every phase.

Microphase FAQs

If I have a student who scores in a later microphase with decoding words, but scores in an earlier microphase with encoding words, which microphase should I place the student in?

When a student places later with decoding skills than encoding skills the teacher should take very detailed notes about the data from the assessment paying close attention to the skills that need to be reinforced. For example, the student might have difficulty identifying the medial vowel sound and omit this in their writing, or maybe the student forgets to add the ending vowel to the bossy "r" words. In either case, we must ensure that the learning of a particular skill or pattern is solid. If we advance the student based on the decoding score and not the encoding score, we run the risk of widening the gap in the student's learning because the complexity of spelling and having a firm knowledge of phonetic patterns will increase over time. The aim of the curriculum is to ensure that the student is both decoding and encoding at the same level. It is advised to default to the earliest microphase to fill the missing gaps. Through progress monitoring along the way, teachers can later determine if the student is ready to advance to a later microphase based on data from cycle assessments and benchmark assessments.

How do I decide the correct cycle to start my small group differentiated instruction?

After students complete their benchmark assessments, it is imperative that teachers analyze the data. While there is guidance around the microphase that students place in based on the results of the assessment; it is up to the teacher to determine the cycle that most aligns with the area of need. For example, using the conversion chart in the Resource Manual, we see that the late partial alphabetic phase begins with a review of Kindergarten skills in cycles 1-4. If a student places in the late partial alphabetic phase but has mastered Kindergarten skills, that student might start instruction at cycle 5 of the late partial alphabetic phase as opposed to cycle 1.

I have graded my assessments, placed my students into microphase groups, and I know which cycle I want to begin teaching each group. Now, what do I do?

After groups and instructional cycles are determined, it will be important to begin the task of organizing the materials for workstations based on the skills that will be taught according to the cycle in the respective microphase. Keep in mind that the materials will be reused by different students over the course of the year as students progress through the microphases, so creating structures for cleanup and taking care of materials will be important. Materials should be assembled for the following workstations where appropriate: accountable independent reading (AIR), fluency, writing, and word work.

How do I know if I have my students in the correct microphase or not?

The curriculum suggests microphases based on student performance on benchmark assessments. Students are dynamic people who are ever-evolving and for this reason, progress monitoring is especially important for students who appear to exceed or lag behind in a microphase. Conducting frequent cycle assessments and monitoring snapshot assessment results is the most efficient way to determine if students are ready to move on to the next microphase or double down with the skills in their current microphase. When time permits, administering the benchmark assessment in a shorter interval will be helpful to determine movement. This should only be done with the few students who seem to be overly exceeding or lagging behind in the current microphase.

I am giving the Letter Name and Sound Recognition assessment and am confused about how to place a student. How do I place students in the correct microphase?

Because the phase theory does not identify a specific number of letters or letter sounds a student should know in order to move from one phase to the other, teachers will need to monitor student progress closely. Knowledge of letter and letter-sound correlation is the cornerstone of the phonological work that students will engage in from Kindergarten and upward into adulthood as they learn the fundamentals of decoding so it is essential that the knowledge of letters and the sounds they make be mastered and solidified for future development.

Therefore, if students show mastery in letter recognition (20 out of 26 recognized letters) and letter-sound identification sounds (40 out of 52 correct letter-sound correlations) combined upper and lower case letters and sounds, teachers can administer the spelling benchmark assessment starting with the partial alphabetic word list and the middle partial alphabetic word list for decoding to determine the highest leverage goals for the students who are ready for more challenges. If students do not master these tests, don't worry, return to the late pre-alphabetic microphase and monitor their growth in letter and sound identification through snapshot assessments. In addition, it is suggested that the phonological awareness assessment be given to identify discrete skills that need to be learned.

The results from the Phonological Awareness assessment will better prepare teachers for targeted instruction and skills to work on during independent and small group work time as well as teacher-led groups.

Refer to the Letter Name and Sound Identification Benchmark Assessment: Additional Guidance page for additional information.

Reading Foundations Skills Block FAQs