We will are using a phonics program called UFLI Foundations (University of Florida Literacy Institute). This program focuses on reading and spelling instruction. Your child will learn new concepts, such as sounds and letters, to build their skills in reading and spelling.

You can access the at-home resources here: University of Florida Language Institute

Each week, your child will bring home an orange or blue list of spelling words that have been introduced in class on Mondays. They will be tested on these words every Friday (or Thursday if there is no school on Friday). Each night of the week, your child is encouraged to engage in a different activity to help master these words and the phonics skills they are working on.

In addition to the spelling words, your child will bring home a decodable book or reading comprehension excerpt to practice. Eventually, your child will also be taking home a non-fiction reader from Raz-Kids as well.

 Activities to do with your child at home:

Monday

Read the words with your child and discuss the phonics pattern the list focuses on.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Choose a different activity every night.

• Pictures: Ask your child to draw a picture for each spelling word. This will help them grasp the meaning behind the word, ensuring they aren’t just memorizing it but also understanding its meaning. You can also play “Pictionary” and guess what the word is!
• Count the Sounds: Say each word to your child and have them count the sounds they hear. Have your child draw a line for each sound or use sound boxes. Then, have them spell each sound on the line or in the box.
• Word Work Chains: Using the sample word work chain provided, guide your child’s practice by asking them to spell or read a new word. The Sample Word Work Chain Script shows how to alternate between reading and spelling practice. You can do this activity with a whiteboard and dry-erase marker, or with the virtual word work mat which can be found at https://ufli.education.ufl.edu/foundations/apps/
• Write: Say each word to your child and have them spell it on paper, a whiteboard, letter magnets, with paint, or by building the word with Play-Doh.
• Build a Sentence: To help build understanding, ask your child to write sentences using their spelling words.
• Dictate Sentences: Read a sentence aloud that contains the spelling word, and have your child write the sentence to the best of their ability.
• Heart Word Practice: Practice sounding out the “heart words” and place a heart over the part of the word they need to memorize by heart.
• Word Hunt: Read a book (or use the reading materials sent home) and ask your child to find as many words as they can with the same phonics pattern. For example, if the focus for the week is the digraph “ch”, they can find and write down words with “ch”. You can also do this activity while driving or on a walk, looking for words on signs.

Friday

Wish your child good luck and remind them that all that matters is they try their best!

Spelling Tests: I will be reading 11 words out loud for the students to spell. 10 of these words will be regular words from the weekly word list, and 1 of the words will be a heart word, which will always be read last. Our spelling tests will not contain a score and your child will be asked to put their tests in their backpacks inside of their communication folders after receiving them back.

Hello families! We have started our spelling and reading program in our class this week. You will be receiving literacy practice to do at home on Mondays every week.  

Home Practice 

You will be receiving a purple “Home Practice” sheet weekly. This will outline the phonics/sound focus, which can be found beneath the words “New Concept and Sample Words”. There will be a list of words you can practice through using the Word Work Chains. 

Decodable Passages 

If your child is bringing home a white decodable reader (to be returned on Fridays), or a pink single-sided passage (yours to keep), you can practice these at home with your child. Decodable text is where the words have been controlled for specific phonics skills. It will include multiple words around a skill, such as /ai/, /ee/, /sh/, etc. Unlike a levelled text or typical picture book, these texts are designed so that children can successfully read each word. They are an important step in learning to read. You can practice echo reading (you read a line, they repeat), choral reading (you read together), or have your child read it on their own. Once they have mastered reading the decodable text, you can focus on fluency and expression. 

 Comprehension Passages 

If your child is bringing home a reading comprehension passage (yours to keep), this will help them practice fluency, comprehension, and locating answers within the text. All of these skills are important in creating a confident and strong reader. Practice reading the text, and have your child answer the questions at the bottom. Look out for punctuation, such as periods and exclamation marks! 

1. Ask your child to read the passage three times. The first time is for decoding and sounding out the words, while the second and third readings will help build fluency and improve comprehension.  

1. There are some comprehension questions on the page. Ask your child to find the answers within the text and write them down. We are focusing on writing in full sentences using proper spacing, capitalization, and periods at the end of our sentences.  

Non-Fiction Readers 

Eventually, I will also be sending home a non-fiction reader (to be returned on Fridays) in addition to the decodable reader or comprehension passage. These can be read at home as supplementary reading practice. We will also be reading these in groups in our class. 

 Heart Words  

Your child can look out for any heart words they currently know. Heart words are high-frequency words or irregular words where the sounds do not match the letters. Your child can map out the word using the sound boxes and mark the part of the word they need to learn by heart.  

You can find more videos on Heart Words here: https://www.reallygreatreading.com/heart-word-magic 

If your child is stuck on a word: I have included a pink “Reading Strategies” bookmark you can keep at home and use when sounding out unfamiliar words. We are practicing sounding out and decoding words so they can independently work through them. Sounding out each sound will help them decode words and apply the phonics skills we are working on in class. 

 Word Work Mat 

UFLI has an excellent virtual word work mat (we have physical word work mats in class!). You can check out the beginner or intermediate word work mat to practice spelling words.  

https://ufli.education.ufl.edu/foundations/apps/ 

 How to Use the Word Work Mat:  

1. Pronounce a target word slowly, stretching it out by sound. You can follow the word work chains found on your purple Home Practice sheet!  

1. Ask your child to repeat the word.  

1. Have your child count the number of sounds in the word. For example, the word “shop” has three sounds so we will use three boxes! /sh/ /o/ /p/ (sh is a digraph, two letters that make one sound).  

1. Drag the sounds in the correct sound boxes.  

1. Using your finger, tap on each sound box and blend each sound together, creating the word. Another way we practice blending is by adding a sound at a time, such as in “shop”: “sh” > “sho” > “shop”.  

Your child should be familiar with this process as we practice this in class.  

Together we can help your child make valuable progress! If you have any questions about this program or the weekly activities, please come by for a chat!

♡ Ms. Jung