How to Teach Decoding by Grade Level

This page provides a comprehensive overview of Science of Reading–aligned instruction by grade level, with clear instructional priorities and links to in-depth guides and protocols where appropriate.

I am a certified reading specialist with extensive experience teaching struggling readers in grades 1–5. This guide reflects my instructional approach, including how I teach reading, the materials I intentionally select, and the routines I use to support students who need explicit, structured literacy instruction.

This resource is designed for classroom teachers, reading specialists, interventionists, tutors, and parents who support young readers and are seeking practical, research-based strategies to strengthen foundational literacy skills from early decoding through fluent, independent reading.

Best for: Kindergarten–Grade 3 instruction, intervention, tutoring, and at-home support for struggling readers.

Educators may also wish to purchase an editable version of this page
to customize the content for a specific grade level or instructional setting.

Table of Contents

1. Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
2. Letter Names, Sounds, Formation
3. Phonics
4. Orthographic Mapping
5. Decodable Texts
6. Fluency Guidelines
7. Sight Words
8. Spelling
9. Comprehension
10. DIBELS 8 – Our Dyslexia Screener

 

Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you purchase at no additional cost to you. This helps support free content on the site.

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1. Phonological and Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the strongest predictor of early reading success.
Phonemic and phonological awareness activities involve students hearing and manipulating sounds in their heads. If they cannot do this, they will struggle to read and spell. These activities should be completed with the child’s eyes closed, with no printed text visible.

Here is a handy activity guide.

The two most essential phonemic awareness skills are

⭐ Segmenting—the  foundation of spelling

Say a word, and the student says all the individual sounds.

• “cat” → /c/ /a/ /t/
• “plant” → /p/ /l/ /a/ /n/ /t/
  (Avoid letting the child say /pl/ and /nt/ as one sound—each sound must be separate.)

⭐ Blending—the  foundation of reading

Say the sounds, and the student blends them into a real word.

• /d/ /o/ /g/ → “dog”
• /b/ /l/ /o/ /ck/ → “block”
  (Expect blend omissions at first, for example, “bock.” This is normal. Keep working on it.)

When blending, start with continuous sounds.

Continuous sounds—/s/, /m/, /n/, /f/, /v/, /z/, /l/, /r/, and all vowels—can be stretched.
This makes blending MUCH easier, especially for beginners.

Articulation Cards support multisensory learning by pairing visual cues (mouth position and airflow) with auditory feedback, helping children connect how a sound looks, feels, and is produced.

Why Articulation Cards Help With Blending

Articulation cards show how a sound is made—tongue, lips, airflow. These visuals help children link:

How they move their mouths → The sound they hear → The letter that represents it

Benefits:

• Makes abstract sounds tangible
• Aids blending and segmenting
• Strengthens sound discrimination (e.g., /b/ vs. /p/)
• Helps kids self-correct because they understand “how the sound should feel.”

Classrooms today use sound walls instead of word walls. You will see articulation cards displayed on an effective sound wall.

Rhymes

It is also beneficial to teach nursery rhymes. Many children today are unfamiliar with these classic rhymes. Rhyming activities help children experience the rhythm of language, recognize sound patterns, and anticipate what comes next. Libraries offer high-quality nursery rhyme books, and there are many free, child-friendly nursery rhyme videos available online.

Whenever a child is watching a video, be sure to turn on closed captioning so the child can see the words as they listen to the language.

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2. Letter Names, Letter Sounds, and Letter Formation

Master letter names and sounds, and at the same time, teach proper letter formation.* A simple set of flashcards works well, with uppercase and lowercase letters on separate cards. Have the child match uppercase to lowercase and lowercase to uppercase. The child can also put the alphabet cards in order.

The cards linked above are large and sturdy, and the letter a is designed in the style children learn to write it.

You can also make your own set of flashcards using index cards.

An additional multi-sensory option to consider is Montessori sandpaper tracing letters. This set has uppercase and lowercase. 

*Correct letter formation is essential. The workbook shown above is helpful for practice.

All letters should be formed from top to bottom. Incorrect formation not only affects appearance but also slows writing speed, which can impact test performance, note-taking, and creative writing. It may also make it harder to learn cursive writing later. Please see my Reading Readiness page for more information.

Please ensure that the child holds the pencil correctly. Research supports little tools for little hands. My students use golf pencils to develop fine motor skills. I buy the ones without erasers as erasing becomes a distraction.

3. Phonics

Please visit my Wilson Fundations® page to learn more about phonics expectations for students in kindergarten through grade three. Your school may use a different phonics curriculum, but the instructional content is often comparable across programs.

I am not affiliated with Modern Curriculum Press; however, they publish high-quality phonics workbooks that are widely available for individual
purchase. While not fully aligned with every aspect of the most current Science of Reading research, Modern Curriculum Press phonics workbooks still provide systematic, hands-on practice in letter-sound relationships, decoding, and spelling. They can be a useful resource to reinforce foundational literacy skills alongside more up-to-date, evidence-based instruction that I describe here. Progressing through a Modern Curriculum Press phonics workbook would make a productive summer focus and is an ideal companion for a tutor.

 

Modern Curriculum Press Workbooks

Kindergarten Phonics workbook K	Grade 1 Phonics workbook A	Grade 2 Phonics workbook B
Grade 3 Phonics workbook C	Grade 4 Phonics workbook D	Grade 5 Phonics workbook E
Grade 6 Phonics workbook F

Teaching Vowels with Rimes

When teaching a vowel (e.g., short a), emphasize the most common rime patterns that occur with that vowel. There are 37 high-frequency rimes (listed below) that together account for over 500 words in early reading texts. Introducing these patterns helps students quickly recognize and read a large portion of words containing that vowel.

Here are the 37 most common rimes in list form. Focus on words with these!

• Short a:  ap, at 
• Short e:  The 37 most common rimes do not include VC words with short e.
• Short i: in, ip
• Short o: op
• Short u: ug
• Blends:  est, ump
• Glued/FLOSS: all, an, ank, ell, ill, ing, ink, unk
• Digraphs: ack, ash, ick, ock, uck
• Silent e: ake, ale, ame, ate, ice, ide, ine, oke
• r-controlled: ir, or, ore
• Vowel Teams: ain, ay, eat, ight
• Diphthongs: aw

Practice:

• Write each rime on an index card to drill.

• Read words with the rime family.

• Spell words using the rime.

• Build new words by swapping the beginning consonants or blends.

Reminder: A rime is a spelling pattern, not the same as a rhyme, which is a sound pattern.

In school, when a new phonics pattern is taught, students form words using the various graphemes on their tile board. Parents or tutors can buy their own tile board.

A tile board is a good multisensory option to practice rimes and word chains.

Teach Syllabication Starting in Grade 2

Syllable division rules give all readers effective tools for decoding multisyllabic words. These rules are engaging to learn and support accurate word reading as texts become more complex.

Teach Phonics in a Systematic Order

For best results, follow a structured approach such as using this phonics sequence. In general, students should demonstrate mastery of each column before progressing to the next.

Decodable passages should only include the phonics concepts taught thus far. I teach phonics and decoding using the UFLI phonics order with their corresponding decodable passages. It is free and simple enough for parents to teach and follow at home.

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4. Orthographic Mapping

Orthographic mapping is the mental process by which the brain stores words in long-term memory so they can be read and spelled automatically. In this section, I will discuss word chains and heart words.

Word Chains

Teach tapping and blending sounds to spell words. A great activity is:
Say it → Stretch it → Write it → Change it. Word lists are included below.
Use Elkonin box sheets that match the number of sounds in each word.

Use These Templates

• Word Chains with 3 Sounds — CVC words (c-a-t) & CVC with digraphs (c-a-sh)
• Word Chains with 4 Sounds — for blends (p-l-o-p)

Directions

Say it  Adult: “Say ship.” Child: “ship.”

Stretch it  Adult: “Stretch it.” Child: “/sh/ /i/ /p/.” (Child holds up one finger per sound.)

Write it  Adult: “Write it.” Child repeats sounds while placing one letter in each Elkonin box. Digraphs like “sh” go in one box.

Change it  Adult: “Change ship to whip.” Repeat steps above, then ask, “What sound changed?” The child should answer first, middle, or last.

Word Chain Lists Appropriate for Grades K–1

Go down each list. Templates may need adjusting for mixed-length words.

• CVC Words 1
• CVC Words 2

• Consonant digraphs — which consist of two to three letters that make 1 sound — th, wh, sh, ch, tch, dge, ph, and ck; therefore, the letters should be placed in a single box. (w-i-sh, j-u-dge)

Blends (st, mp, etc.) may be challenging for kindergartners, but give them a try!

• Initial Blends
• Final Blends
• Consonant Differentiation

In addition to the above, first graders and beyond are responsible for:

• Initial and Final Blends 1
• Initial and Final Blends 2
• Silent e  When working on silent e, use the 3-box template. The silent e should go outside of the Elkonin boxes or within the same box as the final consonant, as it does not make a sound.

or

Students in grades 2 and beyond are responsible for:

• Long and Short Vowels 1
• Long and Short Vowels 2

Heart Words and Orthographic Mapping

Heart words—sometimes called irregular or high-frequency words—are words that contain at least one spelling pattern that does not follow the most common sound-spelling rules. When teaching these words, students do not memorize the whole word by sight. Instead, they map the regular parts and learn the irregular part “by heart.”

The teaching process begins by saying the word and discussing its meaning so the child understands and “owns” the word. Next, the word is segmented into sounds, and the regular sound-spelling correspondences are mapped as usual. The part of the word that is unexpected or irregular is then identified, and the student places a heart under that specific letter or spelling to show that this part must be remembered by heart. With repeated practice—reading, writing, and revisiting the word—the entire word becomes stored in long-term memory and can be read and spelled automatically.

Regularly review previously mapped words to reinforce learning.

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5. Read Decodable Texts—Tap and Blend to Figure Out Unknown Words!

Why Decodables Outperform Leveled Readers

Decodable texts are specifically designed to align with the phonics patterns a child has already learned, allowing them to practice accurate decoding rather than guessing from pictures or context. Research shows that this targeted practice builds accurate, automatic reading far more effectively than leveled readers, which often encourage children to rely on memorization or prediction instead of sounding words out.

Matching Texts to Taught Skills

Decodable passages should always match the phonics skills the child has already been taught. This ensures they can apply their decoding knowledge successfully and build confidence, accuracy, and fluency.

Have the child read, reread, reread, and reread decodable passages. Talk about the stories briefly as a quick comprehension check.

How to Read a New Passage:

• Teach the new phonics concept introduced in the passage. Explicitly demonstrate how the mouth looks and moves when producing the new sound. Use mirrors or articulation cards so the child can see how the vowel is formed. Practice phoneme blending and segmentation with words that contain the new phonics pattern, then have the child read and spell those words. These practice words are typically drawn directly from the passage.
• Teach the new irregular words in the passage by defining the words and orthographically mapping the words. (See step 4.) Keep these words on index cards for daily review.
• Read the passage aloud while the child follows along, modeling by pointing to each word. Pretend you are stuck on a word with the new pattern. Demonstrate tapping and blending.
• Echo read the passage, sentence by sentence, with the child also pointing to each word.
• Read together chorally (at the same time), continuing to point to the words.
• Have the child read the passage independently, repeating until fluent. Ensure they continue pointing to confirm decoding, not memorization.

Optional

• Ask the child to highlight words containing the new phonics pattern.
• Assess spelling for that pattern as well as spelling of the new sight words.

Reminder

• When the child encounters an unfamiliar word, always prompt:
  “Sound it out.” Most words contain at least some decodable elements, even if not entirely phonetic.

7. Master Sight Words

Sight Words by Grade Level

Here are sight word flashcards by grade level. Master a few sight words each day. Kindergarteners should be familiar with the pre-primer (pre-kindergarten)
and kindergarten sight words in isolation. Kindergarten sight words are sometimes called primer words.

Children should learn to read and spell the sight words at their grade level and below. These are best learned in context and through orthographic mapping (see #4), not pure memorization.

To learn these words in context, children should read, reread, and reread the sight word stories found here:

Decodable-Dolch-Sight-Word-Stories-Preprimer-Grade-3

For more practice, write each sight word in your own simple sentence for your child to practice reading.

Here are more sight word stories!

Sight words should still be decoded (sounded out) when possible.

Click here for a printable download of the above chart.

 

Consider labeling items in your home or classroom, such as the desk and chair. The more print the child encounters, the better! Additionally, you should implement closed captioning on TV and online read-alouds.

8. Spelling

• Spelling should follow phonics patterns taught so far, as well as all of the sight words for the child’s grade level and below. When in doubt, teach via this spelling order. Ensure each column is mastered before proceeding.

• Starting in 2nd grade, children learn prefixes, suffixes, and base words/roots. Learning these helps students break longer words into smaller parts and boosts vocabulary and spelling. The above workbook addresses Greek and Latin prefixes and suffixes to support decoding and comprehension.
• By the end of grade 3, students should recognize and spell the sounds of the 44 phonemes.

 

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10. Dyslexia Screener — DIBELS 8

DIBELS 8 (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) measures the foundational reading skills that predict whether a child is on track to become a proficient reader. Each subtest is brief and targeted (1-3 minutes), and together they provide a clear picture of how well a child is developing early literacy skills.

We administer DIBELS 8 benchmark assessments to all students in grades K-5 three times a year. These are FREE, and by following this link, you can print progress monitoring tests and assess your students/child yourself! If a child scores in red on any grade-level subtest, we progress monitor “out of grade level” until the child meets earlier grade-level standards.

DIBELS 8 tests by grade

Kindergarten and 1st Grade Only

• Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)—Naming mixed uppercase and lowercase letters
• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF)—Segmenting individual sounds—e.g., apple = /a/ /p/ /l/ (3 points); holes = /h/ /o/ /l/ /z/ (4 points)

Kindergarten through 3rd Grade Only

• Nonsense Word Fluency—Words Read Correctly (NWF-WRC)—The students are required to read 3-letter short-vowel nonsense words such as sil, tog, paj, zev, and nud. This tells us they can apply phonics to read unknown words. They also get a score for Correct Letter Sounds (NWF-CLS). For example, a child may read sil as sal. They would get 2 points for correct letter sounds, because the /s/ and /l/ were read correctly.
• Word Reading Fluency (WRF)—Reading real sight words

1st through 5th Grade Only

• Oral Reading Fluency (ORF)—The students read a grade-level passage and receive a score for the number of words read correctly, and an accuracy percentage is calculated. They also get a score for Accuracy.

2nd through 5th Grade Only

• Maze Comprehension—This test is 3 minutes. The student silently reads a story that has missing words. Each time a word is missing, the student selects the correct one from three options. To score the MAZE, count the number of correct answers and subtract 0.5 for each wrong answer.

Minimum passing scores are listed below at three points in the year. The goal is to be in the green.

• blue – advanced 
• green – grade-level
• yellow – some risk
• red – at risk and intervention is needed.

B: Beginning of school year     M:  Middle of school year      E:  End of school year

Please email me with questions or to alert me of broken links. Thank you! judithearaujo@gmail.com.

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This page was last updated on February 1, 2026.