Phonics Help
nomgisaj3
1stgrade3_Mesmer_FirstWordsWeeklyLessonTemplate.pdf
© 2019 by Heidi Anne Mesmer from Letter Lessons and First Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
First Words Weekly Lesson Template Subunit: Lesson #: Letter/Sound Focus:
Word Review (Practice) 5 min.
Hear-It (Analyze) 5 min.
Decode-It (Analyze) 10 min.
Spell-It (Synthesize) 5 min.
Read-It (Apply) 5 min.
M o
nd ay
Activity:1 Activity:2 Activity:3 Activity:4 Title:
List new high-frequency words:
Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Decodable words:
High-frequency and content words:
Tuesd ay
Activity: Activity: Activity: Activity: Title:
List new high-frequency words:
Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Decodable words:
High-frequency and content words:
W ed
nesd ay
Activity: Activity: Activity: Activity: Title:
Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Decodable words:
High-frequency and content words:
© 2019 by Heidi Anne Mesmer from Letter Lessons and First Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Word Review (Practice) 5 min.
Hear-It (Analyze) 5 min.
Decode-It (Analyze) 10 min.
Spell-It (Synthesize) 5 min.
Read-It (Apply) 5 min.
Thursd ay
Activity: Activity: Activity: Activity: Title:
Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Decodable words:
High-frequency and content words:
Frid ay
Activity: Activity: Activity: Activity: Title:
Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Words/Notes: Decodable words:
High-frequency and content words:
1 Word Review Activities: Word Rings, Bingo, Go Fish! Find It
2 Hear-It Activities: Rhyming Circle, Unifix cubes, Sit Down, Secret Word, Tapping Sounds, Chugging Words, Picture Sorts, Tommy Tiger, Which One? Share a Sound, Robot Talk, Mother May I?
3 Decode-It Activities: Unifix cubes, Silly Words, Word Sorts, Word Match, Word Wheels/Flip Books, Side-by-Side, Cutting Up Words
4 Spell-It Activities: Dictation with Dry-Erase, Word Building, Making Words, Alphabet Arc
© 2019 by Heidi Anne Mesmer from Letter Lessons and First Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Part B: First Words (Student Copy)
B.1 Short Vowels
ham rob lid tub net
tup
san zot vig wub het
B.2 Consonant Digraphs
thin chap shut wish them
B.3 Beginning Blends (r-blends)
brag crop drip fret grab
(l-blends)
bled clip flag plop glass
© 2019 by Heidi Anne Mesmer from Letter Lessons and First Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Part B: First Words (Student Copy)
B.1 Short Vowels
ham rob lid tub net
tup
san zot vig wub het
B.2 Consonant Digraphs
thin chap shut wish them
B.3 Beginning Blends (r-blends)
brag crop drip fret grab
(l-blends)
bled clip flag plop glass
© 2019 by Heidi Anne Mesmer from Letter Lessons and First Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
(s-blends)
skip swim snob spill stem
B.4 Final Blends and Digraphs
band hump wing bank
nest lent link lift
© 2019 by Heidi Anne Mesmer from Letter Lessons and First Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Part B: First Words (Teacher Record)
Student: Date:
Who? First graders, after taking Letter Lessons test. Kindergartners who know 21+ letter–sounds on Part A.3. Second graders.
Directions: Have the child read each word. Say, “Please read these words.” Wait for five seconds; if the word is not given within that time, count it as incorrect and move to the next.
B.1 Short Vowels (We Are Family)
ham rob lid tub net
Total: /5
Directions for pseudowords: Say, “These are made-up words. They are silly. They don’t mean anything, but you can still read them. Look at this word [point to tup]. This word says tup. What is a tup? It’s not anything because it’s a made-up word. All these words will be like this.”
tup
san zot vig wub het
Total: /5
B.2 Consonant Digraphs (Two for One)
thin chap shut wish them
Total: /5
B.3 Beginning Blends (r-blends)
brag crop drip fret grab
(l-blends)
bled clip flag plop glass
(s-blends)
skip swim snob spill stem
Total: /15
© 2019 by Heidi Anne Mesmer from Letter Lessons and First Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
B.4 Final Blends and Digraphs
band hump wing bank
nest lent link lift
Total: /8
Diagnosing Part B Results Once a student takes Part B, record the scores for each of the parts on the Placement Cover Sheet in Figure 2.3.
• Generally, if a student has 2 or more incorrect on any subunit test (e.g., Part B.1: Short Vowels (We Are Family) or Part B.2: Digraphs (Two for One, etc.), stop testing. The student will be in First Words. The section introduction before Chapter 4, “Where to Start: Using the Letter Lessons and First Words Placement Test to Identify What to Teach,” will show how to find the right First Words subunit. Usually, you will simply start teaching the easiest subunit in which the student misses 2 or more items. Having 2 or more incorrect on these subunits signals that the student needs more instruction. Always start with the easier subunit. For example, a student might have a score of 8/10 on Part B.1: Short Vowels (We Are Family) and 3/5 on Part B.2: Digraphs (Two for One), but you would start on the easier subunit, We Are Family, first.
• If the student has only 0–1 incorrect on all other Part B sections (e.g., Part B.1: Short Vowels (We are Family); Part B.2: Digraphs (Two for One) etc.), administer Part C: Beyond First Words.
When in doubt, I always suggest attempting the next test part. It’s easier to stop a test if the child really struggles than to have to go back and get more data.
