We use the Advancing Literacy program to teach reading and phonics in First Grade. Throughout all the units, students build their phonological awareness and decoding skills. High Frequency words are taught through orthographic mapping. Readers learn strategies to strengthen their comprehension. First graders increase their independent reading stamina and learn to share their thinking with reading partners. Through culturally responsive read alouds and lessons, students have opportunities to see themselves in characters and understand and appreciate the perspectives of others.  

There are six reading units covered across the year:

• Unit 1: Building Good Reading Habits
• Unit 2: Word Detectives
• Unit 3: Learning About the World 
• Unit 4: Readers Have Big Jobs to Do
• Unit 5: Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons

There are six phonics units covered throughout the year:

• Unit 1: Talking and Thinking about Letters 
• Review phonics taught in Kindergarten: short vowels, blends, digraphs
• Review Kindergarten High Frequency Words 
• Unit 2: The Mystery of the Silent e
• Silent e
• word endings (-s, -ed, -ing)
• vowel teams (EE, EA)
• compound words
• flexibility with vowel sounds
• Unit 3: From Tip to Tail, Reading Across Words
• -y at the end of words
• contractions
• Unit 4: Word Builders: Using Vowel Teams to Build Big Words 
• vowel R (ar, or, er, ir, ur)
• syllable -le
• expand vowel teams
• diphthongs 
• Unit 5: Marvelous Bloopers: Learning Through Wise Mistakes
• expand vowel teams (IE, UE, etc.)
• vowel R word parts (-air, -ore)
• soft c, g

We also build phonemic awareness through Heggerty instruction – daily oral lessons in segmenting, blending and manipulating words, syllables and phonemes.