Beyond the Basics: Phonics Instruction for Older Students
Have your students mastered decoding most one-syllable words (think digraphs, vowel teams, and r-controlled vowels), but are still struggling with longer or more complex words? I’ve noticed that many phonics program stop or just gloss over concepts beyond basic one-syllable words. While this may work for some kids, many still need explicit phonics and decoding instruction to progress with their reading. Here are some concepts to make sure you cover with your students in special education or intervention struggling with decoding, or for second or third graders. I’ll also include the links to my Phonics by Design bundles for each concept, which include lesson plans, posters, worksheets, games, assessment and more!
Contractions are everywhere, but can be a tricky concept unless explicitly taught!
While adding an “s,” to most words to make them plural is pretty basic, there are actually many variations of plural nouns that need to be taught!
There are so many different rules for adding -ing and -ed to make verbs present or past tense, and many students will need these explicitly taught.
Two syllable words and syllable types are actually one of my favorite things to teach! Kids can be intimidated by “big words,” but most of them can be broken down into syllable types the students already know how to read.
Once students can read two syllable words using the six syllable types, it’s pretty easy to transition over to three syllable words, building their confidence even more!
Understanding prefixes is important when it comes to both decoding and expanding students’ vocabulary and comprehension.
Don’t stop at prefixes! Suffixes are important too.
Looking for everything you need to teach advanced phonics?
Save big with the Phonics By Design Level 2 Bundle! You’ll get lesson plans, activities, worksheets, games, and more for all the phonics topics covered above!
I hope this post gives you the inspiration you need to keep going with phonics instruction beyond the basics!
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