Grade 1 Reading Foundations, Unit 4: Endings and Syllables
Scope and Placement | Student Lessons | Practice and Assessment | Teacher Guide | Unit 3
A five-day supplemental cumulative phonics unit, taught after Units 1-3. It strengthens word analysis and accurate reading; it does not certify all Grade 1 literacy objectives.
Readiness and entry check
- Read six words without pictures or clues: shop, game, rain, leaf, farm, sunset. Record first-read accuracy out of six, separate from later self-correction.
- If CVC or common vowel patterns are still uncertain, return to appropriate Unit 1-3 instruction before adding endings.
- Use a flexible 25-35-minute daily routine: oral sounds, explicit demonstration, word building, dictation, connected-text reading, comprehension, and accurate rereading.
- Teach high-frequency connector words in each passage before the passage. Passage reading is not an independent decoding test for untaught high-frequency words.
Daily goals
- Day 1: Plural -s and -es. Read and spell plural nouns, distinguishing the three common pronunciations of -s and when -es adds an extra syllable.
- Day 2: Past-tense -ed: /t/, /d/, /id/. Identify past-tense -ed and read common word endings without assuming all -ed words rhyme.
- Day 3: -ing and Base Words. Read present-participle words with -ing and notice when spelling changes in the base word.
- Day 4: Read Two-Syllable Closed-Syllable Words. Divide and blend transparent two-syllable words with closed syllables, without mistaking every written division for a universal rule.
- Day 5: Cumulative Reading, Encoding, and Fluency Review. Apply plural, -ed, -ing and two-syllable decoding patterns alongside vowel teams and r-controlled words, then reread accurately and answer text-supported questions.
Evidence and standards boundary
This unit targets selected word analysis, phonics/encoding, reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension processes relevant to Alabama’s 2021 Grade 1 English Language Arts Course of Study. It is not an objective-by-objective certified crosswalk, normed screening or diagnosis. Refer to the official ALSDE course of study: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-Alabama-English-Language-Arts-Course-of-Study.pdf.