Foundational Skills » LearningList

New Review: Sadlier’s From Phonics to Reading

February 22, 2023February 8, 2023

Are you searching for instructional materials to support foundational skills instruction? Take a look at Learning List’s review of Sadlier’s From Phonics to Reading.

Sadlier’s From Phonics to Reading is a comprehensive phonics program, intended to supplement literacy instruction in Grades K-3. The core instructional material consists of teacher and student books, available in print or eBook format, and additional digital materials provided on the program platform.

The goal of the program is to support students as they become readers by providing explicit and systematic foundational skills instruction. The material provides explicit and systematic phonics instruction reflective of the Science of Teaching Reading. It employs consistent instructional routines and lesson sequences, beginning with alphabetic knowledge and progressing to more advanced foundational reading skills, such as encoding, compound words, and suffixes and prefixes.

New Product: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Saxon Phonics

August 30, 2022September 10, 2021

Are your primary teachers ready for a new program to support foundational literacy skills? Take a look at Learning List’s review of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Saxon Phonics.

Saxon Phonics is a supplemental literacy program for students in kindergarten through grade 2. The program is designed to provide explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency, as well as instructional support for handwriting, listening, and speaking.

New Product: Heggerty’s Phonemic Awareness

August 30, 2022July 29, 2021

Do your teachers need additional materials to support phonemic awareness instruction? Take a look at Learning List’s review of Heggerty’s Phonemic Awareness.

Heggerty’s Phonemic Awareness is a supplemental set of lessons to develop phonemic awareness for students in kindergarten and grade 1. Materials are available in digital format or in print with some resources available for download on the publisher’s website. Learning List recently reviewed the English and Spanish materials.

The material is intended to support foundational skills instruction. Each lesson includes eight phonemic awareness skills and two early literacy skills. The lessons are designed so that instruction is primarily oral, incorporating the use of hand motions to support student learning. The lessons are logically organized in the teacher’s manuals, and all required materials are included. The material is well organized and easy to use.

5 Helpful Tips for Reviewing Early Literacy Materials

November 28, 2022April 23, 2021

Early literacy development is critical to students’ success in the later grades and arguably, in life. Because students come to school with varying degrees of literacy, the quality of instruction and the quality of materials used in the classroom are primary determinants of the level of content and skill mastery young students achieve in literacy. What criteria do you look for when evaluating materials for early literacy?

Sign in front of bookcase in the Early Literacy section of a library explaining how Learning List's alignment reports can be useful for lesson planning after a material has been purchased.

Like most educators, at Learning List we believe that the instructional quality of any material is based on its alignment to state standards and other quality indicators. Thus, our Alignment Report verifies publisher claims of alignment, and our Editorial Review assesses the instructional quality of the material. Here’s what we look for in each type of review.

New Product Review: Corwin Press Puzzle Piece Phonics

August 12, 2022January 9, 2019

Learning List has reviewed Corwin Press’ Puzzle Piece Phonics (PPP), which is a supplemental product that supports word study in grades K-2. Content is available in print format. Across grades, the program provides systematic and explicit instruction in spelling and phonics patterns. Instruction incorporates puzzle piece manipulatives that help students recognize sound and spelling patterns and their connections to word structure.

PPP’s core content is organized in units, or “Concepts.” Each Concept is broken into instructional weeks that include a weekly focus. Content follows a logical sequence that builds on similarities in concepts and patterns. The pacing of instruction is deliberately measured to ensure that students have adequate time to master patterns before moving on to the next concept. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Saxon Phonics & Spelling

July 12, 2022August 29, 2018

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Saxon Phonics & Spelling is a supplemental product that supports the development of foundational skills in grades K-3. Content is available in print format and is designed to supplement a reading program. Instruction develops phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling and fluency skills and includes lessons addressing handwriting. Learning List recently reviewed resources for grades K – 2.

Saxon Phonics & Spelling materials at each grade level are contained in a classroom kit that include student, teacher, and classroom resources to support instruction. Student resources include worksheets, alphabet handwriting strips, decodable readers, and a spelling dictionary (grade 1 only). Classroom resources include posters, card decks, a CD pronunciation guide, fluency readers. [Read more…]

New Reviews: Center for Collaborative Classroom’s SIPPS

August 19, 2022October 30, 2015

The Center for Collaborative Classroom’s SIPPS (Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words) is a multi-level supplemental program that supports literacy development in grades K-12. SIPPS resources are available in print and online formats and support core instruction and Response to Intervention (RtI) programs. Learning List has reviewed the SIPPS resources with alignment to TEKS and CCSS.