Phonics

The first grade phonics program is threefold: Explode the Code, spelling rules, and beginning reading. All first grade teachers use a workbook series called Explode the Code. The books are designed to walk students through a sequential phonetic decoding process beginning with consonant sounds, short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, blends, digraphs and diphthongs, r-controlled sounds (ar, er, ir, or, and ur), and unusual "o" vowel combinations (ou, ow, oy, oi, oo), "y" combinations (y says a, e, and i). We also study double consonants in the middle of a word, in combination with beginning syllabication rules.