Elementary Grade-level Kits: Phonics Fun for Newcomers
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Kaitlyn Wadkins, Mark Twain Elementary, Springfield, MO
Intro
The goal of this project is to create phonics kits that can be used in all classrooms and all grade levels to support the development of foundational phonics skills. These skills can later benefit a students’ reading and comprehension skills. These kits will provide hands-on, reusable materials to grade level teachers. The specific focus is to provide the instruction that may be lacking when Newcomer EL students enter our classrooms. It has been shown that without basic foundational phonics skills, many students will experience gaps in their reading and comprehension skills in later years. (Lane, Contesse, Gage, & Burns, 2025). We have seen this as an issue when Newcomer EL students come to us in upper grades. Not only are they learning the language, but they are expected to follow along with upper grade content. Without basic language, phonics and reading skills, this is difficult.
Students are most likely to succeed in basic foundational phonics skills when “support is given in multiple ways, multiple languages, and multiple modalities,” (Honigsfeld, 2019). These phonics kits are designed to equip teachers with what is needed to support students’ instructional needs. Each kit includes resources that align to a specific phonics scope and sequence that allows teachers to deliver consistent, targeted instruction. By using these resources, teachers will begin building the strong foundational skills that students need to succeed in literacy.
Step-by-Step Plan
Step 1: Create a list of phonics supplies that will support Newcomer El students in all grade levels.
Step 2: Order supplies for kits.
Step 3: Organize phonics kits and sort supplies into grade level bins. Print phonics scope and sequences as well as phonics resource pages for each kit.
Step 4: Introduce phonics kits to staff and explain the purpose of kits.
Step 5: Teachers will begin using kits to support their Newcomer students in phonics instruction!
Materials
Materials are listed below. These materials are all purchased through amazon and can be easily assessed by other teachers and educators. I created one kit for each grade level 2-5, while kindergarten and first grade had a kit to share. Each kit will contain the following supplies:
Supply | Link |
Storage containers (2) | |
Cardstock (1) | |
Mirrors (1) | |
Sight Word Practice Book (5) | |
CVC Practice Activity/Sentence Building (5) | |
Tap and Write CVC (5) | |
Tap and Write Blends/Digraphs (5) | |
Magnetic Letters (5) | |
Talking Sound Phoneme Set (5) | |
Sound Wall Cart Set (5) | |
Magnetic Wand and Magnetic Chips (2) | |
Pop Game-Letters (5) | |
Mesh Storage Bags (1) |
Sustainability
This project will be highly sustainable at our school site. All materials are reusable and stored in a shared space when not in use, allowing teachers across grade levels to access and utilize them year after year. The staff is very excited to begin incorporating these high-quality phonics resources into instruction. These materials are in high demand and will continue to support our students’ literacy development for years to come at our school site.
Reflections
My current school has a very high population of EL students, and it became clear to me that many teachers felt they needed more resources to be able to provide quality differentiated instruction for our EL students. While I knew that I could not solve all their problems, I knew with this grant that I could help. I wanted to provide a few simple resources and strategies that the teachers in my building could implement to support our Newcomer EL students.
As I completed this grant, and introduced it to the staff at our building, it was obvious that this project was going to be welcomed with open arms. Many teachers in the building stopped to thank me for providing them with these resources that we have needed for so long. I was very excited to learn that many teachers took these kits and implemented them right away.
As these kits were being implemented, everything went smoothly. If I were to implement this project again, I would work on creating videos to support those teachers who may need extra support in teaching basic phonics skills. These kits provided the resources needed but did not provide visual examples.
Overall, this project has been an extremely valuable experience for me and the teachers in our building. I would recommend this project for anyone who feels that there is something missing in their instruction of Newcomer EL students across all grade levels.
Resources
Honigsfeld, A. (2019). Growing language and literacy: Strategies for supporting English learners. Corwin.
Lane, H. B., Contesse, V. A., Gage, N. A., & Burns, M. K. (2025). Effect of an instructional program in foundational reading skills on early literacy development of students in kindergarten and first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 60(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.607
