The 1st Grade Teacher’s Guide to the Science of Reading

We’ve all been there—that moment during small groups when you’re watching a student 'read,' but you realize they aren’t actually looking at the letters. They’re glancing at the illustration, checking your face for a reaction, or just pluckily guessing based on the first sound they see. It’s that heart-sinking feeling where you realize that if you took away the pictures, the 'reading' would stop. I spent years in that cycle, and honestly, it felt like I was constantly trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing.

But that’s exactly where the Science of Reading changes the game for us as teachers.  Once we stop teaching kids to be good guessers and start teaching them to be master decoders, everything clicks. We aren't just giving them a book; we are giving them the literal key to the code. By shifting our focus to a structured, phonics-based approach, we’re taking the mystery out of reading and replacing it with confidence. If you’ve been feeling like your literacy block needs a 'breath of fresh air' that actually gets results, you’re in the right place. Let’s break down how we can make the shift to strong Science of Reading aligned lessons together, one pillar at a time, without losing our sanity in the process.

Today, I’m sharing the 1st Grade Teacher’s Guide to the Science of Reading. I’m stripping away the jargon and giving you the exact activities, tools, and schedules you need to build confident, independent readers.

Science of Reading Small Group Planning Made Easy

I know that shifting to a Science of Reading approach can feel like adding one more thing to an already overflowing plate. The secret to making it sustainable isn't working harder—it’s having a reliable system. To help you get started, I’ve put together a Downloadable Small Group Lesson Plan Template that mirrors my exact 15-minute routine. It’s designed to keep your instruction fast-paced, explicit, and effective without requiring hours of Sunday night planning. Enter your email below to grab your copy and start simplifying your literacy block tomorrow!

The "Missing Piece" Mystery

I remember sitting at my desk one Tuesday afternoon after the kids had gone to specials, staring at a stack of data and feeling completely defeated. I had my phonics cards in one pile, my sight word rings in another, and a shelf full of leveled readers that I’d been told were the "gold standard." On paper, I was doing everything "right," but in practice? It felt like I was trying to assemble a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle without ever seeing the picture on the box. I’d find a piece that looked like a blue sky (phonics), but I couldn’t figure out how it connected to the green grass (comprehension). It felt fragmented, heavy, and—if I’m being honest—a little lonely.

That’s the thing about the shift to the Science of Reading. At first, it feels like someone just dumped a brand-new box of pieces on your rug. You hear terms like phonemic awareness, orthographic mapping, and morphology, and it’s easy to feel like you’re back in your first year of student teaching, just trying to keep your head above water. You wonder, “How am I supposed to fit all of these things into a 90-minute block without losing the joy of reading?”

But here is the secret I wish someone had whispered to me in the hallway years ago: These pieces weren't meant to be taught in isolation.

Think about it—the "Science of Reading" isn’t just a checklist of new things to do; it’s an understanding of how those pieces are naturally interconnected. When we work on phonemic awareness at the carpet, we are literally prepping the brain to understand the phonics rules we’ll see later at the table. When we build vocabulary through a rich read-aloud, we are giving the kids the "file folders" in their minds to store the words they’ll eventually decode in their fluency practice.

It’s like building a bridge. Phonics and phonemic awareness are the sturdy pillars we sink deep into the ground. Fluency is the smooth surface that carries us across. And vocabulary and comprehension? That’s the destination on the other side. You can't have one without the others, and when you start to see how they lean on each other, the "overwhelm" starts to turn into "aha!" moments.

Suddenly, your literacy block doesn't feel like five separate chores you have to check off. It starts to feel like a beautiful, synchronized dance. You’ll see a kiddo use a phonics rule you taught at 9:00 AM to solve a word in their decodable reader at 10:30 AM, and you’ll realize—it’s working. The pieces are finally fitting together.

So, if you’re standing in that "messy middle" right now, take a deep breath. We are going to walk through these five pillars together. Not as five separate mountains to climb, but as the five essential pieces that, when joined together, finally show us the full picture of a confident, independent reader. Let's start with the very first piece of the puzzle: the sounds.

Phonemic Awareness- "Instruction with Your Eyes Closed" 

In 1st grade classrooms, the Science of Reading starts before a student even opens a book. It starts with Phonemic Awareness. If a child can't hear the individual sounds (phonemes) in a word like 'cat', they will never be able to successfully map those sounds to the letters c-a-t on a page.

Many of us were taught that reading is visual, but the research shows it is actually linguistic. We have to train the ear before we can train the eye. Kids need to be able to hear and manipulate sounds before they can link sounds to printed letters and words.

There are many phonemic awareness skills that students need to be successful readers- sound identification, blending onset and rime, blending and segmenting sounds, and adding and deleting sounds to name a few. It can feel overwhelming to try to hit all of these skills everyday.

Good news- we don’t have to teach EVERY skill, EVERY day.  We can progress through these skills, building on complexity throughout the year.  I start each small group with a quick, 3 minute phonemic awareness drill each day. 

💡 Teacher Tip: You don’t need fancy worksheets for this! I’ve rounded up my favorite ways to practice this in the classroom—check out these 10 Best Phonemic Awareness Activities for quick, high-impact routines you can do during carpet time

or even while waiting in the hallway.

Phonics & Word Recognition (Cracking the Code)

Once students can hear the sounds, it’s time to show them what those sounds look like in print. This is the "explicit" part of the Science of Reading. In 1st grade, we move away from "word memorization" and toward orthographic mapping—helping students understand how letters represent sounds so they can store words in their long-term memory.

The key to a successful Phonics block is a systematic scope and sequence. We don't just "hope" they pick up on silent e; we teach it directly, practice it in isolation, and then apply it in text.

Equipping Your Phonics Instruction

To do this effectively, you need more than just a whiteboard marker. Having the right manipulatives allows students to "touch" the sounds they are learning.

💡 Teacher Tip: If you’re wondering what should be in your small group bin, here are the 7 Phonics Tools Every Teacher Needs to make the "code" tangible for your students. These are my favorite tools that keep phonics practice fresh, hands on, exciting, and fun for students!

Making Phonics "Sticky"

One of the hardest parts about being a teacher today is finding fun and engaging ways to help students practice these skills without getting bored.  Learning to read requires repetition but repetition can sometimes be boring. 

Phonics instruction doesn't have to be dry or boring. The more engaged a student is, the more likely that phonics rule will stick.

For hands-on ideas that move beyond the worksheet, check out my 10 Best Phonics Activities for 1st Grade. These are designed to be high-engagement but low-prep, perfect for your daily literacy rotations.

Fluency (The Bridge to Comprehension)

In the past, fluency was often treated as a "speed test". 

In a Science of Reading classroom, we know better. 

Fluency is the bridge between decoding (sounding out words) and comprehension (understanding what you read). If a 1st grader is using all their "brain power" just to sound out words, they have nothing left over to understand the story.

The SoR Shift: Instead of using predictable "leveled" books where students guess based on the picture, we use decodable texts. These allow students to practice the specific phonics skills they’ve actually been taught, building genuine confidence and automaticity.

In a SoR classroom, we also know that fluency takes practice.  Students need opportunities to read and reread decodable texts. 

💡 Teacher Tip: Try "Choral Reading" or "Partner Reading" with decodable passages. It gives students a safe space to practice prosody (expression) and pace without the pressure of a timer.

Vocabulary & Oral Language (The Power of Knowledge)

You can’t understand a word you’ve never heard before. Even if a student can perfectly decode the word "colossal," it won't mean anything to them if they don't have it in their oral vocabulary.

In 1st grade, we have a "knowledge gap" to bridge. While students are still learning to read simple words, we should be reading to them from complex, content-rich texts.

💡 Teacher Tip: How to boost Oral Language

1. Tier 2 Words: Don't shy away from "big" words. Instead of saying "very big," teach them "enormous" or "gigantic."

2. Turn and Talk: Give students frequent opportunities to use new vocabulary in conversation with a partner.

3. Think-Alouds: Model your own thinking while reading aloud. "I’m noticing the author used the word 'frustrated' here. Based on the character's face, I think that means they are feeling upset because things aren't going their way."

Comprehension (The Goal of the Journey)

In an SoR-aligned classroom, we view comprehension not as a "skill" to be practiced in isolation (like finding the main idea over and over), but as the result of two things: strong decoding and deep background knowledge.

If a student can read the words but doesn't know what they mean, or knows what they mean but can’t read the words, comprehension fails. To support this in 1st grade:

• Focus on Background Knowledge: Use your science and social studies topics as your reading material.

• Questioning: Ask "How" and "Why" questions that require students to look back at the text or the illustrations for evidence.

Putting it into Practice: The 1st Grade SoR Schedule

Theory is great, but how do you fit Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, and Vocabulary into a busy day? It all comes down to a Structured Literacy Block.

The most effective way to reach every student is through a "Whole Group to Small Group" model. You teach the core lesson to everyone, then dive deep with differentiated groups. This allows every child to get the targeted skills they need to grow as a reader.

The Power of the 15-Minute Small Group

You don't need an hour with each group to make progress. In fact, a fast-paced,

high-intensity 15-minute block is often more effective for 6-year-olds.

To see exactly how I break down these precious minutes—from the phonics warm-up to decodable reading—check out my post on The 15-Minute SoR Small Group Lesson Structure.

The "Rest of the Class" Dilemma

The biggest hurdle to small group instruction is usually the other 15–20 students. If they aren't engaged in meaningful, independent work, your small group instruction will be constantly interrupted.

I’ve solved the "what do I do with them?" problem! Here is my guide on What the Other Students Are Doing: Meaningful Literacy Centers. These activities are designed to be "low-interruption" so you can focus on your small group.

Your Science of Reading Journey Starts Today

Transitioning to the Science of Reading is a marathon, not a sprint. By focusing on these five pillars and setting up a predictable small-group routine, you are giving your 1st graders the strongest possible foundation for their entire academic career.

Ready to simplify your Science of Reading planning? 

Don't reinvent the wheel every Sunday night. Download my Free SoR Small Group Lesson Template to help you organize your 15-minute blocks and ensure you're hitting every essential pillar, every single day!

Science of Reading in Your 1st Grade Classroom

At the end of the day, remember that the 'Science of Reading' is simply a tool to help us reach the heart of why we teach: the moment a child looks at a page and finally feels the power of 'I can do this.' 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the shift in terminology or the change in your routines, give yourself some grace. You don’t have to be perfect by Monday morning; you just have to be intentional. Every sound you map, every decodable book you share, and every 15-minute small group you lead is a brick in the foundation of a lifelong reader. You’ve got this, and more importantly, your students have you.

Happy Teaching,

Valerie

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About the Author

Hi! I’m Valerie, the teacher-author behind Bear and Bug Learning. With years of 1st-grade experience and a passion for making the Science of Reading accessible, I create resources designed to save you time and help your students bloom. When I’m not in the classroom or designing new TPT resources, you can find me cheering on my family, traveling or  working out.

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