[MOSAIC] advice on phonics minilessons

[Nancy Long]

I agree with the discussion thus far concerning specific phonics 
instruction being necessary especially in the early grades.  I am a firm 
believer in the 4 Blocks Literacy Model and have used it very 
successfully in my 1st/2nd grade multiage classroom for over five 
years.  The phonics portion of the four blocks has some excellent 
activities to use to reinforce phonics skills being taught.  The beauty 
of 4 Blocks for me is that it is a management system and not a program, 
so I can use Project Read, Orton Gillingham, a basal reader's phonics 
component or any other phonics program my school district decides to 
mandate.  The phonics block in the 4 Blocks model is about a 40 minute 
block of time daily.  The other three blocks are Self selected reading, 
guided reading, and writing.  During my 40 minute phonics block, I use 
the first 10 to 15 minutes to introduce/ review new word wall words or a 
specific phonics rule, or blends, chunks, etc.  The next portion of the 
block uses activities that will reinforce whatever I am teaching in 
phonics that week.  Some of the activities used are:  Be a Mind Reader, 
Guess the Covered Word, On the Back, Rounding up the Rhymes, Rainbow 
Writing, etc. 

My philosophy about spelling/phonics for my first and second graders is 
that once I have taught a skill, it remains taught.  So I expect that 
the students will apply whatever phonics rules, word wall words, chunks, 
blends, etc. that they have been taught in all their writing across the 
curriculum.

Just my 2 cents worth,

Nancy
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