Kindergarten - Gateway 2
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Usability
Gateway 2 - Meets Expectations | 94% |
|---|---|
Criterion 2.1: Guidance for Implementation | 13 / 14 |
Criterion 2.2: Student Supports | 4 / 4 |
Criterion 2.3: Intentional Design |
The UFLI materials meet expectations for Gateway 2 by offering comprehensive usability features that support effective foundational skills instruction. The program provides robust resources to guide lesson delivery and enhance teacher knowledge, including detailed implementation guidance, adult-level explanations of foundational skills concepts, and practical planning tools. Lessons follow a consistent, research-based structure with clear pacing and sequencing, allowing teachers to adjust instruction based on student needs. The materials also incorporate flexible grouping strategies informed by progress monitoring data, with explicit supports for tailoring small-group instruction to address specific skill deficits.
The visual design of both print and digital materials is clear, predictable, and free from distractions, helping maintain student focus on foundational skills content. Technology is purposefully integrated through features such as the Digital Word Work App and interactive slide decks that accompany each lesson, supporting engagement and instructional consistency. However, while the program includes strong guidance for differentiating instruction and planning daily lessons, it provides minimal strategies for leveraging students’ home languages and includes limited demographic or cultural representation within decodable texts. Additionally, connections between assessments and standards are noted at a general level but are not consistently detailed for each assessment.
Overall, the materials support effective implementation of foundational skills instruction through well-designed usability features that promote teacher confidence and instructional clarity, while offering fewer supports for leveraging students’ home languages and including few references to varied backgrounds or experiences.
Criterion 2.1: Guidance for Implementation
Materials are accompanied by information that provides the teacher with guidance for implementation of daily lessons and information to enhance teacher knowledge of foundational skills.
The UFLI materials meet expectations for Criterion 2.1 by providing comprehensive guidance to support teachers in implementing daily lessons and building their own knowledge of foundational skills. The teacher resource manual includes a robust Implementation Guidance section that outlines explicit instructional routines with sequential steps and detailed language to help teachers effectively deliver all foundational skills content. While detailed instructions for each routine step are located in this introductory section rather than embedded within individual lessons, the manual provides clear direction on how to use these resources to support the effective delivery of the program components.
The program also offers full, adult-level explanations and examples of foundational skills concepts to strengthen teacher understanding. The Implementation Guidance includes step-by-step explanations, instructional notes that connect concepts across lessons, and practical tools such as grapheme-phoneme charts that display phonemes, graphemes, and associated gestures. Lessons are well-designed, following a consistent, research-based format that progresses from simple to complex—from sound to grapheme to word to text level—across both whole-group and small-group instruction. The scope and sequence is carefully constructed to allow sufficient time to teach each skill within a typical school year, with reminders and suggestions on how teachers can adjust pacing based on students’ needs included in the teacher manual.
The materials also provide a Common Core alignment document that connects foundational skills standards to UFLI concepts and lessons, using a coding system to show the degree of alignment across grade levels. However, there is limited connection noted between assessments and the standards. Additionally, the materials include some accessible, jargon-free resources aimed at informing stakeholders—such as students, parents, and caregivers—about the foundational skills program and how they can support student progress outside of school. Overall, the materials deliver strong guidance for implementation and teacher knowledge-building, but include limited direct connections between assessments and standards.
Indicator 2a
Materials provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials to support students' literacy development.
The materials provide a well-defined teacher resource. The implementation guidance at the beginning of the manual contains detailed information about instructional routines and explicit language to help the teacher effectively implement all foundational skills content, including a structured routine with sequential steps and information to support teachers’ effective instruction of the program components. The detailed instructions for each step of the routine are not included within the lessons themselves, so teachers will need to refer back to the Implementation Guidance for explicit information.
Materials provide a well-defined, teacher resource for content presentation. Examples include, but are not limited to:
In Resources, the materials contains a detailed scope and sequence that includes grapheme-phoneme correspondences with a summary of articulatory gestures, sound wall charts, progress monitoring/spelling assessment, letter formation guidance, and a glossary.
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials provide guidance for a suggested breakdown of the 90-minute Reading Block and Suggested Pacing of UFLI Foundations Lesson Implementation, including preparing the classroom space, materials needed, and preparing the students.
In the UFLI Foundations Toolbox, the Teacher Materials include a decodable text guide that includes links to decodable passages that are aligned with the scope and sequence.
The teacher resource contains detailed information and instructional routines that help the teacher to effectively implement all foundational skills content (i.e., alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness, phonics, irregularly spelled words, word analysis). Examples include, but are not limited to:
Each step has a detailed description of how to implement that part of the routine. For example, in Step 8: Word Work Chains of each lesson, students frequently engage in word chains, an instructional routine that develops decoding and encoding skills. The sample teacher language is provided:
“(Begin with mat). Change mat to sat. (encoding)
Change the S to a F. Now tell me what word you have? (decoding)
Change fat to fit. (encoding)
Change the F to a S. What word is that? (decoding)
What letter do you need to change sit to lit? (encoding)
Now add a S to the beginning of lit. What word do you get? (decoding)”
In the Instructional Materials, Lesson 11, Step 5: New Concept, the focus of the lesson is “Nasalized A: When M or N comes after A, the A makes a whiny sound.” The instructional notes explain the change in the Short /ă/ sound when followed by N or M. The notes explain the use of the word a before a word that begins with a consonant and that an is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound.
In the Instructional Materials, Lesson 21, Step 5: New Concept, the focus of the lesson is “-s /z/: the grapheme s can spell /z/at the end of words.” The lesson contains instructional notes for the teacher that states, “S is the most common spelling of the /z/ sound. S only represents /z/ at the end of the word when it follows a voiced sound. The sounds /s/ and /z/ are produced the same way, except /s/ is unvoiced and /z/ is voiced.”
Indicator 2b
Materials contain full, adult-level explanations and examples of the foundational skills concepts included in the program so teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.
The materials contain detailed, adult-level explanations and examples for foundational skills. The Implementation Guidance section includes step-by-step guidance, instructional notes linking concepts, and tools like grapheme-phoneme charts with phonemes, graphemes, and gestures.
Complete, detailed adult-level explanations are provided for each foundational skill taught at the grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials explain that each lesson contains steps 1-8. For example, Step 1 is focused on phonemic awareness. This section explains what Step 1 will look like daily and provides an explanation of connected phonation, behavior-specific praise, and general corrective feedback about phonemic awareness errors.
In the Implementation Guidance, there is an explanation of the Getting Ready Lessons A-J. These ten lessons introduce the sound wall and the forty-four phonemes. The guidance provides suggestions for motions to add to the lessons to introduce the types of phonemes.
Detailed examples of the grade-level foundational skill concepts are provided for the teacher. Examples include, but are not limited to:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials explain that most UFLI Foundations lessons include an instructional note that provides information for the teacher about the lesson or concept being introduced. The instructional note may also include how this new concept connects to a previously taught concept.
In Resources, a grapheme-phoneme correspondence resource lists each phoneme, the grapheme(s) that can represent it, the lesson in which the phoneme/graphemes are introduced, and the articulatory gesture with teacher language used to produce the phoneme.
Indicator 2c
Foundational skills lessons are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing. Content can reasonably be completed within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.
Lesson plans follow a research-based design, moving from simple to complex, from sound to grapheme to word to text level. Each lesson plan follows the same format for both whole-group and small-group instruction. The Implementation Guidance section details how to teach each step of the lesson. The scope and sequence allows enough time to teach each skill and reminds teachers to modify and adjust their pace based on the students’ needs. Additionally, there are suggestions on how to adjust pacing in the Implementation Guidance of the teacher manual.
Lesson plans utilize effective, research-based lesson plan design for early literacy instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state that “UFLI Foundations is an explicit and systematic program that introduces students to the foundational reading skills necessary for proficient reading. It follows a carefully developed scope and sequence designed to ensure that students acquire each skill needed in a logical sequence and learn to apply each skill with automaticity and confidence….UFLI Foundations targets the following foundational reading skills: Phoneme blending and segmentation practice, accuracy and automaticity of grapheme-phoneme correspondences, decoding automaticity of words with previously learned concepts, explicit introduction of new concepts, decoding and encoding regular words, reading and spelling irregular words, and reading and writing connected text.”
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials explain how to teach each of the eight steps that occur in every lesson:
Step 1: Phonemic Awareness
Step 2: Visual Drill
Step 3: Auditory Drill
Step 4: Blending Drill
Step 5: New Concept
Step 6: Word Work
Step 7: Irregular Words
Step 8: Connected Text
In the Instructional Materials, Lesson 10, the lesson plan follows a design that moves from simple to complex by moving from sound to grapheme to word and then to the text level. The lesson starts with blending and segmenting words that contain the same grapheme-phoneme correspondences. For example:
Blend: /f/ /ĭ/ /t/ (fit), /m/ /ă/ /t/ (mat), /n/ /ă /p/ (nap), /t/ /ĭ /n/ (tin)
Segment: if, tap, sat, pin
Visual Drill: n, i, f, p, t, s, m, a
Auditory Drill: /n/, /ĭ/, /f/, /p/, /t/, /s/, /m/, /ă/
Blending Drill: in- fin- pin- tin- tip- tap- nap- nip- sip- sit- it- at- Nat
Read: nap, fit, sit, pat, sat, if, tin, in, top
Spell: if, it, sat, tap
Word Work with Tiles: if- in- fin- tin- pin- pit- it- sit- sat- at- mat- map- sap- tap
Irregular Words: the, I, and, a, is
Connected Text Read: I tap it in. Time is in the pit. The pin is in the tin.
Connected Text Spell: The pin fit. I sat in sap! Tim and I nap.
Decodable Text: “The Pit”
The effective lesson design structure includes both whole-group and small-group instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “The lesson is designed to be implemented in a whole-class setting, but it can also be used with small groups or one-on-one. The lesson structure will vary somewhat based on lesson content and the setting in which it is implemented, but the basic routine is very consistent.”
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials show a chart that depicts the “Sample Planning for Small Group Supplemental Support,” which is based on the previous week’s spelling data.
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “Each lesson includes these skills that form the foundation for proficient reading. The program features ample opportunities for students to practice, along with built-in gradual release of responsibility. It provides teachers with detailed lesson plans, resources for supplemental small-group work, a slide deck to accompany each lesson, decodable passages, and downloadable materials for home support and center activities. The program provides plenty of options for teachers to adapt to their students’ needs. For example, instruction at any point in the scope and sequence that aligns with the skills their students have already developed. If the teacher identifies any gaps in student skills, lesson plans can be used in small-group sessions to target those needs. The lesson slides can be edited to include additional or different practice items or to conform to school or district requirements.”
The pacing of each component of daily lesson plans is clear and appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “To focus your instructional efforts on the most important elements of the lesson, you should pay close attention to the time spent on each step. Together, on the first day of lesson implementation, Steps 1 through 4 combined should take approximately 15 minutes, and Step 5 should take about 15 minutes on its own. On the second day, the review of Step 5 should take only about 3 minutes, and the bulk of the lesson will be devoted to practice reading and spring words and sentences, with about 6 minutes each on Steps 6 and 7 and about 15 minutes on Step 8.”
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “The pacing of UFLI Foundations lessons can be organized in several ways. In our pilot schools, teachers preferred teaching a lesson across two days, with two lessons per week, so we have organized the materials to correspond with this preferred structure. In this structure, Steps 1-5 are taught on Day 1. Day 2 begins with a brief review of Step 5 and proceeds through Steps 6-8. This pacing of two days per lesson allows some room to adjust across the typical school year, spending additional time on some concepts or including additional review, as needed.”
The suggested amount of time and expectations for maximum student understanding of all foundational skills content can reasonably be completed in one school year and should not require modifications. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “The UFLI Foundations scope and sequence is organized to ensure that (a) students build all the necessary skills for proficient reading, (b) the skills build on one another, and sufficient practice is provided to build master. The scope includes 128 lessons that address more than 100 different grapheme-phoneme correspondences and many initial morphemes and spelling patterns.”
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “Within the 128 core lessons, several concepts include extra review lessons (e.g., Lesson 35 has versions a, b, and c). Teachers can elect to use one or two of these lessons or teach all three, depending on student needs. With the 128 core lessons, 10 additional review lessons, and 10 Getting Ready lessons, the program includes a total of 148 lesson plans which address all the key concepts needed for word reading.” The 148 lessons span grades K-2, and the same manual is used for all grades.
For those materials on the borderline (e.g., approximately 130 days on the low end or 200 days on the high end), evidence clearly explains how students would be able to master ALL the grade-level foundational skills standards within one school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “The pacing of UFLI Foundations lessons can be organized in several ways. In our pilot schools, teachers preferred teaching a lesson across two days, with two lessons per week, so we have organized the materials to correspond with this preferred structure. In this structure, Steps 1-5 are taught on Day 1. Day 2 begins with a brief review of Step 5 and proceeds through Steps 6-8. This pacing of two days per lesson allows some room to adjust across the typical school year, spending additional time on some concepts or including additional review, as needed.”
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials state, “The program provides plenty of options for teachers to adapt to their students’ needs. For example, teachers can begin instruction at any point in the scope and sequence that aligns with the skills their students already developed. If the teacher identifies any gaps in student skills, lesson plans can be used in small-group sessions to target those needs. The lesson slides can be edited to include additions or different practice items or to conform to school or district requirements.” This allows for lesson planning flexibility for teachers and planning.
Indicator 2d
Materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessments and assessment materials clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.
The materials include a Common Core alignment documentation connecting foundational skills standards to UFLI concepts and lessons, though there is limited connection between assessments and the standards. The alignment document indicates which standards are covered across grade levels and lessons, using a coding system to show the degree of alignment.
Materials include denotations of the foundational skills standards being assessed in the formative assessments. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the UFLI Foundations Online Resources, Alignment to Common Core State Standards, for the standard, “Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print,” the alignment document states, “Students practice print concepts throughout each lesson. The Progress Monitoring Spelling Assessments evaluate students’ ability to form letters, spell words, and write sentences with proper spacing.”
In the UFLI Foundations Online Resources, Alignment to Common Core State Standards, for the standard, “Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes),” the alignment document states, “Students learn to produce, blend, and segment phonemes in spoken words, which supports their decoding and encoding development. The Progress Monitoring Spelling Assessments evaluate students’ ability to segment sounds in orally produced words and accurately spell them.”
Materials include denotations of foundational skills standards being assessed in the summative assessments. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
No evidence found, as UFLI Foundations does not include summative assessments.
Alignment documentation is provided for some tasks, questions, and assessment items, though the alignment documentation is not always lesson-specific. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the UFLI Foundations Toolbox, Alignment to Common Core State Standards, for the standard “Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet,” the alignment document states, “Students learn uppercase letter names and formation during Getting Ready Lessons A-J and lowercase letter names and formation during Lessons 1-34 which are both part of the suggested kindergarten scope and sequence.”
In the UFLI Foundations Toolbox, Alignment to Common Core State Standards, for the standard “Isolating and pronouncing the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words. (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/),” the alignment document states, “Students orally blend and segment phonemes in Step 1: Phonemic Awareness. Students blend phonemes to read words in Step 4: Blending Drill. Students blend and segment phonemes to decode and encode in Step 5: New Concept and Step 8: Connected Text. Students blend, segment, and manipulate phonemes in Step 6: Word Work.”
Alignment documentation contains specific foundational skills standards correlated to specific lessons. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the UFLI Foundations Toolbox, the Alignment to Common Core State Standards is provided to emphasize which standards are covered by grade level. The following coding system explains the presence of each standard by grade level:
A: fully aligned
A-: partially aligned
S: Supported
N: Not aligned
Indicator 2e
Materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the foundational skills program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
Criterion 2.2: Student Supports
The program includes materials designed for each child’s regular and active participation in grade-level/grade-band/series content.
The UFLI materials meet expectations for Criterion 2.2 by providing strong supports to ensure that all students, including those in special populations, can work with grade-level content and actively participate in foundational skills instruction. The program offers clear guidance on creating flexible groups based on progress monitoring data, with sample planning charts and detailed recommendations for sequencing instruction. Teachers receive support on tailoring small-group lessons to address specific skill deficits, adjusting the intensity and pacing of instruction as needed to help all students achieve grade-level literacy outcomes.
While the program includes guidance for differentiating instruction for special populations, it provides minimal strategies for students who read, write, or speak in a language other than English. The materials include some support for teachers working with speakers of English language varieties but do not offer systematic approaches for leveraging students’ home languages, such as through contrastive analysis of cognates or phonological and morphological comparisons. There is also little explicit instructional guidance within lessons on drawing upon students’ linguistic backgrounds.
The decodable passages that begin in Lesson 8 and continue throughout the lessons do not include images. Aside from references to male or female pronouns, there are no mentions of characters’ gender, culture, ethnicity, linguistic background, or other distinguishing characteristics. Overall, the program provides materials and guidance that support students’ regular and active participation in grade-level foundational skills content, with limited supports for multilingual learners and minimal demographic or cultural representation in decodable texts.
Indicator 2f
Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards to regularly participate in learning English language arts and literacy.
Indicator 2g
Materials provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level standards that will support their regular and active participation in learning English language arts and literacy.
The materials provide guidance on how to create flexible grouping using the progress monitoring assessment data to determine the intensity and amount of support to provide. The materials provide a sample planning chart with a recommendation for the sequence of instruction. There is guidance on how to tailor the small group instruction to each group’s specific deficits or skill needs.
Materials provide opportunities for small group reteaching. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials indicate that flexible grouping based on progress monitoring assessment should be used to determine the content and time for small groups. Teachers may teach with sentences not used during whole-group instruction or reteaching lesson(s). Teachers could also spend more time on word work for those struggling with accuracy or blending for those who need more support with automaticity.
In the Implementation Guidance, a sample planning chart for small group supplemental support is provided with a recommended sequence of instruction and timing as follows:
Review /ă/ (4-5 min)
Review /ĭ/ (4-5 min)
Review Irregular Words (3-5 min)
Sentence dictation (8-10 min)
Review this week’s New Concepts (5-10 min)
In the Implementation Guidance, there is guidance on differentiation during small group instruction. Each lesson includes extra resources beyond the eight steps in the lesson. There are word chains and word lists that can be used in small group lessons and guidance on tailoring small group lessons to the group’s specific needs. For example, if a student struggles with accuracy, the recommendation is to spend more time on word work with regular words.
Materials provide guidance to the teacher for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support students who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level in extensive opportunities to learn grade-level foundational skills standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Implementation Guidance, there are differentiation recommendations to support students. Students may benefit from having personal copies of classroom resources such as an alphabet strip on their desk, an individual sound wall chart, or a word work mat to use while the class is using the virtual map.
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials recommend that students who struggle with fine motor skills be allowed to practice letter formation with a finger on the desk or table or using sand instead of practicing just with a pencil.
In the Implementation Guidance, the materials recommend that for students with dyslexia, the teacher provides additional practice with developing phonemic awareness skills by applying grapheme-phoneme correspondence and providing additional opportunities to respond.
Indicator 2h
Materials provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics.
Indicator 2i
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.
Criterion 2.3: Intentional Design
The program includes a visual design that is engaging and references or integrates digital technology, when applicable, with guidance for teachers.
The UFLI materials integrate technology through several digital components designed to enhance student engagement and consistency across lessons. The program includes a Digital Word Work App as well as interactive, customizable slide decks that accompany every UFLI lesson plan. These digital tools provide visuals and interactive examples that align directly with the lesson content, supporting students in engaging thoughtfully with foundational skills concepts.
The visual design of the materials, whether in print or digital format, is clear and consistent, avoiding distractions and maintaining a focus on the intended objectives. Teacher materials and presentation slides follow a predictable layout within each lesson, reinforcing student understanding of the skills being taught. The presentation slides are colorful and organized in a way that supports practice and application without introducing unnecessary visual complexity.
The Teacher’s Manual includes an Implementation Guidance section that provides support for using the embedded technology features. This guidance covers the use of the slide decks provided with every lesson and directs teachers to virtual word work mats and blending boards available on the UFLI website. These resources help teachers incorporate technology purposefully into instruction to reinforce and extend student learning.
Indicator 2j
Materials integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable.
Indicator 2k
The visual design (whether in print or digital) is not distracting or chaotic, but supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.
Indicator 2l
Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.