Y3-6 Scope & Sequence for Phonics, Morphology & Etymology. Victorian Curriculum

This scope and sequence for phonics, morphology and etymology is 78 pages in length. It is different from other scopes as it includes all spelling, syllable and morphology rules and ideas for activities as well as a sequence for handwriting. It is designed to teach reading and spelling together, not separately. It follows on from the P-2 sequence but can be used independently. There is far more emphasis on morphology and etymology in this scope. Learning the meanings of affixes help students break down unfamiliar words into segments that are easily understood, making learning new words simpler. Like phonics being a code to unlock the reading of words, etymology is a code that unlocks the meanings and origins of words. Approximately 10% of English words are predictable in terms of spelling if students are taught about word origins (etymology).

Key contents

Originally based on a document produced as guidance by Edith Cowan University, I kept the sequence but have made several alterations and additions to the guidance according to new research evidence and including advice to support teachers.

1. Intended for Reading and Spelling:

Many schools have a separate reading and spelling program. I believe that this is a missed opportunity to link encoding and decoding and often leads to students making progress in reading but not with spelling. This scope is therefore designed to teach reading and spelling together. Catherine Snow et al. summarise the real importance of spelling for reading as follows: “Spelling and reading build and rely on the same mental representation of a word. Knowing the spelling of a word makes the representation of it sturdy and accessible for fluent reading.”

2. Morphology and Etymology feature comprehensively in the sequence:

Morphology is a critical element of successful vocabulary development and accurate decoding by understanding the meaning of prefixes and suffixes and the rules governing syllable division. Awareness of morphology has been shown to be a strong indicator of and positive influence upon reading comprehension (Soifer, 2005). Etymology is a code that unlocks the meanings and origins of words. Approximately 10% of English words are predictable in terms of spelling if students are taught about word origins (etymology). Words of Greek origin account for 6-11% of English words yet they account for approximately 70% content words used in maths, sciences and technology. Understanding meaning and origin helps students quickly build their understanding of word families.

3. Why Teach Phonics after Grade 2

In several English-speaking countries, only one in three students read proficiently by the beginning of Year 3. A long-term research study (Jim Rose, March 2006) found that students who are not proficient in reading by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers. As text complexity and reading demands increase, students who have not developed fundamental reading skills fall further and further behind. Older children who struggle with reading almost always have a deficit in decoding or vocabulary or both (Nation, 2018). We know that phonics in itself is not sufficient to teach students to read, however, without phonic knowledge you cannot learn to read an alphabetic code.

4. Assessment:

Assessment is important and tracking data but there has to be a time to use the data to target individuals and groups and to ‘fill the gaps.’ Sometimes scopes and sequences do not allow for this. Therefore, every 5th to 6th week I have inserted an assess and review week for teachers to assess where there are gaps and to group the students to focus on areas of weakness.

5. Teacher Judgements:

At the end of the sequence for each year are 3 columns: ‘Working Towards,’ ‘Established’ and ‘Extension.’ ‘Established’ = expected end of year attainment. ‘Working Towards’ = end of year attainment for the year below and ‘Extension’ = expected end of year attainment for the year above. Helps teachers make judgements and support/extend students below and above standard.

6. Homophones, Synonyms and Vocabulary:

There are homophones introduced most weeks these; usually link to spellings taught that week. A major contributor to reading comprehension is knowledge of synonyms and some weeks are devoted to developing these to improve reading comprehension and writing quality. Students should also be following a school scope and sequence for vocabulary; it is also intended that you provide the meanings of prefixes/suffixes etc. as they are introduced. I have therefore included some weeks dedicated to revising the vocabulary introduced during that term during lessons and revising morphology meanings. Isabel Beck’s book ‘Bringing Words to Life’ has excellent suggestions for assessment.

7. Handwriting:

A handwriting scope and sequence is included for each year. I can provide further detailed information, and a policy if schools wish to follow this scheme.

Additional Features: Grade 3-6

1. Each year begins with content descriptors.

2. Each year group is colour coded to make location easier. Y3 = Blue, Y4 = Yellow, Y5 = Orange, Y6 = Aqua.

3. At the end of the sequence for each year I have included three columns: ‘Working Towards,’ ‘Established’ and ‘Extension.’ ‘Established’ means the end of year achievement standards expected for that year. ‘These are intended to help you make judgements about attainment and also support and extend students below and above standard.

4. After the Achievement Standards is a ‘Resources’ section with links to websites to support teaching.

5. At the end of the sequence for each year I have included a sequence for handwriting.

6. At the end of year Y6 sequence is a glossary of terms and then an additional glossary of morphology and etymology terms.

7. After the Glossaries are ideas for Investigations and then examples.

8. Included is a suggested Timetable for teaching each element of the scope and sequence.

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