This article outlines the progression of skills, concepts, and learning objectives integrated into Ignite™ and The Code is the Key Kindergarten™ to support educators and administrators in delivering explicit and systematic literacy supports.
Ignite™ Literacy and Language & Communication Development Scope and Sequence
Literacy Framework
Ignite’s literacy framework includes the following strands, subdomains, and skills.
Listening Comprehension Strand
|
Subdomain |
Level |
Skill Descriptor |
|
Key Ideas and Details |
1 |
Listens to fictional texts with simple details and story elements |
| Key Ideas and Details | 2 |
Listens to nonfiction texts with simple structures and elements |
| Key Ideas and Details | 3 |
Identifies the main character(s) in a story |
| Key Ideas and Details | 4 |
Recalls the order of events in a story |
| Key Ideas and Details | 5 |
Recalls several facts from expository text |
| Key Ideas and Details | 6 |
Draws a picture to summarize text and labels key details |
| Key Ideas and Details | 7 |
Makes text-to-text connections |
| Key Ideas and Details | 8 |
Draws a picture to summarize text and labels key details |
| Key Ideas and Details | 9 |
Identifies the main topic of a text |
| Key Ideas and Details | 10 |
Retells a story, demonstrating an understanding of the central message or lesson |
| Key Ideas and Details | 11 |
Identifies settings and major events in a story using key details |
| Key Ideas and Details | 12 |
Describes how two individuals, events, or pieces of information in a text are connected |
Phonics Strand
|
Subdomain |
Level |
Skill Descriptor |
|
Alphabet Knowledge |
2 |
Listens to alphabet chants and songs |
| Alphabet Knowledge | 3 |
Recognizes 10 uppercase letters |
| Alphabet Knowledge | 4 |
Recognizes 18 uppercase and 15 lowercase letters |
| Alphabet Knowledge | 5 |
Recognizes 26 uppercase and 20 lowercase letters |
| Alphabet Knowledge | 6 |
Identifies all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters |
| Alphabet Knowledge | 7 |
Rapidly identifies all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters |
|
Decoding |
6 |
Decodes CVC words with short vowel sounds |
| Decoding | 7 |
Decodes CCVC words with consonant diagraphs |
| Decoding | 8 |
Decodes CVCe words with long vowel sounds |
| Decoding | 9 |
Determines the number of syllables in a printed word |
| Decoding | 10 |
Decodes two-syllable words that follow basic patterns |
| Decoding | 11 |
Reads words with inflectional endings |
| Decoding | 12 |
Reads grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words |
|
Letter–Sound Correspondence |
3 |
Identifies less than 10 letters based on their sounds |
|
Letter–Sound Correspondence |
4 |
Identifies 10 uppercase letters based on their sounds |
|
Letter–Sound Correspondence |
5 |
Identifies 15 uppercase and 10 lowercase letters based on their sounds |
| Letter–Sound Correspondence | 6 |
Identifies all uppercase and 20 lowercase letters based on their sounds |
| Letter–Sound Correspondence | 7 |
Identifies all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters based on their sounds |
| Letter–Sound Correspondence | 8 |
Identifies vowels based on long vowel sounds |
Phonological Awareness Strand
|
Subdomain |
Level |
Skill Descriptor |
|
Alliteration |
1 |
Listens to songs and chants that have repeating initial sounds |
|
Alliteration |
2 |
Recognizes when groups of words begin with the same onset |
| Alliteration | 3 |
Distinguishes if two words start with the same onset |
| Alliteration | 4 |
Isolates the onset in words |
| Alliteration | 5 |
Sorts words by onset |
| Alliteration | 6 |
Sorts words with initial diagraphs by onset |
|
Blending |
1 |
Combines two words to make a compound word |
| Blending | 2 |
Adds a missing word to form a compound word |
| Blending | 3 |
Combines syllables to form words |
| Blending | 4 |
Blends onsets and rimes to make one-syllable words |
| Blending | 5 |
Blends phonemes to form simple words |
| Blending | 6 |
Blends phonemes to form simple words quickly |
| Blending | 7 |
Blends phonemes to form a one-syllable word with consonant digraphs |
|
Blending |
8 |
Blends phonemes to form one-syllable words with consonant blends |
|
Rhyming |
1 |
Listens to a variety of rhymes (songs, chants, etc.) |
|
Rhyming |
2 |
Determines if two words rhyme |
| Rhyming | 3 |
Matches rhyming words |
| Rhyming | 4 |
Determines which word does not rhyme |
| Rhyming | 5 |
Sorts words by rhyme |
| Rhyming | 6 |
Fills in rhyming words |
|
Segmenting |
1 |
Identifies separate words within a sentence |
| Segmenting | 2 |
Segments compound words into two words |
| Segmenting | 3 |
Deletes a word from a compound word |
| Segmenting | 4 |
Segments words into syllables |
| Segmenting | 5 |
Explores segmenting simple words into individual phonemes |
| Segmenting | 6 |
Isolates final sounds in CVC words |
| Segmenting | 7 |
Isolates medial vowel sounds in CVC words (short vowels only) |
| Segmenting | 8 |
Identifies consonants that are combined to form a consonant blend |
|
Phoneme Manipulation |
6A |
Adds an initial phoneme to a given word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 6B |
Adds a final phoneme to a given word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 6C |
Adds a medial phoneme to a word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 7A |
Deletes an initial phoneme from a given word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 7B |
Deletes a final phoneme from a given word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 7C |
Deletes a medial phoneme from a word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 8A |
Substitutes an initial phoneme in a given word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 8B |
Substitutes a final phoneme in a given word to create a new word |
| Phoneme Manipulation | 8C |
Substitutes a medial phoneme in a given word to create a new word |
Reading Strand
|
Subdomain |
Level |
Skill Descriptor |
|
Comprehension - Fiction |
5 |
Interacts during a read-aloud with call and response or movements |
|
Comprehension - Fiction |
6 |
Answers simple recall questions about a text with short, predictable sentences that directly relate to illustrations |
| Comprehension - Fiction | 7 |
Recalls the order of events after reading a text |
| Comprehension - Fiction | 8 |
Makes simple predictions and inferences about a text |
| Comprehension - Nonfiction | 6 |
Answers simple recall questions about texts with short, predictable sentences that directly relate to illustrations |
| Comprehension - Nonfiction | 7 |
Demonstrates an understanding of content-specific vocabulary used in a text |
|
Comprehension - Nonfiction |
8 |
Recalls the order of procedures after reading a procedural text |
|
Concepts of Print |
1 |
Identifies appropriate book orientation |
| Concepts of Print | 2 |
Distinguishes print from pictures |
| Concepts of Print | 3 |
Demonstrates an understanding of print directionality |
| Concepts of Print | 4 |
Identifies book parts and features |
| Concepts of Print | 5 |
Distinguishes letters from words |
| Concepts of Print | 6 |
Distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase letters |
|
Concepts of Print |
7 |
Tracks written text along with spoken text |
|
Concepts of Print |
8 |
Identifies features of nonfiction texts |
|
High-Frequency Words |
6 |
Identifies the following sight words: the, can, is, a, I, see, on, he, she, at |
| High-Frequency Words | 7 |
Identifies the following sight words: to, in, you, it, was, that, his, and, for, are |
| High-Frequency Words | 8 |
Identifies the following sight words: of, with, they, be, this, have, from, we, look, my |
|
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas |
6 |
Describes the relationship between illustrations and a story |
| Integration of Knowledge and Ideas | 7 |
Compares and contrasts the experiences of characters in a story |
|
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas |
8 |
Describes the characters, setting, or events in a story using illustrations and/or details |
| Integration of Knowledge and Ideas | 9 |
Describes the characters, setting, or events using illustrations and details in a story |
| Integration of Knowledge and Ideas | 10 |
Describes the key ideas of a text using illustrations and text details |
| Integration of Knowledge and Ideas | 11 |
Identifies the reasons an author gives to support points in a text |
| Integration of Knowledge and Ideas | 12 |
Identifies similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic |
|
Craft and Structure |
6 |
Answers questions about words in a text |
| Craft and Structure | 7 |
Recognizes common types of texts |
| Craft and Structure | 8 |
Names the author and illustrator of a text and defines the role of each |
|
Craft and Structure |
9 |
Identifies words or phrases in poems or stories that indicate feelings or appeal to the senses |
| Craft and Structure | 10 |
Identifies who is telling the story at different points in a text |
| Craft and Structure | 11 |
Identifies whether information has been provided by pictures or illustrations or by the words in a text |
| Craft and Structure | 12 |
Uses various text features (e.g., headings, glossaries, tables of contents) to locate key facts or information in a text |
Writing Strand
|
Subdomain |
Level |
Skill Descriptor |
|
Writing Development |
1 |
Makes scribble marks |
| Writing Development | 2 |
Draws pictures to convey meaning |
| Writing Development | 3 |
Writes shape-like symbols |
| Writing Development | 4 |
Writes letter strings |
| Writing Development | 5 |
Writes letter strings with spaces |
| Writing Development | 6 |
Labels a picture with at least the initial sound |
| Writing Development | 7 |
Uses invented or phonetic spelling |
| Writing Development | 8 |
Uses capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and ending punctuation |
Language & Communication Development Framework
Ignite’s Language & Communication Development framework includes the following subdomains and skills.
|
Subdomain |
Level |
Skill Descriptor |
|
Receptive Language |
1 |
Shows an understanding of basic words |
|
Receptive Language |
2 |
Responds to "what" questions |
| Receptive Language | 3 |
Responds to "where" questions |
| Receptive Language | 4 |
Demonstrates an understanding of complex and compound sentences |
| Receptive Language | 5 |
Responds to "how" questions |
|
Listening and Understanding |
1 |
Responds to one-step requests or questions |
|
Listening and Understanding |
2 |
Carries out a one-step request that relates to a new or unfamiliar activity or situation |
| Listening and Understanding | 3 |
Follows two-step, oral directions that relate to familiar activity or situation |
| Listening and Understanding | 4 |
Carries out two-step requests that involve a new or unfamiliar activity or situation |
| Listening and Understanding | 5 |
Carries out multistep requests that relate to familiar activities or situations |
| Listening and Understanding | 6 |
Attends to multiple details in directions |
| Listening and Understanding | 7 |
Carries out multistep directions with multiple details |
| Listening and Understanding | 8 |
Carries out multistep directions with multiple details that involve a new or an unfamiliar activity or situation |
|
Academic Vocabulary |
4 |
Applies an understanding of cross-curricular, prekindergarten-level Tier 2 words |
|
Academic Vocabulary |
5 |
Applies an understanding of some cross-curricular, kindergarten-level Tier 2 words |
|
Academic Vocabulary |
6 |
Applies an understanding of more cross-curricular, kindergarten-level Tier 2 words |
| Academic Vocabulary | 7 |
Applies an understanding of a range of cross-curricular, kindergarten-level Tier 2 words |
| Academic Vocabulary | 8 |
Applies an understanding of some cross-curricular, first-grade-level Tier 2 words |
|
Vocabulary |
1 |
Understands color words |
| Vocabulary | 2 |
Sorts words into categories |
|
Vocabulary |
3 |
Demonstrates an understanding of comparative adjectives |
| Vocabulary | 4 |
Demonstrates an understanding of common antonyms |
| Vocabulary | 5 |
Demonstrates an understanding of cross-curricular words |
| Vocabulary | 6 |
Demonstrates an understanding of basic multiple-meaning words |
| Vocabulary | 7 |
Makes connections between shades of verbs and adjectives |
|
Vocabulary |
8A |
Uses sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase |
| Vocabulary | 8B |
Identifies real-life connections between words and their uses |
| Vocabulary | 9 |
Sorts words into categories in order to understand the concepts the categories represent |
|
Vocabulary |
10 |
Use frequently occurring prefixes as a clue to the meaning of a word |
| Vocabulary | 11 |
Use frequently occurring suffixes as a clue to the meaning of a word |
| Vocabulary | 12 |
Identifies frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms |
|
Conventions of Language |
3 |
Demonstrates an understanding of regular plural nouns |
|
Conventions of Language |
4 |
Demonstrates an understanding of simple past, progressive present, and simple future verb tenses |
|
Conventions of Language |
5 |
Demonstrates an understanding of question words (who, what, where, when, why, how) |
|
Conventions of Language |
6 |
Demonstrates an understanding of prepositions within sentences |
|
Conventions of Language |
7 |
Demonstrates an understanding of irregular plural nouns |
|
Conventions of Language |
8 |
Demonstrates an understanding of matching verbs to singular and plural nouns in basic sentences |
The Code is the Key Kindergarten™ Scope and Sequence
Lesson Book
The Code is the Key Kindergarten Lesson Book provides structured and systematic literacy instruction targeting key foundational skills for learning to read and write. The book contains 150 engaging lessons that teach children to recognize, manipulate, write, and read every sound of the English language. It also includes additional daily routines, activities for learning centers, and practice activities. Each sound has three lessons that follow a consistent format:
- Lesson 1 encourages children to find the sounds in words and practice phonological and phonemic awareness skills by playing with the sounds in these words.
- Lesson 2 asks children to pronounce the sound (Say it), identify the position of the sound in words (Hear it), generate words that contain the sound (Find it), and identify the letters and letter patterns used to write the sound in those words (Write it).
- Lesson 3 transfers blending and segmenting skills and knowledge of phoneme-grapheme relationships to making words by sounding them out and writing words using Elkonin boxes.
Sounds are taught in groups according to their pronunciation in the sequence shown the following table. Lessons begin with sounds that are written most simply and reliably (plosives and short vowel sounds) and progress to sounds that can be written in different ways and with more complex spelling patterns.
|
Lesson Type |
Teaching Focus |
|
Plosives or stops |
/p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/ |
|
Short vowel sounds |
/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, /oo/ |
|
Mixed sounds |
/ch/, /j/ |
|
Nasal sounds |
/m/, /n/, /ng/ |
|
Continuous sounds (fricatives) |
/s/, unvoiced /th/, /sh/, /f/, /h/, /v/, /z/, voiced /th/, /zh/ |
|
Long vowel sounds |
/ā/, /ē/, / ī/, /ō/, /ū/, /ōō/ |
|
Continuous sounds (approximants) |
/l/, /r/, /y/, /w/ |
|
Other vowel sounds |
/oy/, /ow/, /aw/, /er/, /or/, /ar/, /ear/, /air/ |
|
Consecutive sounds |
/k//w/ (spelled “qu”), /k//s/ (spelled “x”) |
|
Suffixes |
Finding the code for suffixes “ing” and “ed” |
|
Plurals |
Adding “s” to form a plural word |
|
Long and short vowels |
Discriminating between long and short vowel sounds |
Practice Book
The Code is the Key Kindergarten Practice Book contains activities for practicing and applying knowledge and skills taught.
|
Lesson Type |
Practice Activities |
|
/p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/, /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, /oo/, /ch/, /j/, /m/, /n/, /ng/, /s/, /th/, /sh/, /f/, /h/, /v/, /z/, /th/, /zh/, /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, /ū/,/ōō/, /l/, /r/, /y/, /w/, /oy/, /ow/, /aw/, /er/, /or/, /ar/, /ear/, /air/, /k//w/, /k//s/ |
Identifying rhyming words, counting syllables, identifying sounds in different positions in words, and identifying spelling patterns for the sound |
|
Suffixes “ing” and “ed” |
Finding “ing” and “ed” inflectional suffixes in words and sorting “ed” suffixes by pronunciation (/t/, /d/, /i//d/) |
|
Plural words made with “s” |
Identifying plural “s,” discriminating the pronunciation of plural “s” (/s/ or /z/), and making single vowels into plural vowels by adding “s” |
|
Discriminating between short and long vowels |
Identifying long and short vowel sounds |
Additional Materials
The Code is the Key Kindergarten includes additionally materials to support teachers and provide multimodal learning for children.
|
Resource |
Description and Purpose |
|
Elevate & Evaluate |
This professional development book helps teachers enhance their expertise by providing research-based best practices, reliable assessment tools, and guidance for interpreting student results effectively. |
|
Code Cards |
Code Cards include 100 cards illustrating phoneme-grapheme relationships. |
|
Sound Hunts |
These are large-format cards for the 44 sounds of the English language, plus consecutive sounds /k//w/ (“qu”) and /k//s/ (“x”). Children hunt through a busy picture to find things that contain the focus sound. Teacher-led activities on the back of each card help children learn phoneme-grapheme relationships, decoding strategies, and blending skills; recognize high-frequency words; and build vocabulary and oral language skills. |
|
Sound Rhymes |
These are large-format cards that provide engaging rhymes that focus on each of the 44 sounds of the English language, plus consecutive sounds /k/ /w/ (“qu”) and /k/ /s/ (“x”). Children learn to read along/chant the rhymes, and the teacher-led activities on the back of each card help children identify the rhyming words, clap syllables, find the focus sound in different positions in words, identify the graphemes for the sound, and finally, create their own verse to go with the rhyme. |
|
Sounds and Word Cards |
These are individual student cards (plus a wall chart) that provide children with a tool for learning to write words sound by sound. Each sound of the English language has an animal that is used as a mnemonic device to help beginning writers find the appropriate sound box on the card, which will provide a grapheme they could use to record the sound they wish to write. |
|
Class Sound Dictionary |
This is a large-format book for recording the words children generate for each sound and identifying the graphemes used to write them. |