Level Up Phonics, Level 4: Blends Science of Reading Curriculum

Curriculum unit · Grades K–2, intervention · PDF, 206 pages · $12

Level Up Phonics is a systematic, explicit phonics program built on the Science of Reading. Level 4 teaches consonant blends one family at a time: s-blends, l-blends, r-blends, ending blends like -st, -nd and -mp, three-letter blends like str, spl and thr, then -tch, -dge and two-syllable and compound words. Stories only use blends that have already been taught.

Every lesson follows the same 7-step Level Up Loop (about 35 minutes): phonemic awareness warm-up, Sound Drop, Blend Run, Chain Reaction, heart words, Dictation Station and Story Quest. All 25 original stories are computer-checked to be 100% decodable with only the sounds and heart words taught so far, and that check is printed on every lesson plan.

The same diverse crew of friends returns, along with Chip the class chipmunk. Every new sound comes with a Spanish-transfer tip, and every home note is in English and Spanish.

What's included

• 25 teacher lesson plans with phonemic awareness items, word lists, word chains, dictation, heart word mapping, comprehension questions and small group differentiation
• 25 original decodable mini-books (one sheet, fold and read)
• 25 story sheets with 3-read tracking, comprehension and a draw-and-write box
• 25 Map It pages (sound boxes, word chain, handwriting) and 25 Speedrun fluency pages
• 25 dictation half-sheets and 25 bilingual (English/Spanish) home connection notes
• 44 blend cards plus -tch and -dge cards, 16 heart word cards, scope and sequence, daily routine guide and mini-book folding guide
• Pre-test and post-test with teacher record sheets, class progress tracker and a Level 4 certificate

How teachers use it

• Daily whole-group phonics block in kindergarten, first or second grade
• Small group or RTI/MTSS intervention for blends in grades 1–3
• Dyslexia-friendly structured literacy practice and ESL/EB support