Foundations of Reading Audio Guide- For Teachers and Parents

In this extended episode, we pause to look at the full picture of reading development-how every piece connects from sound to meaning. Jenn walks listeners through the progression from phonological and phonemic awareness to phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension , weaving in real-world classroom examples and test-ready explanations. This “Foundation Checkpoint” is part review, part reflect...

Today’s episode is going to be a short one. We’re starting our conversation on vocabulary , one of the five pillars of reading. Think of this as a quick, focused study session — the essentials you need for the Foundations of Reading exam and the big ideas you’ll want to carry into your classroom. Later this week, we’ll come back for a full deep dive, but for now, let’s ground ourselves in what voc...

In this extended episode, we take a deep dive into fluency- the essential bridge between phonics and comprehension. Together, we’ll explore the three pillars of fluency: accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. You’ll hear classroom examples (with hypothetical names only to protect student privacy), practical strategies from UFLI routines to Reader’s Theater, and clear guidance on what the Foundations...

I’ll start with a picture. This morning, I sat with a group of kinders at the U-table for UFLI. We had our review deck in hand. Card after card, clean sounds: /s/, /a/, /t/. Then I slid a blending line across the pocket chart: sat, sap, sip, Sam. They labored through it, finger under each sound, voices halting. “Ssss…aaah…t.” A victory, yes. But also a reminder — they weren’t fluent yet.

In this full-length episode of the Foundations of Reading Audio Guide , Jenn dives deep into phonics — the critical connection between sounds and print. Through real classroom stories and practical examples, you’ll hear how systematic, explicit phonics instruction helps children crack the code of reading. Whether you’re preparing for the Foundations of Reading test or working with students every d...

What Is Phonics? At its core, phonics is the teaching of letter–sound relationships. In other words, phonics is helping children understand that the squiggly shape we call m stands for the sound /m/. Once they know that, we can start blending sounds together. I’ll give you an example from my kindergarten class. One of my students, let’s call him Mason, loved cars but struggled with letters. We sta...

In this 15-minute kickoff to Season Two, Jennifer Ewing takes you step by step through the structure of the Foundations of Reading exam. This isn’t the most exciting topic, but it is one of the most important. By the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly what to expect on test day. We’ll cover: The four domains and their weight on the exam The number and types of questions (multiple choice and...

Welcome to the very first episode of the Foundations of Reading Audio Guide. I’m Jennifer Ewing, and I’m so glad you’re here. In this introduction, I’ll share a little about who I am, why I created this podcast, and what you can expect from the episodes ahead. If you’re preparing for the Foundations of Reading exam and you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, this guide was designed wit...

Welcome to Season Two of the Foundations of Reading Audio Guide! I’m Jennifer—a full-time kindergarten teacher, mom, grad student, and someone who knows what it’s like to prepare for this exam while juggling a busy, messy, beautiful life. If you listened to Season One, you know this series is raw and real. You may have heard my chickens clucking, my kids grabbing snacks, or even my teenager yellin...

In this special Season One finale, we take a step back to connect everything you’ve learned so far—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, assessment, intervention, and writing and spelling development. You’ll see how these pieces fit together like rungs on a ladder, each one supporting the next, and how to use that knowledge on the Foundations of Reading exam. We’ll walk...

In this lesson, we focus on writing and spelling development, a key area of the Foundations of Reading exam. You’ll learn the stages of spelling growth, from pre-communicative scribbles to conventional spelling, and how each stage reflects a child’s growing phonics and phonemic awareness skills. We’ll look at classroom applications, including invented spelling, word study, and explicit phonics ins...

In this lesson, we focus on integration of knowledge and understanding—how readers go beyond basic comprehension to analyze, connect, and support their ideas with evidence. You’ll learn what integration looks like in practice: comparing and contrasting texts, synthesizing information, evaluating arguments, and citing evidence. We’ll explore classroom strategies like close reading, evidence-based d...

In this lesson, we dive into instruction and intervention—two key areas tested on the Foundations of Reading exam and central to classroom success. You’ll learn what makes effective instruction systematic and explicit, and how core lessons build a foundation for all students. We’ll also explore targeted interventions, from small-group supports to intensive one-on-one instruction, and how these ali...

In this lesson, we explore reading assessment—how teachers gather information to guide instruction and measure progress. You’ll learn about the different types of assessment, including screening, diagnostic, formative, and summative, and how each serves a unique purpose in supporting student growth. We’ll walk through classroom examples of each type and connect them directly to how assessment appe...

In this lesson, we explore comprehension—the ultimate goal of reading. Comprehension is more than just decoding words; it’s the active process of making meaning from text. We’ll review the three levels of comprehension (literal, inferential, and evaluative), as well as metacognition—the ability to monitor one’s own understanding. You’ll also learn practical classroom strategies that support compre...

In this lesson, we explore vocabulary—the body of words students understand and use, both in conversation and in print. You’ll learn the different types of vocabulary (oral, print, receptive, and productive), how children build vocabulary through direct instruction and rich experiences, and the strategies teachers use to deepen word knowledge. We’ll look at classroom practices like read-alouds, wo...

In this extended lesson, we take a deeper look at phonics—the critical bridge between spoken sounds and written language. You’ll learn what phonics really is, the different types of phonics instruction (synthetic, analytic, analogy, and embedded), and why systematic, explicit approaches are the most effective. We’ll explore real classroom applications, including decoding, encoding, word sorts, and...

In this extended lesson, we take a deep dive into phonemic awareness, one of the most important predictors of future reading success. We’ll explore what phonemic awareness is, how it fits under the larger umbrella of phonological awareness, and why it matters for both teaching and testing. This episode covers the key subskills—like isolation, blending, segmentation, substitution, and deletion—with...

In this lesson of the Foundations of Reading Audio Guide, we focus on fluency — the bridge between decoding and comprehension. We’ll cover what fluency really means, how accuracy, rate, and expression work together, and why fluent reading is key to unlocking meaning in text. You’ll also hear practical insights to support students as they move from sounding out words to reading with confidence and...

In this episode of the Foundations of Reading Audio Guide, we explore phonics — the essential connection between letters and sounds. You’ll learn how phonics builds on phonemic awareness, why it’s a cornerstone of early literacy, and the strategies teachers use to help students decode and spell words. Whether you’re preparing for the Foundations of Reading test or sharpening your classroom practic...

In this first lesson of the Foundations of Reading Audio Guide, we dive straight into one of the most important building blocks of literacy: phonemic awareness. You’ll learn what it is, why it matters, and how it supports every step of reading development. This episode is designed to give teachers practical knowledge and encouragement as they prepare for the Foundations of Reading test — and, more...