STAGES IN A NUTSHELL
Stages of Emergent Readers,
Literacy Writers, Spellers
Development
over Time
(approximately pre-K to
Kindergarten)
Books: Readiness - Preprimer A
READING • Lacks voice to print match
(COW)
• Does not attend to print in
books; relies heavily on
pictures
• Pretend reading or memory
reading
• May recognize name &
some environmental print
(e.g., Pepsi logo)
• Developing phonological
awareness (rhyming and
syllable awareness)
SPELLING Emergent
• Spellings bear no sound-
symbol relationships (e.g.,
scribbles, symbol salad,
random letters)
• Incomplete alphabet
knowledge
• Approximated writing;
pretend writes/draws
• Lacks spaces between
words
WRITING • Not yet able to read own
writing
• Moves from scribbles to
mock linear to letter-like to
symbol salad and finally to
some letter-sound
connections (late in the
stage)
Beginning Readers,
Writers, Spellers
(approximately K-1)
Books: Preprimer B - Primer
• Accurately tracks print & uses
fingerpointing (may still have
rudimentary COW as an early
beginner)
• Begins to develop a sight word
vocabulary
• Attempts to use developing
letter-sound knowledge to
decode/encode words
• Slow, labored reading; word-
by-word
• Reads aloud and may
fingerpoint
• Rates around 40 at Primer
• Partial phonemic segmentation
moving to full
Letter Name
• Consistently represents
beginning & ending sounds;
may confuse medial vowels,
blends and digraphs
• Early LN kids will not
consistently include a medial
vowel (e.g., KT: cat)
• May segment words orally &
match sounds to letters
• Attempts to match speech in
print; often vocalizes while
writing
• Slow, labored writing
• May need help forming letters
& reminders about spacing
• Learns to spell some high-
frequency words
Instructional Readers
Transitional Readers, Writers, Intermediate Advanced Readers,
Spellers Readers, Writers, Writers, Spellers
(approx. 6th +)
Spellers
st
(approximately late 1 -2 ) nd rd th
Books: 6th & higher
(approx. 3 to 5 )
Books: Primer – 2nd Books: 3rd – 5th
• Has extensive sight word • Focus of instruction is comprehension
vocabulary • Continues to develop extensive vocabulary
• Begins to read more fluently through reading
& expressively yet still • Reads fluently
characterized as “choppy” • Reads silently & uses expression; silent
• May “chunk” unknown reading rates significantly faster than oral
words; able to use analogy- reading rates
based strategies • Intermediate readers have rates at 100+ and
• Begins to read silently; at advanced readers have rates reaching 140
beginning of stage silent rates • Reads a variety of genres
are not similar to oral rates • Independently applies strategies for
• Focus of instruction shifts to deciphering unknown words & meanings
comprehension
• Rates around 60 at 1st and 80
at 2nd
Within Word Pattern Syllables & Affixes Derivational Relations
• Most medial short vowels, • Most long vowel • Most syllable
blends digraphs are correct patterns in single juncture patterns,
• Learning vowel patterns • Learn inflected accented syllables,
(long, r-controlled, other) and endings, syllable and unaccented
complex consonant units juncture patterns, endings
vowel patterns in • Learn consonant and
accented vowel changes,
syllables, Latin & Greek
unaccented final roots/prefixes/
syllables suffixes, assimilated
prefixes
• Begins writing in phrases • Writing approaches fluency
with greater ease & fluency • Length of writing steadily increases
• Learns the writing process • Uses the revision & editing process
• Can spell many high independently
frequency words • Can write summaries and reports
• Begins to write for meaning • Develops a personal voice & style
• Learns to write simple
paragraphs