MACTE-ServeMinnesota Early Literacy Teacher Development Initiative

Introduction to the Bridge2Read Components and Scope and Sequence

Bridge2Read was developed to serve as a "bridge" curriuculum. That is, it was developed to add intentional focus on foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency that are sometimes missing or inadequately covered in commercial reading curricula. It is not intended to represent a full reading curriculum.

Bridge2Read was also developed with the knowledge that intentional, sequenced focus on sound awareness and word study is not something that can be created quickly by teachers. The materials include extensive slides with visual supports for students as it moves from simple to more complex linguistic features. 

The entire Bridge2Read Curriculum is available for free for professors and teachers to download.  

Bridge2Read Lesson Components

Each Bridge2Read lesson is 30 minutes, with 5 minutes dedicated to Phonemic Awareness skills and 25 minutes focused on Word Study skills, which include phonics (both decoding and encoding) fluency (both with words and connected text passages) and aspects of vocabulary.  Each of these Word Study skills are explicitly introduced and purposefully practiced to a level of mastery so students can successfully apply the newly acquired skill in their writing and reading.

The 25 minutes of Word Study includes numerous components, each intentionally designed to practice the targeted foundational skill. The word study components are identified and described in the document below. We are also pleased that Dr. Lisa Silmser, a MACTE literacy professor and a literacy coach in the Anoka Hennepin district, has created this short video to describe the components of a Bridge2Read lesson. We recommend that teacher candidates review these resources before watching the Bridge2Read videos and working with the Bridge2Read curriculum.

Video: Overview of Bridge2Read Lesson Components

Handout: Bridge2Read Word Study Lesson Components

Handout: Research Base for Bridge2Read

The Big Picture: Scope and Sequence

Now that we have looked closely at the individual components of a Bridge2Read lesson, let's pull back and look at how this curriuclum is organized as a whole. A scope and sequence can be defined as the content that will be taught over an academic period - generally a semester or a year (Scope) and the order in which this content will be taught (Sequence). In structured literacy, as in most curricular areas, the sequence in which content is taught is important, as the content builds on knowledge developed in earlier lessons. Phonemic awareness lessons move from broad skills related to phonolgical awareness to a focus on individual sounds addressed in phonemic awareness. Word study lessons begin with sound-letter correspondence and move through more complex orthographic features such as vowel teams and silent letter combinations. PELSB standards require that teacher candidates learn how to sequence phonics instruction according to the increasing complexity of linguistic units. These materials can support teacher candidates to develop these skills.

Scope and Sequence for Bridge2Read Phonemic Awareness Lessons

Scope and Sequence for Bridge2Read Word Study Lessons (note: there are multiples sheets linked on the bottom of this spreadsheet)

Suggested Readings

Mesmer, H. A., & Kambach, A. (2022). Beyond Labels and Agendas: Research Teachers need to Know about Phonics and Phonological Awareness. The Reading Teacher, 76(1), 62–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2102 (Note: This is a broad article that contains a section about scope and sequence)

Suggested Assessments to Meet PELSB Standards

To meet the PELB standards related to word study and scope and sequence listed below, MACTE recommends that teacher candidates complete the following activites along with the activities linked to the videos on the other pages of this website:
1.) Review the Bridge2Read scope and sequence documents linked above. Then, compare the scope and sequence for this curriculum with the scope and sequence of other curricula or organizations (some that are available on the internet are from the University of Florida Literacy Institute, Keys to Literacy, New Jersey Department of Education). Discuss why the elements are ordered in the way they are, as well differences and similarities between the scope and sequences; and
2.) Complete an assessment in which teacher candidates are given a number of specific phoneme/grapheme correspondences and asked to sequence them in the order they would be introduced in instruction. Candidates should justify their choices.

3.C. A teacher of children in kindergarten through grade 6 must have knowledge of the foundations of reading processes, development, and instruction, including:
3.C.2 phonological and phonemic awareness, including:
3.C.2.c the instructional progression of phonological awareness, for example,
words, syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemes;
3.C.3 concepts about print, including:
3.C.3.c the instructional progression of the alphabetic principle;
3.C.4. phonics and other word identification strategies and fluency, including:
3.C.4.a : - systematic, explicit phonics instruction that is sequenced according to the increasing complexity of linguistic units;
3.D. A teacher of children in kindergarten through grade 6 must have knowledge of and ability to use a wide range of instructional practices, approaches, methods, and curriculum materials to support reading instruction, including:
3.D.1. appropriate, motivating instruction, both explicit and implicit, in

3.D.1.c : - the teaching of phonics, sight words, spelling, and fluency, including the selection, design, and use of instructional programs, materials, texts, and activities