PAF is designed to support English Learners by providing explicit, systematic instruction in how spoken sounds are represented in written English, ensuring access to foundational reading skills and grade-level content.  Instructional routines emphasize clear modeling, structured oral rehearsal, and multisensory practice to develop accurate decoding, pronunciation, and automatic word recognition. Instruction is predictable and transparent, supporting equitable access for students with varied levels of English proficiency. Teachers leverage students’ print knowledge and other linguistic resources from their home language, reflecting an asset-based perspective.

For more information, on understanding students’  home languages, please refer to: The Speech and Language Development Library for the Languages of the World:

The sequence of a PAF lesson remains consistent, with each component building on the previous one. This structured routine supports both content learning and academic language development.  Each part of a lesson sets the groundwork for the next, beginning with a review of letter sounds and progressing to connected-text reading in a chapter book.

The five components of a PAF lesson include:

Review 

• Provide clear oral models
• Increase opportunities for choral response
• Adjust pacing based on student accuracy
• Increase repetition as needed
• Provide additional review of previously taught sounds
• Utilize visual supports (e.g., pocket charts)

These supports allow English Learners to rehearse pronunciation, listen to fluent models, and strengthen sound-symbol connections while participating fully in core instruction and developing oral language.

Introduction of New Material 

A new concept is explicitly introduced in each lesson and may include phonograms, Red Words, vocabulary, language structures, or spelling patterns. Instruction follows a structured, multisensory routine to support accurate sound production, letter formation, and understanding of how English works. Teachers differentiate by adjusting modeling, language supports, and opportunities for oral rehearsal while maintaining consistent expectations and providing systematic scaffolding.

• Emerging

• • Clear teacher modeling of the new sound, word, or concept
  • Emphasis on oral rehearsal (choral and individual response)
  • Break language into smaller units (sounds, words, or phrases)
  • Use visuals (e.g., picture cards, key words, pocket charts)
  • Repeated guided practice
  • Explicit support for pronunciation
  • Connect to students’ home language to support transfer when applicable

• Expanding

• • Teacher modeling with increased student participation
  • Encourage production of sounds and words with decreasing support
  • Use guided questioning to reinforce understanding
  • Structured partner or small group practice to support collaborative discourse
  • Reinforce connections between sounds, symbols, and meaning
  • Encourage students to verbalize their thinking
  • Strategic  use of home language and cognates to support vocabulary development

• Bridging

• • Independent oral and written production
  • Brief modeling for new or complex concepts
  • Encourage students to explain their thinking and apply learning independently
  • Emphasis on precision in pronunciation and language use
  • Use quick checks for understanding
  • Provide targeted feedback
  • Encourage connections across languages and prior knowledge

Dictation  

Dictation connects oral language to written expression and reinforces sound-letter relationships while supporting language development and accuracy.  Teachers differentiate by adjusting oral support, repetition, and feedback while maintaining the same instructional focus.

Emerging

• Dictate fewer words or shorter sentences
• Repeat items and segment sounds aloud
• Model spelling before or after attempts
• Provide immediate corrective feedback
• Connect patterns to home language, if same alphabet

• Expanding

• • Dictate standard lesson items with oral cues
  • Encourage rehearsal before writing
  • Use partner or teacher check-ins
  • Address errors through quick reteaching
  • Connect patterns to home language, if same alphabet
• Bridging
  • Independent dictation of words and sentences
  • Quick accuracy checks
  • Encourage self checking and correction
  • Provide targeted feedback

Reading                      

PAF builds reading proficiency systematically, progressing from words to phrases, sentences, and connected decodable text, ensuring access to grade-level content with appropriate scaffolding.

Emerging

• Teacher modeling
• Emphasis on blending
• Use of home language decodables when appropriate
• Slow pacing before moving forward
• Frequent rereading and immediate corrective feedback
• Support meaning-making through activities such as “word hunts”
• Prompts for self-monitoring

Expanding

• • Individual reading of words and phrases
  • Teacher modeling
  • If students have decoding skills in their home language (e.g., Spanish), provide blending using Spanish decodables.
  • Partner reading
  • Transition to decodable text
  • Frequent rereading and feedback
  • Support meaning-making through activities such as “word hunts”
  • Self-monitoring prompts

• Bridging

• • Independent reading aloud to teacher
  • Quick accuracy checks
  • Emphasis on fluency and self-correction
  • Targeted feedback during connected text reading

Reinforcement

Reinforcement activities provide structured opportunities to apply newly learned skills while supporting independence and academic language use. Teachers differentiate by adjusting the level of linguistic support while maintaining high expectations.

• Complete initial examples together
• Preview vocabulary and clarify expectations
• Use structured oral rehearsal before independent work
• Provide modeling and guided practice
• Monitor understanding and provide immediate feedback
• Adjust time and support as needed
• Gradually increase independence

Bridge Books

PAF Bridge Books, including The Fox is Back and Long Ago & Far Away, provide opportunities for English Learners to engage with connected text while reinforcing previously taught phonics patterns, Red Words, and language structures. These texts are strategically used within the PAF sequence to support differentiation based on student needs, serving as a bridge between decodable reading and more complex chapter books.

Instruction with Bridge Books maintains access to grade-level content while allowing teachers to adjust pacing, provide targeted scaffolds, and incorporate structured discussion to support comprehension and academic language development. Students engage in listening, reading, and responding to text, supporting the development of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse.

These texts provide flexible options for additional guided practice, teacher-supported reading, or independent application, allowing English Learners to continue developing decoding, fluency, and comprehension while engaging in meaningful interaction with text.

Read Alouds

PAF incorporates read-alouds as a key component of instruction, providing English Learners with access to complex, grade-level texts beyond their independent decoding level. Through read-aloud experiences, students build background knowledge and engage with a range of genres, text structures, and content areas, supporting both comprehension and meaning-making.

Read-alouds support the development of academic language by exposing students to rich vocabulary, varied syntax, and extended discourse structures found in written language. Teachers model how readers think and interact with text, including making predictions, asking questions, and connecting ideas, while students engage in listening, discussion, and response to text.

These experiences provide opportunities for collaborative conversations and oral language development, allowing students to share ideas, respond to questions, and make connections to prior knowledge and experiences. Read-alouds also support the use of culturally and linguistically relevant texts, reflecting diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

By engaging with texts that extend beyond their decoding level, English Learners develop comprehension, vocabulary, and language structures while maintaining access to grade-level content. This integrated approach supports both foundational skills and language development within meaningful and engaging literacy experiences.