Tier 1: Phonics
95 Phonics Core Program®
The Tier 1 structured literacy solution that supports meaningful and effective literacy progress linked across grades, grounded in the science of reading and supporting the critical K-5 years.
The phonics reading program you need
Classroom-ready, evidence-based phonics instruction for your literacy block. In 30 minutes a day, 95 Phonics Core Program® builds critical phonics skills through explicit instruction to develop strong readers, K-5.
A proven phonics reading program for your Tier 1 reading block
Build a strong foundation for reading in your whole-classroom (Tier 1) instruction. Prepared lessons make it easy to begin your phonics program and advance your students’ literacy.
Overwhelming scientific evidence supports the program’s effectiveness. Explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction will get children reading at grade level and reduce intervention needs.
Compatible with any literacy curriculum, aligning with all CCSS grade-level foundational standards
Reduces intervention needs using evidence-based resources and methods
Gradual release model gives educators the tools they need to support students, every step of the way.
25–30 weekly lessons, taught 30 minutes a day
Everything you need to teach phonics
Each grade-level kit includes everything you need to get up and running quickly. 95 Phonics Core Program® provides educators with pre-written, guided opportunities for teacher modeling and group and independent practice to help students achieve mastery at their own pace.
Teacher’s Editions with tips and scripts embedded throughout the lessons to support educator pedagogy
Easy-to-follow instructional dialogue for teacher-directed instruction based on a structured literacy approach
Student workbooks and manipulatives provide built-in practice opportunities to reinforce skills
Ready-made digital presentation files, summative assessments, implementation resources, and more bring lessons to life and require zero teacher prep
We have experienced great success with 95 Phonics Core Program. Through explicit and systematic phonics instruction, our students are gaining a deep understanding of the alphabetic principle. Students apply their learning in decoding, encoding, including written dictation, and showcase their learning by responding to comprehension passages. The data shows that our students are building a solid foundation as young readers and spellers.
Renee Munn
Boerne Independent School District: Transforming K-5 reading instruction with 95 Phonics Core Program®
It’s time to get literacy instruction right for every child, and this new series is here to help. The Research Impact Series aims to provide educators and administrators with short research profiles of school districts and schools making a measurable difference in student achievement using science of reading-aligned and evidence-based programs and strategies in the classroom.
We didn’t have to sell it as much the second year. The teachers sold it for us because they could see the impact.
Marshay Wolff Curriculum Coordinator, RLA Elementary, Boerne ISD
95 Phonics Core Program® earns Digital Promise product certification
This certification highlights its effectiveness in supporting educators with structured, evidence-based phonics instruction that accelerates student reading success. Designed with the Science of Reading at its core, the 95 Phonics Core Program equips teachers with the tools to build strong foundational literacy skills.
Evidence-based core phonics for literacy progress
95 Phonics Core Program meets the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) standards of evidence.
ESSA Level 1 evidence
A year-long study of 95 Phonics Core Program conducted in Missouri demonstrated that students who used the program outperformed those in all grades K-2 who did not use the program. Results support ESSA Level 1 evidence for product effectiveness across these grade levels.
ESSA Level 2 evidence
A two-year evaluation of a multi-product implementation of 95 Percent Group products in a diverse county in Maryland demonstrating the impact of the One95 literacy system on reading scores year-over-year.
ESSA Level 3 evidence
This research report based on Acadience Reading data focuses on kindergartners at a small school in Nebraska. Students made one year of progress in just four months by adding the 95 Phonics Core Program to the daily reading block.
Listed on Evidence for ESSA
95 Phonics Core Program is as Strong on the Evidence for ESSA website for Tier 1, Whole-Class Instruction. The strong rating confirms that the program’s research meets federal standards under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for demonstrating the highest level of evidence.
Supplement 95 Phonics Core Program with aligned offerings
Studies show that decoding is most effective when aligned with core instruction. 95 Decodable Duo™ books, 95 Readables™ chapter books, and Sortegories digital practice activities feature targeted phonics skills that align with the scope and sequence of 95 Phonics Core Program® for K–5.
95 Decodable Duo books for K–1
Aligned with the scope and sequence of 95 Phonics Core Program for K–1, these decodable books feature a unique “flip” format that gives you two books in one! First, students begin with a text-only decodable story. Once they’ve mastered spelling-sound relationships, they simply flip the book over to read the same story with fun, engaging illustrations.
95 Readables chapter books for grades 2–5
Fun, fiction chapter books are aligned with the scope and sequence of 95 Phonics Core Program for grades 2–5—allowing students to immediately apply their instruction and practice what they’ve learned. Each grade features a series of engaging, age-appropriate stories.
Sortegories™
Supplement comprehensive curriculum with digital practice activities from sound to syntax for emerging readers.
Maximize teacher time
No more searching for texts that are aligned with your core instruction! Feel confident knowing that you are providing your teachers with top-quality, culturally relevant, evidence-based texts that directly support their students’ learning.
Strengthen your core literacy instruction
Are you looking for a new language arts curriculum and wondering about phonics instruction? Are too many of your students in need of intervention? Follow the science of reading and discover why the evidence-based supplement 95 Phonics Core Program® is critical to your literacy toolkit (and student progress).
Explore outcomes from the field
High-quality, easy-to-implement, fully-prepared lessons and materials mean faster, better results for our school customers and their students. Get to know our success stories.
Read success stories
300%
improvement for Kindergarteners using 95 Phonics Core Program after only 14 weeks
Visit the 95 Phonics Core Program resource center
Complete the form to view and download grade-level samples, product components, ongoing efficacy research, and more.
Spotlight Georgia: Watch Fulton County
Every child deserves the right to read. Fulton County Schools, just outside the Atlanta city limits, has 80% minority enrollment and serves approximately 90,000 students, with 31% of them receiving free or reduced lunch.
What we’re seeing now is a classroom come alive.
Nikki Porter Principal, Stonewall Tell Elementary
Available for K-5
Whole class and small group instruction is explicit, structured, and linked across grade levels to provide a seamless continuum of instruction that builds in complexity.
Kindergarten
Kindergarteners build upon foundational reading standards, using phonemic awareness as an anchor for mastery of letter-sound correspondences. The program introduces reading and writing application tasks, supporting students in developing their automaticity in sound-to-grapheme connections.
Grade 1
Grade 1 students use consistent routines, dialogues, phonics chip colors, and gestures to ensure learning is focused on mastering skills instead of varied instructional processes. Consistent, fun, and explicit lesson structures in sequential order help students make progress.
Grade 2
Grade 2 students sustain steady progress toward fluency as they work on strengthening and mastering their phonics and phonemic awareness skills. Using consistent and explicit lesson structures, and learning phonics skills in sequential order, students will successfully identify, read, and write grade-level text.
Grade 3
Grade 3 focuses on using the previously taught foundational phonemic awareness and phonics skills to build automaticity in reading multisyllable words in both isolation and in text. Instruction centers on explicitly teaching the six syllable types as well as the morphological structures of words. Decoding and encoding application tasks ensure students have the word attack skills necessary for reading and writing text with increasing complexity.
Grade 4
Grade 4 students engage with authentic text based on science, social studies, and pop culture topics to learn word attack strategies. The program uses explicitly designed word study routines to analyze words using multisyllabic patterns and morphological structures. Multisyllable word work with explicit instruction on the six syllable types and morphology instruction for building word knowledge and meaning are key features.
Grade 5
Grade 5 students continue to strengthen their literacy skills and prepare for more complex texts in middle school. Sustained word study routines help them analyze complex words using multisyllabic patterns and morphological structures. Science, social studies, and pop culture topics keep them engaged.
95 Phonics Core Program
Literacy is one of the most important skills we can give to the next generation. Discover why more teachers love and trust 95 Phonics Core Program—and then experience the reading improvement in your own classroom. Get in touch today.