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Decoding Detectives Year 1

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Decoding Detectives is a complete Year 1 English unit that makes the strategies of successful beginning readers visible and practical. The editable teaching presentation introduces a five-step routine: listen for sounds, blend the sounds, split syllables, track every word and check the meaning.

Across a full week of teaching, students apply short-vowel, common long-vowel, consonant blend and digraph knowledge to words, sentences and short texts. Colour posters, reference cards, bookmarks, board games, sentence-matching strips, clip cards and sorting resources support explicit instruction and hands-on practice. Differentiated black-and-white worksheets then build independence through picture-supported word choices, real and pseudo-word reading, sentence investigations, short-text meaning checks and drawing responses.

The unit closes with a written assessment, an oral reading and fluency assessment, and a curriculum-aligned rubric. Eight answer pages duplicate the matching fixed-response worksheet or assessment page, with red answers placed where students write.

What's Included

Editable PowerPoint files

  • Decoding Detectives teaching presentation — 17 slides

  • Decoding Detectives quiz — 22 slides with 10 question-and-answer pairs

Unit plan PDF — 44 pages

  • Table of Contents — 1 page

  • Decoding Detective Strategy Posters — 3 colour pages

  • Long Vowel Evidence Wall — 3 colour pages

  • Decoding Detective Reference Cards — 1 colour page

  • Decoding Strategy Bookmarks — 1 colour page

  • Dragon Trail: Long Vowel Word Game — 2 colour pages

  • Digraph Doughnut Dash — 2 colour pages

  • Picture Clue Sentence Match — 2 colour pages

  • Silly Sentence Laboratory — 2 colour pages

  • Long Vowel Read and Clip Cards — 2 colour pages

  • Real Word or Robot Word Sort — 3 colour pages

  • Decode and Decide — worksheet and answer page

  • Real Word or Robot Word: Short Vowels — worksheet and answer page

  • Real Word or Robot Word: Digraphs — worksheet and answer page

  • Real Word or Robot Word: Long Vowels — worksheet and answer page

  • Sentence Sleuths: Digraphs — worksheet and answer page

  • Sentence Sleuths: Long Vowels — worksheet and answer page

  • Spin a Silly Sentence: Support — worksheet

  • Spin a Silly Sentence: Challenge — worksheet

  • Decode and Colour — worksheet and answer page

  • Decode and Draw: Playground — worksheet

  • Decode and Draw: Night Camp — worksheet

  • Dazzling Decoding Written Assessment — assessment and answer page

  • Dazzling Decoding Oral and Fluency Assessment — assessment page

  • Decoding Detectives Rubric — 1 low-ink landscape page

Learning Focus

  • Use developing phonic knowledge to decode decodable and predictable text.

  • Blend short vowels, common long vowels, consonant blends and digraphs.

  • Read one- and two-syllable words by decoding each part and joining the word.

  • Understand that a letter can represent more than one sound.

  • Recognise that every syllable contains a vowel sound.

  • Track each printed word and reread with developing phrasing and fluency.

  • Monitor meaning using sentence context and a clear retry routine.

  • Apply consistent decoding strategies to real words and pseudo-words.

Classroom Use

  • Teach the 17-slide presentation across an explicit whole-class sequence.

  • Display the strategy posters and long-vowel evidence wall for ongoing reference.

  • Use reference cards and bookmarks during guided or independent reading.

  • Rotate the games, matching strips, clip cards and sorting tasks through literacy centres.

  • Select support, core or challenge worksheets for differentiated practice.

  • Use the oral assessment for teacher observation and the written assessment for recorded evidence.

  • Apply the rubric to support feedback, moderation and reporting.

Product Details

Year level: Year 1
Subject: English
Topic: Decoding, phonics, short and long vowels, consonant digraphs, syllables, phrasing, fluency and meaning monitoring

Curriculum Alignment

Australian Curriculum v9
AC9E1LY04, AC9E1LY11, AC9E1LY12

Australian Curriculum v8.4
ACELY1659, ACELA1458, ACELA1459

Victorian Curriculum 2.0
VC2E1LY09, VC2E1LY04, VC2E1LY05

NSW English K–10
EN1-VOCAB-01, EN1-PHOKW-01, EN1-REFLU-01, EN1-RECOM-01, EN1-SPELL-01

Western Australian Curriculum
WA1ELYA2, WA1ELAP3, WA1ELAP4

Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.a
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.a
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.b
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.c
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.d
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.g
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.4.a
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.4.b
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.4.c
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.2.e
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.4.a
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.10
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.10

England National Curriculum
UK-KS1-Y2-ENG-R-WR, UK-KS1-Y2-ENG-R-C, UK-KS1-Y2-ENG-W-T-S, UK-KS1-Y2-ENG-W-T-H

New Zealand Curriculum
NZ-Y1-ENG-R-WR-D-1
NZ-Y1-ENG-R-WR-D-3
NZ-Y2-ENG-R-WR-D-1
NZ-Y2-ENG-R-WR-D-2
NZ-Y2-ENG-R-WR-D-3
NZ-Y2-ENG-R-WR-D-4
NZ-Y2-ENG-R-WR-D-5
NZ-Y2-ENG-R-WR-F-1
NZ-Y2-ENG-W-TS-S-1
NZ-Y2-ENG-W-TS-S-2

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
TEKS-ELAR-G1-2
TEKS-ELAR-G1-2A
TEKS-ELAR-G1-2B
TEKS-ELAR-G1-2C
TEKS-ELAR-G1-3C
TEKS-ELAR-G1-5
TEKS-ELAR-G1-6I

Ontario Language Curriculum
CAN-G1-LANG-B2.3, CAN-G1-LANG-B2.4, CAN-G1-LANG-B2.8, CAN-G1-LANG-C2.4, CAN-G1-LANG-C3.8

Formats, Page Counts and Answers

Formats: PDF and editable Microsoft PowerPoint PPTX
Unit plan PDF: 44 pages
Presentation: 17 slides
Quiz: 22 slides
Answer keys: 8 matching answer pages for fixed-response worksheets and the written assessment
Colour: Colour displays, games and activities; low-ink black-and-white worksheets, assessment and rubric

Teacher Benefits

  • One coherent sequence links explicit modelling, guided practice, hands-on application, independent practice and assessment.

  • Resource titles and routines stay consistent across the presentation, games, worksheets and assessment.

  • Colour resources are ready for display or reuse; black-and-white practice pages are designed for economical classroom printing.

  • Differentiated tasks provide picture-supported, core and challenge pathways.

  • Matching answer pages reduce marking time for fixed-response tasks.

  • The rubric provides observable criteria for phonic knowledge, blending, syllables, accuracy, fluency and meaning monitoring.

Digital Product and Licence

This is a digital product. No physical item will be shipped. The purchase is for use by the purchasing teacher in accordance with Sukindi's licence terms. Please do not share, resell, redistribute or post the files publicly.

Decoding Detectives Year 1 - Product thumbnail
A$6.99