CRACKING THE READING CODE: UFLI IN FIRST GRADE
Major
Educational Studies
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Educational Studies
Faculty Advisor
Leah Nillas
Location
CNS Atrium
Abstract
Reading skills play a fundamental role in setting students up for long-term success, yet many elementary students struggle to develop strong decoding and fluency skills. Science of reading highlights the importance of using phonics instruction in order to help young readers develop strong foundational skills. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how implementing a structured phonics program, the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI), impacted first-grade students’ reading test scores. The study was conducted in a general education first-grade classroom in a rural Illinois school district and included data collected from nine students representing a range of academic abilities. UFLI instruction was implemented daily from August through December 2025 and included phonics lessons, multisensory activities, and opportunities for decoding and word reading practice. Data sources included UFLI placement assessments, literacy footprints, running records, spelling assessments, and teacher observations. By the end of the study period results indicated overall improvement in students’ decoding accuracy, reading fluency, and word recognition skills.
CRACKING THE READING CODE: UFLI IN FIRST GRADE
CNS Atrium
Reading skills play a fundamental role in setting students up for long-term success, yet many elementary students struggle to develop strong decoding and fluency skills. Science of reading highlights the importance of using phonics instruction in order to help young readers develop strong foundational skills. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how implementing a structured phonics program, the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI), impacted first-grade students’ reading test scores. The study was conducted in a general education first-grade classroom in a rural Illinois school district and included data collected from nine students representing a range of academic abilities. UFLI instruction was implemented daily from August through December 2025 and included phonics lessons, multisensory activities, and opportunities for decoding and word reading practice. Data sources included UFLI placement assessments, literacy footprints, running records, spelling assessments, and teacher observations. By the end of the study period results indicated overall improvement in students’ decoding accuracy, reading fluency, and word recognition skills.