What Is Structured Literacy?

Structured Literacy, Step by Step

Marvi's Way®: A Guide to Reading and Spelling is a structured literacy program. Every lesson teaches reading and spelling in a clear, planned order, so students never have to guess.

A parent and her daughter smiling as they look over a reading lesson together at the kitchen table

Structured literacy teaches the six building blocks of written language: phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax and semantics. It also teaches them in a particular way:

  • Systematic: Skills start simple and gradually become more complex.
  • Cumulative: Each new skill builds on the last, with ongoing review so students remember what they've learned.
  • Explicit: Every concept is taught directly. Nothing is left for students to figure out on their own.
  • Diagnostic: As you teach, these activities help you quickly spot the sounds and skills in which a student needs additional instruction or extra practice.

The six elements of structured literacy and where each is taught in a Marvi's Way lesson: phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax and semantics

Marvi's Way® is its own program. It is not based on Orton-Gillingham or SIPPS, although both of those are also structured literacy programs. To learn more about structured literacy, read Structured Literacy Instruction: The Basics on Reading Rockets.

What every lesson looks like

Every Marvi's Way® lesson follows the same parts, in the same order, so students know what to expect and adults can teach with confidence. Teach for 10 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour at a time, and pick up right where you left off.

Part What students do Elements taught
1. Phonemic Awareness Listen, break words into sounds, and blend sounds into words. Phonology
2. Sounds/Spellings Learn a new sound and spelling, then practice “reading” new and previously taught spellings. Sound-symbol association
3. Blending/Decoding Read real words, one-syllable words, then words with two or more syllables. Sound-symbol association, syllables
4. Dictation Spell words with new and previously taught spelling patterns. Sound-symbol association (spelling)
5. Sight Words Learn high-frequency words.
6. Reading Read decodable stories and poems. Semantics
7. Creative Writing/Syntax (from Lesson 30, Module 2) Build sentences with word and phrase strips, then write single sentences and paragraphs. Syntax

Morphology (prefixes, suffixes, and roots) is introduced across the lessons as students read longer words. Step-by-step directions, tips for English learners, and links to extra resources are built into every lesson.

1. Phonology: hearing the sounds in words

Every lesson in Marvi's Way® begins with activities that focus on phonology and phonemic awareness. Students learn to listen carefully to words, break them into individual sounds, and blend sounds to make words.

Part 1: Phonemic Awareness

These warm-up activities do two jobs. They teach phonemic awareness step by step, and they prepare students for the parts of the lesson that follow. They also make it easier for teachers and parents to notice which sounds or concepts a child needs extra support with. The skills start simple and gradually become more complex. For hands-on practice, try Marvi's Way® Elkonin Tokens to make learning even more engaging.

Marvi's Way Elkonin Tokens, phonemic awareness manipulatives for all modules

Make sounds something students can see and touch: Elkonin Tokens.

Sounds disappear as soon as they're spoken. As a student says a word, she pushes one token into a box for each sound she hears: /m/ /a/ /p/, three sounds, three tokens.

  • Color-coded boxes separate consonants, short vowels, long vowels and diphthongs. The tiles are colored too: black for consonants, green for short vowels and red for long vowels.
  • Each tile has a picture on one side to help with pronunciation and common spellings on the other, so the same tokens carry students from hearing sounds to spelling them.
  • The tokens are designed to match the characters shown on the student pages and represent all 45 English sounds. They cover the 19 consonant and 5 short-vowel sounds introduced in the Novice Program as well as those taught in Modules 1–5.
  • Seeing, touching and moving while listening gives students more than one way to understand a sound and remember it.

Novice and Modules 1-5 Elkonin Tokens, $12, printable download.

2. Sound-symbol association: phonics for reading and spelling

Every lesson includes clear, step-by-step instruction on sound-symbol association—also known as phonics. This means students practice how the sounds they hear in words (called phonemes) match up with the letters or groups of letters they see in print. For example, the sound /s/ can be spelled as “s” or “ss.”
  • Part 2, Sounds/Spellings: Students are introduced to a new sound and its spelling, then practice "reading" both the new spelling and previously taught spellings through fun, mixed-practice activities.
  • Part 3, Blending/Decoding: Students blend the sounds and spellings they have learned to read real words, allowing them to start reading right away.
  • Part 4, Dictation: Students practice spelling words that use both new and previously taught sound-letter patterns, helping reinforce their skills.

Students start with the most common sound-letter combinations and gradually learn less common ones, so they can read and spell more words quickly. The program also introduces interesting vocabulary words and includes regular, ongoing review and practice.

Spelling is taught together with reading in every lesson, so there’s no need for a separate spelling program. This approach is especially helpful for children who are strong readers but find spelling challenging. To make learning even more effective, Marvi's Way® Sound/Spelling Cards give students extra practice and help them remember what they've learned.
Marvi's Way Novice Program Sound/Spelling Cards Marvi's Way Modules 1-5 Sound/Spelling Cards

Connect every sound to its spellings: Sound/Spelling Cards.

Each card shows one sound, a memorable picture to help with pronunciation, its common spellings, and a playful phrase or ditty that makes it easy to remember. Once a lesson introduces a new sound or spelling, the cards turn practice into quick, varied games. The characters match the student pages, so every lesson feels familiar.

Complete Sound/Spelling Cards and Elkonin Tokens Bundle

Best value: the Complete Sound/Spelling Cards and Elkonin Tokens Bundle includes both card sets and the Elkonin Tokens for $25 (regularly $40).

3. Syllables: breaking big words into parts

Syllable instruction is woven into every part of the program. Students learn that every syllable has a vowel sound, and they are introduced to the six basic syllable types in English:

  • closed
  • vowel-consonant-e
  • open
  • consonant-le
  • r-controlled
  • vowel pair

These categories help students figure out how to pronounce words and where to break them apart.

Blending lessons show students how to break words into syllables. They first read one-syllable words, then move on to words with two or more syllables. This step-by-step approach makes big words less intimidating and gives students tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. The Novice Program covers one-syllable words, and Modules 1–5 cover both one-syllable and multisyllabic words.

Understanding syllable types is especially important for older students who need to catch up to grade level, because it helps them read longer words accurately.

4. Morphology: the meaningful parts of words

Morphology is the study of the building blocks of words and how they carry meaning. Students learn that a morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in language, such as a root word, prefix, or suffix. Marvi's Way® lessons introduce these word parts so students can understand and decode longer words with confidence.

To reinforce this at home or in class, two easy-to-follow lists of the most common prefixes, suffixes and roots are free on Marvi's Way® catalog page. Each list is organized by grade level and shows where to fit each morpheme into Marvi's Way® lessons.

A page from the free list Essential Morphemes Every 6th Grader Should Know, showing morphemes by grade level and the Marvi's Way lesson where each is introduced

5. Syntax: building clear sentences

Syntax is how words are put together to form clear, meaningful sentences. Students learn sentence structure and basic grammar through hands-on activities. Starting in Lesson 30 (Module 2), lessons add Part 7, Creative Writing/Syntax, where students use word and phrase strips to build different sentences. Moving the strips around shows them why word order matters and how it changes meaning.

The program's main focus is solid reading and spelling skills, but these creative writing and sentence-building activities are woven in to support writing and comprehension. As students gain confidence, they move from building sentences to writing their own sentences and, eventually, full paragraphs. Students don't just learn to read and spell. They also build the writing and language skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.

A boy and his mother giving each other a high five after a reading and spelling lesson

6. Semantics: understanding what we read

Semantics is about understanding meaning, whether we're listening or reading. In Marvi's Way®, students begin building comprehension from the very first lessons. Each lesson includes carefully chosen words, decodable stories, and poems.

  • Checking understanding: Teachers and parents get practical strategies and tips for checking students' understanding as they work through the program.
  • Vocabulary, fluency and thinking: The lessons build vocabulary, improve reading fluency and encourage students to think deeply about what they read.
  • Reading that grows with the student: Reading materials start at the kindergarten to early first grade level in the Novice Program and progress through fifth grade and beyond in Modules 1–5, so older students can catch up and reach grade-level reading.
  • Resources built in: The lessons include links to comprehension and reading-strategy resources.

For more on teaching reading comprehension, visit Marvi's website, Let's Talk About Evidence-Based Reading Instruction. To track your child's progress, use the free comprehension assessments at readingtests.info, organized by grade level.

Where to start

Where to start in Marvi's Way: beginning readers start at Novice Lesson 1; older students start at Review Lesson 19 in Module 1

Marvi's Way Complete Novice Program, Lessons 1-36 Marvi's Way Complete Lesson Package, Modules 1-5, Lessons 1-126

One purchase can be used with all the children in your family, all of a tutor's students, or a teacher's whole class. Each teacher needs her own copy.

“The lessons include all important components of instruction, from sounds to meaningful reading and writing.” — Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D.

Free Marvi's Way program sample lesson

See a sample lesson → It's free, and it shows you what a complete Marvi's Way® lesson looks like.