1st Grade · English Language Arts · Parent guide
Short answer. RF.1.3 is first grade phonics: reading words like ship, cake, and rabbit by matching letters to sounds, plus tricky words like said that break the rules.
Quick answer
RF.1.3 is the big phonics standard for first grade, and it packs a lot in. Your child is learning to read words by matching letters to sounds: digraphs like sh, ch, and th, regular one-syllable words like flag, silent-e words like cake, and vowel teams like the ai in rain. They also learn that every syllable needs a vowel sound, which helps them chop a word like rabbit into rab-bit, read endings like -s, -ed, and -ing, and recognize rule-breakers like said and was on sight.
Why parents see this skill
Decoding is the engine of independent reading. Once a child can sound out most words on the page without help, reading stops being a guessing game and books open up. Every reading skill that comes later, comprehension included, rides on this one.
For reference
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
See it, then try it
You do not need a lesson plan. Look for these signs in ordinary play, reading, and conversation, then choose one short activity.
Write 5 words on a paper strip: cap, kit, tap, hop, cub. Write the letter e on a separate small square. Have your child read each word, then slide the e up to the end and read the new word (cape, kite, tape, hope, cube). The wow of one letter changing everything sticks better than any worksheet.
Write two-syllable words on scrap paper: rabbit, sunset, picnic, basket, muffin. Your child finds the vowels, then karate-chops the word between the two chunks with the side of their hand and reads each part. Remind them the rule: every chunk needs a vowel sound.
Give your child 6 sticky notes with one target on each: sh, ch, th, a silent-e word, an -ing word, and one tricky word like said. Set a 10-minute timer and hunt through one picture book together, sticking each note on a page where they find that pattern. Read the found words out loud as you go.
Choose what helps today
Start with the domain guide for context, use the learning library when a concept needs explaining, or print a page when your child is ready to practice.
See every RF.1 skill in order and how the codes fit together.
Open resourceFilter free pages by literacy, phonics, handwriting, and comprehension skills.
Open resourceLetter sounds, formation, examples, and free activities from A to Z.
Open resourceA connected sequence for hearing, matching, and blending sounds.
Open resourceSimple reading and vocabulary ideas for home and classroom routines.
Open resourceMy first grader guesses at words from the picture instead of sounding them out. Is that normal?
Very common, and worth gently redirecting. Cover the picture with your hand and ask them to run their finger under the word and try the sounds first, then check the picture after. If guessing is still the main strategy by winter of first grade, ask the teacher how decoding is going at school.
There are so many rules. Does my child need to master all of them this year?
The standard covers the whole year, and pieces land at different times. Digraphs and simple one-syllable words usually come first, silent e and vowel teams by midyear, two-syllable words toward spring. Rough spelling and slow sounding-out along the way are part of the process, not a red flag.
Keep the sequence
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