Differences Between Blitz First Edition and Blitz Second Edition

PHYSICAL FEATURES

Number of lessons

• 50 lessons total in Second Edition (40 in First Edition)
• 25 lessons in each book

Internal Tabs

• External tabs have become internal. This will make it easier to ship the books and store the books on a bookshelf. It will also increase the usability of the books.

Color

• Blitz First Edition books were black and white; Second Edition is black, white, and teal. The use of a third color has allowed us to make certain text stand out, as in headlines, etc. It has also allowed us to call out student actions (these are blue).

Two student books instead of three

• In the first edition of Blitz, there were three student books: (1) A workbook for Lessons 1-20; (2) A workbook for Lessons 21-40; (3) A book of passages.  In Second Edition, there are now only TWO student books: (1) A workbook for Lessons 1-25 that includes all the passages for lessons 1-25 and (2) A workbook for Lessons 26-50 that includes all the passages for lessons 26-50. (The passages are integrated with the other activities for the lessons, rather than being in a separate book.)

No Supplemental CD

• In 1st Edition there was a supplemental CD with overhead transparencies that came with the Teacher’s Guides. In Second Edition, we replaced the CD with a downloadable PDF that can be accessed through RGR’s website.
• What were previously called “Overheads” in the 1st Edition are now called “Slides”

Tracking Chart in back pocket instead of in the book itself

• In 1st Edition, the Tracking Chart for students to use during Oral Reading was a page of their student workbook (not removable). It is now a loose page that sits in a pocket in the back cover of the student book and can be removed by students for use during lessons. This will make it much easier for students to chart their scores during the lessons.

Posters

• In the First Edition of Phonics Blitz, there were 9 posters. In the Second Edition, there are 8. We eliminated the 98% accuracy poster because this image is on the back cover of the student books, which emphasizes its importance as much or more than the poster.
• The poster size was reduced to 8 ½” by 11.” This makes them easier to use with smaller groups, as well as increases their portability.

SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

Longer lessons have been broken into more manageable pieces

• Several lessons from the original Blitz have been broken up into more than one lesson to make the concepts more manageable for teachers to teach and for students to learn.
  • Lesson 1 in the original Blitz was extremely long. It has been broken into three lessons in the Second Edition (Lessons 1-3)
  • Lesson 13 in the original Blitz (Suffix –ed) has been broken into three lessons in the Second Edition: suffix –ed adds a sound to one-syllable words; suffix –ed adds a syllable to one-syllable words; and suffix –ed adds and sound or a syllable to multi-syllable words (Lessons 15, 16, and 17).
  • Lesson 16 in the original Blitz taught two phonics concepts: hard c/soft c and the three sounds the letter y spells as a vowel. In the Second Edition these concepts are broken into two separate lessons (Lessons 20 and 21)
  • Lesson 17 in the original Blitz taught the concept of hard g and soft g as well as the exceptions to the hard g/soft g rules. In the Second Edition, the concept of hard g and soft g is presented in one lesson (Lesson 22) and the exceptions are presented in a separate lesson (Lesson 23).

New lessons have been added

• There are several new concepts in the Second Edition of Blitz that were not in the original. Based on feedback from Blitz users as well as the authors’ experience working with students and teachers, RGR believes these new concepts will be helpful for students with mild decoding weaknesses. These new lessons teach the following phonics concepts:
  • Latin endings: tion, sion, ture (Lesson 34)
  • Latin endings with ti & ci spelling /sh/ as in tion, tian, tious, cian, cious, cial (Lesson 35)
  • Long e spelled with the letter i in an open syllable (as in pita, Tina, or  radiation) (Lesson 41)
  • Spellings of /âr/ (as in care) (Lesson 38)

ORAL READING

Passages

• Passages in Blitz Second Edition progress in difficulty from easier to more difficult (based on readability); this was not the case in First Edition – passage readabilities jumped around and did not progress from easier to harder
• All passages in Blitz Second Edition are expository; in First Edition, some passages were narrative. These narrative passages have been taken out and replaced with expository text like that which students will encounter in their content areas classes.

Procedure

• What used to be called the “Standard” procedure for Oral Reading in 1st Edition (Warm Up Reader, and then students partner-read) is now the Alternative Procedure in Blitz Second Edition.
• The new Standard procedure in Second Edition is what used to be the Alternative procedure in First Edition: there are 3 readers who read individually in front of the class (Reader 1, 2, and 3). This is the same as the Standard procedure in Phonics Boost.
  

STUDENT PRACTICE SECTION

There have been revisions to all of the Student Practice activities in the Phonics Blitz lessons in the Second Edition. These will make the Student Practice activities more effective and easier to use:

Word Sort

• The structure of the activity has changed. Now, students will read all of the words and do the underlining of target letters/sounds in the word list first, before sorting any words. They will then sort the words and underline the target letters/sounds. This ensures that students are actually decoding all the words and focusing on the specific parts of the words and not just copying words into the groups without thinking.
• The word sort categories are now called “groups.”
• The spaces where students write in the word sort charts have been standardized so that there is adequate room for 4th – 12th graders to print correctly on the lines.
• The first word in the word list has the underlining done for the student as a model; the first word is also filled into the chart for the student as a model.
• The activity has been restructured into an I Do/We Do/You Do format (although we do not use those names); teacher models the first word (I Do); students and teacher sort the second word together (We Do); students sort the remaining words on their own (You Do)
• Not all lessons in First Edition had a Word Sort; all lessons in Second Edition have a Word Sort beginning in Lesson 5. The one exception is Lesson 14, which has a Practice Spelling Activity instead of a Word Sort.
• Lesson 6 has two Word Sorts because we teach two distinct Phonics Concepts in Lesson 6.

Detective Work

• Based on feedback that the DW activity was confusing (and RGR’s knowledge that many people were not using the activity as it was intended by the authors), we have rewritten the directions to make them clearer and ensure fidelity of instruction.
• The first column of words (previously called “Column 1”) is now called “Detective Training”. The second column of words (previously called “Column 2”) is now called “Detective Work 1.” The third column of words (previously called “Column 3”) is now called “Detective Work 2.” These titles better reflect what the students are doing in each column.
• The teacher models underlining the target sounds/letters and reading the words one word at a time in Detective Training. In so doing she is “training” the Detectives (students) to find the target sounds/letters in each word.
• The students break into pairs. Each student is either Detective A or Detective B. Each Detective reads the words in Detective Work 1 (the second column). Then each student reads the words in Detective Work 3 (the third column). This procedure is the same as in Blitz first edition, but the names of the students and columns are different.
• All Lessons beginning with Lesson 4 have a Detective Work. The one exception is Lesson 14, which has a Practice Spelling activity instead of a Detective Work.
  

Words to Read activity has leveled word lists

• The Words to Read word lists are leveled in the Second Edition of Blitz. Twenty-seven words are organized in three tiers: Challenging, More Challenging, and Most Challenging. The words are leveled based on difficulty of vocabulary.
• The layout of the Words to Read pages in the student workbook has improved significantly – the words now appear in three evenly spaced columns, making it much easier for struggling readers to view and read the words

Sentences to Read activity has sentences leveled based on both difficulty of vocabulary and length

• The Sentences to Read were leveled in the original Blitz based on difficulty of vocabulary. In the Second Edition, they are leveled based on both the difficulty of vocabulary and the length of the sentences. Challenging sentences are the shortest, More Challenging sentences are the middle, and Most Challenging sentences are the longest. This makes it much easier for teachers to challenge older students with reading more words while quickly picking out sentences with fewer words for younger students or students who might be struggling.

LESSONS INCORPORATE RGR MANIPULATIVES

RGR manipulatives are referenced in lesson plans

• Second Edition Blitz lesson plans are written so that teacher and student materials referenced throughout the lessons are the most updated RGR materials. Pictures of the RGR Student Phonics Kit and its various components within the lesson plan make it easy for teachers to assist students in locating the necessary materials.
• All student materials are introduced at the end of Lesson 2 in Blitz Second Edition.

OVERALL LAYOUT IS MORE TEACHER-FRIENDLY

Easy for teacher to see whose turn it is in lesson plan

• The Second Edition features blue font when students do something in the lesson plan, which makes it easy for teachers to quickly glance at the lesson plan and see when it is the students’ turn.

Sidebar Notes

• Notes in the sidebar of the lessons provide reminders for teachers about materials, procedures, teaching tips, etc.
  

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

What You Need to Know section is more detailed

• The What You Need to Know section in the Second Edition is more detailed and provides teachers with more background information on the phonemic/phonological awareness and the phonics concepts taught in the lessons. This will enable teachers to develop more expertise and be better able to explain concepts to students and answer student questions.

INTRODUCTION

Introduction describes philosophy and principles, lesson components, and more

• The First Edition of Phonics Blitz did not have an introduction. The Second Edition of Phonics Blitz has an introduction which provides teachers with the following information:
  • Philosophy and Principles of Blitz Second Edition
  • Placement into lessons and grouping
  • Program Materials
  • Lesson Design (how the lessons are laid out)
  • Curriculum Design (purpose and rationale for each part of the lesson)

APPENDIX

Appendix provides detailed information on procedures

• The original Phonics Blitz did not have an appendix. The Second Edition features an appendix that contains:
  • Detailed descriptions of Phonics Blitz procedures and routines
  • Descriptions of standard teacher and student materials.
  • List of phonetic symbols used in Phonics Blitz
  • Glossary of reading terms