Syllable Sprint Dictation Guide
Syllable Sprint Dictation
Teacher Administration & Phonics Breakdown Guide
Grade 1 • Early Phonics
12 Target Sentences
4-Step Dictation Routine
1. Speak: Teacher says sentence once.
2. Echo: Student repeats aloud.
3. Tap: Finger-count each word.
4. Write: Spell & self-check.
Color Key
Open Syllable (long vowel)
CVC / Closed (short vowel)
Sight Word (high freq.)
1 Short /a/, /i/, /e/
"He can sit on the red mat."
Open: He CVC: can, sit, red, mat Closed: on Sight: the
2 Short /a/, /i/, /o/
"She had a big cat in the box."
Open: She CVC: had, big, cat, box Closed: in Sight: a, the
3 Short /a/, /u/
"We can go see the pup."
Open: We, go CVC: can, pup Sight: see, the
4 Short /e/, /o/, /a/
"The wet dog ran to me."
Open: me CVC: wet, dog, ran Sight: The, to
5 Short /o/, /u/, /a/
"He got a hot bun in the pan."
Open: He CVC: got, hot, bun, pan Closed: in Sight: a, the
6 Short /e/, /u/
"I see a red bug on the rug."
Open: I CVC: red, bug, rug Closed: on Sight: see, a, the
7 Short /a/, /o/, /u/
"She can hop and run to me."
Open: She, me CVC: can, hop, run Sight / Closed: and, to
8 Short /a/, /o/, /e/
"No, the bad cat is not on the bed."
Open: No CVC: bad, cat, not, bed Closed: on Sight: the, is
9 Short /e/ focus
"We fed the pet in the pen."
Open: We CVC: fed, pet, pen Closed: in Sight: the
10 Short /i/, /a/, /o/
"The kid had a nap on the cot."
CVC: kid, had, nap, cot Closed: on Sight: The, a, the
11 Short /a/, /i/
"He can fix the rip in the rag."
Open: He CVC: can, fix, rip, rag Closed: in Sight: the
12 Short /a/, /e/, /o/
"So, can you get the mop for me?"
Open: So, me CVC: can, get, mop Sight: you, the, for
Open Syllable Check
Check if student recognizes long vowel sounds without consonant coda (he, she, we, me, go, no, so).
CVC & Closed Check
Ensure short vowel clarity and reliable consonant boundary encoding across all 5 medial vowels.
Sight Word Fluency
Verify immediate automatic spelling of non-decodable high-frequency words (the, to, you, for, see).
Mastery Thresholds
11–12: Mastered
8–10: Instructional
≤ 7: Target Intervention
Sentence Sprint Dictation
Student Recording Sheet
Score ____ / 12
Name:
Date:
Listen to each sentence. Write neatly on the lines, then check your caps and punctuation.
Key: 🔤 Capital 📏 Spaces 🛑 Period
1
Cap Space Punct
7
Cap Space Punct
2
Cap Space Punct
8
Cap Space Punct
3
Cap Space Punct
9
Cap Space Punct
4
Cap Space Punct
10
Cap Space Punct
5
Cap Space Punct
11
Cap Space Punct
6
Cap Space Punct
12
Cap Space Punct
My Self-Check
I listened to every word
I sounded out the vowels
Teacher Notes & Phonics Target Next Steps
