Combining Direct Instruction with Phonics Method to Foster Literacy in First Grade

Developing countries still struggle to get children fully literate by the end of first grade. This paper evaluates the impact of a literacy program that aims to teach students how to read and write by combining direct instruction with phonics method. The program also provides training for teachers and pedagogical coordinators and offers teaching materials appropriate for implementing the program. The program lasted for one school semester and was implemented in the second half of 2019. The evaluation involved first-grade students in 32 public schools from a large city in Brazil. Half of the schools were randomly selected to receive the intervention, while the other half continued their standard routine. The results indicate that the program had a positive impact on students’ literacy skills higher by 0.2 sd, significant at 10%. Also, there is no robust evidence that the impact was heterogeneous across observable student characteristics.