Florida K–5 Literacy and Math Resources: Phonics, Handwriting, Fluency and Grade 3–4 Math
Florida K–5 Literacy and Math Resources: Phonics, Handwriting, Fluency and Grade 3–4 Math
Florida teachers plan against the B.E.S.T. Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics, with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards still in place for science. Reading instruction in the early grades is shaped by the Just Read, Florida statute (section 1001.215, Florida Statutes), which was amended to require evidence-based reading instruction and to ban three-cueing. Cursive got its own law: SB 182 requires cursive in grades 3–5, effective July 1, 2026. The eight units below cover sounds, decoding, handwriting, fluency, writing and Grade 3–4 math. The Florida overview has everything else for the state.
Browse the K–5 ELA resources →Resources that fit
Eight units for Florida K–5 classrooms
Each unit has a classroom PDF, a teacher guide, an editable DOCX and PowerPoint. They are supplements for US grades and can be used alongside the curriculum your Florida district runs.
Phonemic Awareness Daily Routines | 36 Weeks of Oral Sound Routines | Kindergarten
36 weeks of oral sound routines; children answer with sounds, not letters.
Decodable Readers Grade One | 20 Stories with Word Work & Comprehension | Grade 1
20 stories using only taught patterns, each with word work and comprehension.
Manuscript Handwriting | Basic Strokes & A–Z Letter Practice | Grades K–1
Basic strokes, then A–Z upper and lowercase with a stroke model per letter.
Cursive Writing | Strokes, Letters a–z & Joining Words | Grades 2–3
Ten lessons by stroke family plus a page per letter; works as a first cursive year in Grade 3 or catch-up in 4–5.
Reading Fluency Passages | 24 Original Passages with Meaning Checks | Grade 4
24 passages, each with a meaning check, so speed is never the only goal.
Opinion Writing Unit | Claims, Reasons, Evidence & Revision | Grades 4–5
Claim, reasons, evidence and revision in ten steps for Grade 4 and 5 writers.
Multiplication Fact Fluency | Strategies, Fact Families & Array Labs | Grade 3
Strategy lessons, fact family pages and array labs for the Grade 3 facts.
Multi-Digit Multiplication and Division | Area Model, Partial Products & Partial Quotients | Grade 4
Area model and partial products, then a bridge to the standard algorithm.
The state picture
Evidence-based reading and the ban on three-cueing
The ban on three-cueing means Florida teachers are expected to stop teaching children to guess a word from the picture or the first letter. That is easier when students have text they can decode. Decodable Readers Grade One gives Grade 1 students twenty stories built only from patterns already taught, from short vowels to silent e, each with a word work page and a comprehension page. Before that, Phonemic Awareness Daily Routines gives Kindergarten a full year of oral sound work: blending, segmenting and changing sounds, with counter mats so each sound gets a counter.
The B.E.S.T. ELA Standards put foundational reading at the front of K–2 and keep fluency in view through the upper grades.
Grade by grade
Which unit goes with which grade
Each unit by the grade it was written for, with a note for Florida classrooms. Place students by what they can do, not by the cover.
| Grade | Focus | Resource | Florida note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | Sounds; first letters | Phonemic Awareness, Manuscript | Oral sound work before formal phonics |
| Grade 1 | Decoding; high-frequency words | Decodable Readers, Heart Words | Decodable text instead of guessing from pictures |
| Grades 2–3 | Cursive letters and joins | Cursive Writing | Optional early cursive start |
| Grade 3 | Multiplication facts | Fact Fluency | First SB 182 cursive year and first FAST year |
| Grade 4 | Fluency; multi-digit operations | Fluency Passages, Multi-Digit | Cursive continues; B.E.S.T. Writing begins |
| Grades 3–5 | Long words, struggling readers | Multisyllabic Decoding, Reading Support Pack | Support for students flagged in PM1 |
Handwriting
Cursive in grades 3–5 under SB 182
The B.E.S.T. ELA Standards already listed cursive in grades 3–5. SB 182 now puts it in statute, effective July 1, 2026. For a Grade 3 teacher that means a first cursive year; for Grades 4 and 5 it often means students who missed cursive need a structured start. Cursive Writing Grades 2–3 works for both. It moves from stroke families to joins, capitals and real sentences. Manuscript Handwriting K–1 covers the print letters that come first in Kindergarten and Grade 1.
Fluency and tested grades
FAST, B.E.S.T. Writing and Grade 3–4 math
From Grade 3, Florida students take FAST ELA Reading and FAST Mathematics in three progress-monitoring windows, PM1 to PM3, and B.E.S.T. Writing starts in Grade 4. Progress monitoring shows you early in the year which students read accurately but too slowly to hold the meaning. Reading Fluency Passages Grade 4 gives those students 24 passages with a meaning check after each one. Opinion Writing Unit walks Grade 4 and 5 writers from claim to reasons to evidence and revision. In math, Multiplication Fact Fluency and Multi-Digit Multiplication and Division cover the Grade 3–4 path from facts to partial quotients.
How to use it
A practical order for the year
- Start with sounds.One oral routine a day, five to eight minutes, in Kindergarten.
- Follow your phonics sequence.Hand out a decodable story only after its pattern has been taught.
- Make handwriting daily.Ten minutes a day. Cursive lessons in order in Grade 3; letter pages for Grade 4 and 5 catch-up.
- Pair fluency with meaning.Partners read a passage twice, then complete the meaning check.
- Facts before multi-digit work.Use PM1 results to decide who needs the Grade 3 fact pack again.
Questions teachers ask
Frequently asked questions
Are these resources aligned with the Florida standards?
We do not claim alignment, approval or endorsement by Florida or any district. Each unit sits closest to the skills its US grade usually covers, so compare the lesson list with your own standards.
Does the cursive unit meet SB 182?
SB 182 requires cursive instruction in grades 3–5 but does not name a program. The unit gives you ten lessons and a page for each lowercase letter, which can be the core of your cursive time or practice next to another program. Your district decides what counts.
Do these units use three-cueing?
No. The decodable stories only use patterns already taught, and the heart words routine maps each word sound by sound. Students are not asked to guess from pictures.
Is the fluency set FAST practice?
No. It is reading practice with a meaning check after every passage. It does not copy FAST item types, but the skills it builds are the ones a reading test relies on.
Will the PDFs print on US Letter?
Yes. They are A4 and print on US Letter with fit-to-page. Each unit also has an editable DOCX and PowerPoint.
Plan your Florida K–5 year
Pick one reading unit and one math unit for your grade and try them for two weeks. The state overview lists the rest.
Go to the Florida overview →