<![CDATA[General Background Early literacy constitutes an essential foundational capability for young educational development. Specific Background Within first-grade environments, various learners struggle to recognize letter sounds and combine them into syllables and simple vocabulary. Knowledge Gap Conventional teaching heavily relies on random alphabet memorization rather than providing a graduated, structured approach to phonetic blending, leaving learners unable to construct words independently. Aims This implementation study applies a step-by-step phonetic framework supported by visual media and formative assessments to build decoding proficiency across diverse learner abilities. Results Following two structured sessions utilizing tactile letter and syllable cards alongside peer tutoring, active verbal participation surged from 33% to 89%. Furthermore, the proportion of learners accurately decoding at least five simple words grew from 44% to 89%, while overall fluency rubric scores progressed from 44% to 78%. Novelty The integration of tactile word media with rapid formative exit tickets establishes a highly manageable, scalable decoding structure explicitly tailored for early childhood education. Implications Educators must adopt graduated phonetic strategies and concrete visual aids to transition young learners from passive alphabet memorization to active vocabulary comprehension. Highlights: Conventional educational frameworks frequently prioritize random alphabet memorization over step-by-step syllable blending. Tactile letter cards establish a structured visual foundation for early literacy development. Rapid formative exit tickets accurately measure and guide graduated word recognition practice among diverse learners. Keywords: Phonetic Blending, Tactile Media, Formative Assessment, Early Literacy, First Grade Learners]]>
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