This research article uses content analysis and descriptive analysis to examine phonics proficiency in first-grade students having difficulty learning to read, specifically examining those with and without characteristics associated with dyslexia. Writing samples from a dictation task were collected and analyzed at the beginning of the school year and after students completed a 20-week intervention. Through the analysis process, the authors compared students' writing samples from the beginning of the year to the middle of the year and determined what changes occurred over time. An analysis tool was developed to analyze each phonics element that was represented in the writing samples. Utilizing the analysis tool, the authors determined that after the 20-week intervention, all students' phonics knowledge grew based on their writing from the dictation task, regardless of their dyslexia status. Analysis included common patterns, specific phonemes, and high frequency words. At the conclusion of the analysis process, the authors concluded that the ability of most students to hear and record beginning, middle, and ending sounds in words improves from beginning of year to middle of year, regardless of dyslexia status.