Routine library
Teaching routines, step by step
Short, scripted routines for each part of a reading lesson. Each one says what to do and what to say: get ready, I do, we do, you do, a quick check, and how to correct an error.
In short
Pick the part of the lesson you are teaching, open a routine, and run it as written the first few times. The words in each routine are examples; swap in the words from your own lesson.
Original routines written by Literacy Trail. In the app, every routine is filled with your student's lesson.
55 routines in 9 skill areas
Phonological awareness
Hearing and working with the sounds in spoken words.
- Clap the syllablesJoin spoken syllables into a word, then clap a word back into its syllables.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
- First sound plus the restJoin a first sound to the rest of a word, and split a word after its first sound.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
- Rhyme: hear it, make itDecide whether two words rhyme, then make up rhyming words, real or silly.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
- First and last soundListen to a spoken word and say its first sound, then its last sound.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
- Say it slow, say it fastBlend spoken sounds into a word, then break a spoken word back into its sounds.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
- Phoneme blendingHear a word said one sound at a time and put the sounds together into the word.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
- Sound boxes with tokensPush one token into a box for each sound in a spoken word.3 to 5 minutes · Warm-up
- Take a sound awaySay a word without one of its parts or sounds and tell what is left.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
- Swap a soundChange one sound in a spoken word to make a new word.2 to 4 minutes · Warm-up
Letters
Letter names, shapes, sounds and handwriting.
- Meet the letter: name and shapeIntroduce a letter by its name and the look of its capital and small forms.3 to 5 minutes · New lesson
- Letter sound with a picture keywordLink a letter to its sound through a picture word that begins with that sound.4 to 7 minutes · New lesson
- Handwriting: talk it, trace it, write itTeach the strokes of a letter with spoken directions, tracing, copying and writing from memory.3 to 6 minutes · New lesson
- Quick letter-sound drillFlash known letters for their sounds at a brisk pace, with fast fixes.2 to 3 minutes · Review
Phonics and decoding
Linking sounds to spellings and blending them into words.
- Introduce a new sound-spellingTeach a new spelling for a sound: hear it, see it, say it, write it, then read words with it.6 to 10 minutes · New lesson
- Sound card reviewShow the sound cards taught so far, quickly, so every known spelling stays automatic.2 to 4 minutes · Review
- Sound-by-sound blendingRead a new word one sound at a time, joining each sound to the ones before it.3 to 6 minutes · Word reading
- Stretch and readHold each sound and slide into the next without a break, then say the word.2 to 5 minutes · Word reading
- Spot the vowel pattern, then readFind the vowel spelling first, decide its sound, then read the whole word.3 to 6 minutes · Word reading
- Word chain with letter tilesBuild a word with tiles, then change one letter at a time to make the next word.3 to 6 minutes · Word chain
- Word sort by patternSort word cards into groups by their spelling pattern and tell what each group shares.4 to 7 minutes · Review
- First read of decodable textRead sentences or a short passage made of words the student can decode, using today's pattern.4 to 8 minutes · Reading connected text
Irregular words
Words with a part that does not follow the rules yet.
- Heart word routineRead a heart word, sound out the parts that follow the rules, mark the tricky part with a heart, spell it aloud and write it.2 to 5 minutes · Heart words
- Spell-out for very irregular wordsLook, say, spell aloud and write a word whose spelling barely follows the patterns at all.2 to 4 minutes · Heart words
- Heart word review deckFlash the student's heart word cards, old and new, until each one is read on sight.2 to 3 minutes · Review, Heart words
Longer words
Breaking longer words into syllables and word parts.
- Count the beats before readingSay a long word, count its beats, then match each beat to a vowel in the written word.2 to 4 minutes · Word reading
- Open and closed syllablesTell whether a syllable ends with its vowel or with a consonant, and read the vowel to match.4 to 6 minutes · Word reading
- Split between two consonantsFind the two vowels, split between the consonants in the middle, read each part, then the word.4 to 6 minutes · Word reading
- One consonant between vowels: try long, then shortSplit before the middle consonant and try the first vowel long; if it does not make a word, split after it and try it short.4 to 6 minutes · Word reading
- Consonant plus le endingsCount back three letters from the end to find the last syllable, read the first part, then add the ending.3 to 6 minutes · Word reading
- Circle the parts, read the baseCircle a prefix and suffix, read the base word, then put the parts back together.3 to 6 minutes · Word reading
- Compound wordsFind the two smaller words inside a compound, read each, then read them as one word.3 to 5 minutes · Word reading
- Flexible routine for big wordsA step-by-step way into any long word: circle the parts, find the vowels, split, read, flex, check.4 to 7 minutes · Word reading
Spelling and dictation
Writing sounds, words and sentences from dictation.
- Dictation: sounds, words, a sentenceThe student writes sounds, then words, then a sentence that you say, and checks each one.4 to 8 minutes · Dictation
- Segment to spell with sound boxesSay a word, push a token for each sound, then write the spelling of each sound in its box.4 to 7 minutes · Dictation
- Check and fixTeach the student to proofread their own writing: read it back, touch each sound, find the part that is off, and fix it.3 to 6 minutes · Dictation
- Adding endings: double, drop, changeDecide whether to double the last letter, drop the e, or change y to i before adding an ending, then write the word.5 to 8 minutes · Dictation
Fluency
Reading connected text accurately, at a good pace, with expression.
- Repeated readingRead the same short decodable passage three or four times, a little smoother each time.5 to 8 minutes · Reading connected text
- Timed reading with a graphTime a one-minute reading of the same passage over several days and graph the words read correctly.5 to 8 minutes · Reading connected text
- Partner readingTwo students take turns reading the same text aloud, with the listener following and helping.5 to 10 minutes · Reading connected text
- Reading in phrasesRead a text marked with slashes at phrase breaks, so the student groups words the way speech does.4 to 7 minutes · Reading connected text
- Echo and choral readingYou read a sentence and the student echoes it; then you read together in one voice.4 to 7 minutes · Reading connected text
- Readers theatreStudents rehearse and perform a short script, reading their parts with expression. No costumes or memorizing needed.15 to 30 minutes · Library only
Vocabulary
Teaching word meanings and ways to work out new words.
- Teach a word: friendly meaning, examples, non-examplesExplain a new word in everyday language, show it in use, and test it against examples and non-examples.3 to 6 minutes · Library only
- Word talk during a read-aloudPause briefly on rich words while reading aloud, then come back to them after the story.5 to 10 minutes · Library only
- Word mapFill a simple map for a word: its meaning, a sentence, a picture, and words like it and unlike it.6 to 10 minutes · Library only
- Meanings of prefixes and suffixesTeach what a common prefix or suffix means, then use it to work out the meaning of new words.5 to 8 minutes · Library only
- Use clues in the textLook around an unknown word for a clue to its meaning: a definition, an example, an opposite or the general sense.5 to 8 minutes · Library only
- Using a dictionaryFind a word in a dictionary, choose the meaning that fits the sentence, and say it in your own words.6 to 10 minutes · Library only
- Semantic mapBuild a web of words around a topic, grouped into categories, before and after reading.8 to 12 minutes · Library only
Comprehension
Understanding and talking about what was read.
- Picture-book read-aloud with promptsRead a picture book aloud, stopping at planned points for open questions that get the student thinking and talking.10 to 15 minutes · Library only
- Story map and retellFill a simple map of a story's characters, setting, problem, main events and ending, then retell from it.8 to 12 minutes · Library only
- Where is the answer?Sort questions by where the answer comes from: right there in one place, spread across the text, or from the reader's own thinking.8 to 12 minutes · Library only
- Main idea in a short summaryName who or what a paragraph is about and the most important thing about it, then say it in about ten words.6 to 10 minutes · Library only
- Predict, clarify, question, summarizeWork through a text in chunks using four thinking moves, with the student gradually taking the teacher's role.15 to 20 minutes · Library only
- Talk about the author's choicesTreat the text as something a person wrote and ask what the author is trying to say and why they wrote it that way.10 to 15 minutes · Library only
Every routine, filled with your student's words
In Literacy Trail, each block of a session plan comes with the routine to teach it, using the words from that day's lesson. Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial.