Routine · Spelling and dictation
Segment to spell with sound boxes
Say a word, push a token for each sound, then write the spelling of each sound in its box.
- Time
- 4 to 7 minutes
- Skill
- Spelling and dictation
- In a session plan
- Dictation
When to use it
For students who leave out sounds when spelling, or put letters in the wrong order.
Materials
- A card or page with rows of three to five boxes
- Tokens
- A pencil
Steps
Shown with example words: word fish; words fish, shop, ship.
Get ready
Choose a row with the right number of boxes for fish.
I do
Say the word. Push a token into each box for each sound. Then take each token away and write that sound's spelling in its box. Read the word.
Say: Fish. One sound per box. Now I write the letters for each sound.
We do
Do the next word together: say it, push the tokens, then write the spellings one box at a time.
You do
The student spells each word in fish, shop, ship the same way.
Student: Says the word, pushes tokens, writes a spelling in each box, reads it.
Move to writing the words on a plain line, still saying each sound while writing.
Check
The student reads back every word, touching under each sound.
If the student...
Writes two letters of a team in separate boxes.
Say the sound and show that it goes in one box, even with two letters. Erase, push the token again and write the team in one box. Read the word.
Say: One sound, one box, even when it takes two letters.
Puts the right letters in the wrong order.
Say the word slowly while pointing to the boxes left to right. Stop at the first wrong box. Have the student say that sound and fix it, then read the word again.
Tips
- Remove the boxes as soon as the student spells accurately without them.
- The same boxes used in the spoken warm-up make this step feel familiar.
Example words
- Word
- fish
- Words
- fish, shop, ship
Original routines written by Literacy Trail. In the app, every routine is filled with your student's lesson.
Related routines
- Sound boxes with tokensPush one token into a box for each sound in a spoken word.3 to 5 minutes · Warm-up
- 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
- 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
Have this routine filled in for every lesson
In Literacy Trail, the session plan picks a routine for each block and fills it with the words, sounds and sentence from your student's lesson. Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial.