Small Group Decodable Text Reading Routine (Intensive, Strategic, Low Benchmark)
Remember to provide DAILY reading practice for all students:
 Provide extra practice (when needed) in small groups on sounds, blending words, sight words, and/or phrases just
before that group orally reads the text.
 Use a consistent and rapid error correction procedure in all reading practice daily.
How to provide needed practice for small group reading:
1. Use consistent cues for starting and for error correction. Suggested cues:
 Start = “Put your finger on the first word/sound.”
“Ready...read.”
 Error = “My turn, that word is……..”
“What word?”
“Go back.”
2. Print or write extra lines of practice (enough for each student in the group with each strip presenting
the sounds/words in a different order) on sentence strips. (For example, if there are 6 students in the
group, the teacher would have 6 strips of sounds practice, 6 strips of regular words, 6 strips of
irregular words and 6 strips of phrases that are in the text that students will be reading).
 Quickly review with the group any difficult sounds or words that are new, or that you
know students have not yet mastered.
 Pass out the lines of practice strip (one to each student). Give the cue to start reading and
have each student whisper read their strip (pointing to the sounds/words) while the
teacher monitors and corrects every error with the “My turn...” procedure.
 Repeat this procedure until the students have mastered sounds, words and phrases that
they will encounter in the text.
3. Direct the students to read the decodable text orally starting with sentence by sentence, then page by
page, then whole story. (As they get better you can skip right to page by page.)
Sentence by sentence:
 Say “Ready...read” for the whole group to read one sentence chorally. The teacher keeps
their voice silent as the students read.
 Correct every error with the “My turn...” procedure.
 Ask for someone to read that sentence and get all the words right (everyone else is
following along and whisper reading).
 Correct every error with the “My turn...” procedure.
 Praise for accuracy with great enthusiasm. Some examples: “Yes!” Or ‘You got every
word right.” Or “Good job, Mr. Right” with a handshake.
Page by page:
 When each sentence is correct ask for someone to read the whole page correctly
(everyone else is following along and whisper reading).
 Correct every error with the “ My turn...” procedure.
 Praise for accuracy again. Some examples: “Yes!” Or "You got the whole page right.”
Or “Good job, Mr. Right” with a handshake.
Whole story:
 When each page is correct ask for everyone to read the whole story correctly in unison.
 Correct every error with the “My turn...” procedure.
 Ask for individuals to read the whole story correctly. Every student should get to read
every story from start to end individually or to a partner. (Have the other students
whisper read while one individual is reading out loud.)
© Oregon Reading First Center
Center on Teaching and Learning
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Teacher continues to monitor and corrects every error with the “My turn...” procedure.
Praise for accuracy again. Some examples: “Yes!” or “You got the whole story right” Or
“Good job, Mr. Right” with a handshake.
© Oregon Reading First Center
Center on Teaching and Learning