Little Learners Love Literacy Year 2 Playbook

About this Playbook
Using a known set of explicit teaching routines and activities reduces student cognitive load, giving them the best chance of committing new learning to long-term memory for automatic retrieval. Good routines allow students to focus on new learning because they already know what is expected of them. Students love routines. When explicit routines are delivered regularly and with fidelity, teachers can focus on individual student needs and students are engaged in success. This section of the Teacher Activity Resource provides a script and guidance for each of the core teaching routines in the Little Learners Love Literacy® program Year 2, Term 1 (Stage 7 Review). Read these scripts, practise them and master them – they should be consistently delivered and well-paced, with lots of back and forth between you and the students. Everybody should be switched on and engaged in their learning. Remember to model each step and give plenty of praise and feedback. Explicit teaching principles are the foundation of executing these routines well. You can find out more about these by attending the Little Learners Love Literacy® Professional Learning Workshop and reading the information on our website. 

Check for understanding techniques Regular checks on students’ understanding and immediate teacher feedback is part of each Little Learners Love Literacy® instructional routine. This approach keeps students active and ensures their constant participation in whole class instruction. We recommend spending time at the start of the year modelling and practising these routines with students, so they know what is expected, which will allow teachers to maintain the expected pace of the Little Learners Love Literacy® lessons.

Choral response
When you ask a question to check for understanding, all students give an answer in unison. Often this is preceded by a hand gesture to indicate that all students are to respond. This technique works well for questions with a finite, short answer. Choral responses ensure all students are engaged and are learning the content being taught. This technique boosts confidence for students who may not be comfortable sharing a response individually. Steps 1 Ask the question. For example, ‘What is the sound?’ 2 Students respond in unison. 3 Provide confirmation and praise when the whole group answers correctly. Provide scaffolding or model the answer, before repeating the question for a choral response. 4 Optional: Follow a choral response with the ‘Select a student’ technique (cold calling). This allows individual students to be successful in front of the whole group. Choral response can become more elaborate when students are used to the technique. You can plan a prompt and the response you want students to use – for example, Prompt: ‘Digraph.’ Response: ‘Two letters, one sound.’ Teach the new prompt and responses before asking students to respond.

Turn to your partner
When you ask a question to check for understanding, students turn to the person next to them to have a brief discussion following a prompt from you. Students must be explicitly taught the expectations (who their partner is, who speaks first, answering in full sentences etc.) so partners have the best opportunity to learn. While timing should be kept tight, you can listen to some of the students’ discussions – mentally noting any demonstrations of mastery or any errors – before selecting (cold calling) students to share their responses. Steps 1 Assign each student as Partner A or Partner B. 2 Ask a question that requires students to discuss their thinking with a partner. 3 Cue students to start by nominating which partner will start the discussion – for example, ‘Partner A turn to Partner B, tell them x. Use full sentences. Then swap.’ 4 Bring the class back together with your chosen prompt – for example, clap and students replicate, or say a chant such as ‘Ready set’ and students respond ‘You bet!’ 5 Use the ‘Select a student’ technique to allow students to share their answers with the class. 6 Address errors as a whole class with scaffolding, or further modelling, as required.

Select a student
This technique is also referred to as ‘cold calling’. Ask students a question and, rather than having students put up their hands to answer, either choose a student they wish to hear from, or choose a student randomly. Select two or three students to respond to the same question. If two are correct, it is a good indicator that most members of the class are understanding. This technique is used consistently in Little Learners lessons to promote active thinking and student participation during instruction time. Cold calling creates an expectation that all students are listening and engaged in the instruction. It provides an effective prompt for you to model a correct response in response to incorrect answers, addressing any mistakes or misconceptions at the point of need during the lesson. Steps 1 Ask a question. 2 Provide thinking time (either a moment for students to think by themselves or prompt them to turn to their partner to discuss their thoughts). 3 Using a warm tone and body language, call on a student by name and prompt them to share an answer. 4 Provide feedback – confirm the correct response, address the incorrect response immediately, or come back to the student who provided the incorrect response after other students have answered. 5 You may first call on a student who can confidently answer the question, to eliminate students sharing the incorrect information, and ask a less confident student second or third, so they have the opportunity to hear from others first.

Mini whiteboards
Individual mini whiteboards are an integral part of teaching and learning with Little Learners Love Literacy®. Teaching students the appropriate way to use them will help to reduce any distractions. We use mini whiteboards to allow all students to show a written response at the same time. This allows you to glance across the class and provide feedback and immediate error correction or modelling, as required. Steps 1 Prompt students to ‘write it’ – students write the grapheme, word, phrase or sentence. 2 Provide appropriate time for the task, before prompting students to ‘chin it’ – students hold their whiteboard under their chin for you to see. 3 Provide feedback and correct any errors. If required, model the correct answer to the whole class and repeat the process. 4 Prompt students to ‘wipe it’ – students clean their whiteboard. 5 Prompt students to ‘park it’ – students put their whiteboard on the floor or table, with their marker and eraser sat neatly on top. 

Routine scripts and guidance

Use these scripts alongside the daily lesson notes provided in this Teacher Activity Resource. 

REVISE ROUTINES (whole class)

Speed Sounds
3 minutes
phonics, fluency, spaced practice
What is it?
A daily review of some previously taught grapheme–phoneme correspondences
Purpose
Daily interleaved practice is key to committing the alphabetic code (which is required for both reading and spelling) to long-term memory for automatic retrieval when students are reading. In Year 2, the focus is on the Speed Sound and not the Chitter Chatter Chant. Students should be encouraged to read and spell without reliance on the mnemonics at this stage.
Resources
• Speed Sounds and Chants cards (classroom size); or Little Learners Love Literacy Online Speed Sounds slides
Preparation
• Select approximately 10–15 Speed Sounds and Chants cards for each lesson. Refer to the cards listed in the daily lesson notes or choose your own. Include the most recently taught cards and any tricky cards students need to practise.
• Each day, swap previously taught cards in and out of your deck, to support spaced retrieval practice (interleaved practice).
• Watch the Speed Sounds and Chants videos on the Little Learners Love Literacy® YouTube channel for demonstrations.
Procedure
1 Ensure students are seated facing you and are looking at the cards/slides before you begin. Briefly introduce the routine. Say: ‘Let’s start with Speed Sounds. Are you ready? Let’s go!’
2 Show the grapheme side of the card and have the students say the sound once. This should be done at a steady pace – not too slow. Provide feedback, as required.
3 Mix the cards up and repeat at a faster pace. Say: ‘Are you ready to be speedy? Let’s go again!’ Check for understanding: Hold up a card and ask: ‘What is this sound?’ Cold call three students to say the sound. Do this with 1–3 cards. Select cards based on recent teaching and/or on students’ performances during the routine.
Error correction: If you hear an error, stop the routine and ask students to say the sound again together. If there are issues, address them by modelling the sound. Say: ‘Watch my mouth, /s/. Now you try.’ Ask students to say the sound again. If any students are struggling with the sound, note it for your small group sessions where you can model, describe how you are articulating the sound and allow students to practise.

Speed Words
4 minutes 
phonics, fluency, spaced practice
What is it?
A daily opportunity to apply knowledge of known speed sounds to read words with increasing automaticity (fluency) Purpose
Students must decode a word several times to ‘map’ the string of graphemes in their brain. Once words are mapped, students can recall them automatically. The more mapped words students have, the more fluent their reading will become. In this routine, students practise decoding words using previously taught grapheme–phoneme correspondences, which will help them to map the words to long-term memory.
Resources
• Teacher-made flashcards; or Little Learners Love Literacy Online Speed Words slides.
Preparation
• Select 5–10 decodable words for each lesson. Refer to the Speed Words listed in the daily lesson notes or choose your own. Use words containing the most recently taught grapheme–phoneme correspondences and any words students have found tricky and need to practise.
• Each day, swap previously taught words in and out of your deck to support spaced retrieval practice (interleaved practice).
Procedure
1 Ensure students are seated facing you and are looking at the cards/slides before you begin. Briefly introduce the routine. Say: ‘Now it’s time for our Speed Words. Decode the words together. Let’s go!’
2 Show a word card and have students sound out and blend to read the word chorally. Continue until students have read all the words. Provide feedback, as required.
3 Next, have students read the words without sounding out. Say: ‘Are you ready to be speedy? Let’s go again!’ Provide feedback, as required. Check for understanding: Hold up a card and ask: ‘What is this word?’ Cold call three students to read the word. Do this with 1–3 words. Select words based on recent teaching and/or on students’ performances during the routine.
Error correction: If you hear an error, stop the routine and ask students to decode the word together. If there are issues, address them by modelling decoding the word, then say: ‘Now you try.’ Ask students to read the words again and continue with the routine.

Heart Words
2 minutes
word reading, fluency
What is it?
A daily review of previously taught Heart Words (words that are not decodable yet or have irregular spellings that are needed for reading a range of connected texts)
Purpose
As with Speed Words, students must read a word several times to ‘map’ the string of graphemes in their brain. Once words are mapped, students can recall them automatically. The more mapped words students have, the more fluent their reading will become. In this routine, students practise reading/recalling previously taught Heart Words, which will help them to map the words to long-term memory. More information on Heart Words can be found on page x.
Resources
• Little Learners Love Literacy Heart Words flashcards (downloadable from our website); or Little Learners Love Literacy Online Heart Words slides.
Preparation
• Select 5–8 Heart Words for each lesson. Refer to the Heart Words listed in the daily lesson notes or choose your own. Use the most recently taught Heart Words and any that students have found tricky.
• Each day, swap previously taught Heart Words in and out of your deck to support spaced retrieval practice (interleaved practice).
Procedure
1 Ensure students are seated facing you and looking at the cards/slides before you begin. Briefly introduce the routine. Say: ‘Now, let’s check our Heart Words!’
2 Show a card and have students to say the word. Continue until students have read all the words. Check for understanding: Hold up a card and ask: ‘What is this word?’ Cold call three students to read the Heart Word. Do this with 1–2 Heart Words. Select Heart Words based on recent teaching and/or on students’ performances during the routine.
Error correction: If you hear an error, stop the routine and ask students to say the word again together. If there are issues, address them by revising the Heart Word – model sounding out the Heart Word (quickly reminding students of the tricky bit of the spelling), and blending the sounds to say the word. Say: ‘Now it’s your turn.’ Ask students to sound out and blend, then say the word. Students read the word again. Continue the routine.

Speed Write
5 minutes
phonics, spelling, fluency, spaced practice
What is it?
Students are provided with the opportunity to practise writing words with the focus grapheme–phoneme correspondence, including Tier 2 vocabulary and multisyllabic words, as well as focus Heart Words containing irregular spelling patterns.
Purpose
Fluency with writing and spelling are the focus of this routine. Students have had the opportunity to read and recall Speed Sounds, Speed Words and Heart Words. It is more difficult to write than to read, and it is a great sign of mastery when writing and spelling are done correctly. This routine is specific to Year 2 students as they focus on mastery of spelling.
Resources
• Mini whiteboards, markers and erasers
• Speed Write word list
• Little Learners Love Literacy Online Speed Write slides (optional)
Preparation
• Select 2–3 Speed Sounds, 1–2 Speed Words and 1–2 Heart Words from the previous revision routines that day. Refer to the Speed Write list in the daily lesson notes or choose your own.
• Distribute students’ whiteboards, markers and erasers at the start of the lesson so they are nearby for the Speed Write routine.
Procedure
1 Ensure students are seated facing you and are looking at you before you begin. Briefly introduce the routine. Say: ‘Let’s speed write some of our Speed Sounds, Speed Words and Heart Words from today. Show me your whiteboard after each sound or word when I say “chin it”.’
2 Students listen as you dictate the first sound. For example, say: ‘The sound is /ā/ as in tray. Say it and write it.’ Students say the sound aloud and write the grapheme on their mini whiteboards.
3 Ask students to ‘chin it’ and provide feedback.
4 Write the grapheme on the board. Students mark their whiteboards by ticking each correct letter or putting a line through an incorrect letter and writing it correctly.
5 Repeat with the next Speed Sound. Then dictate the Speed Word/s and Heart Word.
6 At the end say: ‘Wipe it!’ Students clean their boards and put them down.
Check for understanding: Asking students to ‘chin it’ allows all students to show their spelling. Provide feedback and error correction, if necessary, before moving on.
Error correction: If you see an error, stop the routine. Ask students to say the sound, or segment the word and make a change. If there are issues, address them by modelling the spelling on the board, then saying: ‘Now it’s your turn.’ Continue with the routine.

TEACH ROUTINES (whole class)

Spelling on mini whiteboards <lozenge> 5 minutes <lozenge> spelling, reading, handwriting (phonological awareness, phonics, morphology) What is it? Single word dictation on mini whiteboards, or dictation of word chains on mini whiteboards. When lesson plans provide word lists and sound swap word chains, you can choose which you’d prefer to do, or do both, depending on your students and any time restraints. Handwriting correction and modelling can be provided in whole-class feedback, as required.
Purpose
Students apply new learning by spelling new words accurately (with correctly formed letters), following your modelling and guidance. In the sound swap activity, students manipulate words to identify one single grapheme/phoneme to change each time, building their phonemic proficiency and mastery.
Resources
• Mini whiteboards, markers and erasers
• Spelling on mini whiteboards word list • Little Learners Love Literacy Online Spelling on mini whiteboards slides, if using.
Preparation
• Select 6–8 words to dictate. Refer to the Spelling on mini whiteboards word list in the daily lesson notes or choose your own, ensuring your words all use the focus graphemes/phonemes or morphemes for that day and include a variety of simpler one-syllable words and more complex multisyllabic words. • Distribute students’ whiteboards, markers and erasers at the start of the lesson.
Procedure (one-syllable words)
1 Introduce the routine. Say: ‘Let’s practise our spelling. We’re going to spell six words on our whiteboards. Show me your whiteboard after each one when I say “chin it”.’
2 Model spelling the first word for students; for example, chain. Say: ‘First, it’s my turn – eyes on me. I’m going to spell the word chain.’ Say an example sentence with the word in it: ‘I chain my bike to the post. Chain.’
3 Count the sounds on your fingers as you say them. Say: ‘First, I sound it out using my spelling fingers: /ch/ā/n/ – three sounds.’
4 Draw three lines on the board as you say ‘/ch/ā/n/’. Say: ‘Then I will write a grapheme for each sound.’ Write ch on the first line as you say the sound /ch/. Write ai on the second line as you say /ā/. Explain why you chose the grapheme ai: ‘I chose ai because the /ā/ sound is in the middle of the word.’ Then write n on the third line as you say /n/.
5 Say: ‘Next, I need to read the word to check my spelling.’ Model checking your spelling by sounding out and blending to read the word.
6 Then say: ‘Now it’s your turn.’ Students write chain on their mini whiteboards. Ask students to ‘chin it’ and provide feedback. Repeat with the other words on your list.
Procedure (multi-syllable words)
1 Model spelling the first multisyllable word for students; for example, fragrant. Say: ‘First, it’s my turn. I’m going to spell the word fragrant.’ Say an example sentence with the word in it: ‘I love the fragrant smell at the bakery. Fragrant. In my spelling voice I say fragrant.’
2 Clap the syllables, saying: ‘First, I clap the syllables: fra-grant – two syllables.’
3 Count the sounds in the first syllable using your spelling fingers. Say: ‘/f/r/ā/ – three sounds.’ Draw three lines on the board as you say ‘/f/r/ā/’. Then write a grapheme for each sound. Write f on the first line as you say the sound /f/, write r on the second line as you say /r/, then write a on the third line as you say /ā/. Explain why you chose the letter a: ‘I chose a because the /ā/ sound is at the end of an open syllable.’ Repeat for the second syllable containing five sounds – /g/r/a/n/t/.
4 Say: ‘Next, I will read the word to check my spelling.’ Model checking your spelling by sounding out and blending each syllable to read it. Then blend the syllables together to read the word: fra-grant, fragrant.
5 Then say: ‘Now it’s your turn. The word is fragrant.’ Students repeat the word, clap the syllables and write fragrant on their mini whiteboards. Last, they check their spelling by reading the word on their board. Ask students to ‘chin it’ and provide feedback. Repeat with the other words in the teaching routine specific to your week/day.
Procedure (sound swap)
1 Introduce the routine. Say: ‘Let’s practise our spelling. We’re going to write a sound swap word chain on our whiteboards. Show me your whiteboard after each word when I say, “chin it”.’
2 Model spelling the first word in the list for students; for example, cape. Say: ‘First, it’s my turn – eyes on me. I’m going to spell the word cape.’ Say an example sentence with the word in it: ‘A superhero wears a cape. Cape.’
3 Count the sounds on your fingers as you say them. Say: ‘First, I sound it out using my spelling fingers: /k/ā/p/ – three sounds.’
4 Draw three lines on the board as you say ‘/k/ā/p/’. Say: ‘Then I will write a grapheme for each sound.’ Write c on the first line as you say the sound /k/. Say: ‘I chose c because the /k/ sound is at the beginning of the word (followed by an a).’ Next, write a on the second line as you say /ā/. Then write p on the third line as you say /p/. Say: ‘This word says /k/a/p/, cap. I’m missing the silent e to make the vowel sound long.’ Write e at the end of the word.
5 Say: ‘Next, I will read the word to check my spelling.’ Model checking your spelling by sounding out and blending to read it.
6 Then say: ‘Now it’s your turn.’ Students write cape on their mini whiteboards. Ask students to ‘chin it’ and provide feedback.
7 Dictate the next word in the chain, case. Ask students: ‘What do you need to change?’ Students sound out the new word to identify the difference. They write the new word underneath the first word.
8 Repeat with the other words in word chain. Each time one grapheme will change, or a phoneme/grapheme will be deleted or added; for example, cap – cape – case – cane – can.

Super spelling (sound swap)
3–5 minutes
spelling, reading (phonemic awareness, phonics)
What is it?
The Super spelling whole class routine is used throughout the Little Learners Love Literacy® program. There are two versions of the routine – word building (easier) and sound swap (harder). Dictate a word, and students build the words using large grapheme cards as a class. The class members read the word they have built together to check their spelling and fix any errors with your guidance. There is an option at the end of this routine to dictate the same word list for students to write on mini whiteboards, gradually removing scaffolding and supporting students towards mastery.
Purpose
Students apply new learning by spelling new words accurately as a team. Cognitive load is reduced with this spelling routine (no handwriting required, and cards provide limited spelling choices for students), making it ideal for applying brand new knowledge to spell words for the first time. With sound swap, students manipulate words to identify one single grapheme/phoneme to change each time, building their phonemic proficiency and mastery. The onus is on the class to check and fix their spelling together, which allows you to use error correction as valuable teaching opportunities throughout the routine.
Resources
• Stages 1–7 Speed Sounds and Chants cards (display-size)
• Super spelling word list/chain
• Little Learners Love Literacy Online Super spelling slides, if using
• Mini whiteboards, markers and erasers, if using
Preparation
• Select a sound swap word chain of approximately 8 words to dictate. Refer to the Super spelling word chains in the daily lesson notes.
• Select the display-size Speed Sounds and Chants cards you need for the word chain. Refer to the cards listed in the daily lesson notes.
• Distribute students’ whiteboards, markers and erasers at the start of the lesson, if using.
Procedure
1 Hand out the display-size Speed Sounds and Chants cards listed in the Resources. Students say the sound represented by each card chorally.
2 Support students to build the first word in the chain. Say: ‘The word is beach. I like to swim at the beach. Beach. Let’s sound it out using our spelling fingers – /b/ē/ch/.’
3 Ask: ‘What is the first sound in beach? /b/.’ The student with the b card stands at the front of the class, holding it. Ask: ‘What is the next sound? /ē/.’ The student with the ea card stands next in line. Ask: ‘What is the last sound? /ch/.’ The student with the ch card stands next in line so that the word beach is formed.
4 Students say the sounds and then decode the word chorally to check the spelling. Give students feedback.
5 Tell students the next word and ask: ‘Which card do you need to change?’ The student with the appropriate card moves into position and the student with the redundant card moves back to the group. Students decode the word to check the spelling.
6 Continue with the rest of the sound swap word chain. Optional extension: Pack the cards away and have students get out their mini whiteboards. Say: ‘Now we’ve all built the words with our Speed Sounds and Chants cards, it’s time to write them on your mini whiteboards.’ Follow the Spelling on mini whiteboards procedure to dictate the same Super spelling words.

Words of the week
5 minutes
reading, writing (vocabulary knowledge)
What is it?
The Words of the week routine explicitly teaches one new ‘Tier 2’ word each day (on Days 1–4 each week). The word is taken from the Choral reading passage of the day. The routine involves reading the word chorally and providing a student-friendly definition and synonyms. Students define the word to their partner in their own words. Students read an example sentence before making their own sentence with the new word. The word is revisited several times during the lesson in Choral reading, Let’s write and the Review activities. Each new word of the week should be added to your word wall for continued reference. On Day 5, all new Words of the week are reviewed and practiced.
Purpose
Tier 2 vocabulary is not everyday language nor domain-specific technical language – it is language we often see in writing and less often use in speech. These words need to be explicitly taught for comprehension and to improve the quality of students’ writing. The aim is to develop the students’ understanding of the Choral reading text by explicitly teaching the definition of Tier 2 vocabulary. This routine is a framework from which you can teach any Tier 2 words students struggle with in the Choral reading text, or across the school day. Follow the procedure and add the words to your word wall, ensuring you revisit them and use them throughout the week.
Resources
• Words of the week teacher notes or summary grid (including definition, example sentence, synonyms and questions)
• Words of the week flashcards
• Little Learners Love Literacy Online Words of the week slides, if using
Preparation
• Print and cut out the Word of the week flashcard, if using.
Procedure (Days 1–4)
1 Introduce the routine. Display the Words of the week flashcard (or slide). Point to the word and say it. Ask students to repeat the word. Say ‘Let’s learn our new word of the week. ‘Today’s word is investigate. What’s the word?’
2 Decode the word for students. Break multisyllabic words into syllables and decode each syllable to read the word; for example, in-ves-ti-gate. Students repeat chorally.
3 Define the word and provide examples of synonyms to enhance understanding. Say: ‘Investigate is a verb meaning to look at something carefully and closely to learn the facts about it. Other similar words include explore, research and inspect.’
4 Ask students to turn to their partner and tell them the new word and what it means in a full sentence. Select 2–3 students to share their answers. Provide feedback.
5 Read the example sentence together chorally. Then ask students to read it again.
6 Check for understanding by asking the students to use the new word in a sentence of their own. Say ‘Turn to your partner and tell them a new sentence using the word investigate’. Select 2–3 students to share their sentences. Provide feedback.
7 Add the word to your word wall.
Procedure (Day 5)
1 Introduce the routine. Say ‘Let’s review all our words of the week.’ Read all four of the Words of the week together, referring to the cards on the word wall.
2 Display a silly sentence using some (or all) of the Words of the week and read it together chorally; for example, Should we destroy or celebrate fragrant flowers? Then ask students to read it again.
3 Ask students a comprehension question about the sentence. Say: ‘What do you think we should do? Turn to your partner, and tell them your answer and your reason.’ Select 2–3 students to share their answers. Provide feedback.
4 Display one of four sentences with a gap on the board; for example, Detectives _____ the case of the missing coins. Read it aloud. Students turn to their partner to fill the gap with one of the words of the week. Say: ‘Turn to your partner and decide which word of the week fits in the gap.’ Select 2–3 students to share their answers. Provide feedback. Confirm the answer and read the complete sentence as a class. Repeat with the other three sentences and Words of the week.

Choral reading 
5 minutes
reading (fluency, comprehension)
What is it?
Students read a decodable passage together following your model, using one text broken into four connected parts. Each part, or passage, contains words that specifically reinforce the grapheme–phoneme correspondences taught that day as well as the Word of the week taught that day. First students ‘echo read’, where you read a sentence with expression, and the students repeat, providing scaffolding for all students. You have the opportunity to model decoding any tricky words and explore vocabulary. Then the class reads the whole passage together. Reading is followed by discussing the word of the week in context, before discussing the text through a list of provided comprehension questions.
Purpose
The Choral reading routine provides students with a scaffolded opportunity to improve their reading fluency (accuracy, automaticity/rate and prosody). It also builds comprehension by revisiting the Word of the week in context and through comprehension questions following each passage. Comprehension questions are designed to check for students’ literal understanding of the text, as well as promoting deeper thinking and discussion through inference, connection to prior knowledge and experiences, and expression of personal opinions using evidence from the text. Because the passages read throughout the week are connected, building each day on the previous day’s passage, there are also opportunities to predict and reflect.
Resources
• Choral reading slides
• Choral reading teacher notes (for comprehension questions)
• Little Learners Love Literacy Online Choral reading slides, if using
Procedure (Day 1)
1 Ensure students are seated facing the text. Briefly introduce the routine. Say: ‘Now it’s time for Choral reading. Let’s start our new text for the week.’
2 Start with echo reading. Model reading the first sentence while students listen and follow along, tracking with their finger. Discuss any tricky words. Then, reread the sentence with the students. Repeat with the next sentences in the passage. (When modelling, take the opportunity to demonstrate key skills such as decoding words with the focus grapheme/phoneme, reading multisyllabic words, identifying Heart Words and reading with expression, as appropriate for your students.)
3 Choral reading: After you have echo read each sentence, you and students re-read the whole passage together. Say: ‘Now we’ll read the passage together. Track with your finger as you read aloud.’ Optional: The whole class can re-read the passage in unison again, if required.
4 Word of the week: Find the sentence in the passage that includes the new Word of the week taught earlier in the lesson; for example, investigate. Read it chorally. Ask students: ‘What’s another word you could use instead of investigate in this sentence? Turn to your partner and tell them.’ Call on 2–3 students to share their ideas. Provide feedback and clarify appropriate synonyms such as explore, or find out.
5 Use some or all of the comprehension questions supplied in the daily teacher notes to discuss the text. Provide students with thinking time before calling on students for responses. For more inferential and complex questions, ask students to turn to their partner to discuss before selecting students to share their responses. Provide feedback.
Procedure (Days 2–4)
1 On Days 2–4, students begin by chorally re-reading the previous passages of the week. Say: ‘Now it’s time for Choral reading. Let’s start by re-reading the parts of the story we’ve read so far. Track with your finger as we read aloud together.’
2 Read the new passage following the same procedure as Day 1.

Let’s write  
5 minutes
spelling, handwriting (phonics, morphology)
What is it?
Teacher-led dictation of phrases and sentences. Students write the phrase and sentence in their workbooks on lined paper. Supplied phrases and sentences aim to use words with focus grapheme–phoneme correspondences or focus morphemes of the day, plus the new Word of the week. After students have written the phrase and sentence, model writing them correctly, thinking aloud as you write. Students cross out any mistakes and correct their work.
Purpose
Let’s write provides targeted spelling and handwriting practice with no scaffolding. Students show what they know, so you can formatively assess understanding and progress. While this routine is a useful formative assessment tool, it is also instruction, meaning any errors or issues are addressed in the session through modelling and feedback.
Resources
• Let’s write phrase and sentence (taken from the daily teacher notes)
• Writing workbooks and pencils
• Little Learners Love Literacy Online Let’s write slides, if using
Procedure
1 Say: ‘Look at me a listen carefully.’ Say the phrase investigate the backyard clearly. Students repeat it back.
2 Say: ‘Now write the phrase.’ Students write investigate the backyard without modelling or prompts. Students read their writing to check it.
3 Repeat with the sentence. If the sentence is long, you may decide to chunk up the dictation to manage student cognitive load. Say: ‘Look at me a listen carefully.’ Say the sentence The detective will investigate the facts to solve the case clearly. Students repeat it back.
4 Say: ‘Now write the first part of the sentence – The detective will investigate the facts.’ Students write without modelling or prompts. Say: ‘Now write the second part of the sentence – to solve the case.’ Students write without modelling or prompts. Students read their writing to check it.
5 Model writing the phrase/sentence and reading it back. Students give their words a tick or make corrections. Students can also illustrate their writing (showing comprehension) while you check individual work, as required.

Reader’s theatre
10 minutes
reading (fluency)
What is it?
Students receive modelling and instruction from you to read a dialogue, poem or song with appropriate expression, emphasis and pace. The class members explore the meaning and purpose of the text before practicing in pairs. Students continue practising with their partner before some students are selected to perform the text at the end of the lesson. Purpose
Reader’s theatre is a collaborative strategy for developing oral reading fluency through reading and rehearsing parts in scripts (dialogue, poems, songs). Memorisation of the text is not the focus, but students will reread the text several times to build familiarity with the language and practise appropriate expression. The Little Learners Love Literacy Fluency Fun Reader’s theatre texts are decodable, providing students further opportunity to read texts that contain the weekly focus graphemes/phonemes and morphemes. Participating in a performance enhances students’ confidence in public speaking and presenting in an enjoyable and fun way.
Resources
• Fluency Fun books containing Reader’s theatre texts
• Little Learners Love Literacy Online Reader’s theatre slides, if using Preparation
• Read the text aloud before the lesson to practice expression, stress and intonation. Some Reader’s theatre texts are songs and require a run-through before performing to the class as a model!
Procedure
1 Introduce the text. Say: ‘Let’s look at this week’s Reader’s theatre text, which is a dialogue.’
2 Model reading the text with expression for students, while they track along with their fingers.
3 Discuss any tricky words or Tier 2 vocabulary.
4 Read the text as a class chorally. As the Reader’s theatre texts are designed to be read aloud in pairs, the left side of the room could read one part, and the right side of the room could read the other.
5 Use the comprehension questions in the daily teacher notes to discuss the meaning and purpose of the text.
6 Assign partners a character from the script. Students take turns reading the lines of their assigned characters with their partner, paying attention to accuracy, fluency and expression. They rehearse the text several times while you roam and provide feedback.
7 At the end of the lesson, select 1–3 pairs of students to perform the text to the class. Provide feedback. Select students to say one thing they liked about the performance, and why.

PRACTISE ROUTINES (small group/independent)

Partner reading
5–10 minutes  
phonics, fluency, spaced practice
What is it?
Students take turns to read specifically designed Fluency Fun texts with a partner, while you take a small group. Texts contain only decodable words and Heart Words, with a specific focus on the grapheme–phoneme correspondences being taught throughout the week.
Purpose
Partner reading builds fluency, prosody and understanding through reading and re-reading a variety of one-page texts on varying subjects. Students complete partner reading with minimal scaffolding and without close teacher supervision (though a roaming adult is highly recommended, if available).
Resources
• Fluency Fun books Preparation
• Consider what students need to do when their partner reads a word incorrectly and ensure students understand.
• Pair students either by similar reading ability, or by pairing more advanced readers with struggling/developing readers.
• To support students with this routine, you could allocate the name of a fruit to each pair of students – for example, each child would be a ‘grape’ or an ‘orange’. That way, students will know what to do when you say, ‘Grapes read first today.’
Procedure
1 Introduce the routine. Say: ‘It is time for partner reading. Find your partner.’ Ensure that each pair has their Fluency Fun book. Say: ‘Take turns reading to your partner. When your partner is reading, you will be checking the words on the page. If they read a word incorrectly, put up your hand to let them know. Then swap. Grapes go first today.’
2 After completing Partner reading, students will complete a Find, answer, write sheet containing activities linked to the partner reading text. These activities focus on comprehension, vocabulary development and writing.

Find, answer, write
10 minutes
reading, spelling, writing (comprehension, extended writing)
What is it?
A simple routine that is designed for students to complete individually after Partner reading. The Find, answer, write sheet is split into three parts, always following the same structure. Students use the Fluency Fun text to formulate their responses.
Purpose
The Find, answer, write activity sheet encourages students to re-read the partner reading text again and closely. It allows students to improve their comprehension of the text they read during partner reading, as well as practise their writing skills.
Resources
• Find, answer, write worksheets (one per student)
• Corresponding Fluency Fun book (one per student or one between two)
Procedure
1 After completing Partner reading using the Fluency Fun text, students respond to the text they have read by working through three sections of the activity sheet: Find: Students write a list of words from the Fluency Fun text that contain the focus grapheme–phoneme correspondences of the week. Answer: Students use full sentences to respond to four questions about the text they have just read. Students write their responses on the sheet. They can refer back to the text to answer the questions. Write: Students read the extended writing task and complete it in their workbooks.
2 Mark the sheet and provide feedback to students.

Small Group Reading and Writing