April 16, 2026
Are you aligning your classroom instruction with the Science of Reading and wondering how to structure your literacy block? Let’s look at what a day in your classroom will look like as you shift your instruction to align with SoR. Check out this SoR sample classroom schedule to help you get started.
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The Science of Reading is not a program or curriculum, but knowledge we use to help our students become strong readers. Research shows that instruction should be explicit and systematic. The Simple View of Reading shows us that Word Recognition x Language Comprehension = Reading Comprehension. Phonological awareness, decoding, and word recognition will be emphasized in the early grades.
Please make sure to follow your district guidelines, and best practices for your curriculum and student needs. Literacy instruction will vary based on your students and your curriculum.
Here is an outline of what your schedule could look like, and we will take a closer look at each part below.
We suggest spending 20-25 minutes in whole-group word recognition. Begin this time by reviewing previously taught skills (vitally important). Include phonemic awareness activities for warm-up (orally blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes/sounds).
Introduce and explicitly teach your new phonics skills. Model working with your new skill through word mapping, decoding, encoding, and word building (include previously taught skills with words you use). This is a great time to visit your sound wall and teach students the graphemes (spelling patterns) that represent the sound. Read more about using a Sound Wall HERE. Be sure to go over rules and generalizations that apply to your new phonics skill.
You will also cover irregular high-frequency words during this time. 98% of words are decodable, but there are some with parts that don’t follow the rules of the English language. Teaching students to be strong decoders and word mappers will help them develop automaticity for recalling these outliers.
Include guided and independent practice at the end of this time. You can do this through word building, dictation, and decoding & blending practice.
This is where the bulk of your literacy block will be spent (50-60 minutes).
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Whole group instruction is ideal for systematically and explicitly teaching students the skills they need, but we also know the reality of life in the classroom. Your students will have varying needs, and small groups make it possible to remediate and meet their needs. Students will get the specific, differentiated instruction they need during this time.
Pull groups based on their needs with mastering skills. Small groups will give you time to provide feedback to students and monitor their progress. Groups are flexible and will change as the needs of your students change.
To support these skills, include phonemic awareness activities (oral segmenting, blending), word mapping, decodable text, dictation, and comprehension questions.
Students not meeting with you will work on targeted literacy centers that review skills you have previously covered. Remember that providing ample practice is key! Students can be grouped however you think is best. Multisensory centers are encouraged!
Students should be engaged in review activities that build upon the explicit instruction, not activities like looking through books independently that do not meet their needs.
A bulk of your time working with younger students will be spent on phonological awareness, decoding, and word recognition. But we can’t forget about language comprehension. Spend 20 – 25 minutes on focused language comprehension.
Language comprehension is composed of background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literary knowledge. Spend time focusing on these concepts throughout the week during this time. These skills can be directly taught or incorporated with a read-aloud.
You will naturally incorporate these skills into your small groups, read-alouds, and other subject areas in addition to this small block of time.
This simple-to-follow SoR sample classroom schedule will help get you started on aligning your literacy block with the SoR. Let us know what works in your classroom! Please make sure to tag us on Instagram here or share inside the Simply Kinder Teacher Facebook Group here.
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