Knowledge Library Instructional Routines Classroom routines can support learning: They help teachers organize participation and let students know what to expect from instruction. When teachers implement appropriate routines consistently, they foster a learning environment where students feel confident, focused, and engaged. The following routines are designed to reinforce comprehension, fluency, and critical thinking. Use the routines consistently to provide essential practice for students who benefit from additional supports and to reinforce learning for all students.
Pre-Teaching Vocabulary Routine • Time: 5 minutes • Grades: K–5
Analyzing Media Routine • Time: 5 minutes • Grades: 2–5 • Target Skills: Responding, Note-Taking, Building Background
• Target Skills: Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Comprehension
What To anchor student understanding of key academic and content area vocabulary Why Vocabulary knowledge is foundational to comprehending and learning from texts, and it plays a significant role in helping students access and engage with complex texts across disciplines. When Before Reading (Teacher Cards) How Start by selecting a few vocabulary terms to review as you prepare to read a new text.
What To engage students and establish a structure and purpose for observing media critically and for academic purposes Why Using diverse media effectively (including videos, photos, infographics, and primary sources) can help build student focus, develop background knowledge, and prepare students for critical content and language. When Topic Launch (Topic Cards) How Start by sharing the Topic Launch and helping students prepare for discussions with their partners.
For each new term, say the word aloud clearly and slowly, and ask students to repeat it three times. Contextualize the term within a sentence, preferably one taken from or based on the target text. Define or explain the term briefly: You may use synonyms, shades of meaning, visual supports, or students’ home languages as support. If the term lends itself to word study, make sure to note multiple meanings, unusual spellings, etc. Provide a sentence frame or sentence starter using the target word for students to use in pairs to orally practice and produce a new sentence. Routine adapted from Calderón et al., 2022
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Encourage students to jot down what they notice, feel, or wonder about the media: This may be a word, a drawing, a question, or a full sentence. Ask students to talk with a partner for 30 seconds about what they noticed or wondered. As students share, draw a chart on a notepad or piece of paper with the following categories: What I See, What I Wonder, What I Feel. When the time is up, ask a few students to share their thoughts with the group. Together, identify the best category for each student’s thoughts and place them in the chart. Talk about how your chart relates to the essential question for the lesson.
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Tips for Multilingual Learners You may wish to provide activity prompts in students’ home languages as needed. If students respond using their home languages, acknowledge their responses and help them transfer their ideas to English. This helps build confidence, trust, and English language proficiency.
Partner Read and Retell Routine • Time: 20 minutes • Grades: K–5 (with scaffolds for K–2*) • Target Skills: Fluency, Reading Comprehension What To encourage active engagement and retelling in students’ own words Why Retelling a target text allows students to process and organize information, which deepens their understanding. It also encourages active engagement with the content, supports the use of academic language and discussion, and reinforces key concepts. When After Reading (Teacher Cards) How Start by selecting a meaningful passage from the target text.
Mini Dictation Routine • Time: 15–20 minutes • Grades: K–5 (with scaffolds for K*) • Target Skills: Listening, Spelling, Writing Conventions What To engage students in writing from dictation and practice using language conventions Why Transcribing authentic text helps develop phonological awareness, build spelling skills, and reinforce knowledge of sentence structures, all of which foster language development and writing proficiency. When Writing Section (Teacher Cards) How Start by selecting familiar phrases or sentences from the target text. These may be quotes or excerpts students used as evidence in their writing.
Read aloud the phrase or sentence and discuss its meaning. Together with students, count the number of words in the phrase or sentence and read it aloud again. Prepare students for writing by reading word by word or phrase by phrase again, then ask students to follow you in writing. Discuss the spelling and grammar of students’ sentences together. You may wish to point out uppercase letters, descriptive words, unusual spellings, punctuation, etc. Write the standard version of the sentence for display and ask students to copy it underneath their writing. Students should compare versions and correct their own work using a colored pencil. * Very young students should work on single words and use letter blocks to produce their writing. Routine adapted from Escamilla et al., 2014
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For each new passage, pair students across proficiency levels and instruct partners to take turns reading aloud the passage. Readers who struggle with decoding may whisper-read as readers with stronger skills read aloud. After reading each passage, ask partners to pause and verbally retell or summarize what they read. Encourage partners to ask clarifying questions to better understand the text. You may lead a brief, 2-minute discussion on each section for additional support, asking questions such as, What is happening here? , How do we know who’s speaking? or What is the main idea of this paragraph? * Young students should work with key sentences instead of paragraphs and have the sentences read aloud to them by the teacher. Routine adapted from Calderón et al., 2022; Gottlieb, 2023
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Tips for Accountable Partner Discussion Remember to create opportunities for all learners to share ideas and practice speaking and listening conventions in a supportive environment. For example, as you engage in classroom activities, be sure to include students who are less likely to participate. Or consider writing each student’s name on a card, stick, or piece of paper to select students and monitor participation. (Remember to set aside already-used names.) For further practice with academic discourse, provide discussion prompts for partners to address in “talker” and “reporter” roles. References Calderón, M. E., Tartaglia, L. M., & Montenegro, H. (2022). Cultivating competence in English learners: Integrating social-emotional learning with language and literacy . Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Escamilla, K., et al. (2014). Biliteracy from the start: Literacy squared in action . Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing. Gottlieb, M. (2023). Assessing multilingual learners: Bridges to empowerment . Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
KNOWLEDGE LIBRARY INSTRUCTIONAL ROUTINES
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