The sample 120 minute literacy block schedule below is designed to help teachers, literacy coaches, and school leaders plan for effective literacy block time management. The two literacy block schedules below are for Grades 2-3 and Grades 4-5. If you’d like to see a full set of literacy block schedules, you can download them by tapping here.
The literacy block schedules below are organized by a 2-hour time block. There is an instructional purpose for each block of time. Sample literacy activities are provided. While these two schedules are for the 120 minute literacy block, they can be adapted to 90 minutes and other lengths of time too.
Grades 2-3 Literacy Block Schedule Sample
In grades 2-3, a significant portion of the Intervention & Practice block is devoted to flexible grouping. The purpose here is to close gaps in foundational literacy skills such as phonology and morphology to ensure students can read basic texts with fluency and meaning.
| Time | Purpose | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00-8:25 | Learn To Read Word Work Vocabulary | 5 Minutes: Spiral WarmUps 10 Minutes: Phonics, Decoding, Morphology, Patterns 10 Minutes: Vocabulary Routine |
| 8:25-9:20 | Read to Learn Comprehension Writing | 20 Minutes: Comprehension Mini-Lessons 30 Minutes: Writing Process and Mini-Lessons |
| 9:20-10:00 | Intervention & Practice | 40 Minutes of Literacy Practice & Small Groups – Flexible Differentiation Groups Based on Student Needs – Additional Instruction – Support for Accelerated Instruction – Peer Groups – Independent Reading & Writing – Computer Programs |
Phonology includes:
Phonics: an approach to teaching reading and spelling that stresses sound-symbol relationships, especially in beginning reading instruction (see why is word study important).
Phonological awareness: an understanding that words are made up of individual speech sounds. PA instruction does not include visuals. It is an auditory skill. It can be done in the dark.
Sound-symbol correspondence: the way sounds (phonemes) and symbols (letters, graphemes) form words (see phoneme-grapheme mapping).
120 Minute Literacy Block Schedule for Grades 4-5
The time allotment is adjusted for upper elementary students to account for more focus on advanced word study, comprehension practice, and independent practice.
Advanced Word Study: includes instruction of multi-syllable words and morphology to help students see patterns in words that help provide a link between reading and writing.
| Time | Purpose | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00-8:25 | Learn To Read Word Work Vocabulary | 5 Minutes: Spiral WarmUps 5 Minutes: Morphology, Orthography 15 Minutes: Vocabulary Routine |
| 8:25-9:30 | Read to Learn Comprehension Writing | 30 Minutes: Comprehension Mini-Lessons – Comprehension Spiral Review – Comprehension Strategies – Genre Studies – Academic Texts 35 Minutes: Writing Process and Mini-Lessons |
| 9:30-10:00 | Intervention & Practice | 30 Minutes of Literacy Practice & Small Groups – Guided Reading and Small Groups – Additional Instruction – Support for Accelerated Instruction – Peer Groups – Independent Reading & Writing – Computer Programs |
If you found these literacy block schedules to be helpful, consider downloading our 7 sample literacy block schedules. They are free to download and use.
Download More Literacy Block Examples
A reading block schedule example that may be helpful to a teacher is one that includes the essential components of a science of reading (SoR) aligned curriculum. We have 7 sample reading block schedules each aligned to science of reading. Check them out!
Why Reading Block Schedules?
Just to beef up the basis for this best practice, let’s look at two sources of reading research to address why the 120-minute literacy block schedule is a solid instructional practice.
Skill Coverage
It is important for reading teachers to have literacy block schedules because it helps ensure that all essential skill areas are covered and not neglected.
120 Minutes Allows Multiple Learning Opportunities
A well-structured literacy block provides students with opportunities to work with their teacher in large and small groups, work with small groups of peers, and work independently.
Length of Time for the reading block schedule
Research findings on early literacy development strongly recommend an extended period for instruction—at least 90 minutes— with limited interruptions. This allows students to engage in different reading and writing activities and receive focused, explicit instruction on foundational skills.
Source: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt