Core Instructional Routines (Go-To Structures for Effective Literacy Teaching, K-5)

"The word routine gets a bad rap, too. It is sometimes used to describe the day-to-day, monotonous patterns of our everyday lives, often perceived as boring and unimaginative. This word has somehow lost its truth along the way. Routine needs an ally these days, and Judith and Andrea have come to its rescue! The fact is, routines are the foundational architecture for creativity, and in the classroom they give birth to deeper reading, rich writing, and meaningful conversation."
—Tanny McGregor, author of Comprehension Connections

Routines are the backbone of well-run classrooms. They give kids just enough structure to count on and grow from. Core Instructional Routines offers ideas that give every student practice with reading, writing, speaking, and listening—and that open up numerous opportunities for differentiated instruction.

Judy Dodge and Andrea Honigsfeld’s instructional guidebook provides teaching routines you can adapt to any content area, to fiction and nonfiction texts, and to any student’s needs. They aren’t busy work or curricular filler but essential frameworks for joyful, productive learning. Judy and Andrea share:

• dozens of research-backed, classroom-tested routines
• a toolbox for implementation and differentiation
• research summaries on how routines help learners
• reproducible templates and helpful student samples
• essential questions for study groups.

And even though standards and mandated curricula tell us what we must teach, you can turn to Core Instructional Routines to help you decide how to teach because it helps you:

• see what addressing the standards can look like in your classroom
• establish and maintain classroom expectations
• work toward specific literacy goals
• support the skills and habits of mind for college and career readiness
• guide students toward independence
• create additional opportunities to meet everyone’s needs.

“By showing students what they can expect and count on,” write Judy and Andrea, “you will establish a healthy environment for learning, and you can feel confident that you are providing instruction that will build skills for students to be successful in school.” Trust Core Instructional Routines for results that are anything but routine.