How to Use the Orton-Gillingham Decodable Passage Writer Prompt to Create Practice Text Your Students Can Actually Read

A decodable passage only works if every word in it is decodable for the specific student in front of you. One untaught vowel team or a stray irregular word can turn a confidence building read into guessing. Most stories labeled decodable are written for a general sequence, not for your scope and sequence or your student's progress. The Orton-Gillingham Decodable Passage Writer: Scope and Sequence Locked Text, Heart Word Control, Word by Word Decodability Check, and Dictation Sentences for Reading Intervention prompt writes a short passage locked to the skills you have actually taught, checks every word, counts the target pattern, and adds a warm up, dictation sentences, and comprehension questions.

What the prompt produces

1. A decodability rule sheet that lists the only building blocks allowed, plus tempting words that are not allowed yet.
2. A decodable passage with a title and a simple story built around the student's interests.
3. A decodability check table that groups every unique word by category and marks it pass or fail, with any rewrites noted.
4. A target pattern count so you can see how much practice the passage gives.
5. A warm up with a phoneme manipulation drill, real words, and nonsense words.
6. Three dictation sentences and three comprehension questions that you read aloud.

How to fill the inputs

TaughtSkills lists the graphemes, syllable types, and spelling rules the student has already mastered, in the order you taught them. Be precise. If initial blends are taught but three letter blends are not, say so.

TargetPattern is the one new pattern for this lesson, such as ck after a short vowel or the floss rule.

HeartWords are the irregular high frequency words already taught. Only these can appear outside the decoding rules.

Morphology lists suffixes the student knows, such as -s or -ing. Without it, the prompt will avoid suffixed forms.

StudentProfile gives age, grade, and interests. A story about something the student cares about earns more rereads.

PassageLength sets the word count and number of sentences. Shorter is often better for early readers.

Reading the example output

The example is written for a seven year old who loves the ducks at the town pond and has just learned ck at the end of short vowel words:

• The rule sheet names the traps. Quack, wings, water, he, and look all fit the story, but none are decodable yet, so they are listed as not allowed.
• The story is simple but real. Jack carries a duck in a sack to the pond, sets it on a rock, and the duck swims away. It has a beginning, middle, and end.
• The check table shows the work. Words are grouped into target ck words, closed syllable words, blends, digraphs, suffixed forms, and heart words, all marked pass.
• Rewrites are recorded. The first draft used quacks and he, which were replaced with pecks and Jack.
• Practice density is visible. The passage body has 20 ck words across 8 different words, so the teacher knows the pattern gets heavy use.
• The warm up and dictation stay in bounds. Nonsense words like zeck and vock test true decoding, and dictation sentences use only allowed words.

Tips for better results

• Update TaughtSkills after every lesson cycle. The prompt can only be as accurate as the list you give it.
• Ask for two versions of the passage at different lengths so you can choose based on the student's stamina that day.
• Have the student read the passage twice: once for accuracy and once for fluency and expression.
• Use the check table yourself as a quick review before you print. It takes less than a minute to scan.

Mistakes to avoid

• Do not paste a generic phonics sequence when your student has skipped or not mastered parts of it. Use what this student actually knows.
• Do not add sight words that are not yet taught as heart words, even common ones like said or you.
• Do not judge the passage by reading level scores. Decodability is the measure that matters here, and the prompt deliberately avoids level labels.
• Do not force pattern density with nonsense sentences. A natural story is easier to comprehend and remember.

Who it is for

Reading interventionists, special education teachers, dyslexia tutors, structured literacy coaches, and parents working with an Orton-Gillingham trained tutor who need fresh decodable text that matches a specific student's progress.

Related PromptDig links

Start with the Orton-Gillingham Decodable Passage Writer: Scope and Sequence Locked Text, Heart Word Control, Word by Word Decodability Check, and Dictation Sentences for Reading Intervention prompt and paste your student's exact scope and sequence. For more prompts for teachers and tutors, Browse more prompts. If you have a reading or phonics prompt that works well with your students, Share a prompt.