AI as Your Literacy Coach

Ever wish you had a full-time literacy coach creating custom reading passages for your students? Now you can.

The Problem

Designing decodable passages that match specific phonics skills can eat up hours. Add vocabulary lists and comprehension checks, and suddenly your Sunday planning time is gone.

The Solution

AI tools like ChatGPT can instantly generate short texts, vocab lists, and reading questions that align with your lesson focus. Imagine telling it “I need a decodable passage with short a words and three comprehension questions” and having it ready in seconds. That is 2–3 hours saved every week.

Here’s a ready-to-try prompt you can copy:

Write a 120-word decodable passage using mostly short a words. Include a 5-word vocabulary list for students to practice, and 3 simple comprehension questions.

You can adjust the length, skill focus, or difficulty depending on your group. One teacher I know now builds her weekly small-group literacy packets in 15 minutes instead of an afternoon.

Bonus Tip: Smart Prompting

A good prompt usually has three parts.
1. Task: What you want (write a passage).
2. Focus: The skill or topic (short a words).
3. Extras: Anything else needed (vocabulary list, questions).
This simple structure works for almost any classroom task.

Alternate Prompt 1: Vocabulary Quiz
Create a 10-word vocabulary list with definitions for 3rd grade readers. Use words with the long e sound. Write a short matching quiz with answer key.

Alternate Prompt 2: Fluency Passage
Write a 150-word fluency passage at a 2nd grade level. Use at least five sight words from the Dolch list. End with 2 oral discussion questions students can answer aloud.

Alternate Prompt 3: Reading Response
Write a 100-word story that includes both dialogue and narration. Provide 3 short-answer questions that check for character, setting, and problem. Include a teacher answer guide.

Closing Nudge

Think of AI as your teaching assistant who never gets tired of creating practice materials. Try one prompt this week and see how much time you reclaim for actual teaching.

Want more time-saving tips?
You can explore all our past articles at www.teachingsmarter.ai.
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