**How Drops in the Bucket Aligns with the Science of Reading**

When schools look for supplemental materials that genuinely support the Science of Reading, they need resources that are explicit, systematic, cumulative, and easy to implement. Drops in the Bucket checks all of those boxes—delivering short, daily practice that strengthens foundational reading skills across K–8.

Below is a clear look at how Drops in the Bucket aligns with each major pillar of the Science of Reading and why this approach works so well in real classrooms.

1. Phonological & Phonemic Awareness

Students gain essential auditory skills that set the stage for decoding.

What students practice:

Identifying rhymes
Recognizing same or different sounds
Distinguishing beginning and ending sounds
Isolating sounds during word work

Why it matters:
These tasks train students to hear and manipulate sounds, which is a critical precursor to accurate decoding and word recognition.

2. Phonics & Decoding

Explicit, scaffolded phonics instruction built right into the daily routine.

What’s included:

Consonants, short/long vowels, and silent e
Blends, digraphs, and common word families
Multisyllabic words and spelling patterns
Opportunities to read and write decodable words and sentences

Built to grow with students:
Skills spiral and build over time, ensuring students revisit and master essential phonics concepts.

Why it matters:
Consistent decoding practice supports automatic word recognition and strengthens spelling.

3. Fluency

Fluency grows when students engage with short, predictable text that’s perfect for repeated reading.

What students experience:

Bite-sized passages that support accuracy and pacing
Visual supports to enhance meaning for emergent readers
Teacher prompts that encourage expression

Why it matters:
Improved fluency leads directly to better comprehension—students read more smoothly, confidently, and with understanding.

4. Vocabulary & Morphology

A daily dose of word-learning to expand language comprehension.

Students work with:

Multi-meaning words
Prefixes, suffixes, and word endings
Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms
Compound words

Why it matters:
Vocabulary development enhances both comprehension and writing, giving students tools to understand new words in any context.

5. Comprehension

Short tasks that move beyond recall toward deeper thinking.

Students practice:

Inferring, explaining, and summarizing
Answering text-dependent questions
Justifying responses with evidence

Why it matters:
These exercises strengthen critical thinking, understanding, and meaning-making.

6. Writing & Language Skills

Reading and writing reinforce one another—and Drops builds both.

Students develop:

Sentence correction and rewriting skills
Capitalization, punctuation, and grammar habits
Strong print habits through modeled writing and copying

Why it matters:
Writing practice reinforces syntax, conventions, and comprehension, rounding out the full literacy picture.

Instructional Design Perfectly Aligned to the Science of Reading

Explicit

Skills are taught clearly and directly—no guessing, no ambiguity.

Systematic

Instruction follows a progression:
sounds → words → sentences → connected text

Cumulative

Previously learned concepts reappear for continuous review and long-term retention.

Daily Distributed Practice

Small “drops” of instruction each day provide the short, frequent repetition proven to build mastery.

Predictable Format

After just a few days, students know the routine and can work independently.

Flexible for Any Classroom

Use in:

Whole group
Small group/intervention
Centers
Warm-ups
Morning work
Independent practice

Supports general education, RTI, Tier 2/Tier 3, English learners, and special education.

Why This Method Works

Drops in the Bucket leverages the Science of Reading by providing short, structured daily lessons that build automaticity in reading and writing.

Every page requires students to:

read
write
decode
comprehend

By touching these skills every single day, students grow steadily—and confidently.

Instructional Outcomes Reported by Schools

Teachers consistently report improvements in:

decoding skills
fluency
reading accuracy
comprehension
student confidence
independent reading and writing stamina