Orton-Gillingham Decodable Stories – Level 3: The Crab Trap : Structured Literacy Decodable Book

Orton-Gillingham Decodable Stories: Level 3: The Crab Trap is a structured decodable reader designed for developing readers learning through the Orton-Gillingham approach. This Level 3 story reviews short-vowel words, digraphs, Floss words, and the suffix -s. It provides focused practice with initial consonant clusters such as tw-, tr-, cr-, gr-, pl-, gl-, sw-, st-, sn-, fl-, and sk-. Readers also practise final y saying /i/ in words such as cry, dry, fly, and sky. Examples include twins, trod, crab, grass, spot, glum, traps, crabs, swim, stuck, snack, flap, fly, and sky. Carefully controlled text helps children apply previously learned phonics skills while building accurate decoding, fluency, confidence, and reading independence. Is This the Right Level? Level 3 is designed for readers who: • Can read short-vowel CVC words • Have practised common digraphs and FLOSS words • Are ready to read words with initial consonant clusters • Are learning final y saying /i/ • Can read and recognise the suffix -s • Benefit from controlled text, guided practice, and rereading Phonics Skills Practised • Short-vowel words • Initial consonant clusters such as tw-, tr-, cr-, gr-, pl-, gl-, sw-, st-, sn-, fl-, and sk- • Final y saying /i/, as in cry, dry, fly, and sky • Digraph and FLOSS-word review • The suffix -s • Review of previously taught phonics patterns Sight Words Practised a, and, are, be, do, for, go, have, he, I, said, see, the, they, to, was These words should be reviewed before reading. Most other words in the story are intended to be decoded using previously taught phonics skills. About the Story Ned and Ted are twins who walk across the grass to a dam. When a crab nips Ned's leg, Ted makes a plan to set crab traps on the grass and by the dam. While the traps are set, the twins swim, sit in the sun, and wait. When they return, they find crabs in the traps and let them go back into the dam. After the crab problem is solved, Ned and Ted sit on the grass and have a snack. A gull gets into their chip bag, but the twins send it flying away. At the end of the day, Ned and Ted rest on the grass as the sun sets. The clear sequence, repeated sentence patterns, and simple actions help developing readers follow the story while practising controlled decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Who This Book Is For • Orton-Gillingham tutors • Teachers using structured literacy approaches • Reading intervention teachers • Parents supporting targeted reading practice at home • Homeschool families • Children with dyslexia or other reading difficulties Written by Tammy Harris, an Orton-Gillingham certified reading tutor with over eight years of experience supporting students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties.