Trail to Summit: Program and Materials

Online Training Resources

Trail to Summit: Instructional Framework and Materials

Trail to Summit Reading is an instructional framework provided by the Colorado Department of Education to help readers who struggle with accurate and automatic word reading. Studies indicate when students fall behind in beginning reading, they rarely catch up on their own – but we change that by using a highly structured framework that focuses on critical word recognition skills. Trail to Summit can be used as a tutoring program or across Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III settings to complement existing programming or to bolster or enhance existing programming.

The framework breaks word reading and spelling into smaller skills involving letters and sounds. It is a phonetically based, sequential, structured approach that uses multisensory techniques. The Trail to Summit framework teaches the sounds of the English language and their corresponding symbols, spelling rules and generalizations, syllable types, syllable division patterns, and basic morphology skills. The framework uses a specific order of introduction to reading skills based on how we learn language. The lessons are structured to include the same basic parts for each meeting: phonological awareness skills, phonics and word study skills, spelling, and application through oral reading.