Why Decodable Readers Work

The truth is…

While books in and around your house do help foster a love of reading…if you really want to get your child on a path to reading success - it doesn't take fancy hardcover picture books…

It takes simple, decodable texts.

Decodable texts feels like MaGiC to kids!

FINALLY, children feel like they have books they can read!

Decodable texts are books intentionally written to contain words your child can decode.

(aka break apart and accurately read).

Or to put another way, every word in the book is based on a phonetic pattern that your child has been explicitly taught.

How is that possible? 

At Next Step, I used a Scope & Sequence of phonetic patterns to support children's reading and writing skills, so that the two skills build simultaneously. I believe children's reading and spelling accuracy and fluency should match.

No more HIGH FLYING readers, but poor spellers…when we can be both with the right instruction!

I then searched high and low for books written based on these patterns, that are actually engaging to kids!

Enter: Decodable Adventure Series

Especially the non-fiction!

These books were written by a teacher to specifically support children learning to read with accuracy, fluency and confidence!

In Kindergarten we work on short vowel and digraph words. So…if your child is a student of mine, you may have seen your child come home with an orange or blue book… Skunks…Sloths…Cats…to name a few! 

The books in each series are based on short vowels and digraph patterns. 

…makes sense, right? :-)

In first and second grade we work on vowel teams, blends and magic e and so the yellow and green series books are a match!

I typically only send your child home with a book I believe they can just about 90% decode on their own. Although the books themselves are 100% decodable, there occasionally is a word or two that needs support.

Dos & Don'ts of Decodables: 

DO: 

Ask your child to point to each word as they read 

Prompt your child to re-read a word if they mis-read a word

Help your child slide through a word - sound by sound if they get stuck 

DON'T:

Ask your child to look at the picture to help figure out a word

Ask your child to guess the word based on the story 

Listen to your child read words that are not on the page without correcting them

Books are for READING! 

Not for guessing or memorizing! 

At Next Step, I firmly believe that children should decode based on explicitly taught spelling patterns. 

That's how we become good strong readers and spellers! 

Here's to more…

Strong decoding skills! 

Confidence! 

Proud, happy readers!

Happy reading!

Ms. Schelzi