Decodable books are an important part of phonics instruction and help young readers build confidence. This post will give you an overview on what these books are and help you select high quality classroom decodables that align with your phonics reading program.
Decodable books are simple and easy-reading books for children to practice the phonics skills that they have been taught.  These books focus on one phonics skill at a time and follow a carefully controlled pattern. Each book builds upon previous skills and helps beginning readers practice, apply, and master reading skills. Children do not use pictures to figure out words, they read left to right and sound out the words on the page.
Most teachers use decodables while teaching a phonics lesson. The student can immediately practice segmenting, blending, and sounding out words with the phonics skill that they are learning. Decodables are wonderful for building a beginning reader’s confidence. When a child feels confident while reading, they will read more.
Decodable text contains words that are simple in structure, such as CVC words (hat, sit, cub), then progress to more difficult concepts (feet, boat, rain), using a controlled pattern. This controlled pattern is called a Scope and Sequence.
Here are some things to consider when selecting a decodable book series for your school or homeschool reading program:
1. The decodable series follows a scope and sequence.
2. Each phonics skill through the series of books is clearly outlined.
3. The decodable series adds one new phonics skill at a time.
4. Each new book includes previously taught skills for repetition and practice.
5. Each book has multiple opportunities to practice reading words and sentences with the phonics skill.
6. The decodable stories are engaging and fun to read.
The best decodables have a high percentage of words that students can sound out based on the phonics skills they have already learned. To be considered a decodable book, at least 64% or more of the words can be identified using phonics elements.
Are you ready to build your classroom library with a good-quality reading series? Here are the best decodable books:
Here is a list of decodable text sources from the Reading League. The Reading League is a national non-profit organization that promotes literacy education. This list includes books for all ages.
The Little Lions Decodable Books are a collection of decodable stories made just for your little learners. Based on the Science of Reading, these books are filled with colorful characters to make reading fun. Each book introduces new phonics skills while reinforcing previously taught letters, sounds, and reading comprehension. This book series is the perfect solution for Pre-K through 1st-grade students to work on their phonics skills. These stories can also be used with 2nd graders who need more practice with phonics. With Little Lions Decodable Books, reading becomes a fun learning adventure!
The Science of Reading is reading research that supports the use of decodable books as children learn to read. Teaching reading using a phonics approach is a key element to the Science of Reading. Phonics focuses on the reading and spelling of words, as well as reading fluency and reading comprehension. Using decodable text will allow a beginning reader to practice phonics skills in a structured manner so that letters and sounds can be reinforced and learned in connected text.
Decodables are especially helpful for children who struggle with reading or who are learning English as a second language. The controlled pattern in these books help children focus on one particular skill or sound at a time.
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