If you have a child with dyslexia, or a child who is struggling to learn how to read at all, you’ve probably heard about decodables. Yes? If not, you need to know about them. They are sort of misunderstood and frequently misused. But decodables are a really important step in your child’s literacy journey.

So, what are decodable texts? I actually really like the Wikipedia definition, which says that a decodable text is “carefully sequenced to progressively incorporate words that are consistent with the letters and corresponding phonemes that have been taught to the new reader.” In other words, you start with texts that only have 1-2 sounds or patterns from the English language. And those 1-2 sounds or patterns are the first concepts you directly teach the child.

For example, I might do a mini-lesson with my daughter on the short vowel sound /a/, as in the word cat.

I might walk her through the lesson like this:

1. The sound we are going to practice today is /a/. Can you say /a/?
2. Now, let’s look around and find some things around us that have the /a/ sound in them. Oh, oh, I know! What about j-a-ck? Or what about m-a-t?
3. We might practice word chaining from there, changing one sound at a time. From mat to pat to pan to man. Notice the consistent practice of the short vowel sound /a/, and the consonants m, p, and t.
4. From there, we would get out a whiteboard or a piece of paper and practice tapping out and spelling each word we word chained. I would ensure there was an alphabet chart nearby for quick reference, using keywords to redirect my daughter when she made a mistake.

At the end of this 15-minute mini-lesson, I would have explicitly taught my daughter the following 4 sounds: /a/, /p/, /t/, and /m/.

From direct instruction, we need to move into applied practice. Applied practice is where the student practices the skill you just taught them with you right there to provide encouragement, redirection when needed, and immediate error correction when an error occurs.

A decodable text is a perfect applied practice activity! We pick up a book that just uses the 4 sounds we just learned. Or at least a significant majority of it. The higher the decodability of the text, the better the practice it is for your child. If it’s 50% decodable to the sounds you have already taught them, it might not be helpful. Why not? Well, if they can only access 50% of the text, they will likely feel unsuccessful and frustrated. How would you feel if you only made 50% of the shots you took in a game? Would you feel confident of your ability or unsure? Using a text with sound-letter patterns your student has learned sets them up for success with this applied practice activity.

Another way to think about these decodable texts is to think of texts in either one of two categories: controlled or uncontrolled. A controlled text is a text that is controlled to the sounds, patterns, and concepts you have taught that student. An uncontrolled text is just the opposite, a text that is not limited to the sounds, patterns, and concepts you have taught that student. It’s important to expose your student to both types of texts. Controlled texts give them applied practice opportunities for specific decoding skills and oral reading fluency. Uncontrolled texts, especially when they are supported by assistive technology tools, give students the opportunity to build their background knowledge, grow their vocabulary and their understanding of semantics and syntax. This exposure to more complex text is essential for building reading comprehension skills.

As I mentioned last week, my daughter and I keep a bin of High Noon books by our couch in the living room. Our goal is to read one a day. We maybe only do it 50% of the time, which I’m not proud of. And I’m also proud of it, both at the same time. It’s not as much as I wish we did it, and yet, we are doing it. #everylittlethingmakesachange

You can check out Redwood’s running list of Decodable Text resources HERE. This is a living document that we will be actively adding to in the coming months.

Have you seen decodable texts support your child in their literacy journey? I will never forget the first time we read a decodable book together. My daughter looked up at me after the first page with wide eyes and an even wider smile. “Mom, I’m reading a book!”

“Yeah honey, you are. You really are! Reading is gonna change your life.”