Phonics and Decodable Blog

08/25/2023

Phonics and Decodable Blog

I am not a teacher, not officially anyway. But I do have four adult children who can read. I can recall many days and nights reading with my kids as they learned to read. When it came to learning how to read, each child of mine seemed to fall into one of these two groupings:

• 1. Reading came easily to them, and they were able to make sense of it quickly.
• 2. Reading came as a struggle, and they needed more attention and practice with words and their sounds.

At the time phonics was not taught in schools, as it was not the recommended method for teaching reading. But as many know, curriculums are a constant evolution. Teaching phonics in school has become a norm. One way to focus on learning phonics is through decodables.

“Decodable texts are carefully sequenced to progressively incorporate words that are consistent with the letter-sound relationship that have been taught to the new reader” (Corin, 2023). In other words, decodable books encourage kids to read by having carefully worded text based on what the student has learned through phonics.

It is important that libraries carry decodable and phonics books for struggling readers. Struggling readers need additional resources and assistance, which decodable and phonics books can provide. Having decodable and phonics books at your library also assists the parents. Parents can check out books that they know are geared towards helping their struggling reader. As well as allowing the parents to continue to guide and help their child at home. While we read an assortment of books to our kids, it is helpful to include books they can read to us. Reading with success builds a child’s confidence. It also helps with the next steps in learning to read, which are fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

We have provided a link to our Penworthy website with additional decodable and phonics resources.

Phonics Kits – Click here

Decodable and Phonics Books – Click here

Other additional books/series to include in your library for children learning how to read: Cat in the Hat, Mo Willems Books, Leveled Readers, and Picture Books.

Written by Nancy Stetzinger, Penworthy’s Product Manager

Source:

Cronin, Doreen, et al. “Matching Books to Phonics Features.” Reading Rockets, www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/matching-books-phonics-features. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.