What does 'decodable' mean?
When a word is decodable, that means that it can be sounded out using the standard phonics rules of the English language. Decodable words follow typical phonics patterns. These are the first words that children are actually able to read independently when learning to read. Decodable words are words such as, "cat," "pig, "sock," "ship." We can explicitly teach these phonics patterns and phonics rules. When decoding a word, a reader produces the correct phoneme (sound) associated with the letter (grapheme.) These phonemes are then blended together to read or "decode" the word. There is a notion among some educators and curriculum writers that most words are not decodable. In reality, 84% of words are phonetic and DO follow standard phonics patterns, but sadly, these patterns are often not taught to students in America and many children are left relying on rote memorization...a tactic we know from research does not work! (readinghorizons.com 2022)
Why are decodable books important for early readers?
The most important thing we can do when teaching children to read is help them to be successful. Reading is hard. The human brain is NOT hard wired to read. It is hard wired to speak and communicate, but not to read and write. When a child's first attempts at reading result in frustration because they are unsuccessful, we are possibly setting them up for an unnecessary lifelong battle. Imagine the frustration in attempting to read words that are not decodable or are decodable but follow more advanced phonics patterns that have not yet been explicitly taught such as, "through," "make," "said," or "write." It seems absurd to expect a beginning reader to successfully read these words, however many books targeted to beginning readers do just that.
My top picks...
1. Miss Rhonda's Readers -$10.95-$21.95 on Amazon-
I love these sets! They are simple with sweet illustrations. I love the natural story lines and large text. I wouldn't start with these as a first set but definitely keep these in mind as a progression after Bob books!
2. First Little Readers- $11.59-14.95 on Amazon per set- 25 books in a set
These are another great choice and super affordable as each set includes 25 books! Cute illustrations, easy to follow story lines and characters your kiddos will love!
3. Scholastic Guided Science Readers- $18.69-$20.99 per set- 16 books in a set
These science readers were a favorite for my oldest son and honestly, the only readers he took an interest in. He has always loved science and only wanted to read non-fiction so that he could, "learn cool facts." These sets teach great science concepts, mostly about animals, insects, and science but are decodable and therefore easy to read!
4. Bob Books- $10.50-$17.50 per set- 12 books in a set
Bob books are the best thing to start with! The sentences are very basic. For example, "Mat sat." Each set progresses in difficulty from book 1 to book 12. Definitely the ones to start with!
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