For beginner readers, decoding is a key skill for developing reading fluency. Decoding in reading is the ability to apply the knowledge of letter-sound relationships to read words. It helps children ‘demystify’ reading by breaking down words into their individual sounds and then blending those sounds together to correctly pronounce the word. This is crucial in early reading as it enables children to read unfamiliar words without guessing or relying on memory.
This article delves into decodable readers – why they’re effective, how to use them, and how they can help build reading confidence across all levels, from beginners to more confident readers.
Decodable readers are books for early readers that align with phonics learning. They use controlled vocabulary with simple words that allow children to apply their decoding skills. The books gradually introduce more complex words as a child progresses through their learning.
Early decodable readers tend to focus on short vowel sounds with a small number of tricky words, while later books introduce complexity with more tricky words, alternative spellings, and so on. By carefully selecting texts that reflect the sounds and patterns that children have been taught, they can put what they learn to use straight away without feeling overwhelmed.
There are many reasons why decodable readers are such effective tools for supporting early readers. They provide structured and progressive practice to boost reading confidence and skills in a variety of ways, including:
1. Reinforcing phonics teaching and knowledge
The texts in decodable readers are designed for children to read independently using the knowledge they’ve already gained. They should therefore be decodable for them at each stage of their phonics programme.
As the DfE explains, “This means they must be composed almost entirely of words made up of grapheme-phoneme correspondences that a child has learned up to that point…Practising with such decodable texts will help to make sure children experience success and learn to rely on phonic strategies.”
2. Increasing reading confidence
As every teacher knows, children need encouragement to make progress! The words in decodable readers follow simple and predictable phonetic patterns that help children put their decoding skills into practice. Typical words might include consonant-vowel-consonant blends such as ‘cat’ or ‘sun’. Reading these simple words gives a child confidence which in turn motivates and spurs them on in their reading.
3. Supporting struggling readers
As decodable readers offer structured step-by-step reading practice they can act as an important tool for struggling students. Following predictable patterns – using simple words – helps children read without guessing the words based on pictures or memorising them without understanding how they’re composed.
As the books are matched to skill level, this also helps prevent children from becoming frustrated and demotivated with texts that are too difficult.
4. Improving word recognition and spelling
By focusing on phonetic patterns, decodable readers also help children recognise common spelling rules. This makes it possible for them to decode and spell new words on their own which also increases their confidence.
Get your students reading early with our extensive (and growing) selection of over 200 decodable readers!
Our books cover five levels – from beginner to confident – and use a controlled vocabulary based on the 42 letter sounds, tricky words and alternative spellings taught across Steps 1 to 3. Each level includes three series of books incorporating new phonic knowledge, tricky words, longer texts and comprehension questions. For a detailed overview of each of the levels and the available books, please see our summary PDF:
The Read and See books are ideal for blending, segmenting and vocab building. Children read the word and then turn the page to see the picture and find out if they’re correct. They can use the sound dots under the picture to help them segment the word.
These books are perfect for developing blending fluency for children just beginning to read. The words for blending cover the 42 letter sounds across fourteen books. There are two books for each letter-sound group with decodable words that only use the sounds for that group and below.
This colourful series of stories explores the lives of the popular characters Inky Mouse, Snake and Bee, Mrs Beech’s class, Monsters and some traditional tales. Each level focuses on specific topics including animals, the natural world, history and sport.
These high-impact nonfiction readers offer a range of texts on a variety of real-life topics such as music, the weather and transport.
Folktales have captured our imagination for generations! This new collection of beautifully-illustrated books retell traditional tales from around the world, giving them a new lease of life for the modern reader.
Are you interested in learning more about how decodable readers can help your students build their reading confidence? Watch our recent webinar on this topic.
Or visit our Shop to browse the range.
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