Please also check out my – 900 pages of decodable texts!

 

Parents, if your child is struggling or just learning to read, you must teach them to sound out words and use decodable texts. Don’t use these books. PLEASE do NOT teach your child to read by using these predictable books. Predictable books are leveled books used in kindergarten and grade 1 and go something like this:  I like to dance. I like to climb. I like to hike. . . Children aren’t “reading” but guessing based on the pictures. Don’t encourage guessing! Words like dance, climb, and hike have advanced spelling patterns that young children haven’t been taught yet. Stick to decodable texts so your child can be introduced to phonics systematically and SOUND out words. DECODING the LETTERS is accurate READING!

A faulty method in teaching reading is comprehension first – to have the child use context clues to read and then guess when stuck by 1.) looking at the first letter, 2.) looking at the picture, 3.) thinking about what would sound right, look right, and make sense, 4.) skipping the word/reading on/going back, but the science of reading has taught us that children need phonics first – to look at the letters in words! When children are stuck, they need to sound it out!

Here are better ways to use your predictable books – What Do I Do with All These Predictable Books? (righttoreadproject.com).

If you still wish for your child to read regular texts, here are leveled book lists!