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Decodable Books: Why They’re Important

all about reading decodable book featured graphic

Some children seem to learn to read by osmosis; they just “get it” without having to learn the phonics code that makes sense of reading.

But learning to read isn’t always that simple.

Many children require a systematic approach to teaching reading that allows them to learn incrementally. And as children learn to read, decodable books become an important part of the learning process.

But now you’re probably asking a pretty important question.

What Are Decodable Books?

Decodable books are books that contain only phonetic code that the student has already learned.

For example, a child at the beginning stages of reading who has learned the short vowel sounds could decode simple words like hat, bed, and pig, but would not be able to decode words like see and owl. A student at a higher reading level who has learned multi-letter phonograms like AI and OA would be able to decode more complex words like snail and goat.

When searching for books for your beginning reader, be aware that the term decodable books is often used incorrectly, particularly when it refers to texts in which only about half the words are decodable. Being able to decode only half the words in a book is very frustrating for most students, and does not support good reading habits. Truly decodable books—like the ones in the All About Reading program—are 100% decodable so the student is able to read every word.

Open decodable book from All About Reading

Why Are Decodable Books So Important for Beginning Readers?

When a child is expected to read books that are not decodable, he often becomes frustrated and starts guessing at words, thereby developing poor reading strategies. In the process, the child loses the direct connection between the phonics and word analysis skills he is learning and the actual text he is expected to read.

On the other hand, when a child reads a fully decodable book, he can use his knowledge of phonics and his word analysis skills to decode unfamiliar words. Because the child can figure out every word in the book, he feels successful, which in turn helps him build fluency and develop good reading strategies.

What’s Unique about the AAR Decodable Books?

Besides being 100% decodable, the stories in our reading program are designed to help students experience a real feeling of success and accomplishment. And that success sets in motion an upward spiral that results in even greater motivation to read.

Here are the features that make our decodable books so special:

  1. The stories are engaging and entertaining.

    It’s a challenge to write engaging stories with controlled word lists, but the results are worth the effort! Each book contains a wide variety of story lines, subjects, and themes that capture children’s interest and give them lots of practice in reading words they have learned. Each short story helps kids expand both their minds and their reading ability.
  2. Our stories use natural language.

    Most decodable books use stilted, unnatural language, mainly because authors find it difficult to create stories with controlled word lists. But those awkward sentences are hard for kids to read and comprehend, and may even turn some kids off of reading.

    Kids shouldn’t have to suffer through the typical stilted language of most decodable text. If we wouldn’t want to read it, we shouldn’t expect kids to! That’s why we take such great care in crafting each story to ensure that it flows as easily and naturally as possible. Kids are delighted when they read these stories, and they want to come back for more.

  3. The illustrations draw the child into the story.

    The right illustrations can go a long way toward enhancing a child’s motivation to read, and illustrations are an important part of our decodable books. Our illustrators create real personalities for each character so children can relate to them. Then they often add extra surprises and details to each scene for children to discover—and those discoveries delight the child and give him a sense of “owning” the story.

    Since the controlled word lists may limit what we can write, the illustrations may also be called upon to “fill in the blanks” of the story. However, it’s important to note that while the illustrations enhance the story, they never “give away” the words—that is, readers cannot guess the words by looking at the illustrations. It’s vital for the child to decode each word rather than rely on the illustrations for clues, so the drawings don’t enable the reader to “predict” the words on the page.

    Here’s an example of a Level 4 story from All About Reading.

    "Pigs in the Kitchen" download
  4. The text and pages are formatted very intentionally.

    Our books contain four specific formatting features that make a difference in your child’s reading experience:

    • In the early levels, the text has intentional line breaks to encourage natural phrasing.
      The pages are formatted to allow beginning readers to read more smoothly and comprehend the text more easily. You have probably heard a child read a sentence choppily, like this:

      The. . .ten. . .kids. . .thank. . .the. . .king. . .for. . .the. . .gifts.

      With the line breaks and natural phrasing we use in our books, the child is encouraged to read one phrase at a time, like this:

      The ten kids
      thank the king
      for the gifts.

    • Subtle underlines in our Level 1 books help children with tracking issues follow the words across the page.
      The underlining goes unnoticed by children who don’t need it, but it is invaluable for those who do need it.

    • The font used in Level 1 was customized to be simple and clear.
      For example, the p’s are easily distinguished from the b’s and the q’s, which is important for beginning readers and dyslexic students.

    • Finally, our books are printed on non-glare paper specially chosen to be easy on children’s eyes.
      Small details like these make a big difference in the experience of a beginning reader.

View more story samples from our Level 1-4 Readers.

Of course, students don’t read decodable books forever. But decodable books offer benefits that help beginning readers develop the skills and confidence they need to become strong readers. Soon enough, they’ll be able to read everything on the shelf!

The All About Reading program walks you through all the steps to help your child become a strong independent reader. The program is multisensory, motivating, and complete. And if you ever need a helping hand, we’re here for you! All About Reading Product Line

Have you used decodable stories with your students?

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Renee Cook

says:

My daughter enjoys reading the stories in the books. Are there any supplemental reading materials available to give her extra practice? She is working through Level 2

Robin

says: Customer Service

Renee,
I’m glad to hear that your daughter enjoys the All About Reading stories!

We do keep a PDF list of addition reading materials that go along well with each level of All About Reading. You can email us at support@allaboutlearningpress.com for the list.

Elizabeth Howdeshell

says:

Can this program be used with groups of 5-6 kids? Or is it only for one-on-one teaching?

Robin

says: Customer Service

Elizabeth,
All About Reading and All About Spelling are designed to be used one-on-one or in very small groups of two or three, but they have been adapted by some for larger groups. If you would like more details and information, please reach out to us at support@allaboutlearningpress.com with the specifics of your situation.

Mary M.

says:

I use your decodable books in my classroom. All of what you have said about them is true! Not only are they scaffolded, they are beautiful and my students love to read them!
Mary

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Mary! It’s so lovely to hear that the decodable readers are so well received by your students!

Melanie

says:

Decodable books have been a game changer for my son!

Adria C.

says:

These decodable books give my 6YO such a confidence boost, and really help him see that he really is learning to read! Love them!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I love that the decodable books help boost your child’s confidence, Adria! We love confident readers!

Yulia D

says:

These books are really amazing! My child had ASD and struggles with reading comprehension. AAR books help us a lot.
Thank you!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m so excited to that All About Reading has been helping your child, Yulia!

Toni

says:

These decodable books have made such a difference in my dyslexic child’s confidence. Five months ago he only knew maybe 20 phonemes and couldn’t read anything other than his name. And now, at the end of AAR level 1, he is so incredibly proud that he has read three anthologies which contain real stories! Thank you!!!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Oh, your child is doing so well, Toni! Wonderful to hear about his success in reading! Way to go!

Laura VH

says:

We love these books, the levels are spot on and the images are so fun and colorful!

T R Davis

says:

I love AAS because it sets the ground work in learning the rules of decoding words. This lays the foundation of students being able to move forward in reading multi syllabic words in sentences and books. I love this curriculum!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Aww, thank you! It’s great to hear that it’s working so well for your!

Allison

says:

We love the All About Reading Readers! They have been so helpful (and enjoyable) for my girls as they’ve been learning to read through the program!

Mamta S

says:

We just got our level one reading in the mail. We’re excited to get started!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Wonderful, Mamta! Let us know if you have any questions as you get started.

Stephanie Barrett

says:

We just received lvl one after it was recommended by multiple friends for my son. He flipped through the readers and is excited to get started!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m glad your son is is excited to start, Stephanie! That’s a great attitude to have to begin!

Michelle

says:

My daughter currently uses a different reading curriculum, but we are considering a switch because she loves the AAR readers! They are much better than the ones that come with the curriculum we use, and leveled readers aren’t decodable, so they are sometimes frustrating!

Ashley

says:

I love how decodable the Level 1 books are. My son has really learned a lot this year.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Ashley,
It’s wonderful to hear that your so has done so well this year! Thank you.

Kris

says:

We love the books, what a great program!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Kris!

Alannah

says:

I’ve found these points to be true with my eldest daughter. For a while I was using a primer that had words that weren’t decodable. There were eight words we hadn’t learnt and she was quite frustrated at the end of our short 5 minute reading. It would be very helpful to have a reader that was at her level to increase her confidence to read more!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Alannah,
I’m sorry your daughter had to experience such frustration! Thank you for sharing about it, however. It may seem like a small thing to include such words without pre-teaching them to students, but your daughter’s experience shows it is not a small thing to a student just learning to read.

Cristal

says:

All about reading has helped my child read more due to the decodable reading.i appreciate All about reading. My child feels more confident in reading.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Christal,
Wonderful! We love confident readers!

Chelsie Cryer

says:

I’m looking into purchasing these books as practice over the summer! My son is in public school but having trouble with phonemic awareness. He has good reading fluency but when he needs to sound a new word out he completely crumbles. Not sure if these books would help?

Robin

says: Customer Service

Chelsie,
Reading these decodable books is very helpful for students to practice the skills they have learned to be able to decode words. However, if your son has not been taught the skills to decode words, these books don’t contain the teaching for him to learn that.

Rather, he may benefit more from the full All About Reading program. The program includes these decodable books, as well as a Teacher’s Manual that will take you step-by-step to teach him how to confidently decode words. All About Reading is easy to teach with no previous experience or training.

Here are some blog articles that you may find helpful as well:
Fun Ways to Develop Phonological Awareness
How to Teach Phonograms
Helping Kids Sound Out Words
Break the “Word Guessing” Habit

Jenifer W

says:

We love the decodable books! They are so helpful in reinforcing the words my daughter learns in the lessons.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Excellent, Jenifer! Thank you.

Chelsea

says:

I didn’t realize how much guessing my child was doing when we only knew about leveled books. I am glad to now understand theres a better way for my child: decodable books give my son the direction he needs to actually read rather than just guess.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Chelsea,
It is sad that children that are good at guessing can be praised as “good readers,” when really they are simply good at figuring out words from context and pictures. I’m so glad that your child is now becoming an actual good reader!

Sheryl Dorland

says:

Wow! This is really impressive. I wish when I was a young reader this program was available for decoding words while reading. I cannot wait to research more into your program and incorporate these ideas into my grandchildren’s homeschool days. Thank you and I’m excited.

Robin

says: Customer Service

I know what you mean, Sheryl!

Let me know if you have questions about All About Reading or need help with placement or anything else. I’m happy to help!

Megan Ash

says:

Decodables are vital in the learning to read process!!! So thankful for these!

Mary

says:

So important and so hard to find the right books for very early readers!

Janelle

says:

These books have been so helpful in boosting my daughters reading. When she is struggling with a word, I remind her that she can sound it out.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Janelle,
Thank you for sharing that the books are so helpful for your daughter!

Kristy

says:

This is very accurate information. It is great that the stories only use words that they are capable of deciding. So many other books do not that.

Claire

says:

We found this to be so true. My son’s confidence and enjoyment of reading increased dramatically with the fully decidable readers and now I understand why! Thank you!!

Chrissy

says:

My child has really taken off with reading the first book of level 1. Her confidence is growing leaps and bounds becasue of the wins she experiences using this readers. We are so excited to have found AAR! Thank you!

Laura

says:

I love the AAR readers

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Laura!

Ashley

says:

So thankful for AAR decodable books for my kids. Most books available in libraries are just not good for early readers and it is so frustrating.

Robin

says: Customer Service

I know what you mean, Ashley. I’m hoping that in time more and more truly decodable books will be published and available for children.

Kristin Meyer

says:

I didn’t realize this about Level 1 books! Researching curriculum for our soon to be kindergartner and AAR seems like the best fit!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Wonderful to hear, Kristin! Let me know if you have questions or need help with placement or anything. I’m happy to help!