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What is Decodable Text?
The purpose of the decodable text is to allow students to develop their ability to decode the words based on the sound principles taught through applicable practice. Decodable text shows students that sounds can be put together to form words. For example, children could decode a phrase such as “The cat sat on the mat” if they had been taught the letter-sound associations for each letter—that 'c' stands for the sound /c/, 'a' for the sound /a/, etc.
Why is Decodable Text Important for Beginning Readers?
Students need to feel successful when reading a text. They will become more confident as they are given hands-on opportunities to practice. Decodable text sets the students up for success. They will be motivated and want to continue practicing because they feel proud of themselves.
What Makes a Good Decodable Text?
A good decodable text is comprehensible, instructive and engaging. Students should be able to understand the words they are reading. It is important that the text makes sense and that the words are derived from the students’ vocabulary. It is important that the words are decodable based on the sound spellings that have been previously taught and that there is a strong connection between instruction and text. The text must be engaging enough that students will want to read it again and again. It needs to be something they will want to revisit so that they can develop fluency and increase their reading rate.
Decodable Text vs. Leveled Text
There are two main categories of books that are appropriate
for beginning readers: decodable books and leveled readers. The science of
reading has found that in order for comprehension to improve, a student’s
ability to decode must increase. Using decodable texts is a great way to
improve a student’s decoding skills. Decodable and leveled texts serve
different purposes and when properly used they are a powerful combination to
help build students’ reading skills. Here are a few of the main differences between
decodable books and leveled readers:
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Decodable books contain words using the phonetic code that the child has learned to that point while leveled readers contains repeated and predictable text.
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Decodable books include very few non-phonetic high-frequency words while leveled readers include many high-frequency words. If they do, those are explicitly taught previously.
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In decodable books the illustrations are supportive of the text while in leveled books the illustrations reveal the story and words in the book.
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In decodable books the words used are in line with the child’s phonics level while in leveled readers many words don’t match the child’s phonics skills.
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Decodable books require a child to decode each word while leveled readers require a child to guess unknown words based on a predictable pattern, picture clues, or context.
Articles/Resources on Decodable Text
Videos about Decodable Text
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[i] Wikipedia contributors. (2022, May 31). Decodable text. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:20, June 15, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Decodable_text&oldid=1090869710
[ii] Blevins, W. (2021, December 22). What Makes a Good Decodable Text? We Are Teachers. Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://www.weareteachers.com/decodable-texts/
[iii] E. (2021, February 7). The Top 5 Reasons You Should Use Decodable Text With Your Students. The Literacy Nest. Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://www.theliteracynest.com/2020/11/the-top-5-reasons-you-should-use-decodable-text-with-your-students.html?epik=dj0yJnU9aGU0d3dtYzM4MVVhVW5xWlNaMXZTWEJWeDY3aXdibnYmcD0wJm49LVR1b0FxaEVkRHNaa1pjRzZ2V21SZyZ0PUFBQUFBR0txcWxR
[iv] C. (2022, April 19). Decodable Texts vs. Leveled Readers. Mrs. Winter’s Bliss. Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://mrswintersbliss.com/decodable-texts-vs-leveled-readers/
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May 27, 2021
To Whom It May Concern
I am a pediatric neuropsychologist, licensed to practice in both Nevada and Utah. My practice currently offer comprehensive neuropsychological and psychological evaluations for children between 2 1/2 and 17 years of age.
Our team offers expertise in evaluating and diagnosing a wide range of childhood concerns and diagnoses, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Learning Disorders, Intellectual Disabilities, Developmental Delays, Communication Disorders, Anxiety, Depression, and Mood Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Behavioral Disorders. We also offer evaluation for giftedness.
Given the diversity of the population that we serve, our team works with children who struggle with learning for various reasons on a daily basis.
In my opinion, one of the greatest resources for the families in our community who have children in need of specialized intervention to improve their academic abilities, is KoolMinds, founded and operated by Jura Kool.
KoolMinds is the first place that we refer families when their child is diagnosed with a learning difference because we have seen the quality of their service, and the positive impact that they have on their clients, time and time again.
The feedback that we have received from families about their experience with KoolMinds has been overwhelmingly positive.
Ms. Kool is an asset to our community; she is very responsive to questions and has always been able to provide our clinicians as well as our patients and their families with valuable insight and practical tools for improving academic performance and remediating academic difficulties.
When Ms. Kool informed me that she was growing her practice to Utah and Idaho, my first thought was how amazing it will be for families in those states to be able to access her services.
It is exciting to think how many more children and families will have a better quality of life because they will be able to get the help that they need to succeed academically.
In sum, I highly recommend that you consider referring any child with a learning difference to KoolMinds.
Please feel free to contact me if I am able to provide additional information in support of KoolMinds and Jura Kool.
Warmly,Nicole Ann Cavenagh, PhDNV Licensed Psychologist, PY0584UT Licensed Psychologist, 120174472501Pediatric Neuropsychologist
Jura Kool
President & Co-Founder
Jura has been helping students with learning and attention issues since 2009. She is a Reading and Dyslexia specialist, an Orton-Gillingham practitioner, and Educational Advocate.
Andrew Mellen
Chief Operating Officer
& Co-Founder
Andrew currently manages the Weber and Davis County KoolMinds locations. He had a unique journey pulling him towards a passion with cognitive skill development. As a young student Andrew struggled to keep up with his schools demands, even in elementary school the load was very overwhelming for him. Specifically reading and concentration were challenge.
When Andrew decided to attend college things really hit a focal point. Immediately the learning struggles became magnified, the learning environment required more individual focus and reading ability. It didn’t take long before he was fighting to pass classes. At this time he had to look at his future with a different perspective, take a different path outside of education or find support to help address the underlying learning blocks.
Immediately after surviving the semester and some research, Andrew enrolled in a cognitive skills program to open up the processing blocks that stood in the way of achieving academic success. A few months later things really started to change, it was about half way through the next semester that he recognized more focus, stamina, retaining information came easier and test scores greatly improved. Reading wasn’t just doable, it was enjoyable!
