Decodable Texts Q&A (Part 3): What to Look for – The WORDS

You can download a copy of Will You Fix the Rip? here. 

THE WORDS – How do I know if a text provides the right mix of words for my students? 

When it comes to the print on the page, there are essentially three types of words to consider in any decodable text. 

1. Decodable words

Most of the words in a decodable text should contain spelling patterns that have already been taught, including both current and previously taught sound-spellings. Of course, all words are decodable (more or less), but the important consideration is how decodable the words in a particular text will be for your particular students at this particular point in time. In other words (no pun intended), do the words align with what your students know about sound-spellings?

2. High-Frequency Words

These little words are often the glue that holds sentences together. Of course, many HFWs are completely decodable with basic phonics skills (can, and, went, it), so you don’t need to teach them individually and explicitly. But some HFWs have irregular spellings (the, you, said, want) and require specialized instruction. (We teach all about this in our Sight Word Success Mini-Course.) And some HFW will eventually be decodable but aren’t YET because children haven’t yet learned particular sound-spellings.  These are temporarily irregular spellings. While every text will have high-frequency words, those with more than a couple of unknown high-frequency words (built with unknown spellings) are something to avoid if possible.

3. Content or Story Words

In decodable texts, there might be a few words that are important to the topic or story, even though they contain spelling patterns students don’t know. These words can be important for making the text appealing and for giving students something to think about. However, too many of them will take the text out of reach and defeat the whole purpose of a “decodable” text. When decodable texts do contain story or content words, you can handle that by previewing them before students begin reading and/or simply telling the students the words when they come to them. Look for decodable texts with a limited number of these types of words.

As the publishing industry responds to the demand for decodable texts that can be used flexibly with a variety of phonics programs, many have started to include specifics about the demands the words will place on the reader right in the text. This information is usually listed inside the front or back cover. This easy reference can help you decide if a decodable text is an aligned text for your students. But if you have texts that don’t provide this information, you’ll be amazed at how figuring it out for yourself can help you sharpen your decodability lens.

Here are some things to consider as you evaluate the mix of words in the text above, Will You Fix the Rip?:

• It has a high concentration of CVC words that provide practice with the identified focus skill. (i.e., fix, rip, Kim, it, sits, sips, will, pins, kit)
• It repeats some words without being so patterned or predictable that children don’t need to decode them. (i.e., it, rip, fix, did, six) 
• It has only a few (or even less) irregularly spelled high-frequency words that might require explicit instruction (i.e., the, you)
• It interweaves earlier skills to provide a cumulative review (i.e., bag, Pam, dog, Mom, not, job). 

So far, so good! In our next post, we offer considerations for thinking about the content of the text and how it engages children. 

In the meantime, grab a few decodable (or even leveled) texts, and work to draw some conclusions of your own about how the words measure up to the needs of your students.