Unlocking the Power of Identity-Affirming Decodables

If you’re thinking about phonics instruction lately, you’re probably thinking about decodable books, the short texts that provide children with opportunities to practice phonics skills.?

Decodable books have a specific and important role for beginning readers.?For children learning to read, recognizing words in print is rewarding.?It’s exciting to see those little shapes on a page resolve into known patterns and words and to finally be able to read the words and sentences to oneself.?

There are so many decodables out there! But how can we tell which ones meet our high standards for texts that support and advance student learning and cultivate a sense of belonging in the classroom??

You don’t have to dig too deeply online to find good information about decodable books. CLI aligns with numerous sources on the basic criteria offered for high-quality decodables. The best of these books will be comprehensible, instructive, and engaging, and will include these features:??

• The decodables will include a scope and sequence to help match the book with the reader.?
• The text will allow students to practice letter-sound relationships, using what they know to figure out unknown words.?
• The text should contain highly consistent sound-spelling patterns.?
• The phonics features are repeated many times.?
• The text makes sense and builds a reader’s knowledge.?
• Most of the words can be sounded out if the text is a good match for the reader’s skill.?
• The text contains practice with high-frequency words.?
• Attention to the repetition of patterns will occur at the letter, word, and sentence level.?
• The books are well-written stories and nonfiction, with colorful illustrations and natural-sounding language patterns.?

This list certainly shows how a text can advance student learning.? But to truly engage children, decodables must also be free from bias and stereotypes, affirm the cultural and linguistic identities of their readers, and be inclusive of a diversity of identity dimensions. Cultural relevancy and anti-bias must be part of any rubric for selecting books for children.??

This is science, too.?The books that we choose to use and make available in our classrooms impact how children develop the ability to think critically and deeply about what and how they learn. Identity-affirming books create a sense of belonging.?They create a connection between the text and the child that sparks incredible potential for learning.

Children who see themselves reflected in the books they read can see themselves as readers and as people who can learn from those books because they see that those books are for them.?This type of affirmation, combined with targeted decoding support, leads to a powerful momentum and the reader’s realization that “Wow! I can read!”? ??

So when you’re choosing decodables, look for culturally relevant books that support instructional practice and say to children: “You belong here. These books are for you.”?? ?

by: Galen Longstreth, Books Curation Manager / Children's Literacy Initiative

Link: Unlocking the Power of Identity-Affirming Decodables