What is decodable text?

The definition in one sentence

A text is decodable for a child when every word can be read by blending letter sounds the child has already learned, or is one of the few common words taught as whole words. England's Department for Education defines decodable books as books "written so that they only present words that include the GPCs that pupils have learned" (a GPC is a grapheme-phoneme correspondence: a letter or letter group and the sound it stands for), together with the common exception words pupils have been introduced to.

So decodable depends on the reader, not on length or topic. A three-line text can be out of reach for one child while a ten-line text suits another, and the same page can be decodable for a child who has covered certain sounds and not for a child who has not. Nobody has settled on one formal definition either. Education Week reports that there is no formal agreed-upon definition of what counts as decodable text.

An example, and its opposite

Picture a child who has learned the letters s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, c and o, plus the word "the". This text is decodable for that child: "Sam sat on a mat. A cat sat on Sam. Pip can pat the cat. Pip and Sam sit and nap." Every word is sounded out with known letters or is the one word taught by heart, and the names Sam and Pip follow the same sound rules.

Now try: "A little bird landed on the windowsill." The vowel spellings in "bird" and "window" and the "-ed" ending in "landed" have not been taught yet, so this child cannot read the sentence. They can guess from a picture or wait for you to read it. The DfE reading framework makes the same point about a book containing the word "play": children should not be asked to read it until the "ay" spelling has been taught.

Why beginners get them

The point is to let the child do the reading. The DfE reading framework notes that most texts are not decodable for children who are just starting out, which is why it recommends books structured in cumulative steps so pupils "can decode every word as their knowledge of the alphabetic code increases". It adds that these books make children feel successful from the start, and that with no adult nearby a child is not forced to guess from pictures, context, first letters or the shape of a word.

The U.S. Institute of Education Sciences practice guide for kindergarten through grade 3 describes the same problem. When students know only a few letter sounds, most texts contain words they cannot yet decode, and the panel suggests decodable text to head that off. The guide also discourages guessing unknown words from beginning letters or pictures, and rates its recommendation that every student read connected text daily as having moderate evidence.

Decodable readers, leveled readers and bedtime stories

The three do different jobs. The Iowa Reading Research Center describes decodable readers as texts that introduce words and word structures in a planned order, often with few illustrations so the child relies on phonics instead of pictures. Leveled readers are books matched to a reader's age, grade or ability, with readability measured by word frequency and sentence length rather than by a phonics sequence. They tend to be brightly illustrated, which gives a child context to guess from, and the Iowa article notes there is no consistency in which skills a given leveled book requires.

In England you may meet "book bands", which are leveled sets. The DfE reading framework quotes inspectors who found that mixing banded books from several schemes did not ensure children read at the right level of difficulty, and it advises matching beginner books closely to the order in which the school's phonics program introduces sounds. Neither type replaces the picture books you read aloud at night. Those bring vocabulary and knowledge that a controlled text cannot, so reading aloud supports language growth while decodable books train the sounding out.

The evidence on decodable books is thinner than the debate suggests. Literacy researcher Timothy Shanahan has written that this is "not a highly researched topic" and that even beginning readers should be reading more than decodable texts, though he considers them acceptable within phonics instruction if their use is severely limited. Treat decodable books as one tool in a phonics routine, next to the stories you share.

Common exception words

A few very common words, such as "said", "to", "was" or "the", do not follow the sounds taught early on. The DfE reading framework calls them common exception words (sometimes "tricky words") and says programs keep them to a minimum in the early stages. In "said", for example, the "s" and "d" are ordinary but "ai" stands for an unusual sound. The IES guide likewise recommends teaching irregular high-frequency words as whole words, and introducing only a few at a time. Decodable texts accept these words for that reason. The guide on sight words has a starter list.

Using decodable books at home

Most children meet decodable books through school, when the phonics program sends them home in the order sounds are taught. The DfE framework says teachers should explain to families how to help with these books. If you are not sure which sounds your child has covered, ask the teacher or check the program's sound chart. The guide on the order sounds are taught gives a general picture.

The IES guide suggests that a parent can be the more proficient reader who gives constructive feedback. If your child is stuck on a word they could not be expected to sound out, such as "was", simply tell them the word and have them repeat it. If they do have the sounds, ask them to say the sounds and blend them, and skip riddle-style hints. The same guide describes an instructional-level text as one where a child misses no more than one word in ten. The DfE framework also mentions re-reading a book on another day so the child can read more words at a glance.