Earlier this week, I was reading with my youngest, the probability of him being dyslexic is pretty high given his genetic makeup. He’s 5, and we’re currently working our way through a set of decodeables. I’m trying my best to be consistent, but it’s not always busy with four young boys. I’m fortunate that my 9 year old seems to enjoy listening to him read.

But why are decodables important, and even more so for our dyslexic learners?

What is a decodable book?

Decodable books are books that can be read in full by a child, according to their developing phonic knowledge. Decodable books introduce graphemes (letters) gradually following a specific sequence (some publishers use slightly different sequences). For example, the majority of schools in the U.K. use phonics programmes that begin with the sounds ‘s’, ‘a’, ‘t’, ‘p’, ‘i’, ‘n’. A decodable book for a child at this stage of phonics would contain words such as ‘tap’, ‘pan’ and ‘sip’. As more of the code is acquired, the decodable books increase the number of sound-letter correspondances.

This means that a child is only reading books that contains the letters, sounds and words that have been previously covered at school.

Research shows that using multi-cueing (guessing the word by looking at the picture; guessing from the shape of a word; guessing from context or sentence structure) is not an effective way of learning to read. Spelfabet writes about in detail.

There are other good quality decodable books available, some of which are free:

• Ann Sullivan from Phonics for Pupils with SEN has produced a set of readers that aligns with her sequence. Her sequence differs only very slightly from the sequence used by Sounds Write, so the books can be used alongside those mentioned above.

• PhonicBooks provide decodables for older readers who are struggling with foundation sounds

• SPELD in Australia have produced a set of decodable readers (for free!) that are aligned with Jolly Phonics.

What should I do once we’ve finished all of the decodables available?

I recommend reading ‘real’ books once your child is a confident decoder. At this point, I suggest increasing difficulty levels only very gradually. To enable you to do this very incrementally, I have ‘graded’ every book I can get access to (it’s still a work in progress!) to make that as straightforward as possible. If you’re not sure where to start on the Hatcher gradings, please do get in touch.

What about phonics, decodable books and dyslexia?

For children who may be experiencing difficulties with reading, phonics can be challenging. The curriculum requires that schools cover the material rapidly throughout Key Stage 1. A week missed due to illness can mean a sound-letter correspondance missed. In some cases, this may mean that the books sent home are too challenging for a child, or that the books being sent home no longer reflect the teaching that is happening in school.

Children who are dyslexic (or possibly dyslexic, bearing in mind that diagnosis does not take place until 8) will also experience more fatigue whilst reading than their peers, or they may struggle with attention.

I really like using ‘Dandelion Launchers’ from PhonicBooks. The books are only 6 pages long, and a manageable amount of text, similarly, Sounds Write ‘First Steps’ is also designed to avoid cognitive overload.

‘Dandelion Readers’ are also only 6 pages long, but with slightly more text. The Sounds Write Main Collection is similar, more suited to an evening when you’ve got more time, and your child is not showing signs of fatigue.

Both Sounds Write and PhonicBooks follow the same sequence (prescribed by Sounds Write, who also provide a phonics scheme for schools), so I use them alongside one another.