Decodable Texts:

Please click HERE to read this article about what decodable books are, why they are better than predictable text, and their importance in supporting beginning readers. 

Resources for using decodable texts at home:

• Free decodable e-books (find a skill your student is working on or has worked on in the past and have them read a book that matches that skill): https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/learners-resources/

• Free decodable e-books (sorted by grade level, but lower grade levels might match the skill your student is working on - the last page of each book has the focus skill and some activities to help support learning): https://justrightreader.com/pages/free-e-library-just-right-reader#pre-emergent

• Free decodable e-books (with comprehension questions on the last page of each book): https://halfpintkids.com/online-materials/

• Free printable decodable books: https://www.beyonddecodables.com/kids-books-with-decodable-words

• Free decodable e-books: https://iseesam.com/free-edition/

• Free decodable books (can print pdf version or use powerpoint e-book version): https://speldsa.org.au/pages/speld-sa-phonic-books

• A list of other decodable text sources: https://www.thereadingleague.org/decodable-text-sources/

Sight Words, High Frequency Words, Heart Words - Information and Resources

“Sight Words” versus “High Frequency Words” and What is a “Heart Word”? 

Sight words are words that are instantly recognized and identified without conscious effort. High frequency words are the words most commonly used in the English language. High frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. Restructuring the way high-frequency words are taught makes reading and spelling the words more accessible to all students. 

Irregularly spelled high frequency words are often called “Heart Words” because some part of the word will have to be “learned by heart.” 

Click HERE for an article about how to teach high frequency words through the science of reading lens.

Resources for practicing heart words at home:

• Informational video about heart words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQCjexFsov4

• Free printable heart word cards: https://ufli.education.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/UFLI_Heart_Word_Printable_Cards.pdf

• Google doc slideshow with heart words: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NP_zCGNACXKrKlpR6Kn_KGwMus0QKAdEiIstBzSrVa0/edit#slide=id.p1

• Heart word videos and activities: https://www.reallygreatreading.com/heart-word-magic

Fluency and Repeated Readings

Please click HERE to read this article about how repeated readings support reading fluency and comprehension skills.

The best strategy for developing reading fluency is to provide your students with many opportunities to read the same passage orally several times. To do this, you should first know what to have your students read. Second, you should know how to have your students read aloud repeatedly.

Please click HERE to read this article about what fluency practice looks like. 

Resources for supporting fluency with repeated readings at home:

• How to use fluency passages: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DektUjdX-D9b0yoG17vpJnCK8o1Xy2CG9PImZ9hwQTU/edit

• Free reading passage by level/grade level https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/collections/leveled-reading-passages

• Free reading passage by grade level: https://mrswarnerarlington.weebly.com/fluency-practice.html

Reading games websites:

• https://www.roomrecess.com/pages/ReadingGames.html

• https://www.splashlearn.com/ela/reading-games-for-3rd-graders

• https://www.teachyourmonster.org/

• https://www.abcya.com/

• https://www.education.com/games/ela/

• https://www.arcademics.com/games?subject=language_arts

• https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives