Decodable vs Leveled Reader

Since the Science of Reading research has gained traction more recently, I have been discussing the difference between leveled readers vs. decodables (see my instagram highlights for some video details). These are important discussions for those of us who teach primary reading/phonics.

It can be confusing to know the difference, but as we revamp and reeducate ourselves to align with Science of Reading, it’s important to know the difference.

DECODABLES

decodable: books written with a focused phonics pattern with a high percentage of regularly spelled words

no complex phonics patterns the student hasn’t learned yet (example: if they are learning short vowels, they won’t see vowel teams or diphthongs in their text)
simple, short sentences (Sam sat on the mat.)
simple (and mostly decodable) high frequency words will be present (on, a, at…)
not used to develop comprehension

Here are some examples of decodables:

Or you can CREATE YOUR OWN passages through Project Read! This AI program is specific to creating decoable readers with just right text/words for your students. Worth checking out and it’s so easy to use!

LEVELED READERS

leveled reader: these books are based on a guided-reading “level”, the level refers to the complexity of the text

the mix of vocabulary, word knowledge, and sentence structure create a text that can be more complex for beginning readers
represented by a letter or number “level”, but does not follow your phonics-based instruction
student accuracy, fluency, and comprehension give students a “level” at which they can comprehend the text with little struggle

Here are some examples of leveled readers you may have come across:

Usually the books that come with your curriculum
Ready to Read books
I Can Read books
Step into Reading books
Phonics in 5 minutes/Phonics Collections

It’s important to know that although these series of books seem to be phonics focused, they have more complex text than a student can read a lot of times.

We can’t solely rely on one or the other, but beginning readers (those who do not read every phonics pattern) will benefit most from decodable text at their phonics level. It can help with fluency, automaticity (word recognition), and CONFIDENCE!

I created a quick reference sheet you can use for families or teachers at your school.

A bit of a disclaimer…this can be sent home with parents, but make sure you know your families and what will and won’t work for them. We don’t want to discourage families from getting books or reading together. This might be a good thing to share at a parent/teacher conference just to show them the difference and why they may see their child struggling even if they can “read”. We know “reading” is a complex subject that has different steps we build upon.