So.
These days I’ve been doing a lot of research into how our brains learn to read.
In doing that, I’ve made a shift in how approach beginning reading.
I used to ascribe to the three-cueing-systems model. It’s the idea that kids solve unfamiliar words by using three cues: what looks right (phonics), what sounds right (syntax) and what makes sense (semantics).
Here’s the problem with the three-cueing approach.
Researchers are telling us that for kids to read and remember words, they need to connect the sounds of the letters to the words on the page. When we bypass that (by first encouraging kids to use picture or context clues), we’re actually preventing them from doing this important work.
(That important work is called orthographic mapping, but we’ll save that for another post!)
This means that as I’m teaching my youngest to read (he just turned five), we’re focusing much more on decodable books than on the sight word and leveled books I used with his older siblings.
(Want to follow me on my science of reading journey? This podcast episode will get you started.)
Here’s what’s hard about this phonics-first approach.
It feels slow. Painfully slow.
When kids read predictable text and leveled books, they read very quickly and fluently. That’s because they memorize the pattern and then use the picture to fill in the last word. Technically, they’re not really reading at all.
But it feels like they are. And it looks like they’re making fast progress. (Until you ask them to read those words without the picture clues and predictable text.)
So how do we make the shift to more decodable text for beginning readers? Especially when it feels so slow.
Well, the first thing to remember is that we build up to sentences, books, and passages.
My little guy is in preschool. He has been reading CVC words for a couple of months now. About a month ago we started reading decodable books (Flyleaf are our absolute favorite so far), and now I’m starting to do passages with him.
Here’s the thing about decodable passages.
They’re work.
You need to expect that they’re going to be work, and that it’s okay. But you don’t want to overwhelm beginning readers.
Here’s a video of my little guy’s first try at reading one of these passages.
To build fluency with decoding, he’ll need to reread this passage. But one reading was enough for the first time!
Here’s the “why” behind the passages:
- The top of each passage includes three words to sound out. The dots and arrows provide guidance for blending practice.
- Each story is just a few lines on purpose. Trust me, this will feel plenty long to new readers who have to sound out nearly every word!
- I do include words that are either temporarily or permanently phonically irregular. In other words, the reader may not be ready (or able) to sound them out. This is intentional. It keeps the texts readable and allows them to sound the way we speak.
- The comprehension question encourages the reader to think about what s/he just read.
- The spelling exercise at the bottom is important! It helps kids with the process of orthographic mapping: making these words a permanent part of their sight word vocabulary.
Get your free phonics passages here!
Get the full set of passages!
Decodable Passages: CVC Words
$5.00
You’ll get all 23 short vowel passages in this inexpensive bundle.
Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade
Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!
Maureen Relland
These decodable passages are awesome! More please……:)))) and Thanks again
Sarah
Do you have any more for the other vowel sounds?
Anna Geiger
In the membership we have them for all the vowels except short u, which is coming next week. 🙂
Susan B Mansfield
I’m sorry, I can’t find where to buy or download these passages. Are they not yet ready to be given out?
Sarah
Was going to say the same thing. Are they in the freebie package?
Anna Geiger
So sorry! The download button disappeared for some reason. It’s back now if you refresh!
Cheyenne
I’m used to synthetic phonics, like they use in the UK. Word families don’t make sense to me, I think they make kids guess. (personal opinion) Because most of the words end in at…. You replace the picture with another guessing item, a word family. Mix the different word families up and they’ll truly decode.
Anna Geiger
I expect to add more passages that do not follow word families.
Melvyna Mendez
I have clicked the download button but nothing happens, am I overlooking something? I love these and I am definitely interested in the whole pack.
Heather Groth, Customer Support
Hello Melvyna! If you’re interested in the whole pack, you can find it here in our shop, https://www.themeasuredmom.com/product/decodable-passages-cvc-words/.
For accessing this sample, when you click the yellow “Click to Download” button, a pop-up should appear asking for your name and email address. Once you supply the information, the link for the download is automatically sent directly to the email you provided. If this isn’t the case for you, you may want to try disabling your ad-blocker, or accessing the post from a different web browser or device. If you try this and are still having difficulty, please take a screenshot of what you see when you click the link, and email it to hello@themeasuredmom.com. This will help us further diagnose the issue. We want to make sure you can get access to the decodable passages! Thank you!
Kathleen
Can I purchase passages for the other vowel sounds without becoming a member? Thank you for your time.
Heather Groth, Customer Support
Yes! The pack of CVC decodable passages was just added to our shop! You can find it here, https://www.themeasuredmom.com/product/decodable-passages-cvc-words/. Thank you!
Katie
I clicked on the download and it took me to Ashley furniture.
Heather Groth, Customer Support
Hmmm…. that is interesting, Katie. Go ahead and check your inbox, I have sent the freebie your way! Please let us know if you don’t get it!
Cheryl
So happy for you to be starting your journey with SoR! Thank you for the resources! I’m very excited for you and for the children whom you will be impacting!
Cheryl Abbring
When I click on the link for the freebie it doesn’t do anything. I clicked on the links above and the only one that worked wasn’t for the freebie but the whole pack. I am not sure if my PreK kids will get this so I wanted to try with the freebie before purchasing.
Anna Geiger
Could you send an email to our support team so we can help solve this for you? hello@themeasuredmom.com
Anna Geiger
Thank you so much, Cheryl!
Michelle Driggs
Hello,
I love these decodable passages. I purchased your whole pack. I was wondering if you have a sheet or can make one for the short /u/ using the -um family? Please and thank you!
Heather Groth, Customer Support
We’re so glad you’re enjoying the pack, Michelle! At this point, Anna does not have plans to add to this particular set, but stay tuned because she is working on creating decodable passages for blends, digraphs, and CVCE words!!!
Rowena Rien
Hello,
I attempted to down load the free decodable passages. After entering my details nothing happened. No email. No download.
I also bought the Decodable Passages: CVC Words which includes the 23 Short vowel passages in the bundle & have received no email or no download availability for my purchase.
Will someone please assist.
Much appreciated
Rowena Rien
Heather Groth, Customer Support
Hello Rowena! Please check your email, a member of our team has emailed you about these resources! If you have any more difficulty accessing them, please email us at hello@themeasuredmom.com and we will be happy to assist you further!