Engaging Beginning Readers: 3 Things All Good Decodable Texts Should Have [episode 58]

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today’s episode, we’re discussing three things that all good decodable texts should have and a teacher approved tip for classroom management as we head into the fourth quarter of the school year.

We start our episodes with a morning message just like we used to do at morning meeting in our classrooms. This week’s morning message is what are your favorite funny books to read to your students?

Emily, what recommendations do you have? Well, my youngest came home from school with the book I Don’t Want to Read This Book by Max Greenfield, who I know Heidi knows the actor that played Schmidt in New Girl. And I’m naturally suspicious of books that are written by celebrities, if I’m being honest, well with good reason.

But we all found this one to be pretty hilarious and the illustrations are by Mike Lowery who is one of our favorites. So it was immediately a hit. Even my seventh grader who was in the room was getting a kick out of it. So we’ll probably need to grab a copy of our own that we can keep.

What about you, Heidi? Well, I always get a kick out of the Jon Klassen books like I Want My Hat Back. It’s not so much haha funny, it’s very, very dry. Yes, maybe a little dark for picture book is not like an HBO special or anything. But there is just always such a funny twist at the end. And so his books are an immediate buy for me. I love his books.

And I just remembered I got my daughter the book Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion and that is been her favorite book ever, probably. It’s about a kitty. That’s just so cute that everybody explodes when they look at her. And it’s pretty funny. I got a kick out of that one. So we got to add that to the list too. Oh, absolutely.

We have some awesome responses from our teacher approved community. If you are also looking for funny books, Joelle said the whole Wayside School series. I started at the end of second grade and they’re just starting to get the humor. I read Wayside School in second grade I loved it.

Stacy said The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak. Another celebrity written one that has proven the stereotype wrong that’s a clever one probably helps that BJ Novak is an actual writer. Yes. Angela said any Robert Munch books. They get so tickled I love his book so much.

Maggie said Those Darn Squirrels. And I have seen that one but I don’t think I read that. Clint said anything by Mac Barnett Guess Again and The First Cat and Space Eat Pizza are my favorite. And my son got that book for Christmas and loved it. We’ve already pre ordered the second First Cabin Space book.

Nikki said The Cow That Went Oink by Bernard Most, oh that’s fun. Beth is that I have so many but this is one of my favorites: Can I Join Your Club by John Kelly. I don’t know that one I’m gonna check that out. Lindsay said Creepy Crayon, Creepy Underwear, Creepy Carrots. We’ve got them all. They’re all good.

Alison said Potato Pants by Laurie Keller. I have missed that one. Me too. But she wrote Arnie the Doughnut. Did you have that one? I loved that one. Stephanie said the Legend of Rock Paper Scissors. Oh fun. And Abby said new favorite: Unicorns are the Worst, along with Dragons are the Worst. And yeah, these are the words.

And Jessica said Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesday. Oh, that’s another one. I know. I don’t know that one either. I put together a list on Amazon of all the books that were suggested. I’ll link to that in the show notes. We would love to have you come join the conversation over in our teacher approved Facebook group.

It’s time for the feedback of the week and we’re sharing a recent podcast review this week. I couldn’t quite figure out how to pronounce the user name for this review. But whoever left this was very kind to say, “I recently discovered this podcast through another teaching podcast I listened to. But I have enjoyed every episode because the tips are practical and easy to use and implement. I love the morning message question at the beginning of each episode, because my school also uses Responsive Classroom for our management and behavior. So it fits perfectly with what I can do with my own students.”

“Emily and Heidi are easy to listen to and do a great job of explaining concepts and giving examples. Even as a teacher who’s not so new, I find great tips and ideas to use with my students such as surprise and delight and the mini series on transitions. I would highly recommend this podcast to anybody and everybody who wants to grow their teaching experience and become better.”

Oh, thank you. That means so much person whose name we can’t pronounce. That was a wonderful review. As a reminder, if we share your review on the podcast, send us an email for a little surprise. So if that was you, thank you. And please send us an email at [email protected].

If you listen to last week’s episode, you caught our deep dive into decodable texts. If you haven’t listened to it, definitely go back and check it out. Today we’ll be talking about the criteria that make decodable texts effective. And next week, we’ll highlight the biggest pitfalls that come with decodable texts.

We didn’t even plan to have a series about decodable texts, but once we got in here, there was just so much to say. Because that’s just how we roll. We have a lot of ideas about things.

And just so we’re all on the same page, we define a decodable text as the text that’s decodable for readers who have learned the phonics skills, and high frequency words used in that text. Another way to think of it is to consider decodable texts as controlled text, the text is written using an intentionally controlled bank of words.

The goal of a controlled text is for the words in the passage to give readers an authentic reading experience, where they can apply the specific phonics skills they have learned up to that point. That means not every text is decodable for every reader. A text that uses a lot of vowel teams like AI and OA is decodable only for readers who have learned those patterns.

A kid who is still learning short vowel CVC patterns isn’t ready to sound out a text about the coach on the stairs, I just want to cry at the thought of trying to listen to a new reader just slog their way through sending out coach and stairs. I know it would take all day bless them and they would be so frustrated.

So we need to be intentional about the decodable or controlled texts we’re using with our beginning readers. And this is where we get to the heart of the drama around decodability. There is so much trash out there. As decodability became a hot topic, a whole industry crapped up to churn out decodable readers.

Yeah, we have a fun little sisterly pastime where we send each other pictures of bad decodable texts that we encounter in the wild. Maybe we shouldn’t admit to that. Case in some point. So I was looking at something on Amazon and I came across an author with multiple books of decodable passages like 50 in each book. And so I was nosy. And so I started looking at the previews.

And there was not a single one of his passages that I would give to a student, but they must sell well or he wouldn’t keep making them. But I don’t blame the buyers, they’re most likely teachers who have been told your kids need decodable texts, and then they’re given minimal support if they are given any support at all. Right?

So teachers see something advertised as decodable and they think it must be the answer to their problems. But just because something claims to be decodable doesn’t mean it is. And just because something happens to be decodable doesn’t mean it’s worth reading.

Now, how do we separate the decodable treasures from the trash Heidi? Well, in 1985 almost as old as me get your time machines, tiny baby Emily read? Yes, I definitely did. The report published by the US government called Becoming a Nation of Readers. It’s a report that summarizes the reading research of the 1970s and 80s.

If you remember back to our episode about the science of reading, we pointed out that the science of reading was not new, it had just been largely ignored and here we have a perfect example of that.

So in this report, the authors provided three criteria for what a beginning reading text should include. And they determined that the text should be comprehensible, instructive and engaging. Ooh, I’d love a list can run with a list.

So let’s put those criteria in the context of a decodable passage. If it’s comprehensible, the text should make sense and follow natural sounding English patterns. And most of the words should already be part of children’s vocabularies. Comprehension has to be priority number one as you’re choosing decodable texts, it is pointless to have students reading a text they can’t make sense of even if they can decode the words.

And we are also looking to see if a beginning reader text is instructive. So that means that the majority and we’re going to say 51% or more of the words should be figure-outable based on the phonics skills and the high frequency words that the reader has previously been taught. Or we might refer to it as decodable.

Kids should know most of the words and have the tools needed to figure out the rest. This can be really a tricky balance to strike. We want kids to practice with a text that offers just the right amount of challenge. If it’s too easy, right, they can’t grow as readers. If it’s too hard, then they’re hindered by having to figure out every single word they encounter.

This one takes some thought on a teacher’s part. It’s fairly simple to tell if a text is comprehensible, right? Yes, it makes sense or no, it doesn’t. Yes, the language sounds natural, or no, it doesn’t. But finding a text that’s instructive is more of a challenge, because what’s instructive for one student will be too hard for another.

Plus, what’s instructive for a student today will be too easy for them tomorrow. So you really have to know your kids to be able to pinpoint that sweet spot, or the zone of proximal development as they taught us in college learn something from college that was useful, haven’t heard that in a while.

But fortunately, the third criteria is another simple one, is this text engaging. If you are bored by it, then a kid probably isn’t going to be gripped by it either. The texts we choose for our students should be worthy of being reread and written and talked about.

I’m so glad that engaging makes the list. So often, we look at the text for beginning readers and they are dry as dust, there is no life in them. How can we expect kids to fall in love with reading if all they have access to is man has a tan van? Right, they’re not seeing the beauty of reading.

So using the criteria of comprehensible, instructive, and engaging will go a long way toward helping us identify texts that are worth our money and our students time. But if we really want to evaluate texts with a critical eye, we need to zoom in on the balance between decodability and predictability.

So if you have been around long enough to have taught guided reading, you are already familiar with that tension between decodability and predictability. A traditional guided reading text is predictable. And it might go like this. We like shirts with stripes. And of course, there would be a picture of a couple kids in stripes, because a beginning reader couldn’t decode the words, shirts or stripes.

And then it continues. We like shirts with hearts, we like shirts with dots, we’re gonna lean hard on that pattern in a predictable text, right, right up until the end. And then comes the twist. Kids eat ice cream, it drips on their shirts. But you know, of course, all of this is told in the pictures because that’s too much to have to figure out that new reader. And the last sentence is, we like shirts with stains.

Something like that is pretty typical of a guided reading text. The pattern allows students to predict the words they don’t know how to sound out. On the other end of the spectrum are passages that are 100% decodable. They may not even use the word the because you can’t send out the so in some places, it’s not even considered decodable.

So in an effort to embrace the science of reading, a lot of educators have accepted the idea that if decodable is good, then predictable is bad. But that’s not the full picture. What we really need are texts that walk more of the middle ground between both extremes.

Some predictability is good, especially for our newest readers, the support of a pattern can give them the freedom to focus on figuring out the words they don’t know, instead of having to figure out every single word.

We also have to find the balance between isolated practice and repeated practice. Yeah, we want texts that offer lots of purposeful practice with the skills our students currently need to develop. If a student is working on short U of course we want a text with run, up, cut all those fun words. Oh, I see what you did. They’re so clever.

But a quality text for beginning readers also takes into account what has already been taught. Readers need repeated practice on old skills to keep them sharp. So assuming you teach short U last in the sequence of short vowels, a text for short U should also include short A E I and O. And once you move to long vowel patterns, the text should continue to practice short vowel words as well.

Yeah, that contrast between multiple patterns goes a long way towards helping kids internalize letter sound combinations. A text for a beginning reader should make use of previously learned high frequency words. We have to keep new words in rotation for a while before they become automatic.

If you have been on the hunt for decodable passages, you know that it can be really hard to find text that manage to balance, predictability and decodability, as well as balance isolated practice and repeated practice. Most of the decodable texts I come across go really hard on one word family or vowel sound. They don’t have much predictability. And then the next passage picks up with the next vowel sound without any reference to what was previously taught.

So a short U text might go, Gus hugs his pup. Gus’ pug pup is fun. The pug runs in the sun. It dug in the mud. Did it run in gum? The pug did run in gum. It is stuck. Gus must cut his pup from the gum.

So how does this text compare to our criteria for quality? Well, it’s not great on the comprehensible scale, I was even having a hard time tracking what that passage was talking about. Because there’s a lot of contrived language to cram in more of those short you words.

And I think it’s more or less engaging. Maybe I just think that because I wrote it. I think a kid would enjoy the dog getting stuck in gum. And it’s fairly instructive for short U words. But it doesn’t offer much support in terms of predictability. Sometimes the dog is called the pug. Sometimes it’s called the pup that adds to the challenge for a beginning reader.

And it also doesn’t provide much practice on previously learned vowel sounds. There are 11 short I words in that passage, but they’re mostly is in and it but all the other words are short U plus a couple of high frequency words.

So let’s see if we can tweak this and make it any better. How about we just call Gus’ pet a dog because that’s what a kid would call it. And we want texts to match kids vocabularies as much as possible. So Heidi, let’s hear the improved version. All right, let’s give it a try.

Gus has a pet dog. Okay, right there we’ve got short A short E and short O words in that very short sentence. Gus’ dog can run. It can run in the sun. It can run in the mud. Oh, no. Did the dog get stuck? Yes, it got stuck in gum. Gus must cut the gum. He will cut the gum off his dog. Gus hugs his dog. He is glad he has a fun pet. Okay, it’s not perfect, but I think it comes a lot closer to being effective than the original version did.

When it comes to choosing decodable texts for your students, make sure to use a critical eye. Look for texts that are comprehensible, engaging and instructive. And that also take into account how well the text balances predictability and decodability, as well as the balance between isolated and repeated practice.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on choosing decodable texts come join the conversation in our teacher approved Facebook group.

Now let’s talk about this week’s teacher approved tip. Each week, we leave you with a small actionable tip that you can apply in your classroom today. This week’s teacher approved tip is write your third quarter procedures. Heidi, tell us about this tip.

So this is your friendly reminder that as you come to the end of third quarter, take a few minutes with your class to rate your procedures. Post a list of your frequent procedures or rules and then have your class rate how well they meet your expectations around those procedures. And have a little discussion about what needs to happen to make the fourth term run smoothly.

If you have already reviewed your procedures every term or you haven’t done it at all this year, make sure you do it now. Kids are starting to get a little lazy and you are tired of reminding them. It can feel so easy just to let things start to slip. But the end of the year is hard enough without adding in the chaos of poorly run procedures. So do what you can to tighten things up now before you end up with even bigger headaches and a few weeks.

And if you are feeling like your procedures need a big refresh, which happens a lot this time of year, go ahead and check out our podcast episode 32 and that is called 5 Classroom Management Questions to Help Banish Bad Habits. That’s a good one. That’s a fun title.

To wrap up the show we are sharing what we’re giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what are you giving extra credit to? Well, I’m giving extra credit to my Bombas socks. For most of my life, I have not been a fan of socks. I used to take off my socks and shoes the minute I got home and as an adult I have usually picked shoes I could wear without socks because I just hated all the socks. I tried hated the feeling of wearing them even.

But I recently invested in some Bomba socks and I have to say I am fully converted to sock wearing now. Wow, that’s a big turnaround. I know these socks are so much more comfortable than any I’ve worn before, but they are definitely an investment just to warn you. For me. I have found them to be worth it. It feels weird to be so excited about socks. But as someone who hated socks and now wears them all the time, I feel like I need to spread the word that Bomba socks are apparently magic. I’ve been missing out. I guess so.

What are you giving extra credit to Heidi? Well, I am giving extra credit to the game Guess Who? But this isn’t the guessing game you grew up playing. I am talking about Jane Austen Guess Who from the Jane Austen Center. I ordered it a couple of months ago and have made Emily play it with me. It’s true. And it is just so much nerdy fun if you love Jane Austen.

One of the most useful questions we found if you’re gonna play this game, it was really helpful to ask, would I be mad if I ended up married to him? And that narrows the choices down pretty quickly. Yes, it does. And a less helpful question was Are they wearing a hat? Because then the question becomes is it a hat or a bonnet? And it just made things really tricky. It did surprisingly muddy the waters more than you would think.

That’s it for today’s episode. Remember the three criteria for a good decodable passage and don’t forget our teacher approved tip to rate your procedures.

Can you do us a favor? If you enjoyed this episode, will you share it with another teacher friend who would want to hear about choosing quality decodable texts? A recommendation from a friend is the best way for our show to find new listeners and grow. And be sure to check out our show notes for links to anything we mentioned in this episode.