Let’s talk about decodables and authentic text! Who should be using them, when they should be used, and why. Decodables Authentic Text Who? Beginning readers Who? Everyone! For students that are reading independently and parents that are reading to children. When? Kindergarten/1st grade When? As soon as they begin to crack the code. Why? Decodables promote mastery of grapheme/phoneme correspondence. They also allow students to practice blending. Why? They are enjoyable! They expose children to more complex sentence structures and rich vocabulary. While decodables are essential for early readers, don’t live in decodable land for long! They are boring and non-sensical. They limit exposure to more complex sentence structure. As soon as your student begins to crack the code to reading, it’s time for authentic text.