Embracing Literacy 2024

Beginning readers get off to a stronger start with aligned decodable text! This session will cover the what, why, and how of using decodable text as part of an explicit phonics lesson to build student accuracy, automaticity, and fluency in early reading. Decodable text builds the bridge from reading words in isolation to building confidence and motivation in reading connected text. Participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of varied text types and their purposes (leveled text, authentic text, decodable text, etc.), as well as an interactive decodable text routine for implementation of decodable text in the classroom.

Learning objectives:  ·       The learner will examine evidence for instruction in phonics instruction from the What Works Clearinghouse IES Educator’s Practice Guide for Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
·       The learner will explain the purpose of decodable text
·       The learner will discuss the importance of the Six-Step Explicit Phonics Lesson with emphasis on the application of the phonics skill in decodable text
·       The learner will identify the features and purpose of controlled and authentic texts to determine when to use a particular text type
·       The learner will analyze the decodability of a text by comparing it with a given scope and sequence
·       The learner will view the Decodable Text Routine and discuss elements of explicitness as well as the amount of time students are actively reading
 
 Credit Reflection Questions:
1.     How is decodable text different from predictable and leveled text?
2.     Explain how decodable text can be used as a tool to promote orthographic mapping for automatic word retrieval.
3.     At what Phase of Reading (Ehri, 2014) is the decodable text most useful for developing fluency and confidence?