Building Strong Readers: Integrating Word Recognition and Comprehension with ReadWorks Nonfiction Decodables

“I have a connection to Yusra! Did you know there was a war in El Salvador before?” - Mariana

“When do refugees get to go back home?” - Imani 

“This is like how in The Librarian of Basra there was fighting in her country too.” - Zion 

​These types of rich comments and questions did not used to occur during my foundational literacy small groups. In fact, in my early days of my professional learning around structured literacy, there wasn’t much student discussion happening in my teaching at all. I was (and am!) completely in awe of the brain-changing power of phonemic awareness and phonics instruction for emergent readers. Especially because my teacher preparation program- like many others- did not address these core components of reading development, learning about structured literacy was completely transformational for me after years of “balanced literacy” practices. I was eager to support students to crack the code with my new toolbox for decoding instruction. 

The Science of Reading Beyond Phonics ​

As a first grade teacher at the time, my whole group and small group instruction became characterized by phonemic awareness activities, letter:sound correspondence drills, elkonin boxes, word chains, blending lines, spelling dictation, and decodable texts. These are all evidence-based practices that I still use daily, but my overemphasis on them left very little space for comprehension questions, vocabulary instruction, and background knowledge building. I did not fully realize it at the time, but my enthusiastic and well-intentioned approach to foundational skill instruction was still not representative of the full breadth of skills required of a proficient reader. It also was not consistently grounding my students in the ultimate goal of reading-meaning.

I’m glad that questions around the potential overemphasis on phonics have risen to the surface in the discourse around the Science of Reading. It’s clear that our students need and deserve reading instruction that addresses all strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Still, that’s easier said than done when as educators, we are contending with jam-packed instructional blocks and countless competing academic priorities. Educators are also not being offered many instructional resources that authentically address both word recognition and language comprehension needs. Luckily, ReadWorks offers FREE nonfiction decodables that do just that!

Not All Decodable Texts Are Created Equal ​

Decodable texts are a powerful component of effective literacy instruction for beginning readers, providing them opportunities to confidently solidify previously taught letter:sound correspondences and gain fluency.

As decodables expert and author of Choosing and Using Decodable Texts, Dr. Wiley Blevins, states, “It’s in the application that the learning sticks. Decodable texts are the critical application tool.” But he also reminds and cautions us that decodables must be used for more than just phonics instruction! He shares that decodables can also be instructional tools for vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and syntax (2024). 

Unfortunately, not all decodables lend themselves to that work. I know my fellow early literacy teachers have all encountered decodable texts that were not designed beyond a lens of a particular phonics skill. I wish this example was more of an exaggeration, but unfortunately, it really isn’t. Why would a hot dog be on a cot in any situation? Why would it even potentially be on a log? Surely we can provide our students with short ‘o’ practice that isn’t quite so nonsensical. 

ReadWorks nonfiction decodables allow educators to bridge word recognition and language comprehension instruction instead of taking a myopic focus on one or the other. Students are invited to grapple with rich academic vocabulary as they read exciting texts about Simone Biles, extreme weather and faraway lands. As Dr. Julia Lindsey, author of Reading Above the Fray and expert collaborator on ReadWorks decodables, reminds us, the best decodable texts aren’t just decodable – they hold real meaning. They should contain engaging stories and be filled with interesting facts for students to learn. We should not be sacrificing meaning in the name of decodability, and with ReadWorks nonfiction decodables, we don’t have to! 

Cracking the Code While Making Meaning

I now serve as a K-2 Reading Specialist and still provide direct, explicit instruction to target the lower strands of Scarborough’s Rope every day. I have the privilege of witnessing the impact of explicit, systematic phonics instruction on my students’ DIBELS data and in the moments they beam with confidence as they independently decode an entire sentence for the first time. 

When I use ReadWorks decodables, my students get ample phonemic awareness and phonics practice, rooted in the context of a rich nonfiction text. We warm up by quickly blending and segmenting words with the target skill. This image shows a review of the ‘ea’ and ‘ee’ spellings of long ‘e’ to prepare to read the decodable text about Yusra Mardini. Then we practice our continuous blending with words from the text, as well as review words with previously taught letter:sound correspondences.

​ReadWorks nonfiction decodables allow me to provide explicit vocabulary instruction and activate rich background knowledge as I introduce the decodable text. Pre-teaching the word ‘refugees’ and explaining why Yusra Mardini had to leave Syria allowed my students to make brilliant connections to other global conflicts they already knew about, including one in a student’s own home country. We know that like Velcro, new knowledge sticks best to existing knowledge. This type of understanding just isn’t possible with decodables that lack the substance to serve as new pieces of Velcro for our students. This strategic background knowledge building packs an even more powerful punch when paired with ReadWorks Article-A-Day routine, which is topically aligned to the decodables.

My students then look out for the target phonics pattern as they read, while I provide supportive feedback around accuracy and fluency. Finally, we do some encoding as another chance to practice the pattern and orthographically map words from the text. Another added benefit of using a rich decodable text is that students have the opportunity to not just spell, but authentically write. I’ve been blown away by their thoughtful takeaways from these decodable texts. This level of thinking and learning simply cannot be compared to reading about a hot dog on a cot.

There is no question that our students need instruction in how to crack the code. It is their civil right and our responsibility as educators. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to use and create instructional materials that allow me and other early literacy teachers to support our students in becoming codebreakers within the context of rich, meaningful texts that are worthy of being in front of them.

You can learn more about how to use ReadWorks decodables and explore a sample lesson plan here. Learn how to use aligned decodables in our new and updated Scope and Sequences page in the previous blog: Scope It Out: A Better Way to Plan with ReadWorks.

Written by: Celestina Lee

Reading Specialist, First Grade Teacher, and ReadWorks Educator Support Specialist