Decodable Chapter Books Boost Reading Confidence
Developing confident readers is a top priority at Melrose elementary schools. Research from the Science of Reading suggests that providing materials for students to practice systematic, explicitly taught phonics lessons sharpens their skills and advances fluency and confidence. Decodable texts allows students to leverage their phonics knowledge to decipher texts instead of relying on pictures or guessing and is critical for reading fluency improvement. Melrose educators are engaging in this work with students daily, teaching foundational reading skills. But, what do you do for older students who are still learning foundations, but ready for more interesting and age appropriate content? That’s where the Decodable Chapter Book Innovation Grant comes in.
A team of teachers at the Roosevelt School received funding to create a library of decodable books that offers a robust selection of texts, age appropriate content, more book availability, and student choice. Thanks to these options students have the opportunity to select chapter books that mirror what their peers are reading and still have the decodable support and skill practice they need. This is a huge confidence booster for readers across the classroom. In addition to creating the library, the teaching team is constantly evaluating the effectiveness of this new classroom resource and sharing their experience with peers across the district.
“On behalf of the students and staff of Roosevelt, we would like to thank the Melrose Education Foundation for providing the grant money to purchase new decodable books for our students. The collection allows students to read books containing phonics patterns they have been explicitly taught, which allows them to improve their decoding skills and reading fluency. Our students report that they love the new books, especially the cool illustrations. The books are set up in our new decodable library and all teachers and grades have access to checking in and out books. Thank you again for supporting our students.”
– The Roosevelt Special Education Team and Susan Jones, Instructional Coach