Decodables, leveled text and trade books: Common sense ways to use all of them by Dr. Sam Bommarito
Recently, there was an extended discussion on a Facebook page. It seems that a teacher was concerned because her district’s curriculum department decided to promote decodables as the exclusive reading material for students. Is this a good idea? My short answer to this is no, it is not LINK. Let’s look at the issue of what kind of books to use in instruction and when to use them.
We’ll start with a quick overview of a blog entry by Heidi Mesmer
Here are three important points she makes in this blog:
There is much more to the Meismer article than just these three points. The article explains the research behind decodables and gives several teaching tips on best using them. What now follows is my analysis of how to handle the question of when to use decodables and the other books available for use in instructional programs.
Here are three important things to consider when dealing with the selection of texts
- Gradual Release of Responsibility
- Set for variability
- Developing a self-extending system of word-solving skills
Gradual Release of Responsibility. When I train teachers, I tell them that a good question to ask at the start of any lesson is, “What work do you want to leave for the student and why?” If the goal of your lesson is to develop word-solving skills, then you want text rich in that feature and text that fits their current word-solving abilities. I agree with Dr. Meiser that this is especially important early in the reading program, in those 2-3 months when the students focus on how to break the code. Early versions of decodable text had major content issues. They often lacked meaning and used unusual syntax. Many publishers have decodable text written in a way that overcomes these limitations. Meisner has an extensive collection of such books. Pioneer Valley Books does as well. I invite my readers to comment on other good sources of decodables, especially those that are appropriate for very-beginning readers. BTW, experts like Shanahan warn against the exclusive use of decodable text LINK.
Set for Variability. After the first few months of instruction, students need to encounter SOME text that challenges their decoding skills. In a way, decodable texts are like training wheels, and if one is to learn to ride a bike, the time comes when the training wheels need to come off. One must learn what to do with words that include unfamiliar sound/symbol relations.
Self-extending system Recently, Seidenberg talked about helping students achieve escape velocity. He calls for having an explicit direct phonics program early on but says the time comes when the child reaches escape velocity and needs to learn through implicit learning. In my post about this, I argue that this sounds very much like the self-extending system first described by Clay LINK. This is important evidence that there is common ground in this latest version of the reading wars. It is also a good reason why the use of decodable text should be a temporary, not a permanent, feature of reading programs.
What does this suggest for when and how to select books for use in reading instruction?
When should we be using decodables- my answer is when the lesson needs to focus mainly on decoding and teaching decoding skills.
When should we use leveled text and “harder” versions of decodable texts? Those would be texts that the students can decode themselves but that have enough meaning for teachers to teach particular comprehension skills. An important point here is that I view leveled text as fitting on Mesimer’s continuum of decodability. In an interview I conducted with Susan Vincent, she gave some great ideas on the research around different kinds of text and the topic of text selection for teaching lessons. LINK.
Teaching is both art and science. The science of reading helps us to determine what kind of text to use and when to use them. The art of teaching involves teachers skillfully employing their knowledge of the text to help students develop the various decoding and comprehension skills they need. Being able to read trade books is one of the end goals of this. For me, that is the common sense way to approach the issue of decodables, leveled text and trade books.
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