How to Scaffold Decodables
I have a question for you. Do you have students who can blend and segment words, but immediately struggle when they have to read them in context? This may be a sign that your students need a little support. They may need you to scaffold HOW you introduce decodable text.
When I discovered this problem in my kindergarten classroom, I created five easy steps that helped build the confidence my students needed and I want to share them with you today.
Day 1: Decode in Isolation
Remember, your students may have just figured out that those symbols and the sounds they hear are connected. It's okay to take it slow. I love to have students decode words in isolation. They are able to read one word at a time, which helps build automatic word recognition.
Day 2: Decode at the Sentence Level
Once students have had practice in isolation, it is time to move to the sentence level. Have students read decodable sentences one at a time.
Note: If students seem overwhelmed with the sentence level take a step back and try these sentence pyramids. When using sentence pyramids, students only have to decode one word in the sentence at a time. By the time they reach the full sentence, they have read the previous words several times.
Use touch points until students feel comfortable tracking the sentence.
Sometimes, students struggle at the sentence level. Using an activity like sentence pyramids is a helpful scaffold.
Step 3: Decodable text
Now that students feel confident, you can add in a decodable text or passage. Remind students that just because there are more words on the page doesn't mean they are words that they are unable to decode. Sometimes younger students just need to understand they CAN do it. Take time to explore the text with students. Point out our high-frequency words. Hunt for the phonics skill they are practicing, and discuss previously taught skills.
Day 4: Have fun with it!
I like to make day four fun! We play games to help build automatic word recognition! These games include
How fast can you read the fluency grid?
Roll and read words and sentences
Sentence level games
Fluency grids are a fun way to build word automaticity.
Playing games at the sentence level will help build fluency!
Day 5: Reread the decodable
I think a common misconception is that students can only read a decodable once. This is NOT true. Students should have multiple exposures to text. I like to spend day five re-reading the decodable from day three and pulling in comprehension questions.
When students struggle with decodable text, it isn’t always a sign that they aren’t ready. Often, it is a sign that they just need systematic scaffolding. You can download this quick reference sheet to keep at your fingertips when you notice students are struggling with decodable.
You can download the other decodable resources here!
Fluency Grids
