“Decodable books” is a term frequently heard in literacy circles. Decodable books are beginner books, constrained, limited, intentionally written with words a learner can sound out using the phonics skills they’ve already learned, and with limited irregular words.

In an educational landscape where literacy scores are historically low, we cannot afford classrooms where students merely comply with instruction instead of connecting deeply with language and learning.

Helping young learners develop literacy skills can be challenging but also rewarding. This is true for emergent readers in early grades, but also is true for students in middle grades.

Juneteenth commemorates the moment enslaved Black Americans in Texas finally learned they were free more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had already been issued.

How missed signs in early literacy can shape a child’s future—and how identification changes everything.

When we talk about the science of reading, conversations often home in on phonics, decoding, and how to teach children to read words.