How to Use Decodable Books to Teach Reading

Book excerpt: Sixty-five percent of U.S. fourth graders are not proficient readers because their teachers have not been taught how to teach reading using evidence-based methods. Up to 20% of children have dyslexia. Few receive the individualized teaching they need from their schools. To help parents and teachers who want to teach their children using an evidence-based, effective method, Pamela Brookes, the mother of a child with dyslexia, discusses their daily routine as she teaches her daughter to read using the decodable DOG ON A LOG Books series. As the author of DOG ON A LOG Books, Pamela also shares how to choose where in the series to start. She shares how she teaches each of the phonics rules used in the book series along with the reasons for teaching the syllable types and handwriting. Although this booklet is meant to guide parents and teachers using DOG ON A LOG Books, the information can be adapted and applied to any systematic series of decodable books. How to Use Decodable Books to Teach Reading is edited by Dr. Nancy Mather, a professor in learning disabilities, reading, and writing to make sure it follows the scientific research on teaching reading. This edition includes information on Steps 1 to 10 of the DOG ON A LOG phonics rules. Additional steps will be added as the future decodable chapter books are created. All DOG ON A LOG Books follow a structured literacy/Orton-Gillingham based phonics sequence. You can download printable gameboards, flashcards, and other literacy materials at www.dogonalogbooks.com.