The EVERYTHING Game

 

Before my kids were even homeschooling, I came up with a learning game that all my kids could play.  It was a way to quiz them on stuff that they were all learning, but yet have them play together.  I made up a game board with colored squares of construction paper.   You could also just use a candy land game board or any board you had.  It also required a dice or pair of dice (depending on how fast you want the game to go). 

Then you make cards in different colors for all of your kids with questions you want them to learn.  I had spelling words, math problems, Spanish words, quiz items.  I also put in some fun cards that were things like "do a silly dance"  or "make a funny face" or "spin around 10 times"  mixed in.  

I would put small coins and candies (like tic tacs or M&Ms) on spaces of the board.   If you got a question right you got to shake the dice and move, and if you landed on a prize you got to keep it.  There was a slightly bigger prize at the end that the first person to reach the end won.  

My kids LOVED this game.   Its simple and makes practice fun.  

Free Winter Decodable Readers

Decodables are books that are simplified to mainly include words with phonics concepts your child has already learned, and irregular words that have already been covered.   The best decodables are of course the one that come with the reading curriculum you use, as they will meet your child just where they are and allow them to practice the skills they've just learned.

But sometimes it's nice to have something to read related to specific seasons or holidays.   Below is a list of free printable decodables from various sources, including general winter themed decodables, as well as printable books for winter holidays and events such as Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, and more.  

To make it easier to align these to the skills your child is learning, I've organized these by phonics concept, and noted other concepts included in the decodables, since not all programs teach concepts in the same order (sometimes I will just list the word with that concept if there's only one or two words that use that concept).    However, since nearly all programs start with CVC words, digraphs th, sh, ch and/or blends, I don't usually list these in later concepts.  I also only usually list "a," words ending in double letters,  and words that end in an s sound but say "zzz" in the CVC, Digraphs, and Blends sections as these concepts tend to be learned fairly early.   

Some books include a "FOCUS."  This is a concept or word that is used frequently in the book, or highlighted by underlining or in some other way.  Assume if a book is listed under a certain concept, that that concept is a focus of the book even if it's not listed as such. 

TIP:  If a decodable has a few words with concepts your child hasn't learned, here are a few ways to handle that:

1. If you catch a hard word while reading, just step in and read it for them.
2. Highlight or underline those words beforehand, and let your child know you'll read the underlined/highlighted words.  
3. Go over the words beforehand.   Point out the parts they can read regularly, and the irregular or advanced parts.
4. Let them read it, and when they do, ask if it sounds close to any words they know.   For example, in the word "was" the a has a u sound, but a child might be able to figure out the real word even if they pronounce it with a short a, as it's spelled.  So you can ask, is that close to a word that would make sense here?   This strategy is called set for variability.    I don't suggest this strategy for kids in the earliest stages of reading, where they are still mastering sounding out basic CVC words and blends, but once that is solid, this can be a valuable strategy to teach kids. 
5. If a book contains multi syllable words and your child hasn't learned to read those yet, you can help them by  drawing lines to divide the syllables for them.  
6. Just skip that page.   In some of these books, not all the pages are necessary to the story.   Sometimes it's easier just to remove a page.  

THE DECODABLES 

CVC Words (basic phonetic 2 and 3 letter words)

• (Christmas) Tree Farm and The Man by Natalie Lynn
• 1st 2 books in set.  The Man is about Santa. 
• Both books includes: will, the,  a.  

• Christmas by Even THAT Kid

• (Christmas) The Big Red Hat  by Think&Grow.com
• This is part of a multi-resource set with other holiday decodable and games.  Find it under the name Hanukkah Digraph Decodable
• Includes: a, the, and, can*, sees, toys, has, of

• (Groundhog Day) Pat Pops Up by Down in Kinderville
• Includes:  a, the, to, is, am, look, see, and, his, go

• (Groundhog Day) A Nap by Trisha Hyde
• Includes: a, his, the, was, for, he, more, weeks

• Valentines Day by Even THAT Kid
• (Valentines Day) The Big Red Love Bug by Lauren's Lil Learners
• Includes: a, love
• Includes an additional story

• (Valentines Day) The Big Red Box by Lauren's Lil Learners
• Includes: a, for, with (th)
• Includes an additional story

• Valentines Puppet Play by Little Kinder Creations
• This is not a book, but a puppet play with two parts.
• PART 1 (Val) includes:  do, the, you, see, has
• PART 2 () includes: do, we, the, is, a, I, look

• The Dog In the Snow by Miss Hodgman's Kindergarten
• While this is a "predictable book" the only non-decodable words in the parts that change can all be skipped by omitting those pages.   The words "the" and "snow" can not be omitted because they are on every page.  
• Includes:  ending s, the, snow, look*, plays* (easy to skip pages with these words).

• Fun in the Snow by Paige Maguire 
• Includes snow, snowman, the, and, my, with, all, hill, like, me, go, of
• Grammar error on page 5 (My pal pat the snow - should be "pats" but they were probably trying to avoid an s ending).   

• Snow Day by 
• Focus words:  the, snow
• Includes ending s, -ck,  -ll, snow, snowball, can*, of, the, to, too, he, has, wall,  them, no, look
• The words snow and snowball have pictures above them in the text to help identify them

Digraphs (th, sh, ch)

• Hot Cocoa  by Natalie Lynn
• 3rd book in set. Includes: -ll words, the, a, pack, whip, to

Blends (st, br, fl, etc.)

• (Christmas)  Wish List  by Natalie Lynn
• 4th book in set. 
• Includes digraph sh, the, I, a, to, my
• Tess and the Big Chill by LitLab.ai
• Focus:   Floss rule
• Includes double letters, the, was, of, said
• The Best Sled by Pioneer Valley Books
• Focus:   e sound
• Includes digraphs, -ing, double letters, is, can*, the, go, going, day, down, like, look, my, said, snow, ice, wheee
• (Christmas) Fen the Elf by Coda Books
• Includes a, the, are
• (Gingerbread Man) Lost Gumdrops by Lucy's Little Learners
• Includes a two syllable word (gumdrops), find, can*, look, the 

Double Letters/Z Floss Rule

(double letters....al and ol words covered in another sections) 

• Tess and the Big Chill by LitLab.ai
• Includes the, was, of, said
• The Empress of Frost (Snow Queen retelling) by Endless Phonics
• Includes blends, digraphs, two syllable words, a, he, I, is, of, she, so, the, too, to, you, they, name, ending s, which, -ed (missed)

Open 1-Syllable Words (be, go, hi)

• My Hat by Even THAT Kid
• Includes: you, my, is, digraphs and blends
• (Christmas - Religious) Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables 
• This printable contains several decodables.   See below for the specific one.
• Chapter 7:  Can it be? (Christian Nativity Story)
• Includes: blends, digraphs, -ing, -ink, true, here, see, leads, here, by, manger, could, by, should, says, shepherds, to, her, the, can*
• Snow Day by Miss Catherine's Kindergarten
• Focus word:  the, snow
• Includes:  snow, -ee, blends, digraphs (th), can*, to, -ll, you, my, like, I

_________________________________________________

All sections past this point may not note inclusion 

of  digraphs, basic blends (ch, sh, th), double letters,

or s making a z sound at the end of words 

_________________________________________________

VCE (Silent E) Words

• White Whales (Summer Olympics) by LAPREA Education
• This is part of multi-book resource
• Focus:  wh-
• Includes:  wh-, their, to, what, talk, see 
• A Fun New Year's Eve by Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Includes  al word (small), 2 -ed ending words, and was, they, said, have, down, saw.   
• A Gift For Mom (Valentines) by Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Includes: have, some, one, cupcake (compound word), to, for, icing (2nd sound of c), white (wh), said, smiled.  
• (Valentines) Ben and Jen by Miss Becca's Classroom
• Includes a, the, to, are, was, you, she, he, so, of, for, have, said, put
• Includes apostrophe's and quotation marks

R-controlled (ar, or, er, ur, ir)

• Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables
• This printable contains several decodables.   See below for the specific one.
• Chapter 13:  The Star
• Focus ar (also includes er)
• Includes: ending a (Ara), 2-3 syllable words, vowel teams (ai, ay, ea), -ng, -ght, silent e, ee, ending y (long i), open syllables, -ed, always, lives, because, others, of, one, new, ever, before, from, who, her

-al / -all Words

• The Snowball Fight by Heather Floodman (Flood of Fun in Primary)
• Focus:  al words, oo words
• Includes ow words, oo words,  compound word (snowball), of, can*

Vowel Teams/Dipthongs (ee, oo, ea, ai, ay, ow, oi, etc.  .)

Also see Advanced/Review section for more difficult passages to review vowel teams and advance vowel teams such as -eigh and -ei

• Christmas Snack  by Natalie Lynn
• 5th book in set
• Vowel Team:  ee 
• Includes the, a, by, milk*
• It's a Leap Year by Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Vowel Team:  ea 
• Includes:  the, r-controlled, -ay, -ed, (+ -ear), there, once, one, have, are, every, February
• (Groundhog Day) Can a Groundhog Tell the Weather  by LAPREA Education
• This is part of multi-book resource
• Vowel Teams: oi/oy, ou/ow
• Includes: Multi-syl, -ol, -al, r-controlled, -ed, -ng,  -y (long e), VCE, vowel teams (ay, ee, ea, oe, oo), are, of, live,  February, other, people, always, another 
• (Super Bowl) The Big Game by Learning a Latte In First
• Vowel Teams:  ee, oo, ea, ie, oi, ey (they)
• Includes:  silent e, r-controlled, -all words, are, to
• The Mitten Mix Up by Pioneer Valley Books
• Readers Theater:   I've listed the parts below as different parts cover different skills
• Narrator: 
• FOCUS:  -ow words
• Includes:  2-syl, -er, -ur,  -ol, -ull, -ay, -ow, -ild, -ile, -tch, -ea (ready), -ear (bear), VCE. a, the, one, does
• Child: 
• Includes: 2-syl, -ay (play), VCE, that's, the,  no,to, want, my+, gone, there, again. (Pg 11:  could change "make in again" for "fix it"
• Wind:  
• digraph sh, oo, ow, I, again, once, more
• Rabbit:  
• digraphs sh, -ng, -aw, -ol, -ay, what, are, please, do, little, mouse, come
• Fox: 
• 2-syl, -ng, -ol, ee, oo, go, ears, little, mouse, come, hey, move,  
• Bear:  
• ee, oo, VCE, want, I, little, mouse, come, (grumbles - in "stage direction" only)
• Mouse:  
• 2-syl, ee+, oo, ending y, there, for, me, 

Closed Syllable Words (2 Syllable)

• The Mitten by Reading With Mrs. Richards
• FOCUS HFW:  go, said
• Includes: compound words, the, go, said
• (Valentines) Yasmin's Quest by LitLab.ai
• Includes one 3 syllable word ("Valentines") and some two syllable words where both syllables make a short sound when there is only one vowel after the first vowel.
• Includes silent e words, -y (my), -er words, -ay (day), -ed suffix, the, you, your, what, said, to
• Has both a blank story where kids draw their own picture, and one with pictures (cute but high printer ink). 

VCV  2 Syllable Words (Open and Closed) 

• Visit and Ice Hotel (Summer Olympics) by LAPREA Education
• This is part of multi-book resource
• Most VCV 2 syllable words are open syllable (1st syllable), but "visit" is closed syllable and used several times. 
• Includes:  of, are, you, can*, would, because, are, what, from

Advanced Easy Readers + Concept Review

While still in the easy reader category, these less controlled texts have more multi-syllable words and harder concepts, and because there are many I am not listing all the concepts.  I suggest reading over these texts beforehand and going over words you think your child may have difficulty with.

General/Mixed Skills 

• Santa's Workshop by 2nd Grade Snickerdoodles

Advanced Vowel Teams  (ei, eigh, igh, ight, etc.) 

• (Hanukkah) The Lamp that Did Not Quit by Think&Grow.com
• FOCUS:  -ight
• This is part of a multi-resource set with other holiday decodable and games.  Find it under the name Hanukkah Digraph Decodable

• (Christmas) Santa's Lost Reindeer by Illustrated Decodables
• FOCUS:  Long a vowel teams: ei, eigh, ey, ea

• (Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year) Sue Observes New Year by LitLab.ai
• FOCUS:   Vowel Team Review (various vowel teams)

• The Reindeer Who Lost Her Way by Pioneer Valley Books

*Asteric words are words that may be tricky words because of how they are pronounced in some regions.  I won't know all of these, but know about some. 

OTHER SEASONS

Spring Decodables

Summer Decodables 

Fall Decodables

Header graphic courtesy of Pixabay.

Free Fall Decodable Readers

Decodables are books that are simplified to mainly include words with phonics concepts your child has already learned, and irregular words that have already been covered.   The best decodables are of course the one that come with the reading curriculum you use, as they will meet your child just where they are and allow them to practice the skills they've just learned.

But sometimes it's nice to have something to read related to specific seasons or holidays.   Below is a list of free printable decodables from various sources, including general autumn themed decodables, as well as printable books for fall holidays and events such as Thanksgiving, Halloween, and more.  (I included farm themed decodable since it's such a common fall theme.)

To make it easier to align these to the skills your child is learning, I've organized these by phonics concept, and noted other concepts included in the decodables, since not all programs teach concepts in the same order (sometimes I will just list the word with that concept if there's only one or two words that use that concept).    However, since nearly all programs start with CVC words, digraphs th, sh, ch and/or blends, I don't usually list these in later concepts.  I also only usually list "a," words ending in double letters,  and words that end in an s sound but say "zzz" in the CVC, Digraphs, and Blends sections as these concepts tend to be learned fairly early.   

Some books include a "FOCUS."  This is a concept or word that is used frequently in the book, or highlighted by underlining or in some other way.  Assume if a book is listed under a certain concept, that that concept is a focus of the book even if it's not listed as such.   

TIP:  If a decodable has a few words with concepts your child hasn't learned, here are a few ways to handle that:

1. Highlight or underline words your child can't read yet, and let your child know you'll read the underlined/highlighted words.
2. Go over the words they can't read beforehand.
3. Let them read it, and when they do, ask if it sounds close to any words they know.   For example, in the word "was" the "a" has an "uh" sound, but a child might be able to figure out the real word even if they pronounce it with a short a, as it's spelled.  So you can ask, is that close to a word that would make sense here?   This strategy is called set for variability.    I don't suggest this strategy for kids in the earliest stages of reading, where they are still mastering sounding out basic CVC words and blends, but once that is solid, this can be a valuable strategy to teach kids. 
4. If a book contains multi syllable words and your child hasn't learned to read those yet, you can help them by drawing lines to divide the syllables for them.  
5. Sometimes, with printables, you can just skip a page.   In some of these books, not all the pages are necessary to the story, and if the harder words are on such a page, it can be easy to just remove it.

CVC

• Halloween - The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource.   
• BOOK 1 - Early CVC:   
• Focus:  I
• Includes I, the, see, a
• BOOK 2 - CVC
• Includes -ll, the, a, we, can*, and, see, go, is, I

• A Witch (Halloween) - 
• The first half of this book is mostly CVC words, and the last has more advanced words, but just using the first half (the bottom four squares) could make a fun story about a cat and a potion, without including the rest.   Below shows just the words for that half.
• Bottom 4 Squares: 
• Includes:  a, the, is, and

• Pat, A Bat by CFlo Learning
• Includes: a

• (Veteran's Day) I am a Vet by Think and Grow
• Includes: a, thank, you, vets. 

• (Thanksgiving) Bud by Teaching Treks
• Includes: a, can*

• (Thanksgiving) The Big Pot by Think and Grow, Co.
• In a set with other materials
• Includes: a, the, said

• (Farm) Pip the Pig  by LAPREA Education
• Part of a large set (free samples of a decodable set)
• Includes:  qu-, ending s, 's, and he to from the

• (Farm) Decodable Readers by Illustrated Decodables
• This resource includes multiple decodables (the relevant one listed below)
• Pig Gets Mad (p 17)
• Includes: the, was, for, went, to, a

• (Farm) Fun Pet Pig Readers Theater by Deedee Wills
• Includes: is, my, I, will, to, the,  for, you, me, a, do, be, scrub (with picture)

• (Farm) Short Vowel Decodable Readers by Mamino Studio
• Multi-book resource.   Relevant Resources included below
• Book 1:  Sam the Fat Hen
• Includes the, and, a, peck, is, safe
• Book 2: Ben and the Web
• the, is, a, out, was, and
• Book 3:  Tim and His Pig
• the, is, a, can*, and

Digraphs

• Halloween by The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource.   
• BOOK 3 - Digraphs
• Digraphs th, wh, sh, -ck, ch
• Includes:  blends (plural s), -ll, all, we, is, see, the

• Halloween by Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Focus HFW:  want
• Includes:  want, Halloween, treat, candy (with picture prompt), to, a, going, -ck, bring, look, all (some of these can be omitted by skipping some pages, as some pages could be omitted without changing the story much). 

Consonant Blends

• (Halloween) Max the Bat - Our Primary Era
• FOCUS:  l blends and ending s
• Includes:  a, Halloween

• Corn Cob Husks by Andrea Bruesch
• Has same passage at different levels.   This is the page 3 passage.
• Includes simple 2 and 3 syllable words, do, you, like, use, for, or, a, the, we, see, can*

• Halloween by The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource.   
• BOOK 4 - Blends
• 2nd Focus:  Open Syllable Words
• Includes:  digraphs (ch, wh, -ck), open syllable words, the, Halloween, to, do, have, for, said

• Halloween by Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Focus HFW:  want
• Includes:  want, Halloween, treat, candy (with picture prompt), to, a, going, -ck, bring, look, all (some of these can be omitted by skipping some pages, as some pages could be omitted without changing the story much). 

• The Map by LAPREA Education
• Part of a large set (free samples of a decodable set)
• Includes:  a, do, have, me, to, are, from, I, see, was

• The Parts of an Apple by A Little Pinch of Perfect
• Children are meant to not just read this book, but color in the different parts of the apple described.   While it has a "predictable" book structure, the word that changes is not predictable because the picture doesn't change (and the child needs to read the word to color the right part). 
• FOCUS WORDS:  apple, is, the, of 
• Includes:  digraph sh,  is, the, of, apple, core, seeds

Open Syllable Words (One Syllable:  me, go, hi)

• Halloween - The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource.   
• BOOK 4 - Blends
• Includes:  digraphs, open syllable words, the, Halloween, to, do, have, for, said

•  Fun Pet Pig Readers Theater by Deedee Wills
• Only Liz' part contains open syllables
• Both parts includes: is, my, I, the, a, to
• Liz part includes:  will, do
• FOCUS: ending e - me, be, we
• (CVC Words) Gus part includes:  can*, for, scrub (with picture)

R-controlled (ar, or, er, ir, ur)

• Veterans Day (Nov 11) - Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Focus:  Er words (multi-syllable), one or word
• Includes: multi-syllable words, VCE words, -y suffix, vowel teams, country, sea, lived, some, our

• Corn Cob Husks - Andrea Bruesch
• Has same passage at different levels.   This is the page 2 passage.
• Includes 1 -ed word, many 2 and 3 syllable words,  silent e words, people, do, you,  use, for, or, many, have, we, see, can*

• Halloween - The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource.   
• BOOK 5 - CVCe
• Includes ir, ar, or, er
• Includes:  Open syllable words, 3 letter blends, 2 Syllable words,  wh-, -ed, Halloween, to, have, for, or, said, can*

• (Thankgiving) Leader Lincoln Pardons a Turkey by Lauren Shady
• This story is based on real history.  You can read the longer version of the story of Abe Lincoln's son Tad and Lincoln pardoning a turkey at the Smithsonian.
• There are multiple levels of this story.
• LEVEL 1 (with pictures):  Includes 2 syllable words, ending -ed, ee, oo, open syllable words, silent e, ay, oy, saw, turkey, said, do, my,  very,  would, father, Abraham, Lincoln.
• NOTE:  ar words are bolded, so you could just have your child read those.
• LEVEL 2 and 3 (without pictures):  Includes multi-syllable words, ending -ed, oo, open syllable words, silent e,  wr-, turkey, said, do, was, father,  heard, words,  once, Lincoln.
• LEVEL 4: Advanced, with too many consepts to list here. Great to read out loud to give more of the story, or to give to an older child who needs review of r-controlled concepts. 

VCE (silent e) - LONG VOWEL

See separate section for VCE variants, such as short vowel VCE words, and R-controlled VCE words

• Corn Cob Husks - Andrea Bruesch
• Has same passage at different levels.   This is the page 2 passage.
• Includes 1 -ed word, simple 2 and 3 syllable words, do, you, for, or, many, have, we,  wrap, can*

• Halloween - The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource.   
• BOOK 5 - CVCe
• Includes:  Open syllable words, 3 letter blends, 2 Syllable words,  wh-, -ed, Halloween, to, have, for, or, said, can*

• Time to Vote - Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Includes several more difficult multi-syllable words, but also includes a pictorial guide for these words.
• Includes:  to, her, for, walks, the, said, she, -er suffix, -ck

• Veterans Day (Nov 11) - Reading With Mrs. Richards
• Includes: r-controlled syllables, multi-syllable words, -y suffix, vowel teams, country, sea, lived, some, our

VCE Variants (Other uses for silent e)

• (Thanksgiving) The Pilgrims and Native Americans by A Little Pinch of Perfect 
• FOCUS:  -ive short vowel words (native, lived, thanksgiving)
• A great book to teach that silent e also helps "v" from ending words, and in these words the vowel may not be long
• Includes:  multi-syllable words, vowel teams (ou, oa, ai, oy), r-controlled (ir, er), -ed, VCE (long vowel), soft c, the, we, -ing.

-all/-oll/-ull 

• Fall Again by Learning for the Littles
• Includes: the, again, there, you,  your, they, can*, with, be, do, with, leaves

• Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables
• This printable contains several decodables.   See below for the specific one.
• Chapter 4: The Troll's Wall
• FOCUS:  -all/-oll words 
• Includes:  simple two syllable words, -tch, wh-, -y (fly, by), loves, she, her, they, to, who,  over, lives, does, like, her, other, finds

Vowel Teams and Diphthongs (ee, oo, ea, ai, oi, ou, ow, ay, etc.)

• The Big Game (Football) by Learning a Latte In First
• Vowel Teams: ee, oo, ea, ie, ey (they), oi
• Also included:  silent e, r-controlled, -all words, are, to

• Apples Please (farm) by LAPREA Education
• Part of a large set (free samples of a decodable set)
• Vowel Teams/Dipthongs: (ui, ow, ee, ea, ou, oo, oy)
• Focus:  Prefix -y (long e) , two syllable words
• Includes:  -y (long e), two-syllable words, VCE, -CLE r-cont, your, of, some, answer, people, one, once, four

•  A Witch (Halloween) - 
• Vowel Teams: ea, oo
• Diphthongs: ow
• Includes:  a, the, is, and, witch

• Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables (Halloween, Farm, Thanksgiving)
• This printable contains several decodables.   See below for the specific ones.
• (Halloween) Chapter 16: The Haunted Town of Halladin 
• Focus Vowel Teams:  aw, au, ai
• Other Vowel Teams:  ea, ay, 
• Includes:  silent e, r-controlled, -y (long i and e), soft c, -ed, -ng/-ing, -Cle
• Includes: they, said, do, should, Halloween, glowing, friendly, window, of, from
• (Farm) Chapter 18: The Rowdy Cow 
• Focus Vowel Teams:  -ou/ow
• Other Vowel Teams:  ee, ai, ay, 
• Includes: multi syllable words, -ed, silent e, ending y (long e), -ng/-ing, r-con, water, were
• (Halloween) The Troop Gets Spooked
• Focus Vowel Team: oo
• Other Vowel Teams:  oy, ou, ea, 
• Includes:  Multi-Syllable Words, -ind (long i), -ght, -y (long e), -ed,  -all,  -er, they, was, heard, of, their, laughter, through
• (Thanksgiving) The Night I Saved the Turkey
• Focus Vowel Team: ey, ay
• Other Vowel Teams:  ew, ou, ow, ee, ey, ea, ue
• Includes: multi-syllable words, silent e, -ore, kn-, r-cont, -ight, -ing,  of, thought, have, could, one, said

• Halloween - The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource. 
• BOOK 7 - Vowel Teams
• Vowel Teams:  (focus ea) ay, oo, ea, ee, ue, oa, ai
• Includes:  open syllables, silent e, r-controlled (ir, ar, or) two syllable words, -ed, -y ending (ee), wh-, Halloween, to, have, for, my, said
• BOOK 8 - Dipthongs
• Vowel Teams/Dipthongs:   ay, oo, ea, ee, ue, oa, ai, ou
• Includes:   open syllables, silent e, r-controlled (ir, ar, or) two syllable words, -ed, -y ending (ee), wh-, Halloween, to, have, for, my, said

R- Controlled

• Halloween - The Literacy Party
• Multi-book resource.   
• BOOK 6 - R-controlled
• Includes:  open syllables, two syllable words, -ed, -y ending (ee), wh-, Halloween, have, for, or, you, your, said

-le syllable (pickle, apple)

• The Parts of an Apple by A Little Pinch of Perfect
• Children are meant to not just read this book, but color in the different parts of the apple described.   While it has a "predictable" book structure, the word that changes is not predictable because the picture doesn't change (and the child needs to read the word to color the right part). 
• This is a "pay what you want" book (so you can get it for free, or choose to pay)
• Only contains one -le word, apple, but it is on every page
• Includes:  digraph sh,  is, the, of, core, seeds

 

-tch (fetch, match)

• (Halloween) Which Witch Did You Catch by Tally Tales Literacy
• Part of "Halloween Activities With Trigraph -Tch
• FOCUS:  -tch
• Includes: 2-syllable words, oo, r-cont (her, for, -er), -ing, VCE, happy, when, they, no, there, was, who, the, to

• (Halloween) Frog Cake by Pioneer Valley Books
• FOCUS: -tch, -dge
• Includes:   2-syl, -dge, VCE, -ck, -ing, -ed, open syllable (she, go), here, has, said, to, the, for

-dge (edge, fudge)

• (Halloween) Frog Cake by Pioneer Valley Books
• FOCUS: -tch, -dge
• Includes:   2-syl, -dge, VCE, -ck, -ing, -ed, open syllable (she, go), here, has, said, to, the, for

gh/ igh /ight

• Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables
• This printable contains several decodables.   See below for the specific one.
• Chapter 10:  The Ghost Town
• Includes:  open syllable words, -tch, silent e. ee
• Includes: there, they, to, before, town, because, come, out, moon, of
•  Halloween Poems by Pioneer Valley Books
• All but one of these poems had -ight words in them only once each, but Pumpkin, Pumpkin had several.  It's in bold and the other ones are in grey bold, and the one without an -igh is not bolded.
• Five Little Pumpkins
• 2-syl, VCE, -ing, -tch, -ight, oo, said, my, second, there,  Halloween,  little, one, first, third, second, fourth (these could be replaced with numbers with a little white out)
• The Black Cat
• -ck, -ed, -ar, -ow, saw,  Halloween, night
• Who's in the Costume
• 2-syl, costume, who, ghost, behind, think, VCE (like), me, to, says, Halloween, night
• Pumpkin, Pumpkin
• FOCUS:  -ight
• -ight, 2 syl, ou, er, ee, VCE, -le, through, all
• Creepy Crawlies
• FOCUS:  ee
• ee, VCE, -er, -ing, oa, -ow, oe, ee, Halloween

REVIEW BOOKS

These have multiple concepts with no clear focus (or many words generally taught later than the claimed focus),  but are mostly easy to read, and still not quite in the "advanced" book stage.

• Lost in the Woods by Caffeinated Teacher
• Focus:  digraphs and blends, they
• Includes concepts: silent e, open syllable (so, be...), r-controlled, welded sounds (find, full, stalks), oo (wood, look), -ng, soft c (fence), ea (lead), ee (see)
• Includes words: are, the, is, put, of, to, yellow

•  Halloween Poems by Pioneer Valley Books
• Some of these poems do sort of have a focus, which is noted, but most do not.  I'm including details on each poem separately.
• Five Little Pumpkins
• 2-syl, VCE, -ing, -tch, -ight, oo, said, my, second, there,  Halloween,  little, one, first, third, second, fourth (these could be replaced with numbers with a little white out)
• The Black Cat
• -ck, -ed, -ar, -ow, saw,  Halloween, night
• Who's in the Costume
• 2-syl, costume, who, ghost, behind, think, VCE (like), me, to, says, Halloween, night
• Pumpkin, Pumpkin
• FOCUS:  -ight
• -ight, 2 syl, ou, er, ee, VCE, -le, through, all
• Creepy Crawlies
• FOCUS:  ee
• ee, VCE, -er, -ing, oa, -ow, oe, ee, Halloween

MORE ADVANCED BOOKS/CONCEPTS

By the time kids get to these concepts, they are generally reading multi-syllable words and have  learned a most of the basic phonics concepts, so I will not include all phonics concepts in the description.  

-tion/-sion

• Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables
• This printable contains several decodables, including the one below.
• (Halloween) Chapter 23:  No Television
• Focus:  -tion/-sion
• Includes:  various phonics concepts

OTHER SEASONS

Winter Decodables (Coming This Winter)

Spring Decodables

Summer Decodables 

*Some words that are irregular in some regions.

Header graphic courtesy of Pixabay.

Free Summer Decodable Readers

Decodables are books that are simplified to mainly include words with phonics concepts your child has already learned, and irregular words that have already been covered.   The best decodables are of course the one that come with the reading curriculum you use, as they will meet your child just where they are and allow them to practice the skills they've just learned.

But sometimes it's nice to have something to read related to specific seasons or holidays.   Below is a list of free printable decodables from various sources, including general summer themed decodables, as well as printable books for summer holidays and events such as 4th of July, Father's Day, and more.  

To make it easier to align these to the skills your child is learning, I've organized these by phonics concept, and noted other concepts included in the decodables, since not all programs teach concepts in the same order (sometimes I will just list the word with that concept if there's only one or two words that use that concept).    However, since nearly all programs start with CVC words, digraphs th, sh, ch and/or blends, I don't usually list these in later concepts.  I also only usually list "a," words ending in double letters,  and words that end in an s sound but say "zzz" in the CVC, Digraphs, and Blends sections as these concepts tend to be learned fairly early.   

Some books include a "FOCUS."  This is a concept or word that is used frequently in the book, or highlighted by underlining or in some other way.  Assume if a book is listed under a certain concept, that that concept is a focus of the book even if it's not listed as such.   

TIP:  If a decodable has a few words with concepts your child hasn't learned, here are a few ways to handle that:

1. Highlight or underline words your child can't read yet, and let your child know you'll read the underlined/highlighted words.
2. Go over the words beforehand and show the parts they can read, and the irregular or advanced parts.
3. Let them read it, and when they do, ask if it sounds close to any words they know.   For example, in the word "was" the "a" has an "uh" sound, but a child might be able to figure out the real word even if they pronounce it with a short a, as it's spelled.  So you can ask, is that close to a word that would make sense here?   This strategy is called set for variability.    I don't suggest this strategy for kids in the earliest stages of reading, where they are still mastering sounding out basic CVC words and blends, but once that is solid, this can be a valuable strategy to teach kids. 
4. If a book contains multi syllable words and your child hasn't learned to read those yet, you can help them by drawing lines to divide the syllables for them.  
5. Sometimes, with printables, you can just skip a page.   In some of these books, not all the pages are necessary to the story, and if the harder words are on such a page, it can be easy to just remove it.

CVC Words

• (Father's Day) Is a Dad by Pup on a Step Speech and Learning
• Focus:  is, a, dad
• Includes:  is, a

• Fun in the Sun by Mrs. M's Reading Resources
• Focus:  -un words, have, the
• Includes:  the, and, look**, have
• **This word is on a page that can be skipped
• Sam in the Sun by The Beach Classroom Morgan Grassi
• This includes several versions at different levels.
• Book 1:  Includes words the, a, has, can*
• Jam Sam Jam (Summer Music Festival) by LAPREA Education
• Part of a large set (free samples of a decodable set)
• Includes:  a, have, of, to, and, is, the

Consonant Blends (st-, fr-, -nd, etc.) 

• Kit - by CKLA
• This book has several stories.   All could take place in summer, but the stories Kit (about outdoor play), Kit's Pants (which she lost at camp), and Up (about kids climbing s tree) all feel the most like summer.  Book is part of a larger lesson plan but can be used without it.
• Includes some words where s makes a z sound (is, has)

•  Decodable Readers by Illustrated Decodables
• This resource has multiple readers (see relevant ones below).
• Chapter 2: The Crab Traps the Clam
• Includes and, the, are, like, with, a, of

• Bandit Island (Chapter Book) by Carissa Taylor (Endless Phonics)
• Includes two simple syllable words, digraphs and various high frequency words and a few other tricky words, which are listed on the intro.

• Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables
• This printable contains several decodables.   See below for the specific one.
• Chapter 2: The Hen's Swim
• Includes:  -ck words, wants, goes, her, from, who, the, to, like, when, she, does 

• Swim, Squid, Swim (Beach Clean Up) by LAPREA Education
• Includes:  qu-, a, the, is, see, be, look, you

• Kim at Camp by Heidi Sodemann (Students Rising)
• Includes plural s, is, has, a,  said, the

• Camp is a Blast  by LAPREA Education
• Part of a large set (free samples of a decodable set)
• Includes:  are, do, me, the, was, be, I said, to, you

• Twins on a Trip (vacation - Niagara Falls) by LAPREA Education
• Part of a large set (free samples of a decodable set)
• Includes:  a, look, said, are, of, the

• Twins!   by LAPREA Education
• Part of a large set (free samples of a decodable set)
• Includes:  a, look, said, are, of, the

• Cam and Ann by DeeDee Wills
• This is a readers theater.  BOTH parts include: to, I, a, can 
• Cam part includes: play, too, for, the, see, you, is
• Ann part includes:  we, castle (with picture under it)

Digraphs (sh, th, ch)

Digraphs wh and -ng have their own section

• (sh) On a Ship by MAT Creations
•  Includes blends, is, the,  a, shark, into, to, can*, likes/liked, for, from

• Bandit Island (Chapter Book) by Carissa Taylor (Endless Phonics)
• Includes two simple syllable words, digraphs and various high frequency words and a few other tricky words, which are listed on the intro.

• Alices Decodable Stories: Book 3 by Illustrated Decodables
• This printable contains several decodables.   See below for the specific one.
• Chapter 3: The Lock Ness Fish
• Includes: blends (including -nch), ending a (Ella), open syllables (she), -ck, -ll, -ss, simple two syllable words, -ink/-ind, knew, was, is, lucky, for, of, they, are, the, to
• Sam - by CKLA
• This book has several stories.  All also include blends.   Seems to start in end of summer and continue into school year, but I've included some stories that could be summer stories if taken out of order.  See notes on stories below:
• (Fishing) Sam and the Fish:  
• FOCUS:  the
• Includes digraph sh, -ng, a, the,
• Fun at the Pond:  
• FOCUS: the 
• Includes digraphs ch/th, the, all, of, 
• The Chills:  
• FOCUS: ch, ck, double letters, was
• Includes ng, -ck, a, the, two syllable -ing word, double letters, was, from
• Sam and the Duck
• FOCUS:  ck, ending ss
• Includes digraphs ch/sh/th/ng, is, -ck, qu-,  double letters, one, the, can,* a, it's
• The Chick
• FOCUS:  digraph ch, -ck, -ll, of
• Includes digraph ch/th, -ck, -ll, the, of, was, from
• Zack and Ann by CKLA
• This book has several stories.  All also include blends.   It comes in a set with other materials but you can use the readers by themselves. See notes on individual stories below:
• (Beach) The Bad Crab
• Includes digraphs ch/th/ng/wh, -nch, is, the, -ck, word
• Fix that Ship
• FOCUS: sh, wh
• Includes digraphs sh/wh/ng, scr- a, to, all, the 
• The Tent
• Includes digraphs sh/th/ng, a, the, once, was, from, -ck
• Bug and Frog
• FOCUS: says
• Includes digraphs sh/ch/ , qu-, says, were, why, are, no, I
• Swing That Net
• Includes digraphs th/-ng/sh qu-, wh-, the, there, are, of, to, one, so, here,
• Is It Trash? (Beach Clean Up) by LAPREA Education
• Digraphs sh, ch, th
• Includes:  a, we, you, can*, is, their, goes, your, we, are 

Digraph wh 

• Zack and Ann by CKLA
• This book has several stories.  All also include blends.   It comes in a set with other materials but you can use the readers by themselves. See notes on individual stories below:
• *When It's Hot
• FOCUS:  wh, contractions/possessives
• Includes digraphs sh/wh, where, here, are, all, I, says, to, contractions/possessives

    

Digraph -ng

• Sam - by CKLA
• This book has several stories.  All also include blends.   Seems to start in end of summer and continue into school year, but I've included some stories that could be summer stories if taken out of order.  See notes on stories below:
• (Fishing) Sam and the Fish:  
• FOCUS:  the
• Includes digraph sh, -ng, a, the,
• The Chills:  
• FOCUS: ch, ck, double letters, was
• Includes digraphs sh/ch, ng, -ck, a, the, two syllable -ing word, double letters, was, from

Open 1 Syllable Words (he, she, go)

• Sam in the Sun by The Beach Classroom Morgan Grassi
• This includes several versions at different levels.
• Book 2:  Includes open syllable words (he, go), double l, the, a, has, can*,  is, have, pool**, juice**
• **Pages with these words can be skipped without changing story much

R-Controlled (ar, or, er, ir, ur)

• (ar, er)  Sharks by Teaching Tiny Humans with Miss Seely
• Includes words:  there, are, of, have, by
• Includes concepts:   oo, ee, ea, wh-, ue

Vowel Teams and Dipthongs (ee, ai, ea, ay, ow, etc.) 

• A Feast by the Sea by the Cincy Speechie
• FOCUS:  ea, ey, ee (long vowel e)
• Includes:  2 Syllable Words, contractions,  ending y (by, tasty), -ed endings, -ing, main, play, how, -ink, their, brought, done, to, put, said, chuckle
• At the Lake by Kassi Gilmour
• Focus:  Vowel Teams oa (boat).  Also includes vowel teams ai, ee, oa, ay.  
• Focus:  Silent e words WITH suffixes s or er.
• Includes many other concepts (listed on first page).   
•  Decodable Readers by Illustrated Decodables
• This resource has multiple readers (see relevant ones below).
• Chapter 19: The Oyster's Choice
• FOCUS DIPTHONG: oi/oy
• VOWEL TEAMS: ea, ay, ey, ou
• Includes multi-syllable words, r-cont (er, ear, or), -tion, -ed, soft c, -ile,  ending y,  silent e, wh, thought, to, little, one, was, could, moved,

-ed Endings (past tense)

• Sam's Fourth of July by Rus Buyok (Bergen.org)
• Includes vowel teams (various), open syllable words, r-controlled vowels,   y endings, multi syllable words,  the, of, one, parade, decorations, soldiers, night

Two-syllable Words

• Bandit Island (Chapter Book) by Carissa Taylor (Endless Phonics)
• Includes two simple syllable words, digraphs, various high frequency words and a few other tricky words (all listed on the intro).
• At the Lake by Kassi Gilmour
• Focus:  Vowel Teams oa (boat).  Also includes vowel teams ai, ee, oa, ay.  
• Focus:  Silent e words WITH suffixes s or er.
• Includes many other concepts (listed on first page).  

ADVANCED BOOKS

These books may have more concepts than I can categorize and I may only name a few of the more challenging ones, but are still easy readers in many ways.  They are useful as they may focus on a particular skill and target it. 

OR variations (ore, oar)

• The Horrid Trip by Cindy Speechie 
• Includes many concepts, including -le words, 1 three syllable word (Orlando), contractions, and more.

-tion/sion

•  Decodable Readers by Illustrated Decodables
• This resource has multiple readers (see relevant ones below).
• Chapter 23: The Rabbit's Competition

Multi-syllable Words (3 or More Syllables)

Note, some books in earlier categories may also include multi-syllable words.  

• Sam in the Sun by The Beach Classroom Morgan Grassi
• This includes several versions at different levels.
• Book 3:  Three Syllable Words, and various words with advanced phonics concepts.
• Sam's Fourth of July by Rus Buyok (Bergen.org)
• Includes vowel teams (various), open syllable words, r-controlled vowels,   y endings, multi syllable words,  the, of, one, parade, decorations, soldiers, night
• The Amazing Simone Biles (Summer Olympics) by LAPREA Education
• Focus:  Suffix -able/ible 
• Includes:  though, won, other, about, always

*This word is an irregular word in some regions based on regional pronunciation.  

OTHER SEASONS

Spring Decodables

Fall Decodables

Winter Decodables (Coming This Winter)

If you know of any other free seasonal themed decodables, 

please leave a comment and share a link!

Heading background thanks to bytrangle on Pixabay