Decodable and Predictable Books – what is the difference?
There are two types of children’s books that are important in the development of spelling and reading (literacy) skills.
The first is the decodable type: books that have numerous repetitions of a certain speech sound on a single page, spelt in a number of ways. This supports the most evidenced-based means of learning to spell and read – a PHONICS approach. In this case speech sounds (also known as phonemes) are aligned with their spelling choices or letter combinations (known as graphemes). These books are very useful when children are in their early years of school and are learning to read and spell, or to support older children whose spelling and/ or reading skills need intervention.
The second type of book is the predictable type. These are books that focus on meaning and information, language structure and vocabulary, rather than spelling. They generally rely on pictures to get their message across and are better for children who have a strong sound-letter knowledge.
This article from theconversation.com explains in more detail these two types of children’s books and when they should be used. As the article says, “A child’s early experiences with books both at home and later in school have the potential to significantly affect future reading performance.”
Our speech pathology and psychology clinic is located in Braddon, ACT. Call us on 5117 4890 or email reception@inpositivehealth.com to get in touch.
In Positive Health, Canberra. Nel MacBean Speech Pathologist Canberra. Campbell MacBean Psychologist Canberra.
