What makes a great decodable text?

When it comes to early reading instruction, not all decodables are created equal.

A great decodable text is intentionally crafted so that the vast majority of words align with what students have been explicitly taught, allowing them to successfully sound out and apply new phonics knowledge in context.

Below, we'll unpack the key features of a high-quality decodable using a LitLab story aligned to UFLI Lesson 13 (/d/): Dot and Dad.

Aligned to a Phonics Sequence

Every strong decodable text is anchored to a systematic phonics scope and sequence, such as UFLI Foundations or CKLA, ensuring that the words students encounter can be sounded out using previously taught patterns.

For example, if students have learned short vowel sounds and the letters d and t, a sentence like "Dad did it!" allows them to apply those skills successfully. This alignment gives students the structure they need to read independently and confidently, without guessing.

Research shows that the degree of decodability in a text strongly predicts both reading accuracy and fluency. In a large-scale study, Saha et al. (2021) found that text decodability uniquely predicted students' oral reading performance, even after accounting for decoding ability.

Across thousands of LitLab stories:

• Median decodability: 96%
• All decodables are aligned to a specific lesson in a phonics scope and sequence (from early CVC to vowel teams)

This tight alignment helps students apply new sound–spelling patterns without encountering untaught ones. Every LitLab story is fully aligned to a phonics sequence, ensuring that most words can be successfully sounded out.

Focuses on a Target Skill — with Natural Repetition

A hallmark of great decodables is the intentional density of skill words.

Decodables should provide natural, frequent exposure to the target phonics pattern being practiced.

For example, if the lesson focuses on -ck, the story might include several words like duck, chuck, and tuck. This repetition gives students multiple chances to apply the same phonics feature in varied contexts, building automaticity without sacrificing story flow.

The best decodables weave these repetitions seamlessly into engaging sentences, so practice feels like real reading, not drill.

Non-Decodable Words Are Pre-Taught

Even the most controlled stories include a few words that can't yet be sounded out — such as is or the (often called Heart Words).

Most of the time, these are high-frequency words that have already been explicitly taught within the scope and sequence.

These words should be practiced before reading so they don't interrupt decoding flow.

Pre-teaching them ensures that students can focus on applying the target phonics skill while still experiencing authentic, meaningful text.

Pictures Enhance the Narrative

In well-crafted decodable texts, illustrations enhance comprehension without replacing decoding.

Pictures help students connect meaning to the words they're reading and stay engaged, especially when a story includes new or conceptually rich details.

In the LitLab example above, students can decode the word "it" and use the illustration to infer that "it" refers to the jar. The word "jar" may not yet be decodable at early levels, so it is not included in the text. The image provides helpful context without serving as a guessing cue.

Balanced, Engaging, and Teacher-Friendly

A high-quality decodable doesn't just support students. It supports teachers, too.

Beyond maintaining strong phonics control (typically 85–95% decodable) and telling stories that make sense, great decodables make their structure transparent to the teacher.

Teachers should be able to easily see:

• Target skill words — words that include the phonics pattern being practiced (e.g., duck, pack, back for the -ck skill)
• Non-decodable "story words" — words not yet fully decodable but necessary for meaning
• High-frequency words — previously taught sight words that reappear for fluency and familiarity

Clear categorization helps teachers preview texts, plan instruction, and pre-teach strategically, ensuring every story aligns with what's been taught.

In LitLab, each story clearly labels its target skill and categorizes all words by skill words, review words, high-frequency words, and non-decodable ("story") words. Teachers know exactly what students will encounter before reading.

This transparency keeps instruction consistent and empowers teachers to use decodables as both a reading and teaching tool, not just a text to hand out.

Ready to Explore High-Quality Decodables?

A great decodable is more than controlled text. It's purposeful practice that builds confident readers.

At LitLab, that balance is built in. Every story is:

• Aligned to a phonics scope and sequence
• Verified for decodability
• Tagged with skill words, high-frequency words, and story words
• Designed to make phonics practice both accurate and joyful

By combining phonics precision, clear teacher supports, and engaging stories, LitLab makes it easy to choose texts that truly match instruction.

👉 Explore high-quality decodable stories at LitLab.ai

Written by: Drew McCann, K-3 Literacy Specialist and Head of Learning at LitLab.ai, and Jacqueline Ontell, Elementary Teacher, Special Education & Curriculum Development

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[1] Saha, N. M., Cutting, L. E., Del Tufo, S. N., & Bailey, S. (2021). Initial validation of a measure of decoding difficulty as a unique predictor of miscues and passage reading fluency. Scientific Studies of Reading, 25(5), 404–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2020.1817093