I sought decodable readers to practice the “short a” sound.
What kind of free resources are there? One resource is the library. Our library has a collection of phonics boxes. I noticed that many had characters popular in secular culture. Unfortunately, many of them are not, in fact, decodable for beginning readers because they contain so many words that beginners cannot yet sound out.
For this post, I went through the stories that were supposed to focus on “short a” and noted down every word in the story. I divided the word list into “short a”-words that beginners can sound out (such as cat), other short a words (e.g., words with two consonants at the beginning, like in the word ‘glad’, which are usually only introduced later), common helper words (such as the), and other words.
It turned out to be frustrating. I got set after set from the library, only to discover that it wasn’t decodable for beginners. And then there is length – one book that only had short a words and common helper words was rather long for beginners (Playful Pals). Only two others (Biscuit and Thomas the Train) were mostly decodable. And that’s before one even goes into whether one likes the content of the books – which is a whole other challenge and not something I’ll comment on in this post.
Other resources to practice decoding “short a”-words, that do not focus on characters popular in secular culture, such as printables, are described in a separate post.
If you want to read the word list analysis for the different sets I’ve looked at, read on.
Playful pals
This library find is written by Nora Gaydos and illustrated by BB Sams. “Now I’m reading! for Beginning Readers” is labeled as “Level 1” (Random House). The first book focusing on short a is called “Rat naps”.
- beginner “short a” words: a, hat, tan, sat, rat, fan, nap, naps, tap, taps, rap, lands, cat
- common “helper words”: on, no, by
This is the only book on the list so far that doesn’t have any other words. It does have quite long sentences per page, however, and includes some words with two consonants after the vowel, which are normally taught only later.
Thomas & Friends phonics
Another phonics box our library has is “Phonics. Step into Reader. Thomas & Friends. Get rolling with phonics”. Book 1, focusing on short a, is called “The jam”:
- beginner “short a” words: jam, can, a, sat, and
- common “helper words”: the, is, no, not, go
- other words: Thomas, happy
Thomas is the name of the anthropomorphized train character. Y can make different sounds (e.g., think of yellow vs. happy), so it depends on what the learner already knows. It is also a two-syllable word. But mostly, the word list is focused and decodable.
Biscuit
Another “I can read! Phonics” box is “Biscuit Phonics Fun” by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Harper).
It starts with an introductory book called “This is Biscuit” which is not decodable and would need to be read by an adult (with words such as girl, friend, yellow, etc.).
Book 2 is about ‘short a’ and called “Biscuit and the cat”:
- beginner “short a” words: and, cat, ran, mat, nap, naps, can
- common “helper words”: the, to, on
- other words: Biscuit, woof
So the second book is mostly decodable. Biscuit is not decodable early on, but that’s the character’s name and thus can’t be helped. Biscuit always goes woof in all the books, so that is also something learners might already be used to.
Eric Carle
The library also had a “Eric Carle. My first phonics box”. The first book is called “Cats. Cats. Cats” and is supposed to focus on short a.
- beginner ‘short a’ words: a, cat, cats, mad, sat
- other ‘short a’ words: that
- common ‘helper words’: not
- other words: little, big
So the most difficult word is ‘little’ due to the silent e at the end. In general, the set says in the introduction that it contains high-frequency words and animal names (e.g., in book 3 – short o words like turtle, kangaroo, and elephant) to make “engaging stories”. “That” is in a separate category because the “the”-sound is usually introduced only after some practice with words such as cat and jam.
Pete the cat
The library has a “Pete the cat” set of readers called “I can read. Phonics. Pete the cat phonics box” by James Dean (Harper). Book 1 “Pete the cat and the bad banana” is supposedly about the ‘short a’ sound. But it has the following words:
- beginner “short a” words: at, cat, bad, fan, a, and
- other short a words: that, what
- common “helper words”: the, is, for, he, of, that, was, what
- other words: banana, bananas, Pete, eats, breakfast, sandwiches, ice cream, one, last, ever, ate, makes, happy, now, oranges, day
So it’s not decodable at all at an early stage!
Pinkalicious
The library also had an “I can read! Phonics” box called “Pinkalicious Phonics Box” by Victoria Kann (Harper). They start with a book 1 for sight words, called “Meet Pinkalicious” which is not decodable and would need to be read by the adult (with words such as dressing, color, together, Pinkville etc.)
The next book “The Fantastic Machine”, is supposed to focus on “short a”. But it contains a lot of other words:
- beginner “short a” words: has, a, rats, mad, gap, and, bam, am
- common “helper words”: that’s, I, to, it, I’m, of, the, go
- other words: Mr. Swizzle, fantastic, machine, so, cool, say, want, try, doesn’t, work, now, find, inside, flip, switch, part, cupcake
While “so” and “go” can be easily sounded out by beginning readers, others such as “doesn’t”, “now”, “machine,” etc. require a lot of knowledge that only comes at a much later stage, usually.
Paw Patrol phonics
Another phonics box in the “Phonics. Step into Reading” series is “Paw Patrol. Phonics patrol”. Book 1, focusing on short a, is called “Pup pals”:
- beginner “short a” words: pals, pal, has, a, can, jam
- other short a words: plan
- common “helper words”: the, have, is, he, in, they, she
- other words: pups, pups’, Alex, trike, fast, going, too, who, help, helps, Skye, her, stops, Alex’s
So this is another example of a book that isn’t decodable at the early stage because it has so many other words (such as trike) that usually only come at a later stage. “Plan” is in the other “short a”-word category because having two consonants at the beginning is often only introduced later.
Little Critter phonics Fun
Another library find was “I can read! Phonics Little Critter Phonics Fun”.
It has an introductory book (“Book 1: Introduction (Sight Words) – Just critters who care”) which is not decodable and would need to be read by the adult (with words such as feels, bushes, yard, helping, little, etc.).
What about the next book? In contrast to many other books, Book 2 is about long a, not short a. It has words such as skateboard, money, lemonade, enough, or clean – so definitely not decodable at an early stage. Book 3 is about short a and called “Just helping my dad”. It does not get better:
- beginner “short a” words: am, dad, can, gas, a, hand, and, nap
- common “helper words”: I, my, we, have, of, to, the, go, no, he, me, in, for
- other words: help, helping, today, lots, work, do, cut, grass, oops, over, blasts, off, town, pump, ask, thanks, says, needs, hammer, give, him, get, home, tucks
The Berenstain bears Phonics fun
Another “I can read. Phonics” box from the library is “The Berenstain Bears Phonics Fun”. Book 1, which is supposed to focus on short a, is called “Batter up”:
- beginner “short a” words: a, bat, Matt, hat, at, had, bad, Pam, ran, and, Sam, tag, mad
- other short a words: plan
- common “helper words”: to, the, with, was, she, in, this, not
- other words: brother, bear, showed, little, cubs, how, hold, sister, whack, whacked, ball, red, up, oops, hit, fast, get, blue, tagged, then, after, everyone, played
So yeah, another example of a reader that is not decodable at the early stage.
Monster phonics
The library also had a “Step into Reading Phonics” called “Monster Phonics” (Nickelodeon). Book 1 – supposedly focusing on short a is called “Fast Lasso”,
- beginner “short a” words: can, pal, cans, sad, a, jam, and
- other short a words: plan
- common “helper words”: she, is, to, he, the, go, are, they, in, have
- other words: fast, lasso, Starla, cattle, Blaze, Blaze’s, wants, learn, uh-oh, cold, wet, get, them, dry, happy, yee-haw
So another clear example of a phonics reader that would frustrate beginners because it has so many words that, when just starting out, can’t be sounded out yet.
Disney Princess Phonics
This is another 12-book set from the library called “Disney Princess Phonics” (published by Scholastic). The first book, supposedly focusing on short a, is called “Happy Magic”.
- beginner “short a” words: has, a, add, mad, sad, can
- other short a words: sash
- common “helper words”: go, to, the, in, the, is, are, they
- other words: Cinderella, Cinderella’s, family, will, castle, dress, attic, mice, happy, sisters, rip, fairy godmother, magic
Sash requires knowing that the two letters “sh” make one sound, something usually not yet dealt with at the very beginning.
Todd Parr Learn to Read
The library also had “Todd Parr’s Learn to Read Box”. In contrast to others, the books do not seem to be numbered or indicate which vowel they focus on. Instead, they are labeled with level A or B. The titles of the level A books are “Be kind to animals”, “Great hair”, “We can share”, “See the Baby”, and “Pig and Dog”. Each book has one sentence that is repeated on every page with little change. For instance, in “Pig and Dog” it’s “Pig and Dog are ______”. Looking at the word list – not decoable at the beginning.
- beginner “short a” words: and, sad, mad
- common “helper words”: are
- other words: pig, dog, happy, hungry, scared, proud, silly, surprised, sleepy
Disney Learning Pixar Sight words
The library also had a Disney Learning (Pixar) Sight words program with numbered books (published by Scholastic). Each book is supposed to focus on specific sight words. Book 1, called “A super family”, is supposed to focus on “are, the, is, fast”. “The” and “is” are words often introduced fairly early in a reading program to extend the options for telling stories. Looking at the rest of the words in the story:
- beginner “short a” words: a, dad, and
- common “helper words”: the, are, is, he, she, they
- other words: Incredible, Incredibles, super, family, Mr., father, Elastigirl, mother, mom, Violet, Dash, Jack-Jack, children, kids, fast, girl, too, boy, baby, together
Even if one wouldn’t count the names, that’s a high percentage of words that are not decodable at the beginning. So basically, one could also just have the child read words like “the” and “is” in any book the adult reads to the child since the adult would need to read many of the other words anyway.
Nick Jr. Dora the Explorer
Another book set from the library published by Scholastic is “Nick Jr Dora the Explorer”. The first book, supposedly focusing on short a, is called “Explore with Dora”:
- beginner “short a” words: am, can, a, an, land, pal, ham, jam, and, pad, map, bag, has, as, man
- other short a words: that, glad, raft, flat, path, plan, track, sack, straps, flap, scram
- common “helper words”: with, I, you, are, like, to, go, on, by, or, in, my, we, he, she, with, of, this, is, do, it, no, love, the, have, oh, if
- other words: explore, Dora, hi, here, adventure, adventures, blast, off, spacecraft, after, always, home, family, live, warm, lots, animal, friends, best, Boots, know, knows, his, favorite, snack, apples, bananas, whom, ask, where, keeps, us, how, carry, basket, backpack, two, Swiper, swipe, say, swiping, fast, three, times, will, happy, came
There are so many words that are not decodable at the beginning when someone is just starting out with “short a” that it seems overwhelming.
Hello Kitty Phonics
The library also had a “Hello Kitty Phonics Reading Program”, also by Scholastic. The first book, focusing on short a, is called “Hello Kitty can”:
- beginner “short a” words: can, at, a, hat, tag, mat, lap, had
- other short a words: hand, hands, snack, clap, back,
- common “helper words”: have, she, on, the, in, go
- other words: hello, kitty, fun, school, make, out, her, play, run, fast, sit, put, things, Mimmy, too, now, home, but, come, soon
Again, a lot of other words that are not yet decodable if someone has just learned short a.
Spiderman
The library also had an “I can Read Phonics” “Spide-sense Spider-man” set. There’s a book called “Meet the Villains” which is labeled “introduction”. Book 2 is called “Spider-man versus the Lizard” and is supposed to focus on short a.
- beginner “short a” words: a, am, man, can, and, lab
- other “short a”-words: crash, what, that, that’s, catch, plan, drank, glass, thrash, glad, back
- common “helper words”: the, was, he, I, to, be, me, you, have
- other words: Spider-Man, versus, Lizard, Peter, heard, loud, said, strange, creature, used, now, if, tried, zigged, zagged, but, too, fast, need, new, Spidey, Spidey’s, found, nearby, handy, crashed, into, from, began, potion, worked, again
Another example with lots of “other” words.
Fancy Nancy Phonics
This is another library box set from the “I can read series. Phonics”. After an introduction called “Meet Fancy Nancy” book 2 is called “Fancy Nancy Fancy Class” and is supposed to focus on short a.
- beginner “short a” words: a, am, mats, and, hats,
- other “short a” words: that, plan, snacks, that’s
- common “helper words”: my, is, me, I, be, on, to, but, where, OK, look, for
- other words: class, having, day, make, makes, very, always, must, super-duper, wear, fanciest, dress, whole, looks, Ms. Glass, place, napkin, rings, eat, forgot, posh, word, fancy, Nancy, happy
So this is another example of a book that is just not decodable for beginners.
Froggy Phonics
“Froggy Phonics” is another book set published by Scholastic that I found in the library. Book 1, supposed to focus on short a, is called “No Hands, Froggy”.
- beginner “short a” words: hands, can, Dad, ran, and, Max
- other “short a” words: trap, smack, that, back, slap
- common “helper words”: no, is, the, you, it, but, got, was, on, they, if, I, to, get, he, into, ok, let’s, his, in, then, said
- other words: Froggy, Froggy’s, today, big, game, ball, kick, went, fast, came, put, up, down, even, mouth, over, net, just, high, fives
So yet another book that is not decodable. As an aside, supposedly “short a”-words are highlighted in bold throughout the book, such as can. So, some parents might think, ok, so I’ll let my child read the bold words, and I read the others. Yet, in the book, “Max” is not highlighted, but “fast” is, even though “fast” is pronounced with a different sound.
Learn to read with Spongebob
Another library find published by Scholastic is the “Spongebob Squarepants. Learn to read with Spongebob”-set. Book 1, supposed to focus on “short a” is called “Patrick can help”:
- beginner “short a” words: can, cans, ran, yams, pan, a, pat, and, bad, mad, had, nap, am
- other “short a” words: Krab, Krabs, stack, back, glad, crash, what
- common “helper words”: to, the, I, he, in, with, these, are, you, them, no, not, see, this, was, have, it, go, said, do
- other words: Patrick, help, Krusty, put, patties, Squidward, came, did, now, Krabby, Spongebob, will, Mr., more, up, be, asked, about, one, everyone
So yet another book that is not easily decodable for beginners.
