The Science of Decodables: What the Research Says



In This Webinar

Decodable texts are everywhere, but what exactly does the research tell us about them? What makes a text more decodable and less? Must a text be 100 percent decodable to work? What does the research tell us about students' responses to decodabilty? What should schools look for in decodables? Learn the answers to these frequently asked questions about the importance for using decodables in your reading instruction.



About Our Literacy Expert



Dr. Heidi Anne Mesmer

Dr. Heidi Anne Mesmer is a literacy professor at the Virginia Tech School of Education.  A former classroom teacher, Mesmer works extensively with teachers, schools, and young readers, directing numerous school-based initiatives to improve reading instruction. She studies beginning reading instruction and text difficulty, and her work has been published in The Reading Teacher, Reading Research Quarterly, The Educational Researcher, Elementary School Journal, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly. She is the author of Tools for Matching Readers to Texts, Reading Interventions in Primary Grades, and Teaching Skills for Complex Texts.



Make an Impact with Our Science of Reading-Aligned Curriculum

Provide explicit, systematic instruction for students at all levels.

Magnetic Reading Foundations (Grades K–2, Supplemental)


Spark engagement and increase confidence with systematic foundational skills instruction that moves students from foundational skills to reading fluency. Watch a quick overview video to see what explicit phonemic awareness instruction looks like in Magnetic Reading Foundations, and download a sample lesson plan.



PHONICS for Reading student book. 

PHONICS for Reading (Grades 3–12)

Accelerate learning for older learners who need a targeted approach to mastering decoding with an effective, efficient, and easy-to-follow program by Dr. Anita Archer.

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i-Ready Assessment

Connect precise Diagnostic data to personalized instruction that’s engaging and easy to use.

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