Dyslexia Friendly Books vs. Decodable Books: Are They the Same Thing?

Homeschooling gives you something classroom teachers rarely have: one-to-one time with your reader. That's a significant advantage when it comes to phonics instruction. You can move at exactly the right pace, revisit patterns that need more practice, and celebrate every milestone without comparison to anyone else.

The challenge homeschoolers often face is knowing where to start and how to sequence instruction. Here's a practical framework.

Step 1: Assess your reader's current phonics level

Before choosing books, find out what phonics patterns your reader already knows. A simple informal assessment: write out letters and letter combinations from a phonics scope and sequence and ask your reader to say the sound (not the letter name). Note where they're confident and where they hesitate. This is your starting point.

Step 2: Choose a phonics programme to follow

Decodable books work best when paired with explicit phonics instruction. Popular options for homeschoolers include UFLI Foundations (free to download from the University of Florida), All About Reading, iDeal, The Code, Logic of English, and Jolly Phonics. Innerlinks books align directly to UFLI Foundations.

Step 3: Match your books to your programme

Use the Innerlinks crosswalk to find which set matches your current UFLI unit: Set 1 (Lessons 13-16), Set 2 (Lessons 16-25), Set 3 (Lessons 26-34), Set 4 (Lessons 35-41), Set 5 (Lessons 42-52). Start one set below where your reader is confident to build fluency before moving forward.

Step 4: Build a simple daily routine

A 20-30 minute daily phonics session is enough. Warm up with sounds, do a short phonics lesson, then read a decodable book. Re-read the same book the next day before introducing a new one. Use the bonus phonics game in each Innerlinks book for review on day three.

Step 5: Know when to move on

Move to the next set when your reader can read the current books fluently (accurately and at a comfortable pace) without sounding out every word. Don't rush. Fluency at each level is the goal, not speed through the sets.

Find decodable books for homeschoolers at innerlinks.info.