What Makes a Book Dyslexia Friendly? A Teacher's Guide

Parents often ask: how do I actually do this? Sitting down with a decodable book is simple, but a few habits make the session much more effective.

Before you read

Spend one to two minutes on warm-up. Say the sounds on the inside front cover of the book together. Point to each letter or letter combination and say the sound, not the letter name. If your reader hesitates, say the sound for them and move on. Don't drill. The warm-up is a primer, not a test.

During reading

Let your reader do the work. If they get stuck on a word, wait five seconds before helping. Point to the first sound and say "what sound does this make?" If they're still stuck, tell them the word and move on. Never let a struggle go on so long that it becomes distressing. Re-reading matters: the second and third read of the same book is where fluency builds. Don't rush to the next book.

After reading

Talk about the story. Ask one or two simple questions: who was in the story? What happened? What was your favourite part? This signals that reading is about meaning, not just decoding performance. Praise specifically: "I noticed you sounded out that tricky word all by yourself" is more useful than "good reading."

The take-home book

The book coming home has already been read in class. This is not the time to introduce new sounds or correct every error. Praise expression in voice, phrasing (stringing words into phrases rather than reading word by word), and confidence. Keep reading time short and pleasurable. A positive five minutes beats a stressful fifteen every time.

Find decodable books for home reading at innerlinks.info.