Decoding Strategies for Beginning Readers // how to teach kindergarten and 1st graders to decode

These 5 decoding strategies are helpful for children learning to read. These strategies will help your beginning readers decode new words while reading!

If you happen to use any of these ideas at home or in your classroom, leave a comment below and let me know how they go! :) Also, if you share any of the games from Susan's Sunday Spotlight, please tag me on Instagram @susanjonesteaching so I can see!! You can also use the hashtag: #susanssundayspotlight

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Susan Jones

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You can see tons of other games for first-grade students below!

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[jenniferhancock]

Thank you for this video! I’m a new teacher and appreciate all your detailed reading lessons!

[sharonfournier]

Thanks for your videos! You are amazing!! I have taught first grade for 17 years. I found these "characters" after teaching for a few years and they were game changers for my students. Lips the Fish, Chunky Monkey, Stretchy Snake, Flippy Dolphin, etc. They can attach their thinking to them and can speak to them. I've had so many students excited when they can tell me "I used chunky monkey and oh I also used Stretchy Snake!". "What strategy are we going to learn next?" Really??!! How fun is that?!! :) I thought at first they were just too cutesy and have learned that my students made connections and huge gains in decoding. These maybe "old" and I maybe "old", bottom line kids love them.

[sandyyen]

I would like to see short lesson videos teaching 5-10 sigh words with decode/ graphicphonic method. Something that kids can directly follow. Thanks

[Laura-ibqv]

Hello! I'm using your videos to study for the Praxis Teaching Reading. Keep up the good work, you explain things so well. :D

[owls]

I love your videos! very clear thank you so much for sharing.

[fAly-gmjj]

This is so helpful; especially for graduate teachers like me. Thankyou so much🙂

[wevlslu]

This video is very helpful especially now that I am teaching struggling readers.

[carriedickson]

I use "The Presto-Change-O' game...I'm sure it has another name, but I use a fairy wand with sound. In the beginning, once they've mastered a rhyme family, like -at....then we simply keep that and start with C, I wave the wand, kiddos put that letter card or write on a white board, and read the word, I wave my wand and say Presto-Change-O" c to the word? Great for ending sounds, blends, etc....once kiddos have mastered the game, you can do all three in one quick lesson warm up( time should be approx. 5 minutes ).

[michelepfeifle]

Thanks for this! I would like to send to parents since you have done such a great job explaining.😊 Also, I would add to number 5. Lots of times my firsties will say a word that begins the same AND makes sense in the story but does not match. Then I prompt- Does that match? A great book to read about how to prompt students is, “Who’s Doing the Work? How to Say Less so Readers Do More”

[velvetme]

Late to the party here I know this was months back but always relevant. I’m teaching my daughter and I have been covering the letters and revealing them as I say which was something my teachers did for me (too much visual information to focus) so my question is, in supporting her producing the sounds on the page is there a benefit to having her show down and listen and watch? Should she always be chorally reading? This sort of peel to reveal tempo is very satisfying but I want to make sure I am not masking any future issues. She is able to read words but she has a lot of trouble vocalizing them. Maybe too timid still. But she can “go fish” for them all day long and she knows if I misspeak a word and sometimes if I misspell (she was shocked I spelled candy 🍭 with a Y at the end and admonished me as only a 3 year old can THATS NOT AN E!” And Iaughed. “Y is making its 3rd sound sweetheart”..

[cringecentral]

great strategies!! I am a student teacher and learning so many great tools from your videos. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. just one request if you could be a little bit slow in your instructions that would be awesome :))))

[soniasrivastava]

Very helpful ❤️ thank you for sharing...my KG kids are learning to put the sound together now c a ca ca t = cat ....is it ok to start decoding already or wait to introduce blends and then decode.

[lizetparis]

What books do we get them to start reading ?

[selectedsongbym]

Hello I seen your video.Your learning techniques so awesome.I need you favour from you If know any English teacher for who teach online help to speak fulancy English. please share if you have any idea

[hattierobinson]

I have my students to look at the word to see if they can see smaller words in the big word. We write them down and make others words in the particular words. Then sound out the word looking for other chunks.

[veronikaa]

Hello, could you please advise at what age kid should start learning alphabet. My boy is almost three and we speak different language. He start showing interest in letters asking about them. His English is very basic at the moment. Thank you in advance.

[JN-goyq]

Sound boxes
Find parts of the word
Tell students the tricky words first

[rashmisahni]

Thanks for your videos .They are very informative and give various strategies to follow. I request you to speak a little slower so as to make it easier to follow up.

[sharnaleesharabee]

Hi can I get this straight. First is phonemic awareness. Then come word families then what? Magic e or blends ch sh th. Please help me with the order.TIA

[kathytodd]

Do you have a parent handout about decoding strategies?