Check out this free printable phonics story for beginning readers. Ken the Elf is designed for Kindergartners working on short vowels and consonant digraphs. Make sure your student reads sound-by-sound, since most of the words in the story are decodable: Ken the Elf Happy holidays!
Effective Phonics Books & Lessons
Learning to read is a great migration. A child’s brain goes through an incredible transformation, linking areas that were previously unconnected. When a child isn’t exposed to science-based reading instruction, this process is often halted.
When elephants migrate, younger elephants often get lost. An older, experienced elephant stops to help. She guides the younger one back to the herd. Young readers deserve the same sort of guidance. Our phonics books guide young students gently through each phonics sound.
Browse Our Phonics Books Library
Step-by-step phonics books! Get your student reading with confidence. Close the gap between his level and potential. Gently teach your student how to read. Our 70 printable phonics books gently lead your student toward independent reading. Kids that struggle with reading are intelligent. We must teach them in a way that works. Our books help kids gain ground.
Reading Elephant phonics books are carefully designed for kids that fall behind in K-2 reading skills. Books are methodically written to ease your student into reading success.
Why can’t I find books my student can read? I’ve gotten every easy reader. My student can’t even read those.
Sound familiar?
Tired of your student’s reading difficulties? Of the tears during reading time? Looking for fun, effective learn-to-read books that match your student’s unique level? Our phonics books are for you.
Reading Elephant phonics books were created to get all kids reading. Many books expect kids to “catch on.” But learning to read is a process. Without carefully designed incremental steps, many children fall behind.
So, our printable phonics books introduce sounds one at a time. Kids master one phonics unit before learning another. Sounds are added gradually. Kids read with confidence and build a strong reading foundation.
Reading Elephant offers systematic phonics books. Kids learn short vowels, consonant digraphs, consonant blends, silent e and long vowel phonics sounds.
Print them all from you’re home computer!
Browse Our Phonics Books Library
My student just memorizes books. He thinks memorizing is reading.
All Reading Elephant books encourage kids to read words sound-by-sound. They teach kids to analyze phonetic units.
My child looks at the pictures to read. When the picture is taken away, he can’t read the words!
Our pictures are carefully drawn so kids can NOT use them to guess at the words. The pictures are there for fun and to color. No child should rely on pictures to read.
Reading Elephant books are a fun, effective, step-by-step guide to reading success.
What do Reading Elephant books offer?
- Research-based phonics books that introduce sounds incrementally
- A gentle path toward independent reading
- A way to build confidence in struggling readers
- Fun, amusing stories and pictures
- Carefully written books that offer extensive practice on common phonics sounds
- Phonics books that start simple and progressively get more complex
- Extensive review. Kids get to practice old sounds with new sounds
- Easy access. You can print them all from home!
- A fun path toward independent reading
Browse Our Phonics Books Library
What phonics rules do our books cover?
Our phonics books cover a broad range of phonics rules. There are many books in each set. As a result, beginning readers are able to develop fluency (reading speed). Our phonics books cover the following phonics rules:
- 1) short vowels
- 2) consonant digraphs
- 3) consonant blends
- 4) silent e
- 5) long vowel digraphs
Our short vowel books allow kids to master short vowel sounds in the following order:
- a_ as in mat, sat, fan, ham, cap
- i_ as in lit, sit, fin, him, kit
- o_ as in got, hot, Ron, hop, cop
- u_ as in cup, hut, fun, hum, tub
- e_ as in met, set, fell, pen, let
Since our books are systematic, kids learn how to read one short vowel word type at a time. For example, short a books include sentences like: “Pam had a bat.” Later, short e books contain sentences like: “The cub ran to the den.”
Our step-by-step approach helps struggling readers master all short vowel words.
Next, our consonant digraph books introduce consonant digraphs in the following order:
- sh as in wish, dish, ship, shell…etc.
- th as in bath, math, moth, path…etc.
- th as in then, this, that…etc.
- ch as in chop, chill, chip, Chad…etc.
- _tch as in batch, witch, match, patch…etc.
- _ck as in deck, kick, Rick, chick…etc.
- _ing as in king, ring, sing, wing…etc.
- _ng as in long, song, wrong, strong…etc.
- _ang as in sang, rang, pang, bang…etc.
- wh_ as in when, whale, wheel, whim…etc.
Again, our consonant digraph books are systematic. Each book set focuses on one phonics sound. Thus, the sh digraph books include sentences like: “Shell got on a ship to get fish.” Later, our _ang digraph books include sentences like: “Jill got a pet with fangs.”
Our books teach phonics sounds in incremental steps.
Next, our consonant blends books teach kids to read two letter sounds in a row. Consonant blends words include words like spot, land, track, west, and sand. Our consonant blends books give kids extensive practice with a step-by-step approach that builds confidence.
Consonants Blends Series Now Available!
These books introduce your child to consonant letters and sounds - learning to recognize these is a crucial step in reading mastery.
Next, our silent e books teach kids to read the following phonics rules:
- a_ e as in lake, bake, lane, make, mane…etc.
- e_e as in Pete, these…etc.
- i_e as in hive, bike, dive, tile, mile, mine…etc.
- o_e as in hope, cope, hole, rope, rose…etc.
- u_e as in duke, use
- Our silent e books build a strong reading foundation.
Silent E Book Series Now Available!
Reading Elephant silent e books teach kids to read words with an e at the end. It's the fourth series of our printable phonics books.
Our long vowel books teach kids to read:
- ee as in peek, seek, seem…etc.
- ea as in leave, real, seal…etc.
- ai as in sail, mail, tail…etc.
- _ay as in bay, day, say…etc.
- oa as in boat, soap, boast…etc.
- ow as in glow, slow, row…etc.
- igh as in sigh, light, might…etc.
- _y as in my, cry, fly…etc.
- ____y as in funny, bunny, granny…etc.
Our long vowel series, like all our books, are methodically written. Kids learn one phonics sound at a time. They get to practice extensively.
Give your student a solid reading foundation. Our phonics books give kids the skills to read independently and with confidence.
Phonics Books With a Proven Approach
Reading Elephant phonics books are based on proven approaches and sound research. Furthermore, their sequential, progressive nature eases kids from easy to more challenging reading territory. Kids can have fun with phonics by starting simple and moving methodically toward complex. Moreover, gradual progression allows students to gain confidence. In addition, they build fluency and become more precise readers.
Our books are appropriate for kindergarten through second grade, but preschoolers can also learn from the simpler ones. The phonics stories are meant to engage and entertain, all while establishing fundamental building blocks for a bright reading future.
Thank you for visiting Reading Elephant!
Short a Activity- Design Donuts
Did your student just learn letter sounds? If so, it’s time to start decoding short a words. Short a says a_ as in apple. Some sample short a words include: hat, rat, bat, Dan, Tam… etc. How many words should your beginner read? These students that are at the very beginning of blending words, should […]
Why Mississippi Improved their Reading Scores…
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is like the American Report Card on reading skills. The assessment has taken place every 2 years since 1992. Schools across America test 4th and 8th graders on a broad range of reading skills. Since the scores have been recorded, American kids have progressed very little in reading, […]
What are Decodable Books?
Decodable books allow beginning readers to practice their phonics skills. They are books that start with one vowel sound—usually short a as in cat—and they continue to add one vowel sound per set. This allows a student’s knowledge to progress systematically or step-by-step. Decodable books are key for strong reading skills, because they teach kids […]
A Letter Sound Activity with Interleaving
When kids learn letter sounds, and phonics sounds in general, they benefit from interleaving–a practice in which you mix up material. For example, if t is a new sound, and the student already knows d, m, s, a, then make an activity with all 5 of these letters. Mix them up so the student doesn’t […]
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