Beginning Kindergartners first start reading short vowel words. To teach using systematic phonics instruction, gradually introduce one short vowel at a time (a_ as in apple, i_ as in igloo, o_ as in octopus, u_ as in up and e_ as in elephant). Click the link below for a FREE short vowel word list pdf […]
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 often goes awry.
When elephants migrate, younger elephants often get lost. An older, experienced elephant stops to help. She guides the younger one back to the herd step-by-step. Young readers deserve the same sort of guidance. Our printable phonics books guide young students through each of the most common phonics sounds in a step-by-step fashion.
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Our printable phonics books can help your student learn to read with confidence. Close the gap between your student's level and potential with gradual, systematic instruction. Our 70+ printable phonics books can gently lead your student toward independent reading.
Kids that struggle with reading are intelligent. We must teach them in a way that works. Cognitive Science and Reading Research have shown that kids learn best with explicit, systematic phonics instruction. Yet, many classrooms across the world expect kids to guess at words and "catch on." As a result, many kids struggle with decoding. Our books can help kids learn to read effectively the first time. Our books can also help struggling readers gain ground.
Browse Our Phonics Books Library
Reading Elephant phonics books are carefully designed for beginners and kids that fall behind in K-2 reading skills. Reading Elephant 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 inadvertently teach kids to guess, memorize and "catch on." But learning to read is a process. Kids need to build strong foundational skills in decoding and word analysis. Without carefully designed incremental steps, many kids fall behind.
Browse Our Phonics Books Library
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 printable, systematic phonics books that allow kids to practice: short vowels, consonant digraphs, consonant blends, silent e and long vowel phonics sounds.
Print them all from your 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. Our books encourage kids to analyze phonetic units. Kids cannot memorize the books because there are no repetitive phrases or sentences. As a result, kids build transferable reading skills. In other words, they can begin reading words in the real world (not just in a book they've memorized).
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 cannot use them to guess at the words. The pictures are there for fun and to color. No child should rely on pictures to read.
Browse Our Phonics Books Library
Reading Elephant books are a fun, effective, step-by-step guide to reading success.
What do Reading Elephant books offer?
- Systematic text that introduces sounds gradually, and allows kids to practice each new phonetic unit
- A gentle path toward independent reading
- A way to build confidence in beginners and struggling readers
- Fun, amusing stories and pictures
- Carefully written books that offer extensive practice on common phonics sounds
- a simple, progressive guide to introducing phonics sounds
- 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!
How long should a Kindergartner read each day?
Kindergartners can begin reading phonics books after they know most letter sounds. They can string letter sounds together to read short a words like, “Sam, cat, tap, can, bat…etc.” Kindergartners also learn common sight words like “the” and “said” that can help them read books. Once a child is ready for phonics books, you might […]
Teaching a Beginning Reader
A beginning reader should read phonics stories in a certain way. Beginners need to learn that they’re reading a breakable code and that this code can be blended together to create words. Let’s say a beginning reader has to decode: The pup sat on the mat. The student should not read fluidly like an expert. […]
Kindergarten Phonics Sounds
If you have a Kindergarten student, you might wonder what she’s supposed to learn this year in reading. By the end of the year, what phonics sounds should your student know? In this post, I’ll outline Kindergarten phonics sounds in sequential order, the order they’re typically (but not always) taught in. There are some differences […]
Cognitive Science and Early Reading Instruction
Nearly everyone we know can read. We assume reading comes naturally. When we send our children off to school, we assume they will learn to read with ease, and we hardly give any thought at all to the idea that learning to read might prove difficult. Most of us even think early reading instruction is […]
Online Reading Teacher
Hello, B. Marker here. I will be teaching reading online this upcoming school year. If you’re feeling lost in how to teach your child how to read, this may be ideal for you. Sessions will be 30 minutes at $50 a session. They will be conducted over Zoom. I can make sure your K-3 student […]
Teaching the ing Inflectional Ending
At first, kids learn to read single-syllable words. Once they’ve mastered these word types, they move on to learn the ing inflectional ending. Janice was a 3rd grader that could not read ing inflectional ending words like dining, tapping or sailing. As a result, she was stuck on low level books, and her reading skills […]
Phonics for Primary School is Important for Reading Success
Phonics for primary school is important and can help all children become independent readers. Some kids need a step-by-step approach to learning to read. Most children begin saying letter sounds first and then painstakingly string them together to read a word: “b-aaaaa-t… bat!” Sometimes a child’s slow decoding feels endless and we may wonder if […]
How to Avoid Frustration During Reading Lessons
When parents work with their struggling reader, lessons can get tense. Jacob was a struggling reader in 2nd grade. He loathed reading lessons and when his dad tried to sit him down at their kitchen table to conduct reading lessons, Jacob ran around the house in an attempt to play hide and seek. After Jacob’s […]
Simple Summer Reading Activities for Kindergarten
It may not feel like summer, but most kids are no longer doing virtual learning activities. As an educator, you may want to know how to maintain the progress your k-2 student(s) have made during the school year. Since many people are already consumed with busy lives, I’ve included simple summer reading activities for kindergarten […]