Where to after decodable reading books? What next?
As you know, decodable reading books are recommended for the initial years of reading acquisition and should be phased out. There will always be students who require decodable reading material for a lengthier period of time, but typically, they are only required for the short term, to quickly and efficiently establish early reading ability. After the initial years of reading acquisition you are looking for content-rich reading material.
At PLD we recommend the use of the Early Reading Profile within the Year 1 & 2 Screening & Tracking Manual to determine the type of reading material and the level of decodable reading material: https://pld-literacy.org/product/year-1-2-screening-tracking-manual/ The phasing out of decodables is recommended as soon as students are able to read up to Exercise 7 with a high level of accuracy and with the ability to read the majority of the words within the screen in an automatic whole word manner (despite at times reverting to decoding when the word is not familiar).
We often get asked about 'what comes next' after decodable readers? Once students have learned the basic code and most of the extended phonics code, and they are reading accurately, you need to provide them with opportunities to extend their reading skills with some quality fluency texts. There are no 'levels' assigned at this point. It is about selecting books that are relevant to the syllabus, age-appropriate in terms of the content and of interest to the student. The books students are reading should provide some challenge to the students, so they have opportunities to apply their reading skills in increasingly more complex texts. |
Over time, students will be able to select their own novels or reading material. In the meantime, following decodables and until this independent reading phase occurs, students will benefit from a set reading series.
Search for a more generalised reading series, which is rich in content and engaging for the students. You will need to contact other companies for to source their range of reading books. You are seeking for the text (or words) to be accessible to your students, but now that they are able to 'crack the code' you are searching for more sophisticated reading material, which will ideally hook the students into reading and which will further develop their comprehension skills.
I hope this helps with your decision-making.
Updated on: 06/05/2026
Thank you!