An engaging and motivating non-fiction children's book about dogs, perfect for new readers with budding letter sound and decoding knowledge! This decodable book moves through 4 difficulty levels, based on phonics knowledge, and each chapter builds on the one before. Children are prompted to learn new skills, at an appropriate pace, to be able to go on to read the next chapter.
STAGES books are formatted in a special way to have new readers focus on only decoding first. In these books, the text is on the right-hand side of the book, and the picture that matches that text is on the next page (instead of the text and picture being side by side). This is so the readers read the text alone, without the aid of a picture that may give them a clue as to what a word may be. After they read the text, they turn the page to confirm meaning of what they read and build engagement and enjoyment!
Each story has comprehension questions, including one that helps the reader connect the story to their own life.
For the phonics skills listed below, the book contains descriptions of what they mean (for example, a "digraph" is two letters that when put together make a whole new sound. For example, ch, th, and sh).
Chapter 1, Dogs:
Phonics Skills: d, g, s, f, n, c, m, h, t, j, b, w; Short Vowels: a, o, i, u; Word Endings: -s; High-Frequency Words: do, the, be;
Description: In this first chapter, the reader will read simple sentences about dogs.
Chapter 2, Dogs Can:
Phonics Skills: Add all remaining consonants, double consonants, beginning and ending blends; Short Vowels: Add e; High-Frequency Words: to, you;
Description: The reader will read about a lot of fun things that dogs can do.
Chapter 3, You and Your Dog:
Phonics Skills: Add digraphs, silent e, silent k (kn), K sound spelled "ck"; High-Frequency Words: your, have, of, her;
Description: The reader will read and see silly pictures about things you could do with a dog.
Chapter 4, Kinds of Dogs:
Phonics Skills: Add r-controlled vowels, silent w (wr); Word Endings: -es, -ed; High-Frequency Words: they, pounds, years, tail, hour, their;
Description: In this final chapter, the reader will learn interesting facts about six different dog breeds, including boxers and pugs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "decodable story"? A decodable story is one that a child can read based on the phonics skills and high-frequency words they have learned.
What ages is this book suited for? Children near the end of Kindergarten and through First Grade will have typically learned these phonics skills and high-frequency words.
Where can I find more decodable books like this? There are three other Stages Books currently on the market: two fiction, Pat and Time Fun Times and The Pal's Playtime and another non-fiction book, Spiders.
Christine (Hunt) Hjorth is a published author, former First Grade teacher, advocate, and researcher with an absolute passion for teaching children to read and the ability it has to change a child's life! She is certified in Early Childhood, Elementary, and Gifted Education. Using her years as a First Grade teacher in the public school system, as well as her time as a stay-at-home mom to two children, she has taken her experiences of being around new, young readers to write books that are silly and engaging! In the past three years she has emerged as an expert in the field of decodable books. She started her company, Aligned Educational Resources, in 2021 and since then has sold over 425,000 decodable readers to schools across the country.
