In this blog post: Grab a set of 5 free Science of Reading aligned Christmas decodable readers perfect for Kindergarten or first grade students.
When my friend Jenn from Embrace the SoR Journey reached out about writing Christmas themed decodable readers, I knew we had to make this happen.
We realized that there weren’t many decodable resources out there that were Christmas themed, and it was harder still to find ones that were 100% decodable. So we got to work!
She brainstormed a list of every possible Christmas-related phrase in existence (ha!), and I got busy writing these decodable books.
I know that not everyone can use Christmas decodable books in their classroom, so I wanted to offer this set as a freebie for you to use if you can.
What are decodable readers?
Decodable readers are books that focus on a specific phonics skill or pattern. Decodable books are meant to contain mostly decodable words and very few high frequency words or sight words.
These books allow students to practice decoding and reading words with the phonics skills that they have already been working on. This helps promote fluency and independence while reading.
Decodable books are meant to help students focus on the text, rather than using guessing strategies such as “look at the picture.”
So how do you choose the best decodable books for your students?
Choosing the best decodable books for your students
When choosing the best decodable books for your students, it’s important to keep in mind that not every decodable reader will ACTUALLY be decodable to them.
Just because a book says that it is a decodable reader doesn’t mean that it is a decodable book to your students!
In order to choose decodables that will work for your students, you will want to first look for books that follow your phonics scope and sequence.
This is important because you want your decodables to only contain phonics skills that have been taught.
If your scope and sequence teaches CVCe words before digraphs, you don’t want to choose a decodable book series that introduces digraphs first. Otherwise, your students will be asked to read words that are not yet decodable to them, and they will have to rely on those guessing strategies.
You will also want to look for books that are high interest to your students.
Choosing decodable books that cover topics that your students enjoy and are interested in creates buy-in and makes it more likely that they will want to do the work to read the book.
Right now, many of your students probably have one thing on their mind – Christmas! These free Christmas themed decodable readers will be high-interest books that will instantly engage your students.
Free Christmas Decodable Readers
We wanted to include a little something for everyone in these free Christmas decodable readers, so this set covers a wide range of skills. These skills cover the same scope and sequence as my Science of Reading Guided Curriculum, so you know that you can easily add these in and they will be truly decodable for your students.
The phonics skills covered include:
- CVC words
- Digraphs
- Ending blends
- Vowel team ee
In order to help you differentiate even further, these decodable books include the option of pictures or no pictures.
That means that you can have your students read the version with pictures for extra support, match and glue the pictures in for comprehension practice, or illustrate the story.
CVC word readers
The CVC word readers include a mix of short vowels, but the sentences are short and each page only includes one sentence per page.
This means that these books are perfect for your Kindergarten readers who are at the end of Unit 2 or working in Unit 3 of the Science of Reading Guided Curriculum!
Book one, Tree Farm, follows a by named Dan as he visits a Christmas tree farm and cuts down a Christmas tree to take home. He sets it up at home with his sister Meg.
Book two is called “The Man,” and I bet you can guess who the man is! I’ll give you a hint: he has a red hat and a big bag! 😉 If you’ve been looking for a Santa Claus decodable book, this is the book for you.
Digraph decodable book
The next book, Hot Cocoa, includes a mix of digraphs and would be perfect for students in Unit 3 of the Science of Reading Guided Curriculum.
Students will love following along as the girl in this story makes a cup of hot chocolate. This hot decodable reader isn’t explicitly Christmas themed, so you could definitely use it all winter long.
Ending Blends decodable book
Ending blends aren’t an easy skill to find resources for, but thankfully there are a lot of Christmas themed words that fit that phonics skill!
In book three, Wish List, students will read about a boy who just has one wish for Christmas – to get a tent to go camping in! Will an elf be able to help him get his wish?
Vowel Team ee decodable book
Christmas is full of SWEET snacks, so it just made sense to have a decodable book all about them! Students will read about the snacks Santa, an elf, and a reindeer get to snack on in this fun decodable book.
You can see that as the phonics skills go on, the books also get longer and a little more complex.
Ready to add these 5 free Christmas themed decodable books to your small group library? You can grab them here:
Do you love free stuff?
SOR Christmas Decodable Books
Grab this set of 5 Christmas themed decodable readers your students will love! Covers CVC words, digraphs, ending blends, and vowel team ee.
TIP: Make sure that you use a personal email address! School district emails often block our emails with outside download links.
Free gingerbread man book
Not able to use these Christmas decodable readers with your students (or just want another book to add to your stash)? This Gingerbread Man decodable book is perfect for you!
Students will love reading and retelling the Gingerbread Man story in a book they can read. Grab it here:
Do you love free stuff?
Gingerbread Man Decodable Reader
This gingerbread man decodable reader features CVC words and includes pictures or no pictures.
Decodable readers for the entire year!
Are you looking for a small group curriculum that makes aligning your reading small groups with best practices from the Science of Reading easy? Then the Science of Reading Guided Curriculum is for you!
This curriculum includes over 220 decodable books that follow an explicit phonics scope and sequence.
Each book includes ready-to-print lesson plans and small group materials so you don’t have to worry about planning a thing!
The Science of Reading Guided Curriculum includes:
- Decodable readers
- Teacher lesson plans
- Decodable passages
- Blending and fluency practice
- Encoding and guided writing
- Phonics materials
- Book with and without pictures
- A BONUS sound wall with real mouth photos!
What are other teachers saying about the Science of Reading Guided Curriculum?
Oh my goodness! This resource is a GEM! The lesson plans, the readers, handwriting prompts, mouth formation cards…it is all so very useful and well worth the money! Natalie really took the time to give us quality information and quality products.
Leah B.
These have been an absolute game changer in my reading instruction. Never in my 6 years teaching have I had students so confidently sounding out words and manipulating sounds. I am so very thankful for this resource and will be using it for years to come!
Lindsay S.
Ready to transform your reading groups? Find the Science of Reading Guided Curriculum here!
