Decoding and Word Recognition Skills

The videos on this page focus on teaching essential skills for decoding and word recognition, which are key to becoming a fluent reader. These skills help children break down words, recognize them quickly, and understand how sounds and letters work together. Each video is paired with worksheets to provide additional practice and reinforce the strategies demonstrated.

The resources available here are based on evidence-based practices from reputable sources, including the Institute of Education Sciences Regional Education Laboratories and The Florida Center for Reading Research. These videos showcase techniques that have been proven to support decoding and word recognition, skills that are directly linked to future reading success. 

Sound-Spelling Correspondence

This video teaches Letter-Sound Correspondence, which helps children connect letters with their sounds. It covers fun activities like using visual aids, real-life examples, and interactive play to make learning enjoyable. The worksheet includes activities to match letters to sounds, identify words that start with specific letters, and practice letter sounds through a sound hunt around the house. These exercises help build foundational reading skills for young learners.

CVC Words

This video teaches CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, which are simple three-letter words that help children connect sounds to letters. It covers activities like blending sounds together to form words and recognizing patterns in CVC words. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing CVC words, identifying the individual sounds, and matching them to pictures. These activities help build strong decoding skills for young learners.

CCVC Words

This video teaches CCVC (consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant) words, which help children blend two consonants with a vowel and a final consonant. It covers activities like segmenting and blending sounds to form words and recognizing patterns in CCVC words. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing CCVC words, identifying the individual sounds, and matching them to pictures. These activities help strengthen decoding skills for young learners.

CVCe Words

This video teaches CVCE (consonant-vowel-consonant-silent e) words, which help children understand how the silent "e" at the end of a word makes the vowel say its name. It covers activities like blending sounds and identifying the silent "e" rule. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing CVCE words, recognizing the vowel sound changes, and matching words to pictures. These activities help build strong reading skills for young learners.

Vowel Combinations

This video teaches vowel combinations, where two vowels work together to make a single sound, like "ai," "ea," or "ou." It covers activities to help children recognize and blend these vowel pairs in words. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing words with vowel combinations, identifying the sounds they make, and matching them to pictures. These activities help strengthen decoding and reading skills for young learners.

Decodable Text

This video introduces decodable text, which helps children practice reading words they can sound out based on their knowledge of letter-sound relationships. It covers activities to help children decode simple words and build fluency. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing decodable words, as well as sentences, to reinforce their decoding skills. These activities help young learners gain confidence and improve their reading abilities.

High Frequency Words

This video teaches high-frequency words for first grade, which are common words children will encounter often but may not be easily decodable. It covers activities to help children recognize and memorize these words through repetition and context. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading, writing, and using high-frequency words in sentences. These activities help build sight word recognition and fluency for young learners.

Challenging and Important Words

This video focuses on challenging and important words for first grade, which are key to building strong reading and writing skills. It covers activities to help children tackle harder words that may not follow simple phonetic rules. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading, writing, and using these words in sentences. These activities help first graders improve their vocabulary, spelling, and reading fluency.

Short and Long Vowels

This video teaches short and long vowels, helping children understand the difference between the two. It covers activities to practice recognizing and pronouncing short and long vowel sounds in words. The worksheet includes fun exercises to identify short and long vowels, read words with each, and match them to pictures. These activities help young learners build strong vowel sound recognition and reading skills.

Consonant Blends and Digraphs

This video teaches consonant blends and digraphs, helping children recognize two or more consonants together in words. It covers activities to practice blending sounds in words like "st" or "sh," and identifying common digraphs like "ch" and "th." The worksheet includes fun exercises to read and write words with blends and digraphs, and match them to pictures. These activities help young learners improve their decoding and reading skills.

r-Controlled Vowels

This video teaches r-controlled vowels, where the letter "r" affects the sound of the vowel that comes before it, such as in words like "car," "bird," and "fork." It covers activities to help children recognize and pronounce r-controlled vowel sounds. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing r-controlled vowel words and matching them to pictures. These activities help young learners build strong decoding and reading skills.

Vowel Team

This video teaches vowel teams, where two vowels work together to make one sound, like in words such as "ea" in "team" or "ai" in "rain." It covers activities to help children recognize and blend vowel teams in words. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing words with vowel teams and matching them to pictures. These activities help young learners strengthen their decoding and reading skills.

Base Words and Inflectional Endings

This video teaches base words and inflectional endings, helping children understand how adding endings like -s, -ed, or -ing can change the meaning of a base word. It covers activities to practice identifying base words and adding inflectional endings to create new words. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice reading and writing words with inflectional endings and matching them to pictures. These activities help young learners develop their vocabulary and grammar skills.

Affixes

This video teaches affixes, which are prefixes and suffixes added to base words to change their meaning. It covers activities to help children understand how prefixes like "un-" and suffixes like "-ly" can alter the meaning of words. The worksheet includes fun exercises to practice identifying and adding affixes to base words, as well as matching words to their meanings. These activities help young learners expand their vocabulary and improve word comprehension skills.

Prefix or Suffix

This video teaches prefixes and suffixes, helping children understand how these word parts change the meaning of base words. It covers activities to practice recognizing common prefixes like "re-" and suffixes like "-ing," and how they alter word meanings. The worksheet includes fun exercises to identify and add prefixes or suffixes to base words, and match them to pictures. These activities help young learners expand their vocabulary and strengthen their understanding of word formation.

Root Words

This video teaches root words, helping children understand the basic part of a word that carries its meaning. It covers activities to practice identifying root words and how adding prefixes or suffixes can change their meaning. The worksheet includes fun exercises to find and match root words with their meanings and to practice creating new words by adding prefixes or suffixes. These activities help young learners build a stronger vocabulary and understand word structure.