Diverse Literature/Decodable Book Initiative
Teach My Kid to Read is thrilled to announce the launch of a diverse literature/decodable book impact library! The little free library is located in the south end of Albany, New York in front of The Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, an urban farm that provides composting and free food. The library was decorated by the kids at South End Children’s Café, a children’s center that provides homework help and meals.
The little free library is part of the Read in Color program, which brings diverse literature to neighborhoods that do not have access to books. TMKTR combines the Read in Color program with decodable books, handouts, and resources that help early and struggling readers learn to read. The little library is a one-of-a-kind little library that promotes the two domains of reading and provides access to books that all kids can enjoy and that all kids can use to learn to read.
In addition to providing access to books, TMKTR hosts events and programming that promote literacy by educating the community about how we learn to read, where the different resources fit, and help with access to resources and literature. To support our library, consider donating a book from our bookstore. Book purchases support independent bookstores and our work. It’s a win-win!
How It Works
For children to learn to read, they need to master language and decoding skills (pronouncing the sounds in words). The Little Free Library Diverse Literature/Decodable book library enables children to access books that support these critical domains that lead to skilled reading!
This library is committed to providing books and information that enable children to improve language comprehension skills through access to diverse literature representing multiple cultures, languages, and family structures. Please encourage your children to choose whatever book they want. Even if they cannot read the books they choose, that’s OK. If they are interested in it, then read it aloud to them.
The decodable books help children learn to pronounce the sounds in words in a systematic, explicit, and cumulative progression. These books provide practice decoding until a child is fluent. Once your child is fluent, they don’t need these books. However, if your child struggles to read, they will need lots of practice. The decodable books in the library for early readers are in rubber bands. Use the entire series together. Some of the decodables are for older children to read independently. They focus on skills at specific levels and provide age-appropriate content.
Since the library receives donations directly in the book box, sometimes we receive leveled readers and phonics books. Note that many of the phonics books only provide a few words focusing on specific skills. In other words, the short /i/ sound will only have a few words that offer practice with the short /i/ sound, while a decodable book will have multiple words that focus on that sound. In addition, the phonics books include other words that are typically impossible for early readers to pronounce. Use the phonics books for reading aloud. They are not decodable.
The leveled readers do not promote learning to decode. Instead, they encourage using guessing, memorizing, and other skills that will not help many early readers easily learn to pronounce the sounds in words. Use these books more for reading aloud to build language skills.
If this sounds like a lot, don’t worry. We’re around a lot to answer questions, and help you learn more about ways to improve literacy.
Please watch for events near the TMKTR Little Free Library to learn more about ways to help all kids become skilled readers!