These first reader books introduce children to a few letters and sounds at a time. The pack of 14 books runs parallel to Dandelion Launchers Stages 1-7 and is perfect for children in Pre-K and Kindergarten who are learning to read, teaching different letter patterns through a series of stories.
Two books for every stage provide phonics practice while offering different stories and encouraging independent reading from the start of their journey. Each stage introduces new letters and sounds while supporting any previously taught phonic letters or sounds and high-frequency words or sight words.
For example:
Book 1a: I Am Sam (Stage 1: s, a, t, i, m)
Book 1b: On the Mat (Stage 1: s, a, t, i, m)
Book 2a: A Man (Stage 2: n, o, p)
Book 2b: A Map (Stage 2: n, o, p)
This beginner reader series features:
- New letters and sounds introduced through each unit (1-7) by sounding them out (sat, s - a - t).
- Reading material aimed at children aged 4-6.
- CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant). Three letters producing distinct sounds when blended that are simple to sound out. An example of this is sun, s-u-n.
This pack of 14 decodable books features:
- ‘How to Use This Book’ guidance page with ‘This book introduces’ text box, including information about the new sounds introduced, sounds learned from previous books, high-frequency words and important notes on the sound.
- Story pages (numbers 1-6) with one line of text per page.
- Game Instructions.
- Photocopyable game page to reinforce the sounds and letters learnt throughout the book.
Phonic Books publications specialize in decodable books for beginner and catch-up readers. Founded by three special needs teachers passionate about teaching all children to read, they applied their expertise to developing phonic reading books for young children and older, struggling readers. The books sets range from those suitable for pre-kindergarten students through to reluctant readers in secondary school.
With a growing reputation for their quality and effectiveness these book sets are now widely used by schools, tutors and parents in the UK, US, Canada, and countries around the world.
Features of Books for Beginner Readers
- Designed to engage and enthuse beginner and reluctant readers.
- Highly-structured phonic sequence encourages reading success and building of confidence from the very beginning
- Imaginative stories with appealing characters
- Colourful and motivating illustrations
- Highly-structured phonic progression
- Text on cream background to make the books reader-friendly
- Gradual introduction of high-frequency words
- A clear explanation of Synthetic Phonics for teachers and parents
- Game in every book to consolidate learning
- Additional reading and spelling activities for further reading practice
Features of Books for Catch-up Readers
- Vocabulary Page
- Short chapters for reluctant readers
- Text on cream background for easier reading
- Motivating illustrations and storyline
- Syllables split for reader
- Dyslexia friendly font
- Reading practice page with phonic focus
- Workbooks for further learning linked to stories
A fully decodable phonic series for beginner readers. Each book introduces only a few letter/sounds at a time allowing independent reading from the outset.
How to use these books
Dandelion Launchers follow a structured sequence to ensure incremental progression when learning to read. Each unit introduces new phonic knowledge and skills while reinforcing those learned in previous units.
Before reading, check that the child knows the target sounds in this book and their corresponding letters. Readers should then be encouraged to use their phonic knowledge to read the word by blending the sounds together from left to right throughout the word (e.g. 'c' 'a' 't'---cat). Always encourage the reader to use pure sounds. These are the sounds of consonants without the added 'uh' sound (e.g. 'c' 'a' 't' not 'cuh' 'a' 'tuh'). Praise the child when they use their developing phonic knowledge to read new words.