Decoding Teaching Resources
Build students' decoding skills with reading activities, printable worksheets and more teacher resources, all created by teachers for classrooms like yours.
This comprehensive collection is filled with resources aligned with both the TEKS and Common Core English curriculums, and each resource has undergone the Teach Starter teacher team's thorough review process. Download resources you know you'll be able to add to your lesson plans immediately!
New to teaching students decoding strategies? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a look at how this skill plays into early literacy development and tips to help your students build their decoding savvy!
What Is Decoding in Reading?
It's something you likely know, but we like to start from the top, so let's dig into the meaning of decoding in a reading context. (Just want some ideas? Feel free to scroll down to our collection!)
Simply put, decoding is translating written words into spoken language.
Need a little more?
In early literacy education, decoding refers to the process of breaking words down into their individual sounds and then blending those sounds together to form recognizable words. As students build their skills, they are eventually able to decode — or read — increasingly more complicated written texts.
The process of encoding builds off of phonics instruction, understanding of sight words, pattern recognition and the use of context clues, helping students become fluent readers with strong comprehension skills.
Decoding vs. Encoding — What's the Difference?
When discussing decoding in early education, we typically talk about reading instruction. As noted above, we teach our students to decode — or translate — the written word into the spoken form.
Of course, we don't do this in isolation. Kids need to learn to encode too, and linking instruction of both has been shown to help students learn to be stronger readers and spellers.
So, what is encoding, and how does it differ from decoding?
In an educational context, encoding is the polar opposite, and we tend to use the term in regard to teaching kids to write. In its most basic forms, encoding involves learning to spell different words by representing the sounds with corresponding written letters.
In essence, instead of translating written words into speech, encoding means teaching our students to translate spoken words into written words.
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Vowel Teams Diphthong Worksheets
Practice diphthongs with this set of fun and engaging worksheets.
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Medial L Words - List & Flashcards
Practice reading and articulating Medial L words with a list of 50 words and accompanying illustrated flash cards.
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Consonant Digraph Cut-and-Paste Worksheets
Reinforce your students' knowledge of consonant digraphs with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
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My Diphthong Cheat Sheet
Help students learn all about diphthong vowel teams with this handy diphthong student reference sheet.
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Science of Reading Decoding Strategy Bookmarks and Poster
Help students succeed in reading fluency with this free printable bookmark and poster set of strategies for decoding unknown words.
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Digraph Coding Robot Mat
Practice identifying digraphs with the help of a coding robot and mat.
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OW and OU Words - Word Search
Explore "ou" and "ow" words with this set of differentiated word searches.
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EE, EA and EY Vowel Team Lesson Resource Pack
Introduce students to EE, EA and EY vowel digraphs with this set of teaching slides and mini activity book.
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Diphthongs Maze Worksheet
Excite your students to practice their knowledge of diphthongs with this fun clue-based maze diphthong worksheet.
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Th Word List and Digraph Flashcards
Practice reading and spelling words with the Digraph TH with a list of 50 words and accompanying illustrated flash cards.
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Vowel Digraphs Poster Pack
A poster showing words and pictures for various vowel blends.
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Differentiating Long and Short Vowels - Interactive PowerPoint
Practice differentiating between long and short vowel sounds with this interactive PowerPoint.
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IE and I_E Vowel Team Lesson Resource Pack
Introduce students to IE and I_E vowel digraphs with this set of teaching slides and mini activity book.
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AI, AY and A_E Vowel Team Lesson Resource Pack
Introduce students to AI, AY, and A_E vowel digraphs with this set of teaching slides and mini activity book.
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Diphthong Coloring Activity Worksheets
Practice finding different vowel team diphthongs with this set of fun color-by-code worksheets for your students.
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Decoding Strategy Poster Pack
Display different decoding strategies in the classroom with this printable poster pack.
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Short and Long Vowels Google Interactive Activity
Read and identify short and long vowel sounds and place the pictures into the correct columns.
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Finding Phonemes - A, AW, AU, OR, ORE Digital Learning Activity
Read and spell words using the au, aw, a , or, and ore phonemes with an interactive digital learning activity.
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Long Vowel Digraph Writing Worksheet
Learn to encode long vowel digraphs with this set of writing worksheets.
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Letter Sound Worksheets - Initial, Medial, and Final Positions
Practice isolating beginning, medial, and final letter sounds with a fun set of Letter Sound Worksheets for Kindergarten and First Grade.
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Vowel Teams Phonics Journal
Help students remember and record words and examples of different vowel digraphs during your phonics lessons.
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Long Vowel Digraph Cut-and-Paste Worksheet
Reinforce your students' knowledge of long vowel digraphs with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
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Long A Vowel Team Interactive Activity
Practice identifying the different vowel team graphemes that spell the long /a/ sound with this fun space-themed interactive activity.
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Diphthong Vowel Team Fluency Charts
Practice reading out these word lists that contain different diphthong vowel teams with these fluency charts.
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Kn Digraph Lesson Resource Pack
Introduce students to the ng digraph with this set of teaching slides and mini activity book.
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Diphthong Vowel Teams Pocket Chart Cards
Help students visualize and remember the different diphthong vowel teams with this pocket chart sorting activity with mouth articulation images.
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Diphthong Vowel Teams Mini-Book Pack
Learn and practice the different diphthong vowel teams with this set of mini activity books.
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Diphthong Vowel Team Sound Wall Cards
Use these diphthong vowel team cards as visuals on a sound wall or as flashcards during your phonics lessons.
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Beginning Digraphs Sorting Activity
Practice decoding words by their initial digraphs with a set of 20 picture sorting cards.
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Vowel Teams Sort EE, EA, and EY
Decode words with EE, EA, or EY long "e" vowel teams using 18 picture cards with sorting mats.
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R-Controlled Digraphs Worksheet Pack
Practice writing and enhancing knowledge of r-controlled digraphs with this worksheet pack.
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OI and OY Words - Word Search
Explore words containing “oi” and “oy” with this set of differentiated word searches.