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.
- Plus Plan
Which Sound? Poster - The Letter C
Remind your students of the different sounds made by the letter C with this colorful classroom poster.
- Plus Plan
Which Sound? Poster - Soft G and Hard G Sounds
Remind your students of the different sounds made by the letter G with this colorful classroom poster.
- Plus Plan
Missing Letters - Pumpkin Task Cards
Fall into letter-sound correspondence with this pumpkin-themed missing letter task card set.
- Plus Plan
Apple Activities - Short and Long Vowel Sort
Supplement your phonics lessons with an apple-themed initial sound sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Which Consonant Digraph Is It? Interactive Activity
Review consonant digraphs with this comprehensive drag-and-drop interactive activity.
- Plus Plan
Consonant Digraphs - Interactive Sorting Activity
Practice identifying beginning and ending consonant digraphs with this interactive sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Consonant Digraph Clip Cards
Explore consonant digraphs at the beginning and end of words with these hands-on clip cards.
- Plus Plan
Word Chain Worksheet - Beginning L Blends
Manipulate the individual phonemes in words to create new ones with this differentiated word-building worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Magic E Wand and Word Cards
Create a crafty phonics activity to explore the power of the magic e in CVCe words.
- Plus Plan
Short Vowel Worksheets (Middle Sounds Practice)
Identify medial or middle vowel sounds with this set of three worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Magic E Words - Match-Up Activity
Explore words containing long vowel sounds created by the magic e.
- Plus Plan
Meet Magic E - Poster and Worksheet Set
Remind your students how words are transformed by the magic e with this poster and worksheet set.
- Plus Plan
Google Interactive S-Blends Activity
Help your readers practice their S-blend skills with fun, interactive Google Slides word-building activities.
- Plus Plan
Google Interactive R-Blends Activity
Decode and spell r-blend words with phonemes gr, tr, br, cr, dr, pr, and fr.
- Plus Plan
Short and Long Vowel Sounds Sorting Center
Distinguish between long and short vowel sounds with a short and long vowel sorting center activity.
- Plus Plan
Google Interactive L-Blends Word Building Activity
Engage young readers to tackle L-blend words with an engaging and inviting Google Interactive activity.
- Plus Plan
Google Interactive R-Controlled Vowel Word Building Activity
Build an engaging literacy center or station activity around r-controlled vowels with a Google Slides Interactive Activity.
- Plus Plan
R-Controlled Vowel Clip Cards-Digital and Print
Build an engaging literacy center or station activity around r-controlled vowels with these digital and/or printable r-controlled vowel clip cards.
- Plus Plan
Google Interactive R-Blends Sort and Write Activity
Bring technology into your guided reading lessons, and achieve mastery of r-blend words with a fun, pirate-themed learning activity.
- Plus Plan
Google Interactive Initial S-Blends Activity
Decode and segment words by identifying the s-blend words with phonemes sp, sl, sm, sn, sc, st.
- Plus Plan
Short and Long Vowels Google Interactive Activity
Read and identify short and long vowel sounds and place the pictures into the correct columns.
- Plus Plan
Differentiating Long and Short Vowels - Interactive PowerPoint
Practice differentiating between long and short vowel sounds with this interactive PowerPoint.
- Plus Plan
Long and Short Vowel Sounds Dominoes
Distinguish between long and short vowel sounds with this set of 28 dominoes.
- Plus Plan
Digraph Handwriting - Worksheets
24 digraph worksheets that focus on handwriting and vocabulary activities.
- Plus Plan
Vowel Sounds Winter Picture Puzzle
Distinguish between long and short vowel sounds with this 15 piece vowel picture puzzle.
- Plus Plan
FIND IT! Long and Short Vowels - Task Cards
Practice distinguishing between short vowel sounds and long vowel sounds with this set of 16 task cards.
- Plus Plan
Vowel Sounds Sort - /i/, /o/, and /u/
Practice distinguishing between long and short vowel sounds for letters /i/, /o/ and /u/ by sorting this set of 24 picture cards into categories.
- Plus Plan
Vowel Sounds Sort - /a/ and /e/
Practice distinguishing between long and short vowel sounds for letters /a/ and /e/ by sorting this set of 24 picture cards into categories.
- Plus Plan
Musical Blending Active Game
An active game that allows students to practice using blends and digraphs.
- Plus Plan
Animal-Themed Decoding Strategy Posters for the Classroom
Remind students of the different decoding strategies they can use when reading with this poster set.
- Plus Plan
Initial R Blend Cards
A resource to help students identify the R blend at the beginning of a word.
- Plus Plan
L Blends Worksheet
A worksheet consolidating the initial L blend sound.