Science Decodables for Grades 3-8

Phonics Mastery. Rigorous STEM Content.

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Imagine a literacy ecosystem where foundational skill-building and grade-level science live in the same book. The Science of Survival series is an eight-book decodable collection designed to help students in grades 3-8 master phonics through high-interest, interdisciplinary stories.

• Structured Texts: Targeted phonics focus in every book.
• Secondary Design: 6x9" paperbacks that look and feel like popular YA novels.
• Knowledge-Rich: Real-world topics like conservation, evolution, and climate change.

No need to choose between decoding and deep content knowledge. Now, you can give your students both.

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The Science of Survival: Designed for Older Readers

• Instructional Rigor, Zero Stigma: Science of Reading-aligned, controlled chapter books that provide phonics mastery without the "babyish" feel.
• Authentic Format: Sleek 6 x 9" paperbacks that look and feel like popular middle-grade novels to build student confidence.
• Diverse & Relatable: Engaging stories featuring diverse characters that reflect the real-world identities of students in grades 3–8.
• Interdisciplinary Learning: Built-in science concepts that build background knowledge while strengthening foundational literacy.
• Ready-to-Teach Resources: Includes instructional guides, vocabulary lists, and trivia for hands-on learning.

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Instructional Coherence: Bridging the Gap with Science Decodables

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For older striving readers, every minute counts. The Science of Survival series eliminates "intervention islands" by merging foundational phonics with grade-level science, creating a coherent literacy ecosystem that accelerates learning.

• Accelerated Skill Transfer: We move beyond isolated drills. By embedding phonics patterns within high-interest topics like climate resilience, students learn to apply decoding skills to complex, real-world texts immediately.
• Knowledge-Rich Intervention: Decoding and background knowledge grow together. Students build the mental schemas and academic vocabulary necessary to thrive in core science classrooms while they master foundational skills.
• Equity & Dignity: Our 6 x 9" YA-style format ensures students engage with rigorous, age-appropriate concepts—like evolution and conservation—alongside their peers, preventing the "opportunity gap" of simplified, babyish materials.
• Unified Instruction: With built-in teacher resources and interdisciplinary content, our series aligns interventionists and core teachers, ensuring reading support is a bridge to grade-level standards, not a barrier.

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The Science of Survival Scope & Sequence

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This eight-book decodable series is designed for older students who need phonics support while engaging with informational fiction and nonfiction. Each book targets specific phonics skills and explores key science topics, ensuring that students build literacy and scientific knowledge simultaneously.‍

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Multisyllabic Decoding
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Through a spiraled approach, sequential decodables get progressively more challenging as students amass more skills. In alignment with the research on multisyllabic decoding strategies for older struggling readers, we teach multisyllabic words earlier in this sequence.‍

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Morphology

We also include words that exemplify morphological concepts (prefixes, roots, suffixes) in alignment with the syllable types. This supports vocabulary acquisition alongside decoding. While not explicitly included, we recommend teaching the meanings of science-specific affixes (e.g. hypo-, photo-, eco-, derm-, tax-).

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View the scope & sequence PDF.

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