5 of Our Favorite Books for Phonics Instruction

Hi Teacher Friend! 

We’ve rounded up five of our favorite teacher-friendly reads that blend research and practical routines, our favorite combo! Whether you’re just starting your Science of Reading journey or looking to dig deeper into phonics instruction, decoding, orthographic mapping, or spelling, you won’t want to miss these books.

Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills

by Julia B. Lindsey

Are you looking for super clear, research-based guidance on how to teach students to decode? If so, Reading Above the Fray by Julia Lindsey is the perfect book! Julia takes the science of reading and makes it incredibly practical, with easy-to-follow routines you can use in your classroom. 

Our favorite part? The instructional swaps! She explains what decoding instruction should look like and helps you drop outdated practices that aren’t serving your students. These swaps help teachers move from guessing and memorizing to explicit, systematic phonics instruction. This book is an easy read that will leave you feeling more confident and better equipped to help all your students become skilled readers.

If you want to learn more about what the research says about teaching decoding, check out our podcast episode with Julia Lindsey.

Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers

by Louisa Cook Moats

Speech to Print by Louisa Cook Moats is one of those books that every teacher of reading should own! It will really help you understand how the English language works at a deep level. It’s like getting a front-row seat to LETRS training but in book form! 

Louisa Moats unpacks the structure of language, including phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, and shows how this knowledge connects directly to effective reading and writing instruction. It is packed full of information, so grab a teacher buddy or form a book club to work through it together!

Hear Louisa Moats share all about teaching reading in this podcast episode.

by Molly Ness and Katie Pace Miles

Making Words Stick by Molly Ness and Katie Pace Miles is the brand-new addition to the Scholastic Science of Reading in Practice series, and we’re obsessed! It’s another easy, practical read packed with everything teachers want to know about helping students orthographically map words, which leads to fluent reading! 

A majority of the book walks you through a simple four-step routine to support orthographic mapping. It’s flexible and easy to use across grade levels. Whether you teach kindergarten or upper elementary, you’ll see how to make this routine work for your students. Katie and Molly give you a ton of real examples of what the routine can look like in different classrooms, so you can actually picture it in action.

Hear Molly and Katie share all about orthographic mapping and their new book in this podcast episode. 

Brain Words: How the Science of Reading Informs Teaching

by Richard Gentry and Gene P. Ouellette

Brain Words is all about spelling, but not in the traditional “memorize and test” way. The authors share the research and show how spelling isn’t just a writing skill, but it’s also a powerful way to teach decoding and word recognition. Their approach is grounded in the science of reading, and it helps teachers see how the brain learns to store and retrieve words.

What we love about Brain Words is how it connects spelling to orthographic mapping and makes a strong case for bringing spelling back into your daily instruction. Teachers will appreciate the practical routines and classroom examples that make the research easy to understand and apply. If you’ve ever wondered how spelling fits into your reading block, this book will show you exactly why it matters and how to make it meaningful for your students.

Richard Gentry shares all about spelling  in these podcast episodes.