Decodable Readers

In this story, Gus and Tom are upset. Miss Sam helps them smudge to feel better.

Mi’gmaq burn sage and other traditional medicines to smudge. Smudging helps people let go of sadness and anger.

What do you do when you are feeling sad?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4-7, for use in kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms.

Cedar School Decodables is divided into six sets, which increase in word count and complexity of sentence structure. We Smudge is in Set 5 – Ending Spelling Patterns, and reviews -tch and -dge. Books in Set 5 have 100-110 words.  

Readers should be familiar with the concepts included in Set 1 to Set 5: 

• consonants 

• beginning and end blends 

• short and long vowels 

• digraphs 

• suffixes and ending spelling patterns 

• a /o/ 

• s – /s/ and /z/ 

• VC-CV, V/CV, VC/V, and compound words 

Series Information
Welcome to Cedar School! Join Liv, Tom, Gus, and Bell as they learn on the land and explore Mi’gmaw teachings with their teacher, Miss Sam, and the school’s Mi’gmaw Elder, Jen. With charming illustrations and simple storylines, this decodable series engages students as they practise their reading skills. Each book includes a pre-reading review of non-decodable words, and many of the books introduce special words related to Indigenous teachings. Talking Together prompts facilitate discussions led by the reading teacher. 

Developed in partnership with Dyslexia Canada, Cedar School Decodables is a series of 20 decodable books for young readers. Designed for students who have previously learned short vowel and consonant sounds, additional phonic skills are developed progressively throughout the series.

The series will be accompanied by Cedar School Decodables Teacher’s Guide and a series of four picture books, which will be available at a later date.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.5” x 5.5” | Paperback | ISBN: 978-1-77174-650-2

In this story, Miss Sam and the class are exploring the forest when they see an animal track on Cub Path! What animal made it?

Mi’gmaq use tracks to find animals in the forest. Mi’gmaq live in balance with the land and honour the animals that live on it.

Have you ever seen an animal track?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4-7, for use in kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms.

Cedar School Decodables is divided into six sets, which increase in word count and complexity of sentence structure. What Track Is This? is in Set 2 – Digraphs, and reviews ck, sh, and th (voiced and unvoiced). Books in Set 2 have 60-80 words. 

Readers should be familiar with the concepts included in Set 1 and Set 2:

• consonants
• beginning and end blends
• short vowels
• digraphs
• a /o/
• s – /s/ and /z/
• -s suffix

Series Information
Welcome to Cedar School! Join Liv, Tom, Gus, and Bell as they learn on the land and explore Mi’gmaw teachings with their teacher, Miss Sam, and the school’s Mi’gmaw Elder, Jen. With charming illustrations and simple storylines, this decodable series engages students as they practise their reading skills. Each book includes a pre-reading review of non-decodable words, and many of the books introduce special words related to Indigenous teachings. Talking Together prompts facilitate discussions led by the reading teacher. 

Developed in partnership with Dyslexia Canada, Cedar School Decodables is a series of 20 decodable books for young readers. Designed for students who have previously learned short vowel and consonant sounds, additional phonic skills are developed progressively throughout the series.

The series will be accompanied by Cedar School Decodables Teacher’s Guide and a series of four picture books, which will be available at a later date.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.5” x 5.5” | Paperback | ISBN: 978-1-77174-641-0

In this story, Jen and the class pick wild strawberries. Back at school, Jen makes strawberry jam.

Wild strawberries grow throughout Mi’gmaw territory. Mi’gmaq harvest berries and other plants for food and medicine.

Have you ever gone berry picking?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4-7, for use in kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms.

Cedar School Decodables is divided into six sets, which increase in word count and complexity of sentence structure. Wild Strawberries is in Set 5 – Ending Spelling Patterns, and reviews -ild, -old, -ind, -olt, and -ost. Books in Set 5 have 100-110 words.  

Readers should be familiar with the concepts included in Set 1 to Set 5: 

• consonants 

• beginning and end blends 

• short and long vowels 

• digraphs 

• suffixes and ending spelling patterns 

• a /o/ 

• s – /s/ and /z/ 

• VC-CV, V/CV, VC/V, and compound words 

Series Information
Welcome to Cedar School! Join Liv, Tom, Gus, and Bell as they learn on the land and explore Mi’gmaw teachings with their teacher, Miss Sam, and the school’s Mi’gmaw Elder, Jen. With charming illustrations and simple storylines, this decodable series engages students as they practise their reading skills. Each book includes a pre-reading review of non-decodable words, and many of the books introduce special words related to Indigenous teachings. Talking Together prompts facilitate discussions led by the reading teacher. 

Developed in partnership with Dyslexia Canada, Cedar School Decodables is a series of 20 decodable books for young readers. Designed for students who have previously learned short vowel and consonant sounds, additional phonic skills are developed progressively throughout the series.

The series will be accompanied by Cedar School Decodables Teacher’s Guide and a series of four picture books, which will be available at a later date.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.5” x 5.5” | Paperback | ISBN: 978-1-77174-651-9

Read along with Duck and Cub and learn the Short 'u' Vowel.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for K-2.

This book is part of the Drumbeat Decodable Book Collection Series 1. It is recommended for K-2 for learning short vowels a, e, i, o, and u. Teach children short vowels in the context of cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words in the high-frequency and fun Indigenous Decodable Books. Books in this series provide the systematic practice children need to become phonics-wise readers. These stories bring Indigenous content that is much needed in any phonics program. Each book contains a word list, high-frequency words, story words, short vowel words, and two fun activities for extended learning.

Additional Information
Paperback 

Read Grandfather Rock and learn the Short ‘o’ Vowel.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for K-2.

This book is part of the Drumbeat Decodable Book Collection Series 1. It is recommended for K-2 for learning short vowels a, e, i, o, and u. Teach children short vowels in the context of cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words in the high-frequency and fun Indigenous Decodable Books. Books in this series provide the systematic practice children need to become phonics-wise readers. These stories bring Indigenous content that is much needed in any phonics program. Each book contains a word list, high-frequency words, story words, short vowel words, and two fun activities for extended learning.

Additional Information
Paperback 

In this decodable book, read along with Jan and learn the Short 'a' Vowel.  

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for K-2.

This book is part of the Drumbeat Decodable Book Collection Series 1. It is recommended for K-2 for learning short vowels a, e, i, o, and u. Teach children short vowels in the context of cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words in the high-frequency and fun Indigenous Decodable Books. Books in this series provide the systematic practice children need to become phonics-wise readers. These stories bring Indigenous content that is much needed in any phonics program. Each book contains a word list, high-frequency words, story words, short vowel words, and two fun activities for extended learning.

Additional Information
Paperback 

Read along with Rhett and Jett and learn the Short ‘e’ Vowel.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for K-2.

This book is part of the Drumbeat Decodable Book Collection Series 1. It is recommended for K-2 for learning short vowels a, e, i, o, and u. Teach children short vowels in the context of cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words in the high-frequency and fun Indigenous Decodable Books. Books in this series provide the systematic practice children need to become phonics-wise readers. These stories bring Indigenous content that is much needed in any phonics program. Each book contains a word list, high-frequency words, story words, short vowel words, and two fun activities for extended learning.

Additional Information
Paperback 

Read along with Tim and Robin and learn the Short ‘i’ Vowel.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for K-2.

This book is part of the Drumbeat Decodable Book Collection Series 1. It is recommended for K-2 for learning short vowels a, e, i, o, and u. Teach children short vowels in the context of cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words in the high-frequency and fun Indigenous Decodable Books. Books in this series provide the systematic practice children need to become phonics-wise readers. These stories bring Indigenous content that is much needed in any phonics program. Each book contains a word list, high-frequency words, story words, short vowel words, and two fun activities for extended learning.

Additional Information
Paperback 

A decodable book featuring four phonics stories for striving readers, with special features to help children with dyslexia or other language-based learning difficulties find reading success.

Meg and Greg are back to school and ready for fall fun! Join Meg, Greg and friends as they plan an event for dogs at the fall fair, solve challenging clues in a scavenger hunt, complete their planned science-fair project and look after excitable kindergarteners at the pumpkin patch.

Meg and Greg: A Handful of Dogs is the fifth book in the Meg and Greg series designed for shared reading between a child learning to read and an experienced reader. The four stories inside introduce different types of suffixes and prefixes (consonant suffixes -ful -ly -ment -s, vowel suffixes -en -er -es -est -ing -y, the suffix -ed and prefixes de- dis- ex- in- pre- re- un-) and the spelling rules for adding them to base words. In addition to the familiar comic-style kids’ pages, Book 5 features new highly controlled and decodable prose pages to gently increase the amount of text that readers experience and to provide even more opportunities to practice the reading skills previously introduced in Meg and Greg Books 1–4!

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9.

This book includes features to accommodate struggling or dyslexic readers, such as comic-book-style illustrations, a dyslexia-friendly typeface with ample spacing and shaded paper to reduce contrast between text and paper—all of which make this series more accessible.

Targeted at struggling readers ages six to nine has a wide appeal to ELL readers, reluctant readers and at-level readers alike with its engaging and age-appropriate plots and low reading level that doesn’t demoralize or stigmatize struggling readers.

This is the fifth book in the Orca Two Read series, designed for shared reading between a child learning to or struggling to read and an experienced reader.  All of the stories have special features to help a child with dyslexia or another language-based learning difficulty find reading success.

Additional Information
160 pages | 5.87" x 8.25" | Paperback

A decodable book featuring four phonics stories specially designed to help children with dyslexia or other language-based learning difficulties find reading success.

While Meg and Greg are visiting Greg’s family on Stardust Island they find themselves searching for one lost or missing item after another! Join Meg, Greg, cousin Martha and a puppy named Scarlet as they discover the thief who took off with a precious garnet ring at a farmers’ market, find and catch a horse named Popcorn who got lost in a forest, save a surfer who fell from his board and got badly hurt and chase an escaped teddy bear dangling from a helium balloon at a fun fair.

Meg and Greg: Scarlet and the Ring is the fourth book in the Orca Two Read series designed for shared reading between a child learning to read and an experienced reader. Inside you'll find four stories that focus on words with r-controlled vowels. For the first time in the series, readers will also be introduced to multiple spellings for a single sound.

Reviews
“Provides a supported flow to the reading of each story that enables the young reader to gain confidence. The modelling by the adult /buddy reader provides strategies for the young reader. At the same time, the story requires each partner to contribute to the reading in order to discover and enjoy each adventure. This partnership makes shared reading a special experience for both readers. Highly Recommended.”— CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“An extremely useful and entertaining series for striving readers; children reading this book along with their partner are not only getting the adventures of Meg and Greg, but learning their sight words and phonics with ease.”— School Library Journal

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9.

This book includes features to accommodate struggling or dyslexic readers, such as comic-book-style illustrations, a dyslexia-friendly typeface with ample spacing and shaded paper to reduce contrast between text and paper—all of which make this series more accessible.

Targeted at struggling readers ages six to nine has a wide appeal to ELL readers, reluctant readers and at-level readers alike with its engaging and age-appropriate plots and low reading level that doesn’t demoralize or stigmatize struggling readers.

This is the fourth book in the Orca Two Read series, designed for shared reading between a child learning to or struggling to read and an experienced reader.  All of the stories have special features to help a child with dyslexia or another language-based learning difficulty find reading success.

A downloadable resource pack is available: Resource Pack - Meg and Greg: Scarlet and the Ring

Additional Information
159 pages | 5.87" x 8.25" | Paperback

Meg and Greg are on summer holidays and are off on a series of adventures around their neighborhood, along with some four-legged companions. The two friends pull off a bake sale despite back-to-back disasters in the preparations, save the day for Greg’s mom when her ballet studio floods, rescue the neighbor's dog after he slips down a slope into a cove, and discover a lost cat with newborn kittens sheltering in a dangerous spot in the garden. So sit down and cozy up for another Meg and Greg adventure, this one focusing on: a-e, e-e, i-e, o-e, and u-e.

Educator Information
Meg and Greg: The Bake Sale is the third book in the Orca Two Read series, designed for shared reading between a child learning to or struggling to read and an experienced reader, following Frank and the Skunk and Duck in a Sock. All of the stories have special features to help a child with dyslexia or another language-based learning difficulty find reading success.

Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

Themes: early chapter books, dyslexia, learning differences, animal adventures, beginner readers.

A downloadable resource pack is available: Resource Pack - Meg and Greg: The Bake Sale

Additional Information
160 pages | 5.87" x 8.25" | b&w illustrations

A Duck in a Sock is the first book in a series designed for shared reading between a child learning to read and an experienced reader. The stories have special features to help a child with dyslexia or another language-based learning difficulty find reading success.

Meg and Greg are hanging out for the summer doing what ten-year-olds do—helping an injured duckling, finding a lost pet fish, saving ranch animals from a wildfire and catching a wandering sloth! Jump inside to join Meg and Greg on their adventures.

Reviews
"My students love the engaging story lines of the Meg and Greg books. Although they are only meant to read the captions on the picture pages, they take great pride in trying (and succeeding!) to read the "teacher pages" as well" - Leslie O'Haga

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9.

This book includes features to accommodate struggling or dyslexic readers, such as comic-book-style illustrations, a dyslexia-friendly typeface with ample spacing and shaded paper to reduce contrast between text and paper—all of which make this series more accessible.

Targeted at struggling readers ages six to nine, A Duck in a Sock has a wide appeal to ELL readers, reluctant readers and at-level readers alike with its engaging and age-appropriate plots and low reading level that doesn’t demoralize or stigmatize struggling readers.

Co-author Elspeth Rae is a teacher certified in using the Orton-Gillingham Approach to teach children with dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties. She is currently a literacy specialist teaching reading, spelling and writing to children ages five to thirteen.

Co-author Elspeth Rae was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was eight years old.

This is the first book in the Meg and Greg series, a new Orca Two Read series for shared reading that introduces one new phonogram (a letter or combination of letters that represent a sound) in each story. These books are cumulative, so each story builds on the previous one, and each book will build on the previous book. The first book covers the ck, sh, ch and th phonograms.

On the left page is an adult or buddy reader's text.  On the right is the kid's text on grey paper, a feature that helps readers with dyslexia.  Key features include:

• Shaded paper that reduces contrast.
• Labels that allow very early readers to participate.
• Extra space between letters, words and lines of text.
• Kid's text that is controlled to remove spelling exceptions and advanced words.
• Words with target phonogram that appear in bold type.
• Easy to read font.

A downloadable resource pack is available: Resource Pack - Meg and Greg: A Duck in a Sock

Additional Information
168 pages | 5.87" x 8.25"

Frank and the Skunk is the second book in the Orca Two Read line designed for shared reading between a child learning to read or struggling to read and an experienced reader, following Duck in a Sock. The stories have special features to help a child with dyslexia or another language-based learning difficulty find reading success.

Besties Meg and Greg are off to sleep-away camp for the summer! Along with your standard camp activities (swimming and making crafts) the duo have a run-in with a skunk, sing a silly song about a king, go on a canoe trip that has one glitch after another, and make a mess in the lodge with a fresh batch of fudge! So sit down and cozy up for another set of Meg and Greg adventures, this one focusing on the phonograms: nk, ng, tch and edge.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

This book is part of the Meg and Greg Series, an Orca Two Read line designed for shared reading between a child learning to read or struggling to read and an experienced reader.

Themes: phonics, dyslexia, learning difference, animal adventures, buddy reading

A downloadable resource pack is available: Resource Pack - Meg and Greg: Frank and the Skunk

Additional Information
160 pages | 5.87" x 8.25" | b&w illustrations