Best Decodable Texts to Make UFLI More Engaging: Printable, Interactive & Fun
- Oct 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 27
If you’re using decodable texts in your structured literacy instruction, especially through a program like UFLI, you know how critical they are for reinforcing phonics skills. They’re essential. They work. But let’s be honest...
They aren’t always a hit with students.
Many decodable stories feel robotic, repetitive, or just plain boring. Some are written by AI with little care for natural language or engagement. Others follow the structure but forget the joy.
When I want to make literacy curricula like UFLI more engaging, I supplement with decodables from The Teach-to-Read Blueprint (TTRB). These stories are developmentally appropriate and fun to read.
What Role do Decodables Play in Teaching?
Whether you use UFLI, The Teach-To-Read Blueprint, or other curricula for explicit phonics instruction, you will want to use text that is possible for your students to read with the phonics patterns that they have learned. We do this to reinforce our students' decoding skills, reading fluency, and comprehension. It's all about practice and building fluency.
For example:
After a lesson on vowel-consonant-e, I pull a TTRB decodable that practices the same pattern in a fun and engaging story with a colorful illustration that does not prompt guessing about the text. They can read the text using the skills they have learned, alongside a few sight words.
Depending on the student's current ability, I can choose between the red, purple, and blue levels of the same text so that the story is accessible to all students.
If I’m working with an older student, I use the older-reader story from that unit so they’re decoding without feeling like they’re reading a “baby book.”
For even more engagement, I will have the students use an interactive decodable, which allows them to "complete the picture" with drag-and-drop elements as they read, developing reading comprehension skills as they go. Win, win!
What’s Missing from Most Decodable Texts?
Programs like UFLI provide a strong scope and sequence. But their decodable readers often lack:
Color or illustrations
Age-appropriate themes for older struggling readers
Differentiation (one version fits all)
Interactive elements that support comprehension
And outside of structured programs, the decodable market is increasingly flooded with AI-generated stories that hit the right phonics patterns but lack soul, spark, or even grammatical clarity. The truth is, they just fall flat.
What Makes TTRB Decodables Different?
The decodable stories inside The Teach-to-Read Blueprint are thoughtfully created by a dyslexia specialist and veteran teacher. Every passage is designed to be:
Beautifully Illustrated
Full-color illustrations support comprehension, build engagement, and make reading feel more like a book, not a drill.
Differentiated for Age and Stage
Each unit includes decodables for younger learners at different levels and specially written options for older students, with age-appropriate themes and tone.
Interactive
Digital, interactive stories support comprehension by having students "complete the picture" with drag-and-drop elements as they read. Readers aren’t just decoding, they’re thinking, visualizing, and connecting.
Printable or Digital
Whether you’re working online or in person, you’ll find downloadable PDFs and fully interactive texts ready to go.
Created to Align With Many UFLI lessons
While TTRB has its own original sequence, the decodable stories were created to be aligned with many of the phonics skills taught in UFLI. This makes them a natural supplement for tutors and teachers using UFLI who want to increase engagement without straying off course.
Why Engagement Matters (Especially for Older Readers)
When students connect with the text—when they laugh at a story, ask what happens next, or point out a detail in the illustration—they build more than decoding skills. They build:
Motivation
Confidence
Reading stamina
Comprehension skills
This is especially important for older students who are still working through foundational skills. They’ve outgrown “The cat sat on the mat”, but they still need structured support.
The TTRB decodables meet them where they are, with stories that respect their age, hold their interest, and follow the science of reading.
Want to Try One?
Interactive Digital Decodable (Free Sample)👉 Click here to preview an interactive TTRB story and experience the difference engagement makes.
Printable Decodable Passage👉 Download a printable, full-color decodable passage here. Perfect for use in tutoring or classroom settings.
Both are included in the full Teach-to-Read Blueprint library, and both were created with intention, not automation.
Final Thoughts: Stories That Support and Delight
Decodables don’t have to be dull. You can follow the science, reinforce decoding patterns, and still give students a story they enjoy reading.
With the right supplement, your students will:
Look forward to reading
Build fluency through stories they actually remember
Feel seen, capable, and motivated
👉 Explore The Teach-to-Read Blueprint to see the full library of illustrated, interactive, printable decodables.
Because structured literacy should never feel like a script, and decodable doesn’t have to mean boring.
Looking for more ways to bring energy to your UFLI lessons?
👉 Read this next: How to Make UFLI Lessons More Fun— Discover practical ways to bring more joy and engagement to your structured literacy routine.
About the author:
I’m a dyslexia specialist and creator of The Teach-to-Read Blueprint, a plug-and-play structured literacy curriculum for tutors and teachers. I help educators make research-backed reading lessons effective and engaging—online or in person.
🔍 Want to help your own student thrive with a dyslexia-friendly approach? I’ve built a curriculum designed to make decoding easier, lessons more engaging, and instruction fully online. 👉 Teach-To-Read Blueprint