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Cover of the Level 4 decodable mini-book pack
Level 4

1st & 2nd Grade Decodable Books: Vowel Teams

Advanced Readers · Grades 1–2 · confident readers

The last of the single-syllable patterns — vowel teams (rain, boat), r-controlled vowels (bird, fort), and diphthongs (coin, cow). Next comes putting them together into longer words.

Print the whole level · $14All 57 illustrated mini-books in one file Sight words + all 6 levels · $39Every book, every level, plus 63 phonics posters
Look inside the pack ↓
57 books at this level · every one free to print on its own See them all ↓
Pip's Rainy Train mini-book coverKim's Green Seed mini-book coverRon's Big Boat mini-book coverLiv Walks the Rope mini-book coverTam and the Blue Vane mini-book coverJane's Purple Fern mini-book coverDeb's Short Corn mini-book coverJill's Big Hop mini-book cover
Teaching 1st grade? This level is one step of the full year — see the 1st grade decodable books sequence (Levels 2–4 in teaching order).
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Vowel Team — AI Vowel Team — AY Vowel Team — EE Vowel Team — EA Vowel Team — EA (Short E) Vowel Team — EY Vowel Teams — EI and EIGH Vowel Team — OA Vowel Team — OW (long O) Vowel Team — IGH Vowel Team — IE Vowel Team — OO Vowel Teams — EW and UE Vowel Teams — OE and UI Vowel Teams — AU and AW OUGH and AUGH R-Controlled — AR R-Controlled — ER R-Controlled — IR R-Controlled — OR R-Controlled — UR R-Controlled — AIR, EAR, ORE R-Controlled — EAR and EER R-Controlled — WOR and WAR Diphthong — OI Diphthong — OY Diphthong — OU OU — Other Sounds (soup, touch) Diphthong — OW Silent Letters — KN, WR, MB Silent Letters — GN, GH, ST, LF Digraph PH CH — Other Sounds (school, chef) Vowel Teams & Advanced Review

Vowel Team — AI

1st–2nd Grade · 4 readers
Hope's Swishy Brush decodable reader illustration New
Hope's Swishy Brush
rain, main, pain, gain, fail, jail
 Brad's Box Train decodable reader illustration
Brad's Box Train
rain, main, pain, gain, fail, jail
 Pam's Red Ship decodable reader illustration
Pam's Red Ship
rain, main, pain, gain, fail, jail
 Pip's Rainy Train decodable reader illustration
Pip's Rainy Train
rain, main, pain, gain, fail, jail

Vowel Team — AY

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Beth's Clay Tray decodable reader illustration
Beth's Clay Tray
bay, day, hay, jay, lay, may
 Jay's Birthday Play decodable reader illustration
Jay's Birthday Play
bay, day, hay, jay, lay, may

Vowel Team — EE

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Brad and the Lost Pig decodable reader illustration
Brad and the Lost Pig
bee, fee, see, tree, free, three
 Kim's Green Seed decodable reader illustration
Kim's Green Seed
bee, fee, see, tree, free, three

Vowel Team — EA

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Len Reads to Gus decodable reader illustration New
Len Reads to Gus
sea, tea, pea, beach, reach, teach
 Pam's Beach Dream decodable reader illustration
Pam's Beach Dream
sea, tea, pea, beach, reach, teach

Vowel Team — EA (Short E)

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Ken's Feather Bed decodable reader illustration
Ken's Feather Bed
bread, head, read, thread, spread, sweat

Vowel Team — EY

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Tim's Honey Jug decodable reader illustration
Tim's Honey Jug
key, monkey, honey, money, donkey, turkey

Vowel Teams — EI and EIGH

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Max and the Big Sleigh decodable reader illustration
Max and the Big Sleigh
eight, weigh, weight, sleigh, neigh, neighbor

Vowel Team — OA

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Fran's Pet Goat decodable reader illustration
Fran's Pet Goat
oat, boat, coat, goat, moat, oak
 Ron's Big Boat decodable reader illustration
Ron's Big Boat
oat, boat, coat, goat, moat, oak

Vowel Team — OW (long O)

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Shelly Rows to Ben decodable reader illustration New
Shelly Rows to Ben
bow, low, mow, row, sow, tow
 Pip's Snow Day decodable reader illustration
Pip's Snow Day
bow, low, mow, row, sow, tow

Vowel Team — IGH

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Seth's Night at Camp decodable reader illustration
Seth's Night at Camp
high, sigh, thigh, fight, light, might
 Pip's Bright Light decodable reader illustration
Pip's Bright Light
high, sigh, thigh, fight, light, might

Vowel Team — IE

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Liv Walks the Rope decodable reader illustration New
Liv Walks the Rope
pie, tie, lie, die, tied, tried
 Wes and the Pie decodable reader illustration
Wes and the Pie
pie, tie, lie, die, tied, tried

Vowel Team — OO

1st–2nd Grade · 3 readers
The Lost Spoon decodable reader illustration
The Lost Spoon
moon, zoo, food, pool, cool, room
 Thad's Little Stool decodable reader illustration
Thad's Little Stool
moon, zoo, food, pool, cool, room
 Chip and the Hoot decodable reader illustration
Chip and the Hoot
moon, zoo, food, pool, cool, room

Vowel Teams — EW and UE

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Tam and the Blue Vane decodable reader illustration New
Tam and the Blue Vane
new, few, dew, chew, grew, flew
 Ron and the Blue Jewel decodable reader illustration
Ron and the Blue Jewel
new, few, dew, chew, grew, flew

Vowel Teams — OE and UI

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Bret's Fat Suitcase decodable reader illustration
Bret's Fat Suitcase
toe, toes, doe, foe, hoe, woe

Vowel Teams — AU and AW

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Meg Finds a Slide decodable reader illustration New
Meg Finds a Slide
saw, paw, jaw, law, draw, claw
 Pat's Paw Print Shawl decodable reader illustration
Pat's Paw Print Shawl
saw, paw, jaw, law, draw, claw

OUGH and AUGH

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Dot's Huge Doughnut decodable reader illustration
Dot's Huge Doughnut
caught, taught, daughter, naughty, bought, thought

R-Controlled — AR

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Bev's Yellow Star decodable reader illustration
Bev's Yellow Star
car, far, jar, bar, scar, star
 Pam's Farm Cart decodable reader illustration
Pam's Farm Cart
car, far, jar, bar, scar, star

R-Controlled — ER

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Liv Sees the Bell decodable reader illustration New
Liv Sees the Bell
her, fern, herd, jerk, perk, term
 Jane's Purple Fern decodable reader illustration
Jane's Purple Fern
her, fern, herd, jerk, perk, term

R-Controlled — IR

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Viv and the Vine decodable reader illustration New
Viv and the Vine
bird, dirt, fir, firm, first, girl
 Beth's Thirsty Bird decodable reader illustration
Beth's Thirsty Bird
bird, dirt, fir, firm, first, girl

R-Controlled — OR

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Deb's Short Corn decodable reader illustration New
Deb's Short Corn
for, born, corn, fork, fort, horn
 Ron's Big Storm decodable reader illustration
Ron's Big Storm
for, born, corn, fork, fort, horn

R-Controlled — UR

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Shelly's Curve Ball decodable reader illustration New
Shelly's Curve Ball
fur, blur, slur, spur, burn, curl
 Burt's Hurt Hen decodable reader illustration
Burt's Hurt Hen
fur, blur, slur, spur, burn, curl

R-Controlled — AIR, EAR, ORE

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Ned's Red Patch decodable reader illustration
Ned's Red Patch
air, hair, fair, pair, chair, stairs

R-Controlled — EAR and EER

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Rex and the Flute decodable reader illustration
Rex and the Flute
ear, hear, near, fear, year, clear

R-Controlled — WOR and WAR

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Pip's Wardrobe Club decodable reader illustration
Pip's Wardrobe Club
word, work, worm, world, worth, worse

Diphthong — OI

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Jill's Big Hop decodable reader illustration New
Jill's Big Hop
oil, boil, coil, foil, soil, toil
 Jon's Shiny Coin decodable reader illustration
Jon's Shiny Coin
oil, boil, coil, foil, soil, toil

Diphthong — OY

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
June's Pine Tune decodable reader illustration New
June's Pine Tune
boy, coy, joy, toy, soy, ploy
 Kate's Joyful Toy decodable reader illustration
Kate's Joyful Toy
boy, coy, joy, toy, soy, ploy

Diphthong — OU

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Tess Digs a Ditch decodable reader illustration New
Tess Digs a Ditch
out, our, ouch, mouth, south, found
 Scout's Lost Hound decodable reader illustration
Scout's Lost Hound
out, our, ouch, mouth, south, found

OU — Other Sounds (soup, touch)

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Kate's Big Soup Pot decodable reader illustration
Kate's Big Soup Pot
soup, group, you, youth, route, wound

Diphthong — OW

1st–2nd Grade · 2 readers
Deb's Flower Crown decodable reader illustration New
Deb's Flower Crown
cow, how, now, vow, wow, brow
 Pip's Brown Cow decodable reader illustration
Pip's Brown Cow
cow, how, now, vow, wow, brow

Silent Letters — KN, WR, MB

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Jim's Little Knock decodable reader illustration
Jim's Little Knock
knee, knit, knot, knob, knock, know

Silent Letters — GN, GH, ST, LF

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Jade's Gnawed Yam decodable reader illustration
Jade's Gnawed Yam
gnat, gnome, gnaw, gnash, sign, design

Digraph PH

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Scott and the Phantom Dolphin decodable reader illustration
Scott and the Phantom Dolphin
phone, photo, phase, phrase, phonics, phantom

CH — Other Sounds (school, chef)

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Kim's Chef Takes a Jump decodable reader illustration
Kim's Chef Takes a Jump
school, chorus, echo, anchor, stomach, ache

Vowel Teams & Advanced Review

1st–2nd Grade · 1 reader
Jane's Rainy Day Beach Trip decodable reader illustration
Jane's Rainy Day Beach Trip
rain, snow, feet, beach, boat, high

Ready for the next step?

Level 5: Advancing Readers →

1st & 2nd Grade Decodable Books: Vowel Teams — Level 4: Advanced

These 57 free printable decodable readers cover the vowel teams & advanced stage of phonics — designed for Grades 1–2 · confident readers. The last of the single-syllable patterns — vowel teams (rain, boat), r-controlled vowels (bird, fort), and diphthongs (coin, cow). Next comes putting them together into longer words. Every reader uses only words that follow the phonics patterns at this level, plus a small set of taught sight words, so your child can sound out nearly every word and build real reading confidence.

Each reader is an 8-page full-color illustrated mini-book: print one sheet, cut, fold, and staple, with comprehension questions on the back page. There is also a large-print read-aloud version of every story. Not sure this is the right level? Use the level picker above to move up or down, or start from the decodable readers home page. For matching skill practice, see our phonics worksheets. Ready for the next step? Try our reading comprehension passages with questions for 1st to 3rd grade.