Check a book with the Phonics Book Checker

The Phonics Book Checker looks at the words in a passage. It shows where their spelling patterns and sight words are taught in a kindergarten to 2nd grade phonics sequence.

Teachers often call this a decodability check. A book is decodable for a reader when they can sound out its words with the phonics they have been taught. Read more about decodable books.

How to use it

1. Open the checker.
2. Type or paste a page from a book.
3. Choose Check this passage.

On a phone, you can select the text in your camera or photo app. Copy it, then paste it into the checker.

What the grade means

The result is an approximate phonics grade correlation, such as "Mid 1st grade." It is the point in a UFLI or IMSE school year by which a class has been taught every spelling pattern and sight word in the passage.

You can switch between UFLI and IMSE. The two can differ, because they teach skills in a different order.

This is not a reading level, and it is not a test score. It does not measure vocabulary, sentence length, or how well a child understands the story. Two passages with the same patterns can still feel very different to read.

The result is for the passage you checked. Other pages in the same book may be different.

Short passages

A short passage only shows the patterns it contains. Under 15 words, the result says At least. Check a longer page for a fuller picture.

Names and numbers

Some names do not follow phonics patterns. If the checker cannot place a word that is a name, choose This is a name. The checker then treats it as a word your reader knows.

Numbers cannot be sounded out. Write them as words.

How many checks you get

One check is free without an account. Every check counts, even the same passage again. A free Basic Reader account gives you unlimited checks.

Your text

Your passage is sent to our server for one check. It is not stored.

Sonoverse is independent of IMSE and UFLI. Read about our reading paths.