Controlled readers or decodable books are books that contain only the phonetic sounds and skills your child has mastered. And, yes, they are important! Give a student a book they can fully decode and they can not only practice their learned decoding skills, but also increase their confidence and reading fluency.
The ramifications for not doing so can be enormous, both on personal and societal levels. Every year student waits to receive effective intervention levels, the effect of the intervention diminishes 25%-50%. Early identification and intervention is four times more effective than taking the “wait to fail” path.