Grades 3-12 striving readers
Students who still need decoding practice but cringe at K-1 themes. Hi-Lo titles let them keep practicing without losing dignity.
Decodable library · Tier 3 — Hi-Lo decodables
Scope-and-sequence precision for older striving readers.
When a 4th-grade reader still needs short-vowel practice, they need text aligned to that exact lesson — not a level equivalency, and not a book about a cat on a mat. Hi-Lo decodables anchor to your curriculum's scope and sequence with the same precision as our K-2 library, then layer in plot, setting, and tone calibrated for older readers.
What's in a Hi-Lo book
The same instructional control. A new engagement layer.
Teachers still pick the curriculum, lesson, target words, characters, image style, and phonics scope. Hi-Lo just adds plot, setting, theme, and tone — so the writer has room to make the story land for an older reader.
- Same phonics scope and sequence as regular decodables
- Age-respectful plot, setting, theme, tone — not babyish
- Decodability percentage scored honestly (not relaxed for older readers)
- Lesson alignment visible to teachers on every book
- Optional teacher-supplied story vocabulary the model can spend sparingly
- Standard 7 / 14 / 21-paragraph length options — extra long recommended for older readers
- Hi-Lo badge in the library so the audience is clear at a glance
Who Hi-Lo is for
Older readers who deserve dignity, not workbooks.
Students with dyslexia
Older students with dyslexia often need years of decodable text. Hi-Lo gives them stories that match their interests, not their decoding age.
Multilingual + newcomer students
Students new to English need decodables tuned to their phonics scope. Hi-Lo lets them work on phonics with content respectful of their actual age.
SPED + intervention groups
Older intervention students reading at lower decodable levels finally get text that matches their interest profile, not their reading level.
The bargain we keep with teachers.
A Hi-Lo book is acceptable when it does three things: reflects the teacher's higher-interest story intent, keeps the final text coherent and age-respectful, and exposes an honest decodability percentage based on the lesson selected. We optimize for compelling narrative and student dignity while keeping the instructional scope visible, auditable, and teacher-controlled.
Hi-Lo creation is lesson-gated — students need to be far enough through their phonics scope to support an older-reader story arc. The system blocks generation outside the eligible range.
About the authors
Written and edited by the Storytime AI founding team.
Brian Carlson
Co-founder & CEO
Co-founder and CEO of Storytime AI. Leads the company from Baltimore, building a literacy platform that meets every reader where they are — anchored to the Science of Reading.
LinkedIn
Scott Quinlan
Co-founder & CTO
Co-founder and CTO of Storytime AI. Owns engineering, product infrastructure, and the agentic growth pipeline — from the platform's AI generation engine to the structured-literacy content surface district leaders evaluate.
LinkedIn
Kate Dwyer
Co-founder & CMO
Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Storytime AI. Translates Science-of-Reading research and product capability into language teachers, parents, and district leaders can act on. Based in the Washington DC–Baltimore area.
LinkedIn
Generate one for your classroom this period.
Pick the lesson, pick the audience, give the system a plot. You'll have a Hi-Lo book in the library before the bell rings.