Scientifically proven. Backed by ESSA Tier I research.

Trusted by 100,000+ Educators & Districts Nationwide

Scientifically proven. Backed by ESSA Tier I research.

Secret Stories® bridges the gap between how kids learn and how reading is traditionally taught, accelerating phonics mastery with evidence based strategies for the most effective results.

FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS

Brain-Based Phonics Tools for Your Classroom

Secret Stories® turns tricky phonics patterns into stories, songs, and movement your students actually retain. It layers on top of any curriculum with no extra prep and no new instructional blocks.

🏆 ESSA Level 1 Evidence ⭐ 4.9 from 52,000+ reviews 100,000+ classrooms nationwide
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  • Works alongside any curriculum you already use, from day one
  • Teachers report reading gains in weeks, not months, even with struggling readers
  • The only ESSA Level 1 phonics resource, with an average effect size of 1.62

Phonics that finally sticks, without adding a thing to your day

You already have a curriculum. What you probably do not have is a way to explain why ch says /ch/, or why the e on the end of cake changes everything. Those are the moments where instruction stalls and students start guessing instead of decoding.

Secret Stories® gives every tricky pattern a reason a child can hold onto. Because the explanations are stories rather than rules, students recall them under pressure, in running text, weeks after the lesson. Nothing gets replaced and no block gets added, you simply have a better answer ready the moment a student needs one.

Post the Secrets where students can see them

The posters go up once. From day one they are a reference students use on their own during reading and writing, not another thing you have to manage.

Introduce a Secret when it comes up

No pacing guide to follow. When a pattern appears in your existing lesson or a decodable text, you tell that Secret. It takes under two minutes.

Watch them start pointing it out

The signal that it worked is unprompted. Students spot Secrets in library books, on the word wall, in each other's names, and use them without being asked.

Secret Stories have been the best tool I've added to my classroom. Student scores have increased significantly since implementing these fun, memorable stories to our classroom.
Kim Beech1st Grade, West Field Elementary

Common questions

Will this replace the curriculum I already use?
No. Secret Stories is a supplement, not a program. It layers onto Heggerty, UFLI, Orton-Gillingham, Wonders, CKLA, Fundations or a district adoption. Teachers use it to explain the patterns their curriculum introduces, in the same sequence their curriculum uses.
How much prep does it take?
Effectively none. The kit arrives ready to post. There is no scripting, no lesson planning and no printing. Most teachers put the posters up before the first day and teach Secrets as patterns come up in what they are already doing.
What grades is it for?
It is used most heavily in PreK through 2nd, but intervention and resource teachers use the same materials through 5th and beyond. The stories do not read as babyish, which is why they hold up with older struggling readers.
How long before I see a difference?
Teachers commonly report visible changes in confidence and decoding within two to three weeks, with measurable fluency gains around weeks six to eight. The first sign is usually students self-correcting instead of waiting to be told.
Is there evidence behind it?
Yes. Secret Stories is the only phonics resource with ESSA Level 1 evidence, with an average effect size of 1.62. The full research summary is available on our research page.

Best Sellers

ESSA Level 1 Strong Evidence
The only ESSA Level 1 phonics resource Independent research shows an average effect size of 1.62, the highest evidence standard a literacy resource can earn. Read the research

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