Spanish-first.
Science of Reading–aligned.
Built on research.
Most early-literacy curricula are built around the structure of English, then translated. Hola Books is built around the structure of Spanish — and grounded in the same Science of Reading research that districts already trust.
Prepared by Mamatha Chary, Ph.D. — translated here from an academic framework into something you can read, screenshot, and forward.
English curricula don't read like Spanish.
Spanish has a transparent orthography: sound-to-symbol relationships are consistent, and reading development is built around syllable structure — predictable consonant-vowel patterns. English is the opposite. It leans on phonemes and onset-rime, with the same letters spelling many different sounds.
This isn't a minor detail. It's why translated and adapted English programs underserve bilingual learners — they teach the architecture of the wrong language.
The same word, decoded two ways
Four syllables — mur·cié·la·go — decoded left to right. Even a long, playful word is reliable: each letter maps to its sound the same way, every time. Children blend predictable syllables in order.
Reliable, cumulative, and fast.Short and tidy here — but English letters shift word to word. The same "a" spells four different sounds in bat /æ/, ball /ɔ/, made /eɪ/, and about /ə/. Because the mapping isn't reliable, English instruction leans on phonemes and onset-rime —
a structure that doesn't fit Spanish.Toggle the languages above to compare how each is decoded.
Explicit. Systematic. Spanish-first.
Hola Books takes an explicit, systematic approach to phonics-aligned reading instruction — with the goal of supporting transfer to English literacy.
Built in Spanish
An explicit, systematic phonics scope & sequence designed around Spanish syllable structure — never a translation of an English program.
Built to transfer
Decoding, fluency, and phonological awareness in Spanish lay the foundation that research shows transfers to reading in English.
Built for belonging
Materials are culturally relevant, inclusive, and representative of Latinx culture — so children see themselves as readers from the start.
What the approach looks like at 9 a.m.
Review & anticipate
Flip to revealTeachers preview the lesson and anticipate the vocabulary and high-frequency words students will meet, so instruction is ready before the bell.
Teach the daily lesson
Flip to revealA focused 20–30 minute daily lesson delivers explicit, systematic phonics instruction — one skill, taught well.
Choose the right text
Flip to revealTeachers decide between decodable books and workbooks based on the exact skill being targeted that day.
Practice in groups
Flip to revealStudents move into small-group, independent, and partner work — applying the skill in real reading and writing.
Observe & assess
Flip to revealTeachers watch, listen, and assess decoding in real time — gathering evidence of what each student can do.
Regroup & respond
Flip to revealGroups are reformed based on results, so instruction stays matched to need — then the cycle repeats tomorrow.
From first sounds to biliteracy
- Students show measurable gains in letter-sound knowledge.
- Growth in phonological awareness.
- Improved decoding accuracy and fluency in Spanish.
- Stronger orthographic mapping and independent, grade-level reading in Spanish.
- Students begin transferring those skills to English reading.
- Schools may see growth in dual-language program adoption.
- Students continue developing biliteracy and a bilingual identity & sense of belonging.
- Schools shift toward asset-based views of multilingual learners — treating home language as a strength, not a barrier.
Skills built in Spanish carry into English
- Decoding
- Phonological awareness
- Fluency
- Orthographic mapping
Decades of research show foundational reading skills don't have to be re-taught in English — they transfer. A strong Spanish foundation is a faster path to reading in both languages.
Cross-linguistic transfer documented in Cárdenas-Hagan et al. (2007) and Ramírez (2000) — see the research below.
The evidence behind the approach
Click any source to expand the finding and full citation.
Found that early Spanish skills predicted English outcomes at the end of kindergarten, even after controlling for early English skills — Spanish competence mediates the acquisition of English.
Cárdenas-Hagan, E., Carlson, C. D., & Pollard-Durodola, S. D. (2007). The cross-linguistic transfer of early literacy skills: The role of initial L1 and L2 skills and language of instruction. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38(3), 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2007/026)
Shows that very young children bring to the initial reading task knowledge of skills in their primary language that transfer to reading in a second language, such as English.
Ramírez, J. D. (2000, April). Bilingualism and literacy: Problem or opportunity? A synthesis of reading research on bilingual students. In Proceedings of A Research Symposium on High Standards in Reading for Students From Diverse Language Groups: Research, Practice & Policy (Vol. 33).
Argues that biliteracy should be nurtured through its own pedagogies, curriculum, materials, and assessments — the basis for the logic model's assumption that culturally relevant materials are more effective for bilingual learners.
Hopewell, S., & Escamilla, K. (2014). Biliteracy development in immersion contexts. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 2(2), 181–195. https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.2.2.02hop
A case study of how children begin to read and write words in Spanish. Because Spanish has a relatively transparent orthography, early reading tends to move efficiently toward accurate decoding, with strong attention to syllable structures alongside phoneme–grapheme correspondences.
Diuk, B. (2007). El aprendizaje inicial de la lectura y la escritura de palabras en español: un estudio de caso. Psykhe (Santiago), 16(1), 27–39.
Shows that orthographic mapping facilitates sight word memory and vocabulary learning — the basis for the logic model's expected gains in orthographic mapping and independent, grade-level reading.
Miles, K. P., & Ehri, L. C. (2019). Orthographic mapping facilitates sight word memory and vocabulary learning. In Reading development and difficulties: Bridging the gap between research and practice (pp. 63–82). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Frames reading fluency as the bridge between decoding and reading comprehension — the basis for the logic model's expected gains in decoding accuracy and fluency in Spanish.
Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58(6), 510–519. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.58.6.2
Spanish-First
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Adiós a las dudas. ¡Hola a la solución!
See how a Spanish-first, research-grounded curriculum fits your classrooms. Request a sample set or talk with our team about your district.
