Explode The Code
Explode The Code is a series of phonics workbooks. Three primer books, A to C, teach consonant sounds and letters, then Books 1 to 8 move from short vowels and three-letter words to longer words and short stories, with half books such as 1½ for extra practice. Children write in the books, which keep the same exercise formats throughout and end with a post-test. Teacher's guides, a placement test book and a 12-month online version are sold separately.
- Subjects
- Reading and phonics
- Grades
- Pre-K to 4th grade: primer books A to C, then Books 1 to 8 source ↗
- Method
- Traditional source ↗
- Format
- Books and workbooks source ↗
- Faith label
- Secular
- Cost a year
- Student workbooks are $12.49 each and the teacher's guide for Books 1 and 2 is $17.49, at the publisher's consumer prices. The publisher does not say how many books make a school year. Read on October 29, 2026; prices change. source ↗
- Placement
- Placement test book ($38.49) ↗
What it does well
- Each workbook is small and inexpensive, so you buy one book at a time as the child is ready.
- Exercises keep the same simple formats, which the publisher says lets children work on their own.
- Every workbook ends with a post-test, and a placement test book shows which book to start in.
- Half books, 1½ to 6½, give extra practice on the same skills when a child needs more time.
Watch for
- The student books are practice pages; teaching activities are in separate teacher's guides.
- The placement test is a paid book ($38.49), not a free online test.
- It covers phonics and word reading only, up to about 4th grade; grammar, composition and longer books need other materials.
- The online version is a separate subscription, $43.49 for 12 months for one student.
It fits
A family that wants low-cost, low-prep phonics practice a child can do with little help, alongside reading aloud and real books.
It doesn’t fit
A parent who wants a complete, scripted reading program with readers in one box.
Compare Explode The Code
- Explode The Code vs All About Reading side by side
Other programs for the same subject and grades:
- All About Reading Pre-reading for preschool and kindergarten, then Levels 1 to 4, placed by skill rather than grade
- The Good and the Beautiful Preschool to 12th grade; high school has language arts and biology only
- Hooked on Phonics Ages 3 to 8, Pre-K to 2nd grade
- Logic of English Foundations for ages 4 to 7 (about pre-K to 2nd grade); Essentials for ages 8 to adult (about 3rd grade and up)
- Reading Eggs Ages 2 to 13, about pre-K to 8th grade
Lists it is on
- Homeschool reading and phonics programs 6
- Secular homeschool curricula 30
- Traditional homeschool curricula 24
- Homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 48
- Print homeschool curricula 44
- Secular homeschool reading and phonics programs 5
- Secular traditional homeschool curricula 14
- Secular homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 25
- Secular print homeschool curricula 19
- Print homeschool reading and phonics programs 4
- Traditional homeschool reading and phonics programs 4
What we read, and how we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
The publisher’s pages we read on October 29, 2026:
- epslearning.com/products/explode-the-code-overview
- epslearning.com/products/explode-the-code-2nd-edition
- epslearning.com/topics/homeschool
- epslearning.com/about-us
- shop.epslearning.com/Explode-The-Code-Book-1-Literacy-Phonics-2nd-Edition
- shop.epslearning.com/Explode-The-Code-Placement-Test-Book-2nd-Edition-Books-A-to-C-and-1-to-8
- shop.epslearning.com/popular/explode-the-code/online
- support.epslearning.com/how-do-i-know-where-to-start-a-student-in-explode-the-code
Something wrong or out of date? Publishers and parents can send a correction and we will fix it. Publishers can send corrections, never money. All programs compared · Find your homeschool style