Customer Reviews

Alpha-Phonics: A Primer for Beginning Readers

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have taught three children to read with this book, and am thrilled to be able to buy a plastic comb-bound version for my fourth child, which hopefully will also last through #5 and #6. Two of my children learned to read using this program between the ages of four and five, one between the ages of five and six. My current five-year-old is developmentally delayed, and so she is beginning phonics later than some of my other children, but I am confident that she will be reading some when she starts kindergarten in the fall.

Forget the "Phonics Game" and "Hooked on Phonics" and all those other pricey, gimmicky phonics programs. This thirty-dollar book is ALL you need, and it will take no more than 15 minutes per day to teach any child to read. If your child does not yet recognize all letters and know all phonograms (letter sounds), you can use the printed alphabet at the beginning of the book to drill on these first. By lesson THREE of Alpha-Phonics your child will be able to read a couple of sentences and be thrilled to death with his or her progress.

Alpha-Phonics is proof that the best isn't necessarily the most expensive.

I am writing this so that it may help another struggling reader.

Bottom line is that it helped my first grader greatly accelerate her reading skills. At two months into the school year she was tested at a level 2. Our school district standard is level 16 by the end of first grade. Her teacher said that there would be an outside chance she would be at a level 12 by the end of the school year. My daughter though bright and motivated, does not have an aptitude for reading and possibly has a slight case of dyslexia. When she tried to read she would fall into tears with frustration. Consequently she was losing interest in reading.

We started this book in November spending about 30-60 minutes, 2-3 exercises per day with just reading, no writing. We finished the book in January. She then started reading other books for 30-60 minutes per day. She was tested again in February at a level 6. She has since been advancing at almost a level a week. By the end of April she was reading and comprehending level 12 books with ease. Recall that the teacher said in October she would be lucky to be at a level 12 by the end of the school year. She still has 6 weeks left in the school year.

This book has made a difference because it lays a phonic foundation in an organized, comprehensive manner with exercises that continually reenforce the learnings in each lesson. Exercises in subsequent lessons review previous material so that review of previous lessons were generally not needed. It starts out very simply so that the child is not overwhelmed and immediately feels a sense of accomplishment. Read the lesson plans at the end of the book as they are helpful for the parent.

After completing the book, your child will have the skills to sound out words on her own. As you go through the book with her, you will develop a common phonetic language that you can use to help her with new words and improve her phonics skills. The book can be a little dry so spicing it up a bit keeps the interest up. I'd deliberately mispronounce key words in the exercise and let her correct me.

After completing this book, let your child loose to read, read, read. My daughter now enjoys reading and does so at every opportunity. The other great thing as a parent is no more tears of frustration.

Is this book for you? If you and your child are motivated, this is the best...investment you will make.

We are currently teaching our fifth son to read using Alpha-phonics. We used Alpha-phonics to teach each of his older brothers as well. We can't say enough good about this book! It is easy to use and inexpensive. It introduces easy sentences right away, which is a great motivator. We have found that it works best for us to use Alpha-phonics alone at first, and then later add some phonics flash cards. (We use Romalda Spaldings phonogram cards.) This combination is all we have ever needed. We've been homeschooling now for 9 years, and with most subjects we find that one child loves one curriculum, and the next child hates it and needs something else for his different learning style. Alpha-phonics is the only book that everyone has loved! I highly recommend it.

For the low cost of $29.95, Alpha-Phonics packs more structured learning in every page than any other phonic program on the market. Its only drawback is the lack of words that have more than two syllables. Students quickly learn all the basic sounds and blends. The sentence practice is wonderful. Once again, it is available in the workbook only format. The interactive CD version of Alpha-Phonics is an exceptional companion tool. Like the book there's no music, pictures, or colors to distract the student. Several years ago I used the Alpha-Phonics system to teach an illeratate, sixteen-year-old, high school drop out to read at a sixth grade level in five months. I have no teacher training. Today, this young man is studying for his GED. I asked his school superintendent what his teachers were teaching this young man for ten years. He didn't have an answer. After I helped this young man, I started tutoring my friend's second grade daughter. When she describe the wonderful first grade program the school was using with her children, I knew the program to be whole language, based on what I had learned from reading Mr. Blumenfeld's book OBE/ THE WHOLE LANGUAGE FRAUD. In the first week of second grade the teacher recommended this girl be tested for a learning disability. The mother called me and instead of testing, we set to work tutoring her daughter twice a week. In June she was comfortable reading fifth grade material and she could sound out children's Bible stories written at the seventh grade reading level. All of her grades improved and her behavior in class improved. Today she is an avid reader. Reading teachers will love the Alpha-Phonics program because of the extensive word lists that are used for every sound and spelling combination. Children are often expected to master several different sound/spelling combinations through learning five or six words with those sounds. Alpha-Phonics takes each sound, such as `ow' as is heard in cow, and alphabetically lists every one syllable word in the English language that uses that combination. The lesson with `ee' has over seventy words. It's easy to see why Alpha-Phonics can be a reading teacher's best supplement. The sound index in the back of the book can help a teacher focus in on any phoneme problem and quickly help the student get the practice they need. The student's spelling mistakes now become the road map to direct the teacher to the phonics lessons the student failed to master. Students are always ready to learn from their mistakes. Stop the failure and frustration! Get Alpha-Phonics.

Many of you, like me, have heard of or used the Alpha Phonics book to teach our child how to read. To provide an all around kit that encompassed everything needed noted Alpha Phonics by Blumenfeld has come out with a complete kit. In this kit you will find an introduction video tape, a beginning cassette tape, the original Alpha Phonics book, a parent/teacher book, 6 double sided cassettes, 7 sets of flashcards (including jump rings), beginners writing tablet, a letter flip book, and 11 first reader books. All in all it is quite a bit of a kit and very comparable to the well known 'Hooked on Phonics' program.

I have to tell you that I prefer the Blumenfeld method of teaching phonics and reading. The letters are large print to assist with the transition to staring at the printed letter. The way the program flows is natural to the whole reading progress and easily picked up on by most new readers. If you feel comfortable with your skills, have a decent set of phonics flashcards (alphabet w/blends) I would suggest you only needing the main Alpha Phonics book. If you want all the supplemental goodies, and would feel more comfortable with a completely laid out program, then get the whole kit. I know that the cost for the entire kit is a bit high and I hope to see the price come down a bit. Even still, with the higher price, I would recommend the Alpha Phonics method over other reading programs. I also realize that some of the profits go to assist with reading programs in various places.

Alpha Phonics can be used with new readers, remedial readers, adults, and those new to English. Because of the variety in application, this program can be used with just about anyone who is learning to read or lacking in good phonics skills. I have spoken with the marketing director for this program and she has told me some wonderful things that their company is doing. In LA County they are placing these kits with teens that are in trouble. Finding that most of these children's problems in school come from a poor ability to read, let alone stay caught up in a class. Once they learn proper phonics and their reading levels come up, they build a new respect for themselves and begin to see success in their schoolwork. I give hats off to Literacy Unlimited for all their efforts to assist kids in trouble.

What it all boils down to is this - can you teach your child to read with this program? The answer most undoubtedly is this - YES! Whether you use the mainstream book, which has been used by so many homeschoolers for 15 years, or prefer the whole program, this is a wonderful reading program. We tried ABeka's reading program which was a front-end method...ba, be, bi, bo, and bu. Then, we tried the Bob Jones reading program, which is what I call a rear end method...Ben, den, hen, men, and pen. Both ways are good but my daughter needed a combination approach. She also needed the larger print to focus her eyes like Alpha Phonics provides. Please check this book out at your local library or take a look at it when the next homeschool convention comes to your town. If you want just the main book, I would get it from AMAZON now as I was told they will no longer sell just the book alone anymore. Visit Home Crusaders at: http://members.aol.com/usteach

Approximately three days ago, I received the Alpha-Phonics textbook. I ordered it for my 1st grade son who has been in the public school system for two years and still doesn't know how to read. The school system uses sight reading. Anyway, we are already on the sixth lesson and he is slowly figuring out how to read. This book is simple to understand and very simple to teach. I love it!!!!!!

During the first few lessons my little girl loved the book. Unfortunately, around lesson 12 she started to dislike the book. She says the book is "no fun". With that said she is learning to read and spell and I find the book very easy to work with.

I have used several different phonics instructions books and this is my absolute favorite.

It is simple to use and systematically covers all necessary phonics skills. Because the supplemental information for parents/teachers is in the back section of the book, the pages are uncluttered and will therefore be easier for beginning readers. Also, there are no illustrations which might encourage children to guess at words rather than reading them.

This book can be used for readers on a variety of levels. It is easy to adjust the pace for a child who is already reading some when you begin using Alpha-Phonics.

I recommend that you use it in conjunction with the "Bob Books" sets of books for beginning readers. They are adorable little readers which begin with very simple words and gradually progress by adding one or two new sounds in each small book. They are somewhat expensive, but are definitely worth the money. Particularly if you have a struggling reader, these books will quickly build self-confidence in reading.

Forget the fancy stuff - this is all you need to teach your child (or anyone) to read. We do two lessons a day (or more on the easier lessons), about 20 minutes per day, and my daughter was reading simple sentences by the third week. Talk about motivation! Unlike some programs, this moves quickly enough to keep the child's interest and allows enough diversity of information to give the child real skills that he/she can put to use NOW. Don't waste your money on games and such--just Alpha-Phonics and pen and some paper will make your child a reader!

I bought this book for my 5 year old after checking it out at our local library. It has proven to be a very successful tool in teaching her to read. The format allows her to learn alot on her own. The process seems to go very quickly. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to use a phonics based system.