Customer Reviews

Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before purchasing this, I did my usual research: read tons of reviews, previewed it at the library, and asked around for comments. My friend, who has used this for four children, tried to warn me that it isn't fun but it gets the job done. I couldn't imagine what she was talking about. Given the glowing review in The Well Trained Mind (and all the rave "Best Phonics Program Available!"), I decided to go ahead with the purchase. I'm writing this review to warn you that YOU MIGHT HATE IT. And no matter how good a program is, if you detest it, you won't use it. Several other hs-ing moms have offered this to me free as a castoff (not knowing that I already have it). I refused to purchase another program so I just use PP as an outline for our phonics lessons. My biggest complaint might be the way it is laid out. It feels like the text is shouting at you and there's hardly any blank space. I like things organized, too, and it doesn't seem to have a particular order. There is a useful 2-page Spelling & Pronunciation Chart at the back but it is not as thorough as the list provided at the back of Alphaphonics. I had to create my own chart of rules. Wouldn't that be great?? A checklist of sounds to cover, IN SOME SEMBLANCE OF ORDER! Other moms I know have used Alphaphonics or How to Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons with great success. Those two books are low-cost alternatives. I like the simplicity of Alphaphonics and it has the child reading real words (I'm not opposed to nonsense words on principle but it does seem fun for them to have real words early on). The pages are also not overwhelming with text the way PP and How to Teach can be. Also, Alphaphonics begins with consonant-ending words (am, at), which is a great way to start blending; it is more difficult to blend from a consonant to a vowel, which is how PP begins. If you like instructions on what to say to your child (which I normally don't), you would prefer How to Teach Your Child. (Going back to that book now, I realize that I actually did what is set out in those teacher instructions.) How to Teach also has longer reading texts (whole paragraphs) instead of just sentences. I think I would have liked either but was too afraid as a newbie that I might be missing something, which is why I got PP. IF you're concerned about issues like dyslexia, PP might be the best option. I don't know; I didn't have that come up. Bottom line: PP works, it is cheap. However, there are other alternatives.

I've been using this with my daughter, who has struggled with other programs and she is making very good progress. Everything is broken down into managable chunks.
The one problem I have with this program is the way the blends pages are layed out. They were actually increasing my daughters dyslexia, rather than preventing it as the books claims it will do. Take pg 19 for example:

Mm
a / m-a / ma
e / m-e / me
i / m-i / mi
o / m-o / mo
u / m-u / mu

The child is to read from left to right, starting with the vowel, then blend the consonant with the vowel, then read the complete blend. The problem was when my daughter would read the vowel FIRST, her eye would skip the consonant, looking for the familiar vowel she had just read, then would track backwards to the consonant, thus reading:

"a / a-m / am"

When I finally realized what was happening, after already working our way through the entire alphabet section, I began covering the vowels with our book mark so she wouldn't get mixed up. This has worked well for her. I think that future editions should consider changing the layout to something more like this:

Mm
m / a / m-a / ma
m / e / m-e / me

or just drop the vowels column all together:

Mm
m / m-a / ma

This would prevent the eye backtracking.
I still give this four stars though, because once this minor problem was compensated for, the program is still very good. It's the most comprehensive and orderly phonics program we've found without loads of extras that increase the price, and are not really necessary. It's all here in one straight-forward book, and in 10 mins a day, your child will soon be reading.

I taught my daughter to read with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. My daughter was very successful with that, and upon completion I turned to Phonics Pathways to continue her instruction.

That was almost 10 months ago, and over the course of this year we have come very close to working through the entire book.

Pros: Phonics Pathways is very complete. It can take a child that reads nothing up to about a 4th or 5th grade level of reading. It includes more complicated phonics patterns that other books do not cover. It teaches spelling rules and I anticipate using this as a spelling reference as my child gets older. It is very easy to use. We basically read a page a day, repeating if a certain page is tricky. It includes games that could be motivating to some students, although requiring prep on the part of the parent.

Con: Dry, dry, dry! My child loved the zany stories in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. When we started Phonics Pathways, she wanted to go back to her old book because Phonics Pathways is not nearly so entertaining. While she thinks Dewey the Bookworm is cute, his inspirational sayings don't do much for her. If my child was a reluctant reader, I think we'd have to scrap Phonics Pathways and find something else that was more fun.

This book does work and is a good reference to have on hand, but like most things in education, it will not be the best fit for every child.

My five-year-old had the eerie habit of writing everything backwards. She would write the alphabet from A-Z but starting on the right and with the letters mirror-imaged! I have done some research and everything says not to worry too much until they are more towards first grade, but I was worried nevertheless. I saw some reviews for this book and its help with dyslexic tendencies. We started using the book and she at first wanted to read everything from the right. She finally caught on to the L to R format. This was my goal - check! As far as the content, we suffered through the short vowel sounds. We spent 6 weeks on those first five pages. My daughter just wasn't getting it! She has known the consonants for years, but those darn short vowel sounds... Finally I just gave up on the book because she couldn't seem to master it. Then suddenly, we were looking at an easy reader using the short 'A' sounds and she read the whole book! Imagine both our surprises! She called everyone she knew to tell them she could read as she was so pleased with herself.
We went back to Phonics Pathways and now it's a breeze. We love it! I enjoy it becasue it gives me that continual assurance that my daughter is tracking the words correctly on the pages.

I began teaching my daughter phonics using Modern Curriculum Press Phonics K when she was about 4 1/2 years old. We went through the book quickly and in Sept 2005, we started on Modern Curriculum Press (MCP) Phonics A, which is their "first grade" book. Midway through, however, I realized that things weren't working well for us. While my daughter knew all the sounds of the letters, she still seemed weak on the short vowel sounds, and blending completely escaped her. We began to dread phonics work, and I knew she needed a change. I had read good things about Phonics Pathways, and in January 2006 (when my daughter was 5 1/2), I took the plunge and switched her to the new program. Phonics Pathways differs greatly from the MCP series since it requires no writing, which was a plus for my daughter, who finds writing difficult. Separating the two has helped her understand the mechanics of reading. We started the book, doing about a page a day, and within about two months, she started reading three letter words with short vowels. I am so thankful to this book. Our phonics instruction had gotten to a point where we both dreaded it, and now it is quick and fruitful. I am no longer worried about the introduction of long vowels.

I am a homeschool mom of four kids. I started my oldest two sons at around age 5 to 5 1/2. While it isn't the most thrilling program out there it is very simple. I mostly skipped teaching them their alphabet and taught them their letters one at a time using PP. (They were already familiar with the idea of letters making unique sounds but hadn't put the ideas all together yet.) It starts with teaching the short vowel sounds first, then most of the consonants and on from there. I was able to work with each child for about 10 minutes a day for 3-5 days a week. Within a couple of weeks they had picked up on a bit and soon were reading small words.

I read the lowest ratings on this product and obviously disagree in the main. Teaching children to read syllables frees them from the sight word, "we haven't learned that one yet" problem. It allows them to sound out each portion of the word. There are two fairly major gripes I have with this, though. The first is page clutter. I HATE Dewey the Bookworm. The kids just don't care and it's just a distraction. Oftentimes, I have just rewritten the main lesson (extremely simple, especially early on) on blank paper in a bold marker just to avoid all the junk. As has been noted elsewhere, the positive outlook phrases are trite, as well. Another issue I have is that it often lacks extra practice to master a lesson. As a homeschooler, I have the freedom to linger over a new lesson for as long as it takes to master it. But when you only have 1-3 pages of practice for the idea you've got a problem if your child doesn't get it right away. A related issue is that it would be nice to have early readers structured around the lessons. I try to find books for the kids to read but so often it has ideas that they haven't covered yet. Just a thought.
Overall, though, I do recommend it.

I have taught 3 children to read with this book. My first son, when he was seven, was having such trouble reading in first grade, his teacher recommended remedial help for dyslexia. That was day 1. Day 2 I happened upon this book. I immediately followed the instructions and by Day 25 my son got a reading award for "most improved" by day 40 he was in 2nd and 3rd grade books. Because of this foundation, he is a 10 year old reading at a 12th grade level. Daughter learned just as fast and now reads off the charts. She is 8. My 2nd son just started this book. Wow! I have some friends whose kids were having the same dyslexia issues as my son. I told them about this book but they opted for expensive "tutors" and remedial reading groups and therapy. 3 years later their kids are still in those same classes with the same issues. I'm not saying this is a cure but this is worth trying first. Buy the "Bob Books" along with this. I think you can use the search "Bob Books" and find them. They work great along with the Phonics Pathways. Instead of purchasing expensive Phonics programs, buy this $20 book and the first two sets of "Bob Books". Follow the instructions, don't rush it, and you will see results.

To Dolores Hiskes:

I would like to thank you for your wonderful book! I am a 58 year old woman who learned to read without phonetics....the word recognition method. This method has not served me well either as a young student or as an older reader. I have always been a very slow reader and my spelling has been poor. I have always wanted to improve my reading skills but felt pretty discouraged about ever being able to do so. I saw your book advertised somewhere and got the idea to start myself back at the beginning (as it was) and work through Phonic Pathways. Your book is beautifully organized. The material is presented in a format very easy to take in and learn (not that I don't have to work at it though!!!!!).

It has taken me 6 months of daily disciplined study, but the results are very gratifying. I am also working through Reading Pathways, which is very helpful. I think my eye tracking ability is improving little by little as I go.

I am so grateful that you have provided me with a way to improve my reading and spelling skills.

B. Meltzer

I purchased this book as a resource for my homeschool. I felt my children needed phonics reinforcement to assist them with becoming fluent readers. This book was exactly what I needed. The public school teaches whole language.I feel this is unfortunate because once the words read become more difficult to decode then children will find it harder to read more complex literature. I feel the author's method is right on target.

i have twin boys and tried using this book based on the glowing recommendation from the book 'well-trained mind'. we have several other books to help emergent readers (bob books, and the 'word family tales' series from scholastic). this book teaches kids to recognize the quirky letter combinations that are common throughout the english language, and associate them with the sounds they make. the book starts with each letter of the alphabet and the sounds it makes (e.g., D says 'de') and moves through DE, DA, DO, DI and DU consonant/vowel combinations. then it adds an ending consonant (e.g., den, dan, don, din, dun), and builts consonant combinations on top of that (e..g, dent, dant, dont, dint, dunt). i'm approximating becuase phonics pathways uses only 'real' words.

while this method is effective in teaching the basic concept, my 5yo boys found the word lists incredibly boring and began to complain every time this book came out. they strongly preferred the words to be used in the context of a story (like the bob books - 'Jig the Pig'). While the bob books are great, they are also rather short. A good transition from the bob books to work families was the 'word family tales' from scholastic (e.g., 'Spend a Day in Backwards Bay'). This book has its place in the home curriculum, but it's not the end-all resource that some may be looking for.

UPDATE 11/2011 - now almost 7yo, my boys are getting a lot more out of this book mostly for the spelling instruction it provides. i thought i was putting this book away forever, but with de-emphasis on spelling used by thier school's writing program, i took it out again to drill my boys on correct spelling. pretty good longevity considering most workbooks are good for only a year or so. ;)