Alpha-Phonics A Primer for Beginning Readers Paperback – Large Print, August 4, 2015

Someone gave this book to my mother when I was very young. I learned to read in it and I used it to teach my younger siblings to read. Now I have kids of my own and I taught my first child to read using the ebook on her tablet.For my second and third children, I tried one other learn-to-read curriculum that uses a combination of phonics, sight words, stories and blending games. It was fun for them and they were learning to read, but I find that too much focus on sight words becomes problematic because they say the sight word for any word that looks similar and I have to tell them "No, Sound it out". When there's more focus on phonics, there will be words that HAVE to be sight words because they are not spelled phonetically ("one" for example), but most of the words can and should be sounded out (with a little instruction along the way about silent letters, blends and digraphs, long and short vowels). The more they practice sounding out, the more they will begin to recognize the most common words (because they sound them out so frequently) and those words naturally BECOME sight words. Starting with phonics sets you up to be a more proficient reader, and therefore, enjoy reading. Reading enjoyment leads to a lifetime of learning, which leads to better educated and more successful adults.I bought this book because I prefer a physical book for this application (pointing at words on the tablet sometimes would turn the page, which gets annoying). The lessons have a smooth and logical progression so the child learns easily and advances quickly. It doesn't take any prep work, you simply open the book and go. I am still using the other curriculum for the hands on exercises (writing letters and words, reading a story and numbering sequence of events, dot maps, etc), but for just learning to read, Alpha Phonics is all you need and you can start as soon as your child knows letters and sounds (my 3rd born is 4 and reading complete 6-8 word sentences).The book arrived promptly in good condition. I do wish it was spiral bound so I could fold it backwards or have it lay flat when opened. I might get it converted to spiral binding.

I cannot brag this product up enough. I started working through this program with my son when he was 3. He is now 4 and he is progressing through the book wonderfully. Before we started the program, I had him watch Leap Frog Letter Factory and/or the Amazing Alphabet daily. By the time he was 3 1/2, he was ready to begin Alpha Phonic. We work through Alpha Phonics slowly. If he gets through a lesson very easily, we move on to the next lesson the next day. If he struggles even a little, we repeat the lesson the next day. Also, when we come to a lesson that has four pages of word lists, we do one page a day. I would do the entire lesson in a day if he were not so young. After we finish a lesson, I have him write a few words off his word or if he reads sentences that day, I have him write a sentence. This way he practices reading and writing. We spend about 10 minutes a day completing an Alpha Phonics lesson.The lessons are very easy to teach, there is a short explanation of how to teach the lessons in the back of the book. The instructions are short and could not be easier to understand. I have the computer disc with an explanation of the lessons. I used it a couple of times, but it is much easier for me to quickly read the instructions in the back of the book. Very very little teacher prep time with this program.My son is my third child and I would have never dreamed of having a 4 year old who reads so well. The best part is, he is not pushed. He learns far more than he would at preschool and Alpha phonics requires very little of his time.Users can also buy the workbook and/or readers. I personally do not believe either are necessary. I have no desire to add anything to the primer. However, I did read How to Tudor before starting Alpha Phonics. I highly recommend this book. It taught me a ton about teaching a child to read, write, and do arithmetic. I took thorough notes!I strongly believe that anyone who tries Alpha Phonics could not honestly recommend any other program over Alpha Phonics. Alpha Phonics is quite simply as good as it gets.I hope this helps someone. I write a great deal of reviews, but of everything I have ever reviewed, I believe this is the item I recommend most.

Excellent program and great customer service. I love how Alpha Phonics is simple and organized in such a way that lessons require little to no prep. I am impressed with the success we have seen. My kids went from guessing the words and “inventing” spelling to decoding the words. They no longer avoid reading and they no longer say they hate school. This all happened in a matter of about 5 months. If you have a dyslexic child this is also a great program to help correct, yes I said CORRECT this condition. I can’t wait to see the progress when we reach the end of the program. Another bonus to this program is that you can and should combine spelling, writing and reading so there’s no need for expensive additional curriculum.While not required for success, I did find the Alpha Phonics decodable books as well as the Alpha Phonics workbooks helpful. I also recommend that parents who want to know why we should be teaching phonics and why it’s no longer taught in public school read “OBE/Whole Language Fraud” by Samuel Blumenfeld. Order Alpha Phonics today!!!

I used this to teach my kids to read. I was so happy to find it on Amazon and will use it with my grandson.

No words can describe the beauty of this great book.it worths every penny

Using this book to teach your child the alphabet is an excellent approach, as it accelerates the learning process and makes it enjoyable for the child. This method has proven to yield impressive results, with your child showing notable progress compared to their peers in school. I highly recommend it.

Started teaching my twins to read using this book, we started slow when they were 3 years old. I am not a teacher, but watched a youtube video about a homeschooling mom that was a teacher and was using this book to teach her 3 children. We did a 15 minute lesson per day per child. By the time we finished the book, the kids were able to read any text. Kids are now 5 and both are reading any text you put in front of them.

Muy bueno

I have never seen a better book. The technique used is definitely supperior to learning sight words. It is not a workbook but a teaching material which is to be used by the teacher.