Phonics Review

[Terina]

One of the biggest takeaways from my study of the science of reading is that, in addition to explicit and systematic instruction, students need extensive review and repetition in order to master the skills we teach them.

Most curriculums move pretty quickly! I know your days are already full and there is not a lot of time to just add things in! It can feel overwhelming to figure out how to fit more phonics practice into your day. This is where I want to help you!

Each one can be used as a literacy center activity, for small group phonics instruction, warm-up activities, or even as homework! All three of the resources I am sharing below come in both PRINTABLE and DIGITAL versions, making them perfect for in-person instruction or distance learning!

Word ladders (also referred to as word chaining) is an engaging phonics activity to complement and support your word study routines. Students must think critically to figure out the next word to build using the letter or picture clues. As they manipulate the phonemes, students will receive immediate feedback using these self-checking phonics activities.

Students will love these interactive phonics sentence activities! This resource includes both PRINTABLE decodable sentence worksheets and NO PREP DIGITAL activities.

There are 265 decodable phonics sentences with early sight words that students must read and match to a picture. After matching, students will reread the sentences to build reading fluency. There are 5 sentences on each slide/printable for students to read.

Looking for more phonics practice center activities? Check out The Best Cumulative Practice Center Activities where I suggest SoR-aligned literacy center activities for k-2 students that provide the cumulative practice and review of the phonics skills you have taught.

I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Actual results may vary.

Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

I've never thought the English language made much sense in it's rules and exceptions. Of course, some of it is that the way we pronounce things these days is different from the way the words were said long ago. When ever I complain my husband loves to point out that 'knight' used to be pronounced phonetically.
Anyway, It's been frustrating trying to teach a child, who REALLY wants to read, who gets very agitated with herself when ever she has a problem.

I'd love to hear how it's going again in a few months. Noah turned 10 this summer, and he struggles with reading as well. He has really grown with it over the last year or so, but it's still a struggle. I keep praying that at some point, it will finally really, really click with him. He can muddle through now, but I am hoping for it to be more seamless at some point.

Once your little reader is well established in the basics of phonics, you should definitely add Elephant and Piggie books, and Little Bear books to your collection! You can find more detailed reviews of those in the links provided.

The program was very user friendly. The Teacher Manual was scripted, so it made teaching easy (not that I used the script). I usually just glanced over what we were supposed to cover and explained in my own words.

The exercises in the student book were easy to complete. I liked the simplicity of the pages which were in black and white. There was a variety of activities for the kids to do, which kept them engaged.

I would say the best part of the program was the CD and the flash cards. The songs on the CD are very catchy and my oldest kids (aged 20, 18, and 15) could still sing some of them. The flash cards contain pictures of fine art, which is consistent with the classical approach of Veritas Press materials. I laminated the flashcards and put them on a book ring. I would flip through the flash cards while we listened to songs on the CD.

I have to issue yet another disclaimer here. I only used the kindergarten program, and not to its fullest. Since I purchased it used for $25, I considered it to be supplementary and used it for some of my pre-kindergarten kids. With that said, I loved what I used.

The kindergarten program is comprised of 26 thematic units (one for each letter of the alphabet). That means that in addition to phonics, students will also receive instruction in science, math, Bible, and art. The lessons are designed for a five day week, but you can certainly schedule it to fit your needs.

Because I had used Institute for Excellence in Writing products before, I was excited when I heard that they produced a phonics program. There are two, actually three, components to the program. In addition to the Primary Arts of Reading package, students work through the Primary Arts of Language Writing program as well. The writing package includes the All About Spelling curriculum.

I wanted to love this program. The file folder games included in the program are very engaging. The program elements are well done. With that said, I had a difficult time with this curriculum. I found it very teacher intensive. It was challenging to go from the reading program to the writing program to the spelling program in one lesson. In addition, the worksheets and readers have to be printed out, and the readers and the file folder games all have to be assembled.

To be fair, I was trying to use the curriculum with two kids at the same time. I had three older kids and one younger at that point in life, so I really needed a program that took less of my attention. Another mom in another place in life would probably fair better than I did.

The curriculum is reasonably priced and is marketed to be used for kindergarten, first, or second grade. To get both the reading and writing package (with the spelling included) you will pay $149.00. The premier package is $179 and includes printed copies of the student book, while with the other package you print them out as e-books.

I moved to All About Reading Level 1 after I was unsuccessful with Primary Arts of Language (PAL). It does have a number of components to it, but I found them easier to organize and implement than PAL. I also decided to use them in a way that suited me best.

There is no workbook per se in this curriculum. There is a student activity book which has some cut and glue activities, reading fluency sheets, and games. I found that I could use the activity book with more than one kiddo if I laminated pieces (if you want a laminating tip, click here) and placed them in page protectors.

You get three hardback reading books with this curriculum. The stories have simple but adorable pictures. My kids loved reading them, and they gently increased in difficulty. My youngest girls rejoiced when the day called for reading a story from the books.

For the Level 1 kit, the cost is $134.95. If you plan to use the program again with other children, it is a great investment. Because the student activity book is reproducible, that is a one-time cost. Plus, you get the three hard back readers which your kids will want to read again and again. To top it off, the program was revised in 2019 and is now all in color!

I am a mom of eight (four made in the US, four made in China), working to laugh my way through life. There are many ups and downs to being a mom of many and so many lessons to be learned. I learn most of them through my kids.

It's that time of year again! The back to school buzz is in the air. Teachers are figuring out their schedules, setting up their oh-so-cozy classrooms and prepping academic activities to keep their students learning and engaged. One academic area of great importance is phonics! Getting students to understand their phonics sounds creates better readers (and overall learners). Here at Lucky Little Learners, we have an amazing phonics solution for you! Phonics Day by Day! Keep reading to learn how this product bundle can change the way you offer daily phonics review in 2nd grade!

NOTE: Veritas Press has updated and drastically changed their Phonics Museum curriculum. It now has a cartoony look and lacks the lovely fine arts aspects I loved so much. There are still copies of the old edition available, and that is the only reason I have not removed this review.

The product is Phonics Museum from Veritas Press. I chose it because I like a lot of what Veritas Press offers and I wanted a more structured phonics program as I was struggling to teach my 3rd child to read. (Note: My first child learned how to read with very little effort my 2nd child taught herself to read.)

We jumped in full force and we loved all the hands on activities! There were art lessons and projects, art cards to hang in the museum and coloring pages that matched each art card, an alphabet bag to hold all the treasures we found that began with each letter we were learning, puzzle pieces to spell our words, and games to play. There was even a CD with lively songs to teach reading concepts.

So, let me share with you some of the pros and cons we have encountered, so you can make an informed decision about the product, but suffice it to say, for us, the cons were easily overcome and were not enough to cancel out the pros of the program.

Thank you SO much for this review. For each of my older children I had this on my list and then crossed it off. It is definitely on my list again for the twins kindergarten year (next year). Thank you so much for your informative review. I really appreciate it. I also loved seeing the images of the product, they were very helpful. I also know now to preview and protect my youngsters from certain things as well. Thank you so much.

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