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Phonics & Reading

We encounter language in four basic ways: hearing, speaking, reading and writing. The first form by which language comes to us is hearing—before we are able to express language, we hear it used by those around us. Eventually children learn to speak themselves, and by the time they learn to read the average child has a spoken or oral vocabulary of 400-500 words. The larger the child's oral vocabulary, the easier it will be for him to learn to read.

The transition between spoken and read language comes when a child begins to realize the symbols he sees all around him—on road signs, in the hymnal, on the cereal box—represent the words he hears and speaks. Learning to read is simply learning to decipher these symbols in context.

Phonics is the study of the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. A child who learns to read phonetically learns to understand written language based not on the mere appearance of words on the page, but based on the sounds and oral vocabulary he already knows. Phonetic instruction provides the most thorough foundation for understanding written language because it builds upon prior naturally acquired knowledge, rather than setting up a brand-new learning paradigm that can ultimately confuse and frustrate students.

Of course, there is good and bad phonics instruction. Good phonics instruction is the result of pairing an understanding of Phonics Facts with a good Phonics Habit. Phonics facts are the sounds letters make alone or in combination, also called phonograms. A good Phonics Habit entails the ability to read and pronounce phonograms correctly by recalling them from oral memory.

Without a firm grasp of Phonics Facts and a solid Phonics Habit, a person is limited to reading only words he can memorize. No one can memorize every word in the English language, but with phonics a student can read virtually any word he encounters, whether he has seen or heard the word before or not.

Teaching a child to read well takes time; the purpose is not simply to be able to let the child loose as soon as possible, but to provide him the proper tools for unlocking language on his own. The rewards of teaching your child to read are some of the greatest you'll ever have academically—you can almost see his mind waking up as the whole realm of learning opens before him. Basically all knowledge is made available by the ability to read, not just of science and history, but knowledge of God and His people, and the offer of this to your child is one of the greatest gifts you'll ever provide.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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A Veces Las Cosas Cambian
Mis Primeros Libros
by Patricia Eastman
for Preschool-1st grade
in Spanish Resources (Location: FL-SPARE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
All About Reading Level 4 - Teacher Manual
by Marie Rippel
Color Edition from All About Learning Press
for 4th grade
in All About Reading (Location: PHO-AAR)
$50.95 $35.00 (2 in stock)
Alpha List
by Wanda Sanseri
from Back Home Industries
for 1st-4th grade
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
$33.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Elephant
All Aboard Science Reader Level 2
by Ginjer L. Clarke
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-1st grade
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Chester
I Can Read Level 1
by Syd Hoff
from HarperTrophy
for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Cookie House
by Margaret Hillert, illustrated by K. Y. Craft
from Follett Publishing Co.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet Book
from Learning Resources
for K-4th grade
in Cuisenaire Rod Materials (Location: MATM-ROD)
Earthquakes
Scholastic Science Readers Level 3
by Deborah Heiligman
from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Eleanor Roosevelt
Pebble Plus: First Ladies
by Sally Lee with contributing editor Gail Saunders-Smith
from Capstone Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Start Reading Storybook D
by Kelly Booker & Michelle Tefertiller
from Memoria Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Memoria Press First Start Reading (Location: PHO-MP)
$10.85 $7.50 (2 in stock)
First Start Reading Storybook E
by Kelly Booker & Michelle Tefertiller
from Memoria Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Memoria Press First Start Reading (Location: PHO-MP)
$8.15
Fly on the Ceiling (Rene Descartes)
Level 4
by Dr. Julie Glass, illustrated by Richard Walz
from Random House
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Gravity is a Mystery
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science level 2
by Franklyn M. Branley, Illustrated by Edward Miller
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Physics (Location: SCI-PHY)
Grizzwold
I Can Read Level 1
by Syd Hoff
from HarperTrophy
for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Jeff Corwin: Snakes
All aboard Reading Level 3
by Jeff Corwin
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-3rd grade
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny Appleseed
A Step into Reading Book Level 3
by David L. Harrison, Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Life in Early America
by Jeanne S. Chall, selections
from Andrews McMeel
for 2nd-3rd grade
in McGuffey's Readers & Other Primers (Location: REA-MCG)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Living in Space
by Katie Daynes, illustrated by Zoe Wray
from Usborne
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Lizards
National Geographic Kids Level 2
by Laura Marsh
from National Geographic
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in National Geographic Early Readers (Location: EAR-NGR)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Martha Washington
Pebble Plus: First Ladies
by Sally Lee with contributing editor Gail Saunders-Smith
from Capstone Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Maxed Out!
Penguin Young Readers Level 2
by Ginjer L. Clarke, illustrated by Pete Mueller
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-2nd grade
My Blend and Word Book
by Corinne Sawtelle, ed.
5th edition from A Beka Books
for Kindergarten Age 5
in A Beka Phonics (Location: PHO-ABK)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Night Sky
National Geographic Kids Level 2
by Stephanie Warren Drimmer
from National Geographic
for 1st-2nd grade
in National Geographic Early Readers (Location: EAR-NGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Norte, sur, este y oeste
by Allan Fowler
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Spanish Resources (Location: FL-SPARE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Pandas
National Geographic Kids Level 2
by Anne Schreiber
from National Geographic
for 1st-2nd grade
in National Geographic Early Readers (Location: EAR-NGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Pirate School
All aboard Reading Level 2
by Cathy East Dubowski and Mark Dubowski
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Reading Made Easy
by Valerie Bendt
3rd edition from Greenleaf Press
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Miscellaneous Phonics (Location: PHO-MISC)
Reading Tutor's Toolkit
by Jean Schaber, Fred B. Aston
from Schaber & Aston
for Adult
in Reading Reference (Location: REF-READ)
$19.95
Robots
National Geographic Kids Level 3
by Melissa Stewart
from National Geographic
for 1st-3rd grade
in National Geographic Early Readers (Location: EAR-NGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Ruby Bridges Goes to School
Scholastic Reader Level 2
by Ruby Bridges
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Sound Bytes Reading
by Kathy Foster
from Great Achievements Press
for Preschool-4th grade
in Miscellaneous Phonics (Location: PHO-MISC)
$32.00
States of Matter
DK Super Readers Level 1
by Libby Romero
from DK Publishing
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$4.24
Tale of a Tadpole
by Karen Wallace
from DK Publishing
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
by Siegfried Engelmann & Phyllis Haddox
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Miscellaneous Phonics (Location: PHO-MISC)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
This Is Mohan
Little Jewel Books
by Ella Grove, Illustrated by Edith Burkholder
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Rod & Staff Fiction (Location: REA-R&S)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Usborne Beginners: History - 10 book set
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Beginners: Nature - 10 book set
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
When I Grow Up: Sally Ride
Scholastic Level 3 Reader
by AnnMarie Anderson, illustrated by Gerald Kelley
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
WISE Guide Enrichment Activity Worksheets A-M
by Elizabeth Fitzgerald
from LITHBTH Educational Services
for 1st-4th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
WISE Guide Enrichment Activity Worksheets N-Z
by Elizabeth Fitzgerald
from LITHBTH Educational Services
for 1st-4th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
WISE Guide for Spelling
by Wanda Sanseri
from Back Home Industries
for 1st-4th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
$58.00
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