Synthetic Phonics Books and other materials

• • • The Phonics Handbook: A Handbook for Teaching Reading, Writing and Spelling (Jolly Phonics) - A complete resource for teaching reading, writing and spelling. With over 100 reproducible pages The Phonics Handbook introduces the 42 main letter sounds with actions for each sound, followed by activity sheets and games for reading and spelling . The structured yet flexible approach enhances teachers' professional ability and allows for originality in teaching.
USA | UK

• • • Active Literacy Kit - Another excellent program from the UK Dyslexia Institute designed to build children's accuracy, fluency and automaticity in reading and spelling. For age Groups 7 years and over. Suitable for all literacy difficulties, not only for dyslexic students. Suitable for individual and group teaching. From no letter/sound correspondence through to automatic cvc reading and spelling. "Highly recommended" - John Bradford.
UK

• • • Units of Sound - This multi-sensory reading intervention program from the UK Dyslexia Institute combines the benefits of independent work on a computer with guidance from a teacher or assistant. Structured, cumulative and multi-sensory, Units of Sound is easy to use for pupils and teachers. Based firmly on research into reading tests and high frequency words, it builds reading accuracy, vocabulary, spelling, sentence writing skills, automaticity, listening skills, visual skills and comprehension. Each sound is seen, heard and repeatedly practised within groups of words. "Highly recommended" - John Bradford.
UK

• • • Jolly Phonics - This synthetic phonics program uses a multi-sensory approach and delightful characters (Inky Mouse, Snake, Bee, and Phonic) to teach the letter sounds and how they blend to form words. The program is effective with older children and adults who need special reading and writing help also. (UK)
'An excellent scheme for teaching phonics to younger children is called 'Jolly Phonics'. This is a visual, practical and fun approach to letter and sound recognition. Each letter is associated with an 'action sound'; for example the letter 'a' is taught by running the fingers up and down the arm simulating lots of ants running about tickling the arm. The children are encouraged to say the sound that 'a' makes at the same time. 'S' is taught by simulating the weaving motion of a snake and at the same time hissing the 's' sound. This visual and practical work is interesting and exciting for the pupils and is reinforced and supported with flash cards of each letter in bold with a picture of the corresponding action. Each letter is reinforced and consolidated with practice of correct letter formation in the air, in sand, on coloured handwriting paper, mini white boards and on each other's backs as well as by games trying to find the letter in a feely bag by touch alone. Once the letter has been mastered it is placed in a pot labelled 'letters we know'. Another pot contains 'letters we are going to learn'; the pupils enjoy seeing the transfer of letters to the 'know' box as they successfully learn them.' (J.D., Bexhill-on-Sea, UK)'

• • • The Cat in the Hat
The kids slumped in their chairs
Too glum to complain.
And to make matters worse,
It started to rain . . .
The Cat has arrived, and he's got a hat full of fun to save Conrad and Sally from a boring rainy afternoon. Written in buoyant easy-to-read prose (with more than a few hilarious asides from the pesky Fish), this official movie storybook is packed with full-color photos from the film!

• • • Hooked on Phonics - If your child needs practice sounding out words or stumbles over words like bring, skate, and crowd when s/he reads aloud, this program can help develop reading fluency and challenge him/her with progressive reading improvement. (Recommended by Jay, Texas - 'Who would be without them?')

• • • New Phonic Blending - Reading age 5.5 to 8 years. Interest level 6 to 16 years. A tightly structured, multi-sensory approach to phonics, encouraging pupils to look, listen and write.
In each lesson, pupils build simple words, focussing on one specific sound. An exercise in sound discrimination completes the lesson, adding variety to the programme for pupils and providing useful diagnostic tools for teachers.
The lessons are self-contained and teachers are free to choose those lessons which are appropriate to their pupils' needs. There are six kits available each at a different level. Each kit comprises a photocopy master book and either two cassettes or an audio CD.
'I have used New Phonic Blending, a form of synthetic phonics, from Learning Materials Ltd in Wolverhampton since 1970 in the UK. The children build up the words from the letters provided and I have found them to be excellent, better than anything else.' (P.M.)
UK

• Phonics for Dummies - disappointingly confusing program for parents and teachers, which is not recommended for many reasons. The progression through the sequence of sounds is not clearly shown, and the book is littered with idiosyncratic teaching methods.
USA | UK

• Phonemic Awareness in Young Children - A Classroom Curriculum - Phonemic awareness - distinguishing the individual sounds that make up words and affect their meanings - is an essential preliteracy skill, and a hot topic in education today. This supplemental curriculum is brimming with engaging, adaptable language activities proven to increase phonemic awareness. Use them in any preschool, kindergarten, or first-grade classroom. Its developmental sequence builds on simple listening games and gradually moves on to more advanced sound manipulation exercises like rhyming, alliteration, and segmentation.
USA

• Phonics Pathways - Now in its ninth edition, Phonics Pathways is organized by sounds and spelling patterns. The patterns are introduced one at a time and slowly built into syllables, words, phrases, and sentences. Printed in a large lay–flat format for easy photocopying, Phonics Pathways is filled with illustrative examples, word lists, and practice readings that are 100 percent decodable. While appropriate for emergent readers, this award–winning book has also been used successfully with adolescent and adult learners, as well as second language learners and students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. ('This useful book contains many photocopiable lists of words for each of the letter sounds. Perfect for any teacher, teaching assistant or parent helping a dyslexic child.' - John Bradford)
USA | UK

• Spelling Smart! - a ready-to-use activities program for students with spelling difficulties, by Cynthia Stowe. For all regular and special education teachers in grades 4 and up, here is a ready–to–use activities program combining whole language concepts and phonics strategies to teach students with spelling difficulties how to spell by recognizing patterns and consistencies rather than memorizing hundreds of isolated words. Included are step–by–step instructions for utilizing the program followed by 40 sequential lessons covering Sounds, Syllables, Word Building, Rules and Generalizations accompanied by diagnostic tools, word lists, and 200 reproducible activity sheets.
USA | UK

• Reading A-Z - Low cost downloadable materials to teach guided reading, phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension. 'Reading A-Z is affordable and the material is excellent. My kids loves it - both my kids fight over who is going to read first.' (S.W., Coventry, UK)

• How Jill Learned to Read Using Phonics - story of a young girl and her quest to learn to read. In this heartwarming book, author and educator Betty Davis offers an abundance of inspiring and creative ways for parents, teachers, and caregivers to teach children to read in a fun way.
Author Betty Davis has a passion for teaching children to read. As a former teacher of grades K-12, she developed a highly successful program to make reading fun for children and now owns a tutoring company called Funn with Phonics.
USA | UK

• Complete Reading and Spelling Phonic Programme - This system (based on British spellings) combines the teaching of both reading and spelling. It provides for pupils with different learning styles. It suits those who use their symbolic, auditory , or pictorial memory. It benefits equally those pupils with aptitude for language or those who find it difficult, and is used widely by special needs teachers as a basis for their multi sensory teaching. It also provides for children with poor concentration and appeals to children with artistic ability.
As the books can be photo-copied, it satisfies the needs of a whole school, its special needs section, or it can be used by the entire family and is therefore cost effective.
The system has been tried and tested over many years both in the classroom and with small groups or in tutorials. Pupils over a wide age range and of varying abilities have been successfully and enjoyably taught.
USA | UK and Europe