DOCUMENT RESUME CS 013 523 ED 429 275 Smith, Carl B.; Ruff, Regina AUTHOR Phonics Plus, Book A (Levels K-1). TITLE Family Learning Association, Bloomington, IN. INSTITUTION 1998-00-00 PUB DATE 103p.; For Book B, see CS 013 524. NOTE Family Learning Association, 3901 Hagen St., Suite H, AVAILABLE FROM Bloomington, IN 47401 ($11.95). Non-Classroom (055) Guides PUB TYPE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Beginning Reading; Consonants; Parents as Teachers; DESCRIPTORS *Phonics; Primary Education; *Reading Skills; Vowels; Writing Skills ABSTRACT saying, seeing, By actively involving the child in hearing, develops a child's skill in and writing the letters and sounds, this workbook through a series of recognizing the alphabet and the initial sounds in words with their kindergarten and 78 lessons. It is appropriate for parents to use technique, the beginning first grade children. By using this learning reinforces basic skills. workbook quickly focuses the child's attention and write from the very This approach also encourages the child to create and to started, sections of the first lesson. After a preface and advice on getting letters and workbook focus on printing letters of the alphabet, consonant sounds, and the short vowels. (RS) ******************************************************************************** made * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** aINNISaa. fan" P .tt NS' U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY rhis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. C, .re.ytioa, 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent r INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. I I Vemeites Vtts Book A (Levels K-1) Carl B. Smith Regina Ruff A publication of the Family Learning Association Published in 1998 by Family Learning Association 3901 Hagan St., Suite H Bloomington, IN 47401 1-800-759-4723 Design and Production: Lauren Gottlieb Illustrations: Steve French © 1998 by EDINFO Press. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. The Family Learning Association, a non-profit organization, provides services and materials for families who learn together. Since its beginning in 1989, the Family Learning Association has conducted workshops for parents and teachers, carried out studies, produced audio and video programs, published books and workbooks and issued monthly bulletins to guide , parents in tutoring their chidren. tea? ts Go a? Preface Getting Started vii Printing the Letters of the Alphabet 1 Lessons 1-31 Working on the Lessons Consonant Letters and Sounds 37 Lessons 32-73 Working on the Lessons The Short Vowels 87 Lessons 74-78 Working on the Lessons Family Learning Association Phonics Plus iii A 6aea.efelee Congratulations! You have made an extremely important decision in helping your children learn to read. Research shows that knowing the alphabet and recognizing the initial sounds in words are the skills most likely to lead to success in early reading. Phonics Plus, Book A develops a child's skill in recognizing the alphabet and the initial sounds in words. Phonics Plus accomplishes this by actively involving the child in hearing, saying, seeing, and writing the letters and sounds. This book is appropriate for kindergarten and beginning first grade. By using this learning technique, Phonics Plus quickly focuses the child's attention and reinforces basic skills. This approach also encourages the child to create and to write from the very first lesson. English is an alphabetic language: the spelling is designed to represent the spoken sounds. The /b/ sound, for example, can be heard at the beginning of the word book; the short /a/ sound can be heard in the middle of the word bat. By showing young readers this sound-symbol relationship, you will give them one important key that will help to unlock written messages. Even though English has many spelling patterns that eventually need to be learned, the first step in reassuring young readers is contained in Phonics Plus, Book A: It shows that the language is systematic. Phonics Plus, Book A asks the child to write on every page. Writing focuses the child's attention and acts as a powerful strategy for reinforcing the item to be learned. The writing activities also give the child a chance to be creative. Any beginning reading program naturally needs a rich environment of books, reading aloud, and time for sharing ideas found in books. Those activities create the interest that motivates children to work on decoding skills and other skills that enable them to become proficient readers and writers. Phonics Plus, Book B is an advanced first-grade book that introduces the basic sound-spelling patterns such as those called short-vowel patterns (cat, bed, bit) and those called long-vowel patterns (rake, bike, cute; nail, team). Book B continues the hear-say-see- write techniques introduced in Book A. Taken together, Phonics Plus, Books A and B provide a thorough decoding program that will serve the first-grade student well. Thank you for caring about the learning success of your children. The Family Learning Association Family Learning Association Phonics Plus A aettheig Star-664 Set aside a regular time for your child to work on the exercises in this book. In fact, two or three short periods of work each day will be better than one long one. Because most of the exercises are presented in groups of five, you can devote each weekday to one page and then let your child work on the review exercise on the weekend. Also have a regular place for your child to work. Use a desk or table with flat surface, and make sure your child holds the paper straight on the surface. Provide large pencils, and you may want to get some paper with control lines so your child can have more practice if it is needed. This book is designed to help your child become acquainted with the letters of the alphabet and with the sounds they make. It is the place to try things out, to make mistakes, and to learn by doing. This is not spelling book. a At this early stage, it is not realistic to expect children to remember how to spell every word in this book, and that is not the purpose. Instead, we want to provide the background that will prepare your child to study spelling in a systematic way after this book is finished. To establish the necessary background, we first show your child how to print the letters of the alphabet in order. Then we match each consonant letter with the sound it represents when it is used at the beginning of words. Next, we look at some consonants used at the end of words. Finally, we introduce the short vowels at the beginning of words such as apple and egg. Help child. your Offer your child any help that is needed. Don't hesitate to spell out words or to point out any important bit of information, no matter how often it has been presented. The idea is to give your child practice in getting acquainted with letters and their sounds, and the experience should always be positive. This book is designed to help your child discover that letters and sounds can be matched and that words can be figured out. Family Learning Association vii Phonics Plus A Rrs AZaeataeittng 6)ze Lett of .0ze MAissastet Lessons 3 1 1 Workin9 the Lessons on Don't be concerned if your child doesn't already know the alphabet: that's what this book is for. All the letters are introduced in alphabetical order (also called ABC order), and additional activities help your child practice printing the letters in order. Furthermore, at any time you can refer to the complete alphabet on page 1 and you can sing the Alphabet Song to remind your child of the proper order. Lesson 1 gives instructions for "Recognizing and printing capital A and small a." The same instructions apply to all the following lessons that introduce letters of the alphabet (through Lesson 30). These instructions won't be repeated on every page; just supply the name of each new letter as you move along. Explain to your child that each letter can be written as a capital letter and as a small letter (also called uppercase and lowercase). In every one of these lessons, the purpose is to have your child see the letter, say the letter, and then print the letter, first by writing over the outlines that are provided and then by printing the letter without any outline. Use these alphabet lessons to suit your child's needs. If your child already knows how to print some letters, just review them briefly. For letters that are unfamiliar, your child can practice on all the lines provided and can use additional pieces of paper as well. Of course, there will be many more chances to practice the letters in words throughout the later lessons. 8 Family Learning Association Phonics Plus A 1 Ilze MAdbet AaRbCcDdIe WItimileeima. ii UU r 3S 9, Use this page whenever you want to review the letters in alphabetical order. Also sing the Alphabet Song. 9 Family Learning Association Phonics Plus A 2 qova to Rxtaeit ate LAters of -nze Mr/ps09-6-6 \TA I In iomaLeAm Elam IL' "-.... Follow the arrows to print each letter. 1 0 Phonics Plus A Family Learning Association 3