Phonics, Rhythms, & Rhymes-Level D

Book excerpt: This edition of Phonics, Rhythms, and Rhymes builds upon many favorable comments we have received from classroom teachers, parents, administrators, and students studying in undergraduate and graduate programs. Some non-readers need just a little extra assistance in learning to read; and other students are struggling with reading and need more intensive help from classroom teachers and specialists. This research-based book is an ideal teaching resource for the emergent reader. Contained in this particular edition are activities developed to teach skills that combined student’s and teacher’s manuals from Levels B and C in the Phonics, Rhythms, and Rhymes Reading Program. This approximate 250 page book is the combined two books which would, in regular print size, constitute a total of 800 pages. Each of the four books are available separately. The teacher’s editions are available in regular-print size and sold separately in most book stores. Information and prices are presented on the website www.PhonicsRhythmsRhymes.com. The Phonics, Rhythms, and Rhymes Reading Program is comprised of a separate book for students and teachers on the following grade levels: Level K Kindergarten, Level A 1st Grade, Level B 2nd Grade, Level C 3rd Grade, Level D 4th Grade, and Level I Intervention. In the back of this book you will find that the teacher’s edition provides an answer key which makes it possible to understand and to teach reading using a phonological awareness approach. This section is also filled with the best contemporary methods and strategies necessary for teaching Reading successfully. It begins by establishing an understanding of the elemental principles of phonemic awareness. It then explores other letter-to-sound concepts necessary for Phonics. This book continues by etching a lasting memory of the vowel sounds and blending them to consonants. Blending is riming in this program and it is easy for the teacher to lead in and the students to follow. Phonics, Rhythms, & Rhymes is an engaging medium for explicit instruction about specific spelling-sound correspondence and the alphabetic principle in general. Rhyming (riming, blending) provides opportunities for self-assessment and correction, as construction of sound in each new word is compared with the sounds of words that students know. It supports students who are struggling to recognize letters automatically by reinforcing letters and sounds already learned. The research based program activities accentuate beginning and ending sounds which is vital in speaking, spelling, and writing Standard English words. Meanwhile, the physical manipulation of letters on pages accommodate students who might otherwise have difficulty sustaining their attention in whole-group instruction. While literacy in K, 1st, and 2nd grade is based on skill mastery of blending consonants to vowels, digraphs, diphthongs, and finals; literacy in the 3rd grade is based on skill mastery of blending consonant blends to vowels, digraphs, diphthongs, and endings; and literacy in the 4th grade and Intervention engenders all of the skills. Our research-based program has developed this opportunity to make dreams come true for students, teachers, and parents.