Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling - Phonics Pathways

This book, Phonics Pathways started out with "acknowledgements". It then had a lengthy introduction. Then the reader journeys through "About Phonics Pathways". Then there was a discourse on "Getting Started". Then it had an article, "About Dewey". All of that before delivering anything informative about phonics. It did offer some good tools for teaching phonics after 12 pages of "stuff'. The tools it provided is the only reason my score for this book isn't lower.

The book is wonderful if you have a basic knowledge of phonics. We didn't, so we couldn't help our grandchild, even with the book. Hired someone to teach him. He really needs sight reading but the school will not help.

Perhaps Phonics Pathways is suitable for some learning environments and educators, but I personally do not care for this manual. Initially, I disliked it for the busy style of the text. The information is presented with all sorts of font variations, pictures, quotes, asides, and quips--most of which is presided over by Dewey the Bookworm. There is very little white space on any page. It is packed with images and text.

If that's what you like, then you'll probably very much enjoy the book. That's just not my personal aesthetic taste. All that hustle-and-bustle, to me, is distracting and, quite frankly, irritating.

Despite my initial displeasure with the style of the book, I proceeded to use it because it came so highly recommended and reviewed. As I used the book, I began to realize that a portion of the most useful information was buried in the jumble of the page--that is, the phonics rules are lost in the mess. There is no visually consistent presentation of the rules (e.g., all the rules in a text box in the upper right corner of the page). None of the rules are visually differentiated from the surrounding babble. One rule might come from Dewey the Bookworm, another rule from a cat, and yet another listed amongst a full page of text with absolutely no indication of any sort that what you're reading is a rule.

So what's the big deal about the rules? Rules are the point.

Rules are the point of teaching phonics. If I didn't care about the rules, I would just teach my children to sight read. I not only want them to read fluently, I want them to have a good handle on the basic rules of phonics so they can spell fluently and therefore write fluently.

Phonics Pathways does contain rules of phonics. But the presentation is so jumbled and fumbled that the rules are not easily accessible and, in my opinion, this creates an unfriendly experience for parents/teachers. It is frustrating and consumes unnecessary quantities of time to have to dig through the busyness of the text to find these most important rules.

By the way, there is an index to spelling rules in PP. It is on page 244 in my 10th edition. Unfortunately, it is jumbled just like the rest of the book. When you are in the middle of a lesson with your 5-yr-old and he asks a question about a previously learned rule--good luck finding it in a timely manner using the index.

As stated initially, perhaps PP is appropriate for certain learning environments and educators. Maybe the book makes a good tool for someone who's got a background and training in early childhood language development. But for the rest of us, I would not recommend it.

Rick likes this book very much because it is easy to use and he can learn quickly, Rick has been dealt some hard blows, sometimes literally and he has always bounced back like he is doing now, Rick is a special person...

This review is from: Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling (Paperback)
Reading Pathways: Simple Exercises to Improve Reading Fluency"

Many years ago I tried Phonics Pathways with my three-year old and in very short order he was reading EVERYTHING! At 12 years old, his literary world is expansive, reading some college level material, simply because he has been able to read and comprehend so many types of genres for many years. And he enjoys reading!

Then I tried Phonics Pathways with our 13 year old who has Down syndrome. He is currently reading whole sentences, three-syllable words with three consonant blends, all phonetically. If he attempts to guess the word which he sometimes does, I gently guide him back to sounding it out and give him a simple definition of what the word means. He now chooses books and reads them independently. Because of his success, I am teaching another teen with Down syndrome (also English is her second language) how to read as well.

This summer was a dream come true for me: I was asked to teach 16 typical four to eight-year-old boys and girls, and their progress was amazing! I used Phonics Pathways and Pyramid.

Recently I was asked to work with a 69 year old who has great difficulty reading her entire life. After working with her, I saw that she guessed words,and her eyes had a hard time reading from left to right. My student has since become a very dear and precious friend to me; and she reads everything she gets her hands on. She has completed several books already, for the first time in her life.

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Simple, Cheap, Very Effective.... I started using this for homeschooling my son 15 years ago and have taught all three kids to read with it, even one with dyslexia. Now they are all teenagers and above and have been strong readers throughout their school years. I tried to use Hooked on Phonics with one of my kids, because I thought it would be more fun. I ended up switching back to this book, because he just couldn't get it. Within a week of switching, he was starting to read small words and just took off from there. When he was older and we discovered he was dyslexic, I realized this book was written by a reading teacher that specializes in learning disabilities and that is why he had been able to learn with it as opposed to other phonics programs.

We have this book with the purple cover, (same thing) and it is awesome! Just as good as the expensive cirriculums in my opinion and so much simpler and less expensive, thankyou Miss Delores! I have put 5 kids in this book, and it helped all of them. I have 2 kids with letter reversal issues, who have steadily learned in it, and 3 kids who have become advanced readers, who got their start in the book. Advanced kids don't need to finish the book, they take off about halfway in. I also recomend fry sight word lists in addition to this book. Read the indroduction and follow its directions, and its ok to go really slow, better not to rush kids. (sooo hard, I know!)

Simple, Cheap, Very Effective.... I started using this for homeschooling my son 15 years ago and have taught all three kids to read with it, even one with dyslexia. Now they are all teenagers and above and have been strong readers throughout their school years. I tried to use Hooked on Phonics with one of my kids, because I thought it would be more fun. I ended up switching back to this book, because he just couldn't get it. Within a week of switching, he was starting to read small words and just took off from there. When he was older and we discovered he was dyslexic, I realized this book was written by a reading teacher that specializes in learning disabilities and that is why he had been able to learn with it as opposed to other phonics programs.

We have this book with the purple cover, (same thing) and it is awesome! Just as good as the expensive cirriculums in my opinion and so much simpler and less expensive, thankyou Miss Delores! I have put 5 kids in this book, and it helped all of them. I have 2 kids with letter reversal issues, who have steadily learned in it, and 3 kids who have become advanced readers, who got their start in the book. Advanced kids don't need to finish the book, they take off about halfway in. I also recomend fry sight word lists in addition to this book. Read the indroduction and follow its directions, and its ok to go really slow, better not to rush kids. (sooo hard, I know!)

I just finished the delightful task of carefully examining every page in the new 10th edition of Phonics Pathways Mrs. Hisks send me to review. In my estimation, the best just got better. I don't know how Mrs. Hisks does it. Everything is highly refined. The addition of the so called nonsense words to test the students true phonics skills is an excellent idea. They will show whether or not the students are learning to read accurately "from the sounds" rather just than "guessing from the meaning." I love the addition of pictures for all the sounds. The information on polysyllables is very well done and most welcome. Mrs. Hiskes eye for developing fluency is everywhere evident.

I should mentioned that I have taught Phonics Pathways (editions 7, 8, & 9) since 2002, when I used it to teach a fourth grade boy who no one had been able to teach to read. I have used it with many similar cases since with equal success. There is no more complete or powerful phonics reading program available anywhere at any price.

Parents and teachers who purchase Phonics Pathways will also want to get a copy of the accompany book, Phonics Pathways Boosters! It is a welcome addition to her phonics materials - in a most convenient tear-out book format. The Sound-Spelling Flashcards are the "best in the business." Teachers will find the games perfect for setting up "centers" in the classroom for varying the learning experience and deepening the mastery. In an age when few received much phonics training, the audio cd will prove invaluable. Don Potter

Phonics Pathways is incredible! My daughter (age 7) was not reading at all when we started using it. She knew a few site words but that was it. I tried using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" when she was 6 and I was starting to think something was wrong with both of us. She was good at memorizing the words that were repeated initially. However, after a while I realized she was NOT learning to really read. I realize that some children learn to read using that book but 'for the love of Pete' - I can't imagine how.

After starting with Phonics Pathways everything clicked almost immediately. I realized she was seeing the words left to right for the first time. We are now half way through the book and she is reading with confidence (we have progress yet to make but we are only half way done:-) She's also turning into an incredible speller already because the book automatically teaches a child to be a great speller.

On another wonderful note.... my 5 y.o. is also learning to read. She is already to the point my 7 y.o. was at a few months ago - REMARKABLE!! She's very excited.

Please don't make the mistake I did if you get Phonics Pathways. I checked it out from the library 2 years ago and thought it was too dry... big, big mistake. Once I read through all the author has to say to the teacher I was totally hooked. You can use a magnadoodle, dry erase board, etc to add variety (although this is no longer necessary with my 7 y.o. because she LOVES the book).

We are still using a library copy but my 7 y.o. is begging me to buy a copy so she can use it to teach her children to read. How awesome is that!!!!!

I did like the WTM book. However, we don't use the curriculum. We are avid lovers of Ambleside Online AND Phonics Pathways.

I taught my daughter to read with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. My daughter was very successful with that, and upon completion I turned to Phonics Pathways to continue her instruction.

That was almost 10 months ago, and over the course of this year we have come very close to working through the entire book.

Pros: Phonics Pathways is very complete. It can take a child that reads nothing up to about a 4th or 5th grade level of reading. It includes more complicated phonics patterns that other books do not cover. It teaches spelling rules and I anticipate using this as a spelling reference as my child gets older. It is very easy to use. We basically read a page a day, repeating if a certain page is tricky. It includes games that could be motivating to some students, although requiring prep on the part of the parent.

Con: Dry, dry, dry! My child loved the zany stories in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. When we started Phonics Pathways, she wanted to go back to her old book because Phonics Pathways is not nearly so entertaining. While she thinks Dewey the Bookworm is cute, his inspirational sayings don't do much for her. If my child was a reluctant reader, I think we'd have to scrap Phonics Pathways and find something else that was more fun.

This book does work and is a good reference to have on hand, but like most things in education, it will not be the best fit for every child.

This is working very well in helping our children learn to read. The font and layout are good but that bee thing is so distracting for us. He looks like he's on drugs and his little quotes seem so out of place for a book like this. I soooooo wish that it could be re-printed with a more professional look!

Before purchasing this, I did my usual research: read tons of reviews, previewed it at the library, and asked around for comments. My friend, who has used this for four children, tried to warn me that it isn't fun but it gets the job done. I couldn't imagine what she was talking about. Given the glowing review in The Well Trained Mind (and all the rave "Best Phonics Program Available!"), I decided to go ahead with the purchase. I'm writing this review to warn you that YOU MIGHT HATE IT. And no matter how good a program is, if you detest it, you won't use it. Several other hs-ing moms have offered this to me free as a castoff (not knowing that I already have it). I refused to purchase another program so I just use PP as an outline for our phonics lessons. My biggest complaint might be the way it is laid out. It feels like the text is shouting at you and there's hardly any blank space. I like things organized, too, and it doesn't seem to have a particular order. There is a useful 2-page Spelling & Pronunciation Chart at the back but it is not as thorough as the list provided at the back of Alphaphonics. I had to create my own chart of rules. Wouldn't that be great?? A checklist of sounds to cover, IN SOME SEMBLANCE OF ORDER! Other moms I know have used Alphaphonics or How to Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons with great success. Those two books are low-cost alternatives. I like the simplicity of Alphaphonics and it has the child reading real words (I'm not opposed to nonsense words on principle but it does seem fun for them to have real words early on). The pages are also not overwhelming with text the way PP and How to Teach can be. Also, Alphaphonics begins with consonant-ending words (am, at), which is a great way to start blending; it is more difficult to blend from a consonant to a vowel, which is how PP begins. If you like instructions on what to say to your child (which I normally don't), you would prefer How to Teach Your Child. (Going back to that book now, I realize that I actually did what is set out in those teacher instructions.) How to Teach also has longer reading texts (whole paragraphs) instead of just sentences. I think I would have liked either but was too afraid as a newbie that I might be missing something, which is why I got PP. IF you're concerned about issues like dyslexia, PP might be the best option. I don't know; I didn't have that come up. Bottom line: PP works, it is cheap. However, there are other alternatives.

I LOVE this program for teaching reading. I have four sons and I taught them all to read modestly well before beginning kindergarten, but my last son has had the privilege of using this book. I used to spend so many hours (accumulated over regular consistent visits to the library) to TRY to find simple enough books my sons could read themselves. It was impossible. I rarely found books they could read and enjoy.

When I found this book my method changed. If I want my son to enjoy a story- I read to him a story in a subject that interests him...BUT...if I'm teaching reading, it's Phonics Pathways-every day, one page. The best way to learn to read is to have a consistent time daily. We skipped the beginning pages, teaching the basic sounds for each individual letter, and started right in with the simple 3-letter words he could sound out himself. He was so proud to complete a whole page of words all by himself. Each new page, or so, takes a bite size step forward. Each new step is reinforced as you go on. In a little while, whole sentences are introduced and my son was so thrilled to be reading about Ben's "big fat pig" in the mud. His expectation wasn't "I'm sitting down to be entertained with a story", so when he got little sentences that added up to a story in his mind it was very fun. Eventually, with daily practice he was getting so quick with one page we added another page in the afternoon.

One recommendation, we added home made flash cards to reinforce the new sounds he learned. Every day, before opening the book we would review those new sounds and some with hand motions to reinforce differences in his mind: sh ( 1 finger in front of the lips, th ( 1 flat hand, facing down, making a subtle motion from left to right, kind of like a "smooth" motion) ch and tch ( with fist pulling down in the air, like tooting a train whistle). He really enjoyed these hand motions and would stretch them out and sometimes use them as he read the words in the book.

As far as learning how to spell, we haven't completely incorporated that side of things. My son is still learning to form his letters neatly and I don't want to apply too much too quick. I try to separately give him a simple page of practicing writing his letters and numbers. Just enough, so he's moving forward daily and overall having fun with his sense of accomplishment.

Hope you find this helpful and definitely make use of this book if you're looking to teach reading to your child.

I've been using this book for my current kindegartner for about a year now. We're up to page 50 as of today (when you can start using readers if you really want to) and I'm just tickled with the progress made. We started out extremely casual and laid back until the last month or two. We've been working with it every weekday for the last month or so. His speech issues as well as his phonics comprehension have dramatically improved in the last 6mo alone! I love how this is a self-contained reading system. It isn't a box of assorted 'things' and it can be used for pretty much an age and any level reader. Fairly straight-forward and easy to use.

I won't be adding anything new to this conversation with this review other than a funny story which speaks to the success of Phonics Pathways:

My 5 yo dd, who is only on page 52 of the book recently said to my husband and me, "Mommy and Daddy, how are you going to keep secrets from me now that I can understand what you are spelling?" Like every parent, we are used to spelling things to each other to keep surprises, well, surprising. No longer can we do this. 9 out of 10 times, she figures it out.

Yay Phonics Pathways!

I used this excellent resource to teach my children to read. We started with one page a day when the children were 4 and 5 years old. I would explain how to make the sounds on the page and then they would work on reading each phrase or word out loud. Some pages have quite a few words on them and we would take those over 2 days. I did not worry about practicing spelling at that age. It took us about 2 years to get through the book (approximately 15 minutes a day and we took the summer off). Once the kids were reading short vowel words in this book, I began checking out beginning readers from the library. The Bob series by Bobby Lynn Maslen was a great beginner set. Now that my children are older elementary age, we are using the book once again as a spelling resource. Spelling rules are listed toward the back of the book and we are taking them one by one. This book is not "babyish". It would be appropriate to use with an older child who struggles with reading. If your child attends school and you feel they could be reading better, use this book at home as a supplement. It takes no more than 15 minutes a day, Monday through Friday. If the beginning pages are too easy, just skip ahead to a page that makes a better starting point for your child. Make sure your child reads the words aloud to you, so you can catch any problems. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

When our eldest child was learning to read, the school she attended used Phonics Pathways. I had never heard of it, so I took a look and saw words. Lists of words. Columns of words. Huh? But, as I listened to my daughter read through those lists of words, I realized that she was learning that words have patterns, words build. Plus, every now and then I'd see this cute, little bee who would have a funny comment written above or below his head. He made me laugh. I was impressed by those columns of words. The columns (paths) of words made sense. It gave my daughter a sense of how words build and that there are patterns that we can discover. We now live overseas. I use Phonics Pathways with children who have learning disabilities, and for whom English is a second language. I have found the curriculum EASY to use (for me, the teacher), EASY for them to follow (just work down the column), and EFFECTIVE. The students I help are used to feeling one thing: frustration. However, due to the repetition found in the Phonics Pathways lessons, the students get to succeed. They don't just "follow along," pretending to read, but actually begin to get a feel for the patterns. They begin to feel success in reading! This curriculum is organized in such a way that the students have plenty of time to practice and get used to new concepts. I recommend Phonics Pathways very highly to anyone who has a student who needs to learn to read. Don't be intimidated either by language acquisition or reading disability. This curriculum is helpful to all.

"Phonics Pathways is the best reading program on the market for teachers and parents. The program uses effective reading instruction to teach children how to read. It is a research-based, explicit, systematic phonics and multi-sensory program which is easy to understand and use to teach all levels of learners. I used Phonics Pathways to teach my four children how to read when they were young. Today they are all successful, proficient and fluent readers. I attribute their success in school to learning how to read at a young age and using such a wonderful program. As the New Jersey Director for the National Right to Read Foundation and long time teacher I highly recommend this program.

This book has a lot of great phonics activities, but the little "worm" character that leads you through the book is a bit strange. I don't know that older students would really "buy into" it, although it is touted as being usable for multiple grades. The games are great, but some of the pages are kind of visually "busy," and I have had to retype the information for my kids so that they can focus on what they really need to learn. (Keep it simple!!!)

I have used Phonics Pathways for many years...since I work with students who are "below grade level" in Language Arts, I needed to find a way to teach that matched their learning styles. In most cases, Phonics Pathways did the trick! Some children just don't catch on to the "word family" approach; I've had a lot of success with teaching
the short-vowel syllable and THEN attaching the final consonant sound, which is the basic PP approach. One reviewer
complained that the little "guy" featured on every page "spoke" to the student (who couldn't read!) - well...the
parent or teacher is the one who reads what is being said TO the student! I am currently using the book (and the
companion Pyramid books) with my 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students, but I have also used it with older students. I
can't say enough great things about it! I also emailed the author, Dolores Hiskes, with a question...and she emailed back! How many authors are that accessible? Anyway...if you're at all interested...I say, Go For It! Take your time reading through...look at how the program is laid out, and then jump in! It has been a wonderful asset to my teacher's "Bag of tricks!" - Judy Carlander, Camarillo, CA

When I started homeschooling my children, I had one in 3rd, and one in Kindergarten. I had to idea how to teach someone to read. In fact, I didn't even know what phonics was. I started out using public school curriculum (Harcourt Trophies Reading program) for a year. It was awful, to say the least. That's when I started doing research and found programs like Sing, Spell, Read & Write; Spell to Write and Read;, Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading; and Phonics Pathways. Phonics Pathways is my absolute favorite. I have 4 children, and I taught my last 3 children to read with it. In fact, my 2 daughters were able to read almost anything even before we finished it. I am also teaching two 4 year olds girls to read, and they are doing very well with Phonics Pathways.

Simply the best phonics program on the market. I have used it to cure some of the most severe case of dyslexia imaginable. It is entirely self-contained and marvelously easy to teach. I have taught it through three editions to lots of students without a single failure.

This book is great! I hemmed and hawed over what phonics program to use for my son's kindergarten homeschool. I had looked at Alphaphonics, but that bored both of us. Phonics Pathways is great for my kind of kid. He likes games and pictures and this has enough to keep him engaged but not so much that it defeats the purpose of educating. (I don't want to go the "bells and whistles" route.) This book is systematic but not uptight. I highly recommend this book.

Although I am still in the beginning stages of teaching my child to read, I really like Delores HIskes' approach in this book. She starts out with consonants, then blends them with the vowels to teach children the short vowel sounds. All along and along she includes short games which are simple to create and my child really enjoys. I reccommend this book!

This book was well worth the investment. I have been using it at home to teach my daughter to read and even before finishing the book she was able to read beyond the level in the book just because she had some of the rules of reading under her belt. The book progresses in a logical sequence by beginning with vowel sounds and then consonants. After only a handful of lessons the child will be reading short three letter words that really gets them excited! I would recommend this book for any child just learning to read or for a child who may be struggling. By teaching them the sounds of each letter and rules of reading and spelling, you'll be amazed at how much your child learns along with yourself!

As a phonics tutor and as the Virginia Director for the National Right to Read Foundation, I have used many programs over the years. Phonics Pathways is the best! The practice sentences are 100% decodable and it teaches blending - features not usually included in other programs. It is complete, contains all spelling rules, is very affordable, and easy to use. You can buy the book and start teaching the same day. I had no idea how to teach phonics, yet in about six weeks my 3-1/2 and 5-year-old children were reading and spelling. I always recommend Phonics Pathways - it is my favorite program!
-- Sandra S. Elam, Tutor and Virginia Director, The National Right to Read Foundation

Our tutoring programs have used Phonics Pathways for over 12 years. Our students have been 7 years old through high school. Using PP has really been successful because it begins with the sounds of the English language and builds from sounds to letters to words to phrases in a structured way. One of our ESL 12th graders knew nothing about phonics or reading words and after 30 weeks of 40 minute sessions, was reading fluently and passed the Exit Exam. I can't wait for the new CD!

After trying many of the trendy phoncis programs with songs an games and a big price tag, we stumbled upon this awesome tool. Phonics pathways was so simple and straightforward. My son was five at the time we bought it. He is now seven. He reads well, and thanks to the way the phonics rules are taught as spelling rules also, he is a first grader using a third grade spelling book. My daughter is 6. She just finished her kindergarten homeschooling year and is doing second grade work. I credit phonics pathways with this, as she learned to read along side her brother at four. They really just seemed to absorb the spelling along with the reading. My daughter was content to snuggle on the couch and read out of the book. For my active son it was much more succesful to write the words on flash cards or a whiteboard and make up more games to play with it. We did love the games that were included. My three year old has been begging to read. He has speech delays so i was hesitant to teach him early. Since he felt left out i just went ahead and started the book with him. Not only is he progressing through the book nicely, he is greatly improving his clarity with each spoken sound as he learns to read it. This book has helped our family simplify and enjoy learning. We love it.

Our tutoring programs have used Phonics Pathways for over 12 years. Our students have been 7 years old through high school. Using PP has really been successful because it begins with the sounds of the English language and builds from sounds to letters to words to phrases in a structured way. One of our ESL 12th graders knew nothing about phonics or reading words and after 30 weeks of 40 minute sessions, was reading fluently and passed the Exit Exam. I can't wait for the new CD!

After trying many of the trendy phoncis programs with songs an games and a big price tag, we stumbled upon this awesome tool. Phonics pathways was so simple and straightforward. My son was five at the time we bought it. He is now seven. He reads well, and thanks to the way the phonics rules are taught as spelling rules also, he is a first grader using a third grade spelling book. My daughter is 6. She just finished her kindergarten homeschooling year and is doing second grade work. I credit phonics pathways with this, as she learned to read along side her brother at four. They really just seemed to absorb the spelling along with the reading. My daughter was content to snuggle on the couch and read out of the book. For my active son it was much more succesful to write the words on flash cards or a whiteboard and make up more games to play with it. We did love the games that were included. My three year old has been begging to read. He has speech delays so i was hesitant to teach him early. Since he felt left out i just went ahead and started the book with him. Not only is he progressing through the book nicely, he is greatly improving his clarity with each spoken sound as he learns to read it. This book has helped our family simplify and enjoy learning. We love it.

I actually laughed at my friend when she recommended this book for my 3-year-old. He's not even potty-trained so I was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to read. The book is set up so that he didn't even need to know all his letters in order to start. It's only been about a month and he's already reading short words. I totally recommend this book.

I purchased this book as a resource for my homeschool. I felt my children needed phonics reinforcement to assist them with becoming fluent readers. This book was exactly what I needed. The public school teaches whole language.I feel this is unfortunate because once the words read become more difficult to decode then children will find it harder to read more complex literature. I feel the author's method is right on target.

Our tutoring programs have used Phonics Pathways for 14 years (ages 7 years through high school.) It has really been successful because it begins with the fundamental sounds of the English language and builds from sounds to letters to words to phrases in a structured way. One of our ESL 12th graders knew nothing about phonics, and after 30 weeks of tutoring, passed the Exit Exam! With a number of our students, we begin each session with 5 minutes of review. I can't wait for the new CD!

Excellent, excellent practice for my first grade daughter. She can read in her head faster than she can speak. The exercises in this book has been so helpful for her to read aloud more fluently. We love it.

I ordered this as a result of its high recommendation in Wise and Bauer's book (The Well-Trained Mind), as well as good reviews on the store. I was greatly disappointed.
The layout was not professional, and had so many disjointed graphics that it would be completely distracting for a child to use. It has trite little positive thoughts on every page which are supposed to inspire the child/student to learn. Yet, it totally lacks any instructions on how to use each lesson or concrete exercises.
Since I am not a certified elementary teacher (but a college professor) I wanted to give the book a real chance. So, I showed the book to my mother (a veteran 3rd grade teacher of 38 years). Her comment? "This is dumb. Send it back." 'Nuff said.

This book was recommended by several home schooling resources, including The Well-Trained Mind, so I purchased it with the intent to use it with my 5-year-old. The first problem is that it's written to the student not the teacher, as though the student were reading it. Um, the reason we're even using the book is because my 5-year-old cannot read yet. It doesn't make any sense to address him. Second, there are typos. Because this is the 10th edition (does phonics teaching really change that much from year to year??), there are references to games at the end of the book and the page numbers are incorrect. There are also words like "athe" and other mistakes. Is it too much to expect that a book on reading and writing be free of typos? Finally, I didn't find the steps "clear" or "easy" at all. The lessons jump around and random games pop up with no instruction. It's just strange. I'm so confused as to why this has been a popular phonics instruction book...