Phonics for Early Readers
Helpful tools for hearing sounds easily
40 Phonemes of Alphabet Harbor
...where the Harbor Friends™ say 40 sounds with their 26 letters
Learning phonics became a lot more fun with the
40 Phonemes of Alphabet Harbor™! Brightly illustrated by each of the Harbor Friends, these colorful characters teach the students how to connect the letters to sounds in a rhythm and chant with fun, kinesthetic motions.
Scientific research reveals that young children hear sounds very clearly. Yet, most phonics programs teach 26 letters and 26 sounds. If a student learns that ‘c’ says “cat” (/k/ sound), then how will they read “city” or “cent”? Alphabet Harbor™ provides everything they need to know—26 letters say 40 sounds.
40 Phonemes of Alphabet Harbor™ promotes reading fluency and promises to engage every child!
Alphabet Harbor Map™
Who needs a friend? We all do, whether it’s an imaginary friend, a literary friend, or a human friend.
The Harbor Friends encourage organic learning. Every time a student repeats the Harbor Friends’ names, they acquire 40 sounds as naturally as speaking. This is a lively way to make phonics meaningful and creates confidence in their ability to read!
The Alphabet Harbor™ map allows kids to place the Harbor Friends™ in their home and become their buddies for reading.
Three formats available for your learning needs. The map (shown here) is great for classroom use. The personal size (8.5 x 11) puts the Harbor into little hands. Click on Details below for product specs.
To view Harbor Highlights, click on the castle, circus tent and sail boat.
Harbor Friends Readers
Stories help kids thrive
Stories inspire!
Alphabet Harbor Readers feature the Harbor Friends™ doing everyday activities to which children can relate. Colorful and amusing, the Alphabet Harbor Readers make reading an easy and enjoyable experience.
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The readers include Comprehension Questions and Everyday Words™ to help develop reading skills for lifelong learners.
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Alphabet Harbor Readers celebrate life. A Happy Pig Digs finds Yours Truly Y playing a game with Veggie V. In The Royal Cat Nap, Noble N's cat messes with his map.
Alphabet Harbor Phonograms™
Simplifying the alphabetic principle
Level I
Level II
Most phonics programs involve too many pieces! Yet, the Alphabet Harbor Phonograms provide a delightful tool for the budding reader. Useful in individual or small group sessions, the Phonograms show diacritic markings for demonstrating how vowels and consonants work together.
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As children begin to blossom in their ability to read, they continue to encounter more complex words and spellings. Alphabet Harbor Phonograms Level II are designed for the developing reader. They offer an isolated format for students to practice difficult digraphs, trigraphs and quadgraphs.
Helping the sounds fit together
Harbor Friends Magnetic Spelling™
Kinesthetic tiles bridge the gap from phonics to spelling
Harbor Friends Magnetic Spelling is a game changer for easily building vocabulary. These reversible tiles are a unique tool that provide an entertaining way for students to kinesthetically experience blending sounds into words. The diacritical markings match the phonograms to help students reason out the alphabetic principle rather than guessing or memorizing. Harbor Friends Magnetic Spelling is phonemic awareness at its best!
How it works: The teacher calls words from a list in the Teacher’s Edition. Students create new words by changing only one or two tiles. With Harbor Friends Magnetic Spelling they easily spell 13 words in 3 minutes! We recommend them for use in centers where teachers can discuss and build vocabulary with their students.
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Click here for Phonemic Advantage Spelling™.
