Phonemic Advantage Forum

When I visit various classrooms I often see all the letters posted like a border along a wall. While this provides a constant reminder to the children of each letter’s shape, I wonder if the abstractness of letters (these squiggly lines that say sounds) seems vague and uncomfortable to the young lea

With every word a child reads they decide if they know it. Part C is about the value of comprehension. On the track near "What's the meaning?" the orange cart carries the puzzle pieces 'b-o-l.' Its reader knows the three sounds for “ball.” But since the letters and sounds do not match, this doesn

In Alphabet Harbor, the letter 'c' is called "Clever C." You may wonder if he got his name because "clever" begins with one of his two sounds. Or is Clever C really smart? The answers: yes (to both questions) Clever C does not have his own sound. The sound that we hear the most at the

Most ABC books teach 26 letters with 26 sounds, called a letter-to-sound format. In these books you will read something like, "A is for apple." In this instance the letter sound of 'a' does not match the beginning sound of "apple." I guess they assume that somehow the minds of little children will f

The other day I was working with a young boy who was spelling "chimpanzee." Without any help, he spelled the word perfectly...except the ending: "chimpanz." When I questioned the ending, he said, 'zee' and pointed to the letter 'z.' This boy's strategy of spelling the sound based on the letter wo

Did you know that young children hear sounds in languages (called phonemes) more clearly than adults? It's true. As children listen to and interact with those around them, they become familiar with the specific sounds of English. And when they view picture books with those abstract squiggly lines

Imagine a group of children sitting quietly at their desks while the teacher draws the letter 'a' on the board. Then she turns to her class and says, "This is the letter 'a' and it says 'a ' (short 'a' sound). 'A' is for apple." The children, looking at the squiggly line for the letter 'a,' may t

While some children know intuitively how sounds and letters fit together, most do not. Young, science-minded children desire patterns so they can confidently build their reading abilities. And the artistic ones enjoy a colorful, relational framework for developing their reading abilities. For these

First, a quick review of A. Hearing the Sounds: If children are unsure of the sounds in a word, they will mentally hesitate. This may lower their confidence and slow their fluency. Since English comprises 26 letters and 44 sounds, many letters do double duty. Also, others change their sounds in cer

Every alphabet needs a scientist. In Alphabet Harbor, it's Understanding U. And he wants to invent the world's stickiest glue. Understanding U is such a unique letter. Usually, 'u' is a vowel, but he also serves as a consonant. Whenever he stands next to 'q,' the two together, 'qu,' say 'k

For your toddler, use Welcome to Alphabet Harbor! as a picture book and gradually introduce all of the Harbor Friends. Depending on their attention span, introduce Active A, Boy B and Clever C in one setting. Then, continue adding two Friends while reviewing the previous ones. As your child become

Recently, I read the book, “Do Fathers Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked.” The author, Paul Raeburn, describes the latest research covering fatherhood. In describing various benefits, Raeburn creatively brings to life unique aspects of the father-child relationship

For a few language-gifted children, learning to read appears to be as easy as “A-B-C.” They read without requiring hardly any assistance. Yet, most children will need precise instruction for learning how letters and sounds fit together. In Alphabet Harbor, learning to read contains three intricatel