Barbara Steinberg’s top 10 reasons why Phonic Books are the best decodable books!

In this video Barbara Steinberg shares her top ten reasons that “Phonic Books are the best decodable books out there” Barbara is the Founder and CEO of PDX Reading Specialist and was previously an elementary teacher for over ten years. Barbara discusses why Phonic Books are a vital tool in her work, from the systematic approach…

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What are decodable books?

Beginner reader

What are decodable books? Although the rise of the Science of Reading movement has meant that systematic phonics teaching programs are gaining popularity in the US, one of the most frequently asked questions is still, “What are decodable books?” Phonic Books co-founder, Tami Reis-Frankfort, provides a brief clarification of the meaning of the term, ‘decodable…

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Lynbrook School District: A Successful First Year!

In the latest blog post in this series, Guest blogger, Faith Borkowsky discusses her observations and recommendations for any school district considering the transition to a Science of Reading based instruction practice.  The importance of choosing a science-based reading program that is coupled with high quality, carefully aligned decodable books and resources and backed with…

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Bridging phonics and phonemic awareness to build proficient readers

Phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge are the biggest indicators of how well a child will learn to read in the first two years of school. Yet phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge are NOT the end goal. Our end goal will always be proficient readers. To reach that end, we must work to instruct children on…

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Why would a not-too-wealthy, not-too-poor district abandon Balanced Literacy take the plunge and embrace Systematic Phonics?

Lynbrook District in Long Island, NY is like many districts.  It’s not very poor and not very rich.  Most of the kids do okay.  So, why have the leaders of Lynbrook district decided to take the plunge and ditch balanced literacy for systematic phonics?  They decided that too many children were not thriving with balanced…

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The Homeschool Resource Room reviews Phonic Books

More and more parents are choosing to homeschool their children rather than sending them to a traditional public or private school. There are many reasons why a family may choose to homeschool, some of which include dissatisfaction with the educational choices available, different philosophies, be that educational or religious, and the belief that their child…

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Books to engage and motivate older, struggling readers

Older, struggling readers often have gaps in the their phonics knowledge.  They find alternative spellings particularly confusing.  Many suffer from low self-esteem so offering them decodable materials that are age-appropriate is vital.  Vital because if the reading materials can engage the disaffected reader, his/her motivation to try and read will grow.  Without motivation it is…

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