This deluxe version of a well-known program for teaching kids to read is a step-by-step, user-friendly course. Its workbooks, flashcards, audiotapes, CD-ROM, and full-color books are spread over five levels of instruction. The materials are divided into five color-coded boxes, one box for each level.
The program consists primarily of phonics instruction, "sight word" drills, books and stories to read, and reading games to play. Each box contains the materials necessary for completing the level, as well as reward charts and stickers.
This latest "Deluxe" version of the Hooked on Phonics program is enhanced with additional sets of books and a new CD-ROM included in the first level.
Beginning with letter and letter sound recognition, Level 1 exercises and books attempt to give children a strong phonics base through repeated work with short vowel sounds and words. By Level 5, children who follow the program are expected to be reading at a third-grade level.
The audio tapes included in each level guide children through the program by offering songs and chants in addition to directions for progressing through the workbooks. At appropriate times, the narrator tells children when they should stop the tape to do exercises or activities. Some families will opt not to use them, but the audio tapes work well for children who prefer to do some of their work independently.
Each level also contains flashcards. Some sets of flashcards are called Helper Word Cards, and feature common "sight words" (words that don't follow phonics rules and thus are difficult to decode). Others are Word Play Cards, which are used to play some of the games laid out in the workbooks.
The workbooks present a variety of exercises: word lists, mini-reviews, short stories, games to play using word cards, find-it games, and mazes. Helper Word Ladders require children to "climb" the ladders by reading words between each ladder's rungs. The workbooks also include "Let's Talk About It" boxes with suggested questions to ask kids after they have read the books. These help encourage reading for meaning, and give parents a chance to check on their child's reading comprehension.
As they should be, the books are the stars of the program! Colorful illustrations support the text, and some of the books carry consistent themes and characters (the characters Slam and Dunk reappear in a number of books at different levels in the program, for example). The books feature engaging storylines, and range in difficulty from simple phonetic readers to chapter books. Ample quantities of books are provided for each level of instruction.
New to this latest edition is a wonderful CD-ROM for Level 1. Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read CD-ROM supports learning in the first level of the program superbly. The software closely mirrors the approach used in the entire level. Children travel along a reading road (just as they do offline), and each stop along the road leads to an interactive learning game. Players must work through the program sequentially (skipping ahead is not possible), and open up the activities one at a time. Excellent skills practice is offered on this software program. Kids start with Letter Names, in which they find a letter that Pop Fox requests, and then move on to Letter Sounds. Their successful attempts result in exclamations from Pop Fox that start with the letter they've just found (for example, after finding the letter A, Pop Fox says, "absolutely!"). Pictures of objects that start with each letter are shown. Children move on to three-letter words, working through a series of drills that reinforce rhyming words, creating new words by changing the beginning or ending letter, and more. When kids close a session, they are congratulated with an interactive list of all the words they have learned to read. Parents will notice that, although this CD-ROM features engaging and modern graphics, it is not a standard "edutainment" CD-ROM. Instead, it features stronger educational content than typical learn-to-read fare.
An important feature of the program is its early introduction of books that are manageable for children to read with success. In fact, children read their very first book, entitled "Cat", after only a few exercises. This means children apply their newly learned skills almost immediately, helping to encourage a love of reading.
Surprisingly, there are few exercises that require children to write. The manual that comes with the program, however, suggests various activities that incorporate writing, an essential element of any learn-to-read program. We would love to see writing exercises included in the workbooks of future editions of the program.
The charts included for each level are handy visual reminders of children's step-by-step progress. This reward system is a simple, but effective, motivator. The program is very well-designed, thorough, and organized. This is a user-friendly course, both for parents and children. The cost of the program is quite high, but the content is large and strong, making the program worthwhile for the price, particularly for families with more than one sibling benefiting from the course and for those who start the program from level one. Our testers, ages 5 and 7, were enthusiastic and did not need encouragement to return to the program -- it was far from a chore for them. Because every child is different, we cannot expect all children to mirror our testers' enthusiasm for the program. The key to success seemed to be directly dependent on parental participation.
We were particularly pleased with the addition of the CD-ROM for Level 1. Previous editions of the Hooked on Phonics program suffered from what we felt was a gap between Levels 1 and 2, and this CD-ROM helps bridge that gap, providing extra practice with reading basics. We would love to see future editions of Hooked on Phonics with comparable CD-ROMs to support learning at higher levels of instruction.
The organization of the course is a comfort for those parents looking for a systematic program to help teach their children to read. Kids (and parents) clearly see progress, with help from both the reward charts and the color-coded boxes. Additionally, each box contains slots that allow kids to neatly arrange and store all of their supplies. For best results, Hooked on Phonics Deluxe requires a strong commitment from parents or caregivers.
