Tutorin' Tim's Phonics: Companion Book

The methodology in this curriculum entails displaying the parts (letters) of a word prior to displaying the whole word as a logical means of advancing children’s reading skills. For example, the word /bat/ divided into its parts (letter sounds) b-a-t allows the child to easily see the letters, pronounce the sounds, and then pronounce the word—parts (letters), to sounds, to whole word. Compare this to a methodology in which the child sees the whole word /bat/, then pronounces the individual parts (letter sounds) and then the whole word—whole word, parts (letter sounds), whole word. This improved methodology takes an extra step towards assisting children with becoming successful readers. Awareness and use of spelling patterns, not memorization of rules, facilitates learning. The goal of gaining awareness is to read more fluently, not to recite phonetic trivia. “How do we do this?” you ask. It is simple; children need practice with reading and spelling words that contain a particular generalization in our language. To demonstrate the language patterns embodied in these phonetic rules we should show children groups of words that share a single-letter-long-vowel spelling: bike, tame, tune, dine, for example. This book is a student edition of Tutorin’ Tim’s Phonics: Lessons for Reading and Spelling the Sounds of our Language. There are delightful illustrations accompanying many of the lessons to enhance the adventure of seeing the letters as sounds. Sentences or stories accompany each sound generalization which builds confidence for the readers. Start practicing with your child today and see the difference it will make to their reading and spelling skills.