Higgs Phonics - Learn to Read in 40 Hours!
The Higgs Phonics program is an indepth Learn to Read program for children starting at around 9 years old and is appropriate for adults learning to read also. I was sent a FULL set of the Higgs Phonics program to review and look over with my 7 year old who is learning to read this summer and my 9 year old who just this year seems like he is really starting to become comfortable with his reading abilities.
With Elizabeth I felt Volume 1 was over her head - I think it will be perfect for her in a couple of years for review and to catch up on anything she hasn't mastered. She isn't going to have the trouble her brother had learning to comfortably read on her own.
Each of the books is very detailed and explains the lesson in a very clear manner so that children & adults will both be able to learn from the program. I particularly loved Volume 2 which goes over the rules and reasons for each letter, it's sound and why it's used the way it is in spelling and reading. It breaks down how we decode a word and the sound it makes. An example would be:
Lesson 1: The key word is lip:
When a vowel is followed by a consonant, the vowel is short.
The child or adult working on these rules would then go through a list of words , say them aloud, print the word and then mark the vowel "short".
Ex: man, pig, ham, bib, etc
Each book uses visual, auditory and cognitive tools to teach and help the student learn. Another thing I liked is there is a Review section in each area and the student not only reviews the words they've been working with - but the book also suggests parents or the teacher take the time to review with the student or have the student take a spelling test on those words.
Personally - I would suggest you take each of those words and write them in a small 5x3" notebook - one word per page and review those words with the child throughout the week. Start at the beginning and flip the pages as they read, spell or use the word in a sentence. It will allow the child to work on sight words and also the various rules they are learning in the lessons. This is what I did with Lizy - it helped her build confidence in her reading and also helped her with learning new words.
Due to Jacob being in summer school much of the summer I didn't use the books as much with him as I did Lizy. The books are in color with illustrations - but the print is very small and I found with Lizy that made it difficult for her. I would think an older student wouldn't have the same problem she did.
A breakdown of the books (from the website)
A very detailed and elaborate phonics program written for people of all ages and abilities. For use in school or in the privacy of their home. Includes alphabet letter shapes, consonant and short-long vowel sounds. A must-have for beginning readers or review. Over 300 fun packed exercises. Guaranteed to keep you busy! Fun and easy to do!
Volume 2 The Worlds Greatest Secrets
In this fun-packed and detailed phonics workbook, the Word’s Greatest Secrets are revealed. It’s filled with easy, fun exercises and lessons. Teaches little-known phonics rules and decoding skills. Guaranteed to take all the mystery out of reading 90% of all English words. Blends, diphthongs, digraphs and lots more will leave you a fluent reader. Good for all ages and abilities to improve reading and fluency quickly. Great for foreign language speakers! Over 500 skill building exercises! Very easy to use.
Volume 3 All the Parts of Language Arts
Third in the series, All The Parts of Language Arts, teaches students about prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms. Includes lessons on dictionary skills, eight parts of speech, and punctuation. Writing & spelling traps are thoroughly explained. Meanings are given for over 80 root words, prefixes and suffixes. After completing the series, the ability to listen, analyze words, apply phonics to independent reading, comprehension, verbal expression, and fluency in reading will greatly improve. Well over 2,500 words to decode!
The Teacher's Guide:
The Teacher’s Manual is a highly detailed teaching and pacing guide written specifically for teachers and education professionals. It explains the philosophy and methodology of Higgs Phonics’ systematic approach to phonetics-based reading. The Teacher’s Manual enables the teacher to feel confident, secure and well prepared in guiding their students through each volume. It presents a road map and framework for teaching phonetic-based reading skills in a dynamic, interactive, multi-sensory environment. Students become actively engaged in the learning process, whether in class or in independent reading. The Teacher’s Manual also includes reproducible class and student evaluation forms to help educators evaluate students. This will assure that the students are reaching the progress goals of the curriculum.
I would strongly recommend these books for children 9 years old and up. Adults will not feel they are working in a childs workbook and I personally believe they would like these books and the fact they can learn to read in 40 hours is wonderful. I also think these would be very helpful to a homeschool program or GED program.
Be sure to visit the Higgs Phonics website and learn more about the indepth research that has been conducted on the Higgs Phonics program. They share all the data and results for parents & teacher's to read too.
I was given a full set of the workbooks and the teachers guide to review on CCB. I was not required to write a positive review and no money exchanged hands.
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