The Right Phonics Program

This website is written for Patty to demystify the reading process for others who follow. We have nothing to sell. Patty used Rocket Phonics to bring a class of 20 low income 6 year olds to above grade level in three months. If you want to buy a reading program that implements all the reading research discussed here then go to www.rocketphonics.org or you can easily order just call 1-888-Dr Phonics (1-888-377-4664)

In creating Rocket Phonics, we have drawn on all that is known about how best to teach reading: It’s a game-based approach, so children really enjoy the lessons. We incorporate activities for children of all learning styles; we use what is known about how the two sides of our brains work together; we know children like to be independent (or in control) and they like to be right, so we’ve created a system in which they can be. At each step of the way, your student is given all the support he needs to progress quickly and succeed with joy in learning to read.

What happens traditionally when a child learns to read? Often, long before the child enters school, the child is eager and interested in learning to read. So the parent teaches the child letters and the sounds the letters make. Next the child is able to read phonetic words like man, or hop. However, soon the child sees words like one, two or of, -- non-phonetic words that seem to make no sense. Some children take all these inconsistencies of English in stride and learn to read quickly and easily. They learn to read sitting on Mom’s lap; they see the words as they hear them, and they read. But that’s not true for lots of kids; for 60% of children, learning to read will be extremely difficult; and for nearly 30%, it will be the most difficult skill of any task they learn throughout life. The inconsistencies of English can make learning to read a frustrating guessing game for children. Some children even do whatever they can to avoid reading altogether.

That’s what happened with our own daughter: Stef early on, age 3-4, wanted to learn to read. We didn’t have Rocket Phonics, but Steve was developing it. We taught Stef her sounds and she was reading those 3-letter phonetic words. But by the time Stef got to age 5, like many other children (especially those who are bright and logical, or good in math), she’d seen too many words that didn’t make sense to her. (I’d hear her begin sounding out words like “s-i-g-n-s” and she’d stop and ask, “What’s that word?” I’d happily explain, “The g is silent, and the second s sounds like a z.” But it frustrated her. And at age five, she said to us, “No, thank you, I’m not going to learn to read.” That galvanized us to create Rocket Phonics, and by grade 3 Stef was reading at a high school level. 

Often it’s the bright, logical kids who struggle with learning to read. There are several reasons why: They are used to things coming easily – they have no tolerance for frustration, or being wrong. They dislike all the exceptions to the rules. And they want to be independent; they don’t like to ask, “What’s that word?” So they stop wanting to try. We even show you in the teacher’s guide how to talk to your kids like that so they can change their approach in reading. With Rocket Phonics kids are supported to succeed, and they are able to read well above their age level. And success itself is a big motivator.  

Rocket Phonics works great for children of all learning styles. Reading is often a sit-down, sit-still activity, so many kinesthetic learners (who learn by moving around) have difficulty learning to read – but not with Rocket Phonics! We have lots of games that get the child moving at each level, from learning his sounds, single words, to phrases and paragraphs! (Learning to read is probably easiest for visual learners, and they will probably do great with any method, including Rocket Phonics; auditory learners love Rocket Phonics because we SHOW them how each word sounds)

1.     Rocket Phonics is a game-based approach, so even young children enjoy the activities. We recommend 3-5 lessons a week, and no more than 15-45 minutes in length. (I like 20-minute lessons for preschoolers). With Rocket Phonics children go from non-reader to 5th grade reading in 2 years. In a UCLA study done in 1990 the students using Rocket Phonics learned nearly 4 months of reading skill for every month they used the program, while the students in the control group learned just under one month of reading skill for every month they used their programs.  More important than how fast they learn, the children consistently love the lessons, and come out loving to read – and that’s what’s really important!

2.     Rocket Phonics is non-consumable, so you can use Rocket Phonics with all your children. We have kids as young as 3 playing the games to learn the sounds, and children as old as 13, remedial readers, using this same program to catch up rapidly to grade level. If you have more than one child, your kids can play the games and do the activities together. So helpful, since when you play a game, all your kids want to play – no one wants to be left out! 

3.     It’s also really easy to use. We have 2 big readers for the kids to read in, and in the first part of the first book is the teacher’s guide. All you need to read to start is the one-page Quick-Start instructions, and you can use the rest of the guide as a reference resource. As each new activity is introduced, right there in the book we tell you how to do that activity. You get everything you need to play the games, and additional games, stories and tips that come via email. Everything’s there, so you don’t have to make up the games – There’s NO prep time.

4.     We have a big variety of big-movement games for preschoolers (or active kids who like to move) to learn the sounds, and a wide age range will enjoy playing them together. They involve running, leaping, whacking (the cards with a fly swatter!) and activities like bowling. We developed the games at a local preschool, playing them with groups of 3 and 4-year olds. They can use the games to learn the sounds and begin blending sounds.  

5.     We include games on phonemic awareness -- the most important skill connected to reading! Moms teach it naturally when they ask the child, "What's the first sound in mom?" or "What's the first sound in your name?" We give you games you can play with all your children as you go through your day at home or in the car -- anywhere. Very fun, and very helpful.

6.     We include a peeker – a rocket drawing with a window cut in it so your child can use it to see just one word at a time. This peeker is very helpful for kinesthetic learners and dyslexics, who will actually focus better and learn better by touching the page, pointing to a word, or putting the peeker on the page. 

7.     We show how to teach blending, and include games for blending sounds. Once the child is blending, he begins reading simple phonetic words. We have "thinking skills" pages with pictures that build children’s “divergent thinking” ability while they practice reading and learn words. These are fun activities, and richer than just reading words for reading practice. Also, here and at each step you get feedback to know if your child is comprehending and picturing what he or she is reading.

8.     Soon the child gets to the page where we introduce Rocket Phonics helpers. These show the child how each word is read. Your children can be independent and read easily without having to guess and be wrong, or wonder “Does the rule apply here or not?” (Consider the rule “the silent e at the end makes the vowel long, or say it’s name.” This is fine if your child is reading the word ”five”, but when she sees “give,” children are often frustrated, and may start wanting to avoid reading.)

You tell your child, “You have helpers in Rocket Phonics. When these 36 letters are printed in blue or under the letter, they always have the same sound. If the letter is blue, it’s a helper. If the letter is grey, it doesn’t hold it’s color, it doesn’t hold it’s sound – look under the letter for your helper. (Show one).” No more guessing, no more questions, no more frustration. (Show table or window in Word-Find Game). These can be hard words for a beginning reader to read –but not with Rocket Phonics.

One benefit of the helpers is they allow your child to read real sentences and stories because the helpers make every word as easy to read as “hop” or “pat.” (CVC words). We gradually remove the helpers as your children progress. And, as they progress through the readers, we teach them all the phonics tips and patterns, so they have a solid foundation.

Another very important benefit of Rocket Phonics helpers: often, beginning readers using traditional methods start guessing at words. And why wouldn’t they guess? They read the word r-o-u-g-h, where ough says uf. And the next word they read is t-h-o-u-g-h! They have no way of knowing if the word follows the rule or not, and they want to read quickly, like they talk. So they see the qu and read question, but the word is quotient. And this, as you know, is a bad habit in reading. Because of our helpers, Rocket Phonics readers are encouraged to develop the habit of looking at every letter of each word, and this habit will stay with them. This is so important!

9.     At this point it’s fun for your children to play the Rocket Phonics Word Find Treasure Hunt, where you hide a bingo chip (say, on your couch) and you give your child a slip of paper with the word couch on it (one with helpers, one without, so she can choose). At each step your child is supported to succeed, at the level she is at. Off she runs to find the bingo chip. We also have the Phrase Game Treasure Hunt in which your child will read a phrase, such as “on the couch”. So she progresses incrementally. With many words and phrases to mix and match, your children will be running all over the house – happily reading! 

10.  Your child may be reading sentences and stories already. If so, just have him play the games to learn the sounds (such as oo as in food) show him the helpers, and let him begin reading where his skill level is now. No need for him to repeat what he already knows. You just go through the books, no skipping back and forth. Easy to use!

11.  When the child is reading phrases with the helpers, we offer thinking skills pages with sentences, riddles and Simon Says games. In Simon, one child reads the sentence, and all players, (you and any other children, for example) do the action. So when the sentence says, “pretend to be a duck and quack” that’s what you do! They will love that you do the silly action, and they will love doing it themselves. And all your children can be included.

12.  We include several treasure hunts, two with prizes included, which have rhyming sentence clues (with and without helpers) so your children can race around finding each clue and finally the prize. They will want to play these over and over. 

13.  Soon we begin the transition to independent reading at the First Common Word List: From here on in the book, these words will no longer have helpers. This is the first of 7 such lists, each with 100 common words. These 700 words = over 75% of the words your child will use in all his reading. Your child has practiced & read these many times; they’re now stored in the child’s visual memory. These learned words help build fluency (this means reading at roughly the speed he talks).

14.  We like Aesop’s Fables for many of the reading pieces; they appeal to all ages, and are rich in our cultural heritage. The stories go from 1st to 6th grade, and we even include some at 7th grade. The way a story lesson goes is you go through the tip with the child (ex: the sounds of g) and the story illustrates those patterns. Then you say to your child, “You have your helpers, so on your own, you read the first sentence, (paragraph or entire story). Then on your own, you go to the next page and read the same sentence (paragraph, story) without helpers. After that you come read it to me.” Each story is prompted with helpers and again appears without the helpers, and includes comprehension questions. Reading research tells us this is the best way to learn to read: repetition, with emotional involvement (connected text as in sentences and stories). (That is why lists or flash cards of words don’t work as well.)

15.  What comes in the kit: the two big readers, blue folder with additional bingo sheets and word lists (7 common word lists of over 100 words each, that are used as progress checks. As your child gets to each one, those words will no longer have helpers), Rocket Peeker, 2 sets of Play & Read Cards (to play games to learn all the sounds of English), bingo chips, and two Treasure Hunts with prizes. You also receive supplements, explained below:  

16.  The supplements come by email, and include the Word Find Treasure Hunts, Phrase Treasure Hunt, and 28 supplements including more stories (fiction and non-fiction); writing exercises perfect for kindergarteners or first graders; spelling strategy; writing and vocabulary tips and more. And now we include preschool games to learn all the sounds. You can simply use the ones you want. 

17.  More about spelling: Our supplements include a spelling strategy developed by spelling specialists (it has nearly 100% success), so whether you use a spelling program or not, you can use this technique for any word your child has trouble spelling. Many parents use our common word lists as spelling lists. And interestingly, learning specialists say to spell a word correctly, put the non-phonetic parts in a different color. Our system does that automatically, so it helps the children learn the spelling. Research by Auburn University showed using different colors increased learning 56%!

18.  Writing: we include writing lessons perfect for kindergarten or first graders. Like all our materials, they are flexible so your child can fill in words, copy the sentences, or write on his own. Each gives a bit of instruction like use a capital letter, and your child writes a short, well-organized paragraph. We give 12 lessons, and ideas for over 100 more!

19.  Your satisfaction is guaranteed: We offer a 90-day money-back 100% satisfaction guarantee.

20.  Rocket Phonics is recommended by John Taylor Gatto, NY State Teacher of the Year, and other learning specialists. Recommended in the book Homeschooling the Challenging Child by Christine Field.

21.  Price is $160 plus $15 S&H. We accept 3 payments if you prefer.

22.  One of the first children I tutored was our neighbor’s child, Allison: Her private school wanted her to repeat kindergarten because she wasn’t grasping reading at all, so her parents asked me to tutor her in the summer. I taught her 1-2 days a week (45 minute lessons) for 2 months and she went into first grade. That fall she took standardized tests and tested at high 2nd grade. That’s a gain of 2 ½ years in 2 months. By the way, this year, in 7th grade, Alli is still a top reader in her class. We’d like your child to enjoy that kind of success.