Who is
the Program Designed For?
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FANTASTIC PHONICS
is an explicit phonic program which teaches elementary to intermediate
reading skills, covering the reading age 4.5 years to 8 years. Note that
this refers to a reading age, not chronological age. Phonics is today
recognized as the fundamental decoding key to fluent literacy. In this
regard, Early Reading is relevant to anyone who wishes to learn-to-read
English.
FANTASTIC PHONICS
is used for:
- Children learning-to-read, starting at about 4-5 years, to about 7 years.
- Children who require remedial assistance,
- Migrant Adults - attempting to understand written English,
- Rehabilitation Patients (stroke, brain trauma).
How
is the Program Structured?
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FANTASTIC PHONICS "starts at the start",
meaning that it starts when the child is "ready to read". This
age may be as early as 4.5 years, as late as 6 years. Whatever the chronological
age of the person, FANTASTIC PHONICS
takes the student from the very first steps in phonic decoding through
to comprehensive skills in reading. It assumes pre-reading familiarity,
and the ability to identify alphabet letters.
FANTASTIC PHONICS includes 60 short stories which focus on specific phonic skills. Each story is carefully graded, and represents a "stepping stone approach" ... while the stories gradually become more challenging, they constantly reinforce the lessons learnt in the earlier booklets.
What
Method Is FANTASTIC PHONICS Based On?
FANTASTIC
PHONICS
is built on research
which shows that an explicit phonics
approach is by far the best learning approach for children. This research
shows that learn-to-read books should be fully decodable, meaning that
all the words should be able to be decoded using phonics. The research
also shows that "sight words" (which defy phonics) should be
minimized, and taught explicitly, as memory-words. FANTASTIC
PHONICS
incorporates all the key points of the research.
Is
It Applicable for Remedial Reading?
FANTASTIC
PHONICS
is ideal for remedial purposes. First, it uses explicit phonics, which
is regarded as essential for remediating poor readers. Second, the booklets
have illustrations
which yield minimal visual clues, hence reducing reliance on contextual
guessing. Third, the booklets can be printed for the class, and taken
home by the student. Last, the books reinforce specialized programs which
have been developed for specific remedial applications. They fit perfectly
into modern teaching practices.
Can
I Make Copies and Distribute Them To My Class?
Yes - but you'll need to acquire an Institutional licence which
allows you to print copies for a single class. The license is valid for
a 12 month period, and is renewed for each year of use. You are not allowed
to sell copies - that is a breach of copyright, and is illegal under Federal
law.
Technical
Details : How Does It Work?
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FANTASTIC PHONICS
comes with its own "offline browser", which allows you to browse
and print whole stories, or individual pages. The stories are printed
on standard A4 paper, and they can be cut in half to create smaller A5
sized booklets. Children can pencil-in or paint the drawings, and each
booklet contains a writing exercise.
At the moment, there
is a Windows 95/NT version. You'll need at least 8 meg of RAM, and 8 meg
of disk space if you download the full 60
stories.
How
Do I Purchase? TOP
OF PAGE
Visit the Online Store. You can purchase
via credit card on our secure server.
If you purchase an electronic version, a password will be emailed to your
specified email address. Download the relevant products, and use your
password to open the files. If the original file is lost, you can download
a new copy, and use your password to open the software.
