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Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Spelling by Dolores G. Hiskes
Website: Phonics Pathways
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(6 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Grades Used: Kindergarten
With Phonics Pathways, I learned that you don't need an expensive program with a lot of bells and whistles to teach phonics. This book is simple, logical, and easy to use. The lessons "clicked" with my son right from the start which was a huge relief after we used another book that didn't make sense and was very frustrating to him. He could see his accomplishments and sound out words within 2 weeks of PP, rather than having to wait months into a program to finally put it all together and read words. We added Explode the Code Book 1 after about 3 weeks of Phonics Pathways which has been a really nice compliment and great way to reinforce PP. We can do 2-3 pages of an oral PP lesson and a couple ETC worksheets in 20-30 minutes a day which is all that my son will sit still for. After being intimidated by the responsibility of teaching reading, I am so pleased with how well we are doing!
Cons: hard to get the kids interested
Grades Used: 1,2,3
Love these books. My kids had a hard time relating and getting into the stories-but, they are rich and healthy. I love that they see them on Little house.
Grades Used: K-1
I had tried other phonics books for reading but was not pleased. This book really accomplished what I thought should happen. Big words are soon sounded-out because they build on what they have already learned. Will definitely be using it again for other children. Would love to make a booklet just of the cute quotes.
Grades Used: K-2
Solid phonics base for reading and spelling. No worksheets. Great for couch time with child. I learned a good bit myself since I was never taught to read from a fully phonetic approach. I am a poor speller as a result, but this book has helped me right along side my children.
We have referred back to this over the years.
Both of my girls are excellent readers today.
Reading Pathways goes excellently alongside this book. It contains more pyramid reading activities some of which are found in Phonics Pathways.
Grades Used: pre-kindergarten up to 2nd grade
I used this book to teach my children to read. We started teaching o my daughter at age 4, and my son didn't start until he was 7. The book was easy to understand for me, the teacher, and for my kids. They both thought the "Dewey" the bookworm was funny. Both children learned to read very well, and they still sound out new words phonetically. I also like the spelling guides at the back of the book. I think this book is great for teaching a child to read as you can spend time with your child sitting on your lap as he learns. No complicated worksheets to complete. You just sit together and learn to read!
Grades Used: Grade 1/2
I used this book to teach my son to read when he was 6-7 years old. About half-way through the book he took right off reading and was reading novels in record time. It was very easy to use, with very little clutter on the pages to distract him. There were also some cute little games to play. After my son started to read, we went back using the index at the back and used it to teach spelling. Definitely a good buy!