Week 2, Day 3: Teach letters w,x,y,z: sounds and letter formation.In using the program I learned much about my own learning and teaching style. Scripted programs work best for me, as I can flip to the page I need and re-read the instructions as often as necessary. Presented on DVD, Beers’ instruction is difficult to review – several weeks of lessons can be grouped in a single chapter that is difficult to navigate if the instruction needed for Week 2, Day 3 is required. Some weeks have no written lesson plans, only completed worksheet answer keys.
After becoming enamored with Beers’ philosophy I was disappointed to find that the nearly exclusively DVD-presented instruction format didn’t work for me as a teacher. Though I watched the instructions several times, the skeletal notes provided were not enough for me to effectively teach a complete lesson. I found the process frustrating at best. I never would have expected this limitation in my own abilities.
My child responded well to the rule tunes (which she spontaneously sings), the clock method of instruction, multi-sensory suggestions and more. I remain ideologically committed to teaching intensive phonics and I highly recommend that families seeking a deeply integrated, rigorous, systematic phonics instruction course investigate the program. Using multiple courses for spelling, writing, and reading can become costly in both time and money. The Phonics Road to Spelling & Reading – Level One costs $199 in its entirety, with additional apprentice building manuals costing $69 each.
The complete scope and sequence, free audio workshops and additional information can be found at The Phonics Road website.
Article comments
1 - Kim Kelsey
Dear Jennifer,
I found that Mrs.Beers class works best for me by watching the video with my children and letting her teach. You simple pause the video allowing them time to write the word and start it again.
I even do this with the grammar. We watch the vidoe together on Monday and then proceed through the week as scheduled.
Sincerely,
Kim Kelsey
Sunny Florida, USA