Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read

Gateway Learning Corporation

The original Hooked on Phonics program sold during the 1990s was heavy on rap music and low on usefulness. Then it changed ownership and underwent a total redesign. The only features left from the original were the name and high quality presentation.

This redesigned Hooked on Phonics is outstanding. It offers a solid base of phonics, and it also incorporates phonetic storybook readers so that children can quickly experience the joy of reading.

The program starts with alphabet and letter/sound recognition. (If children already know the alphabet and letter sounds, they can begin with the second “kit.”) Hooked on Phonics teaches children how to blend sounds to make words using the “word family” approach: e.g., cat, mat, bat, rat. It spends a significant amount of time on short vowels and short-vowel words to form a solid foundation. Then it moves on to long vowels and more complex phonograms. Children learn sight words so they are able to read the stories, although some of these “sight words” are really phonetic but contain phonograms children have not yet learned.

The program contains five colorful boxes or kits. The first box includes your “starter kit” with instructions, lessons for learning the alphabet and letter sounds and an interactive CD-ROM. Children who already know the alphabet and letter sounds can skip ahead to an appropriate starting point. Each kit contains one or two audiocassette tapes, heavy-duty flashcards (a set for the phonograms and a set for sight words to be learned at each level), a student “workbook,” and full-color readers.

Audiotapes provide direct instruction to children, including drill exercises where children follow along through the flashcards or workbook. The workbook provides reading practice material but no written exercises as you would expect. This program does not teach or require any writing, so you will need to supplement with other resources if you wish your child to learn to write simultaneously.

One of the most appealing features of this redesigned program is the readers. Written especially for Hooked on Phonics, these storybooks compare well to children’s storybooks on the library shelves with their beautiful illustrations and entertaining story lines. However, the stories are written for a non-sectarian audience and use talking animals and fantasy, which some parents might not appreciate.

Although children can listen to the tapes on their own, parents should listen along, especially to their child’s responses to the tapes. Parents will also need to spend time as their children practice reading aloud. Hooked on Phonics makes teaching reading an easy, enjoyable task, even for the parent with no phonics background.