Phonics for Young Catholics books are similar in concept to the Plaid Phonics series, although there is more content per page in some of the books than in Plaid Phonics. The content is definitely Catholic in both the words and the images used. Books are printed in full color. There is a lot of repetition from year to year, so you might not use every level.
The Phonics K for Young Catholics course, published in 2020, has four components: a 317-page Phonics K for Young Catholics coursebook, the 66-page I Can Read Kindergarten Reader, 12 small booklets for phonics and reading practice, and the Phonics K Alphabet Cards.
Phonics K begins by teaching the letters and their sounds as well as how to print them. It continues through both short and long vowels. It also teaches frequently-used sight words. The coursebook has student activity pages with instructional information included within a box on each page. Students will write in this book. The coursebook indicates when to use the other course components.
Phonics 1 for Young Catholics teaches consonants, short vowels, digraphs, and other phonograms while also teaching children how to form words. There is some review of what was taught in Phonics K. One coursebook has both student activity pages and instructions. Students will do quite a bit of writing on the activity pages. First graders should also use the set of three "Faith and Freedom" readers. In addition, Spelling 1 for Young Catholics helps reinforce reading skills with a phonics-based approach.
Phonics 2 for Young Catholics is where intensive phonics instruction takes place. Based on Sister Monica Foltzer's methodology (presented in Professor Phonics), this level reviews beginning and ending consonants and short vowels, then moves through long vowels and all the other phonics concepts. You might want to use this book for first grade rather than second. Answer keys are included in the books for Phonics 2 through Phonics 5.
Phonics 3 for Young Catholics follows next, although I haven't seen this book. The website says, "Topics include Short and Long Vowels, Vowel and Consonant Digraphs, Word Prefixes and Suffixes, as well as Syllables, Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homophones."
In Phonics 4 for Young Catholics, some work is very easy for fourth-grade level (e.g., matching words with pictures), especially at the beginning, but the level of difficulty increases dramatically as students progress. Exercises review basic phonic rules and require students to analyze word structures. They also cover suffixes, inflections, plurals, possessives, prefixes, roots, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and syllabication. The book is a consumable worktext, and it comes with an answer key.
Phonics 5 for Young Catholics reviews some of the more challenging elements of phonics, but it also teaches word studies—how words are put together. So while it teaches digraphs and diphthongs and other phonetic elements, it also covers roots, prefixes, suffixes, plurals, possessives, and contractions. In addition, students learn about alphabetizing and using a dictionary.
