Play ‘N Talk is based upon a phonics program first developed and used by an exclusive private school in 1961. That program became hugely popular with early homeschoolers as well as with public and private schools. Then the company went through a transition and the product disappeared. It’s back now with major updates, more games, and an app.
This is a comprehensive phonics program that begins with the introduction of the letters and their sounds and covers all phonetic concepts. At the same time, Play ‘N Talk teaches spelling (up through twelfth-grade level), eliminating the need for a separate spelling course. An unusual feature is the inclusion of keyboarding instruction, a skill not usually introduced when teaching phonics. Keyboarding is taught here to help reinforce reading and spelling skills, although it's obviously an important skill to learn on its own.
The average or advanced student might begin Play ‘N Talk in preschool or kindergarten and complete all levels by the end of fourth or fifth grade, although it can be used for spelling for many more years. It should be taught at the child’s pace rather than at a specific grade level. Although not originally designed for children with learning disabilities, Play ‘N Talk has been used successfully with children with many types of learning challenges as well as for remedial work—even with high school students.
The program has many printed components, which are all durable and non-consumable. So this one-time investment can be used for many children.
It also has an app with daily audio lessons that does the teaching for you, although parents can teach lessons themselves from the Instructor's Manuals. QR codes in the Instructor's Manuals take you to helpful videos for parents, a PDF Instructor's Manual, explanations about the program, and printables such as game instructions. The manuals also include strategies for addressing various situations, such as an excellent reader who is poor in spelling, a slightly older-than-average student who struggles with both reading and spelling, or a teen who can read well but needs to work on spelling.
The methodology is intensive phonics. When it teaches blending, it uses vowel-consonant combinations (e.g., at, am, and ad). The phonetic rules are initially learned through rhymes (without music) in the audio lessons. Additional practice with the various components moves students beyond dependence on the rhymes when they try to decode words. Once children know the letters and their sounds, they quickly begin reading actual words. The program gradually teaches more phonograms after children have already started to read.
The Program's Sequence
The program begins with "Sing 'n Sound" lessons that teach the letters of the alphabet and their sounds. These ten lessons are presented through songs, body movement, and games, and they are used along with 26 large alphabet flashcards. Suggested game variations for teens are also included, along with a large phonics wall chart and a Manuscript Alphabet Chart for learning how to form letters. The time required to complete this level might vary greatly.
Following Sing 'n Sound are four levels, called "series" in Play 'n Talk. Each series has a full-color, spiral-bound Instructor’s Manual and a student book for reading practice. All the teaching is presented by the teacher on the app (unless parents prefer to teach it themselves using scripts provided by Play 'N Talk), so Play ‘N Talk requires little preparation by the parent. However, parents do need to work with children to use the many other components, and instructions about how and when to do so are in the Instructor's Manuals and on the app.
The app has more than 200 audio lessons, and a few features are worth noting. Clear pronunciation is modeled and emphasized both in the spoken instruction and songs, and rules and instructions are often presented in poetic form, making them more memorable.
Students who already know letters and their sounds can begin with Series 1. While each series might be completed in a semester, neurodivergent students might take much longer. Students already familiar with word families might start with Series 2, and it might be used up through fourth grade. Students with learning difficulties might begin with or continue Series 3 up through grades five and six, and Series 4 can be used through high school. "Spelling Loops" scheduled in the Instructor's Manuals have you repeat lessons periodically to take a deeper dive into spelling. This continual reinforcement between phonics and spelling should be more effective than using a free-standing spelling program.
Ideally, lessons should be presented in two 10-minute sessions per day, although sessions with older students might run longer and cover more material.
What's Included For Each Level
Sing 'n Sound and all four series are included in the complete program, but each can be purchased separately. Different components are added with each series, so that each level continues to be a true multisensory program that can work with different learning styles.
In addition to an Instructor's Manual and student book, Series 1 has a box of Word Family cards, three Riddles 'n Rhyme books with audio files that present riddles that reinforce reading skills, and the Slide ‘N Sound word construction set of 43 laminated plastic strips that are to be inserted into a card with windows and used to combine phonograms into words.
Series 2 adds Spell Lingo—24 bingo games for practicing phonogram recognition and the Magic E pointer to help children learn to identify words with silent-e.
Series 3 has three sets of phonogram cards (including irregular phonograms) and adds the Ring ‘N Key set, which teaches keyboarding and reinforces spelling and reading skills.
Series 4 adds three sets of flashcards: Advanced Spelling Rules, Silent Letters & Unusual Words, and Suffixes, Prefixes & Plural Words.
The laminated and color-coded flashcards are used for games and activities to practice recognition of phonograms and words. The Word Family matching game has a word family word on one card and a picture on another for matching and other games.
The program does not have traditional workbooks with activity pages for reading, spelling, or handwriting instruction. Those types of written activities are replaced by the program's games, flashcards, keyboarding, and other activities. As for handwriting, you can use the letters on the Manuscript Alphabet Chart as models to teach the formation of letters on your own. While there are a few supplemental activities that include practice writing the letters, there is no comprehensive handwriting instruction. So you might want to add a handwriting course.
Summary
Parents don’t have to teach the lessons, but they should stay abreast of the audio lessons to know what their children are learning. They need to listen to their child read aloud from the student books to make sure they are grasping the concepts, and they must be prepared to play the games and use the other Play ‘N Talk components with their children. Even so, Play ‘N Talk is one of the easiest-to-use comprehensive phonics programs available for homeschoolers.
