I was wondering if there is a elementary resource teacher successfully using phonographix. I am not trained buy I have read reading reflex and I have tried to implement it in my classroom this year. I would love to hear from someone who has been trained and is using the program. I will have K-5 next year in a pull out model. My questions are: how do you grade? do you create weekly spelling lists from the word lists? do you make up tests? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, do you use a basal in addition to the phonographix? I start in a new school next year and I would love some input.
Re: phonographix
It is an excellent method. It is based on some pretty important and fundamental ideas, so it is worth getting trained and finding out how to use it in the classroom. I have been using it with 12 year olds in a catch up class really successfully. Use the readamerica website too - very useful.
Re: phonographix
Caution. REading Reflex and Phonographix are good.
It isn’t as good as the claims. If it isn’t working ask at readamerica but be careful. If you ask too many questions you will get flamed and it hurts pretty bad because this thing that is supposed to be so great and work for everybody isn’t working for you. People it doesn’t work for have learned to be quiet because they get tired of the abuse.
Re: phonographix
Pam,
There are some other successful users of PG around here who may see your post eventually and be able to help you. I just went for the one day training in Word Work which is PG designed for use with small groups or a classroom or multiple children (worksheets are reproducible). I am studying through the manual now and hope to use it some with my own child this summer and my hearing impaired students in the fall.
I like PG because it teaches phonetics sound-to-symbol rather than the opposite which many phonics programs do. It also does not require the child to learn a lot of rules like some of the Orton Gillingham programs do. So far, I think it is excellent. Most of the reading programs I’ve had before just were not intensive enough. Look for Shay who posts here often. She’ll tell you how she uses PG to even remediate low readers in high school! She has been very helpful to me.
Janis
Re: phonographix
Hi Pam, I have used PG before it came out in the market and that was five years ago. I have taught children and teenagers diagnosed with CAPD, LD, ADD, ED SED, Mentally challenged with IQ’s of 60 and autistic. I have taught classrooms as well as one-on-one. The only students that didn’t remediate are those that didn’t want to, and my one autistic who turned out to have other complications. I haven’t taught a classroom of elementary students but have remediated young children one-on-one. I have trained an elementary school and they have done very well with the children. They had very few students not reading on grade level at the end of the year. Now, I will try to answer your questions. I don’t ‘grade’ my kids on a basic skill. When I teach PG, everyone receives an A unless he or she doesn’t buy into the program. You have to understand that I teach high school but if I did teach elementary school, I still wouldn’t grade because all students are ready for learning different aspects of reading at different times. Also, an average first grader really shouldn’t go past the fourth chapter and sh, th, ch, and wh of the advanced code. What I see in the elementary schools is that they are rushed too fast into MS words and those that can’t decode them are thought to be slow and often times end up being refered for special education and they are actually an average student. Concerning spelling, you can order the Super Speller from Read America. It costs about $35-$40 but is reproducible. It is very good because it teaches the spelling combinations just like the reading part does. You don’t use a basal, you use actual books. If you would like to know more about it, email me personally and I will help you.
Now, I would like to comment on the one post on this thread about the bulletin board. When PG came out, there were a lot of people that were upset about the claim that PG will teach 98% of the students how to decode. These people than would go to the PG bulletin board and start flaming not only the program but Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness. Since that time, C and G have been very defensive about their program. It is their baby after all. Also, many people would ask about how PG compared with other programs. Read America only wants people to ask questions about PG not other programs, so that it is a monitored board. The only children that I have had personal contact with that it hasn’t worked with are those that I have mentioned above. Other trainers and therapists of PG have said that those children who need vision therapy won’t respond to it as well until they have vision therapy. I know that this is a controversial subject and there are pros and cons about it but I am just telling you what is being said. Another thing that makes any program successful is the feelings about the progrm by the teacher and how good the teacher is. If you feel that it will work, it will. Like I said, email me personally and I will try to help you. with some suggestions. Good Luck!
Re: phonographix
Pam,
In addition to Phonographix, you might wish to investigate School Phonics www.schoolphonics.com
My niece in PA, who had enormous difficulty in reading was tutored using this program and the results were amazing. The program uses sequential and systematic phonics and is based on the Association Method that was developed to teach language impaired children to read and speak.
Marsha
You should go to the PhonoGraphix web site. It is www.readamerica.net
They have a message board where you can communicate with other teachers and ask your questions.