A Fresh Look at Phonics, Grades K-2: Common Causes of Failure and 7 Ingredients for Success

by Wiley Blevins

In a Fresh Look at Phonics, Wiley Blevins, author of the blockbuster Phonics from A-Z, explains the 7 ingredients of phonics instruction that lead to the greatest student gains, based on two decades of research in classrooms. For each of these seven must-haves, Wiley shares lessons, routines, word lists, tips for ELL and advanced learners, and advice on pitfalls to avoid regarding pacing, decodable texts, transition time, and more. A Fresh Look at Phonics is the evidence-based solution you have been seeking that ensures all students develop a solid foundation for reading.  

 

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, School, Professional Development

394 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2016

About the author

Wiley Blevins is an American author and educator whose work has had a lasting impact on early literacy and children’s publishing. He began his career as a classroom teacher in the United States and Ecuador before moving into educational publishing, where he spent more than two decades writing and editing reading programs for elementary schools. A specialist in phonics and literacy instruction, he has written numerous books for young readers as well as influential guides for teachers. Blevins has also held senior roles in major publishing houses, most recently serving as Senior Vice President and Associate Publisher at Reycraft Books, a children’s imprint dedicated to authors and illustrators from under-represented communities. Based in New York City since 1995, he continues to write, teach, and consult while pursuing a lifelong passion for travel. His work reflects his commitment to helping children become confident readers and to supporting teachers with practical, classroom-tested materials.

Reviews

[Jen]

This was a great book that really got me thinking about my phonics instruction. I'm thinking about buying it because it's a great reference.

[Jon]

I always find Blevins’s books to be practical. This one provides a solid foundation in phonics instruction.

[Kelly Jacobs]

I have to say I haven't done very much professional reading for the past... mumble, mumbleteen years, but I am so glad to have the opportunity to have this book come to me. I feel every parent and teacher should have this as required reading. There are no fancy tricks, no quick fixes to teaching reading and if you are looking for a book that boasts of such claims this is not the book you are looking for. If you are looking for a book that tells you what are the basic building blocks for teaching reading and more specifically phonics instruction, then read this book. I will repeat myself by saying I highly recommend this book to all parents and teachers who are teaching reading/phonics to early readers and older students who need remediation.

[Alecia]

This book was great. It was a lot of stuff I knew or had known at one time , but had forgotten. Great practical tips that can easily be implemented. Highly encourage teachers and parents to read this text to help your readers out. I’m excited to purposefully implement some of these ideas in my own room.

[Debra]

This is a very informative book for any teacher that teaches phonics. Loved the suggestions and super easy to read. Highly recommend!

[Jean Mc]

This book is a fantastic read and full of valuable ideas to take back into your classroom. The book is broken into parts, so you don't have to read from front to back if you don't want to. It also has a section about "where your phonics program fails." This book gave me valuable tools to use to build upon what I already know. If you know very little, you can use this book to learn to do better than review how to build upon what you know to do even more. This book is fantastic, with valuable ideas to bring back into your classroom. The book is divided into parts, so you don't have to read it from front to back if you don't want to. It also includes a section on "where your phonics program fails." This book gave me valuable tools to build upon my knowledge. Even if you have little knowledge, this book can help you learn to do better rather than just reviewing what you already know.

[Samantha Savage]

As far as the SOR reading shifts go, this book is a little behind the times. It scratches the surface of what a SOR classroom does. However it did discuss a systematic scope and sequence, phonemic awareness, vowel valley, decodables, briefly mentioned mouth position for sounds and syllable types. I’ve had this book forever and never finished it before because it was written too dense. I read it tonight in one sitting by skimming through and rereading what was important and skipping what was outdated. Definitely a pass if you don’t already own. I gave it 3 stars for the information it did get right and for its focus on cumulative review/teaching and teaching until the student reaches mastery/automaticity.

[Lisa]

This book is set up like a checklist or seven ingredients for reading success. Reading readiness, scope and sequence in systematic order, blending, dictation, word awareness, high frequency words, and reading connections. Taking one chapter, ingredient, at a time, check off how you approach each of those ingredients. Section two of the book also has the instructor look common causes of phonics failure to keep in mind. This is the perfect book for those who are starting out, switching from the three cuing system, or for experienced teachers who need to rid of bad habits or gain updated practices.

[Anne]

Lots of information is packed into this Blevins book. Some of the information was review for me, while other parts were completely new. I gave 4 stars instead of five because I wanted more information in the Day Clinic portions. I know they mentioned there are additional resources online, but I would have loved to have the thoughts and answers all in one place, so it would be easy to check my own thinking. I appreciated how this book was able to help me reflect on my own teaching and changes I can make to better impact the students I work with every day.

[Jean Schram]

I’m finally reading this—9 years after publication. I liked the 10 pitfalls and how to avoid them section at the end. I think he has a strong idea of pairing a knowledge-building, vocabulary-rich read aloud with a decodable on the same topic in order to increase the level of discussion regarding the simplistic decodable text. Don’t try to put together everything he mentions in the book. There are very strong programs that you can use to successfully teach phonics/foundational skills. (For example, see my SIPPS playlist on my “Jean Gunderson” youtube channel.)

[Jamie]

I'm homeschooling this year and my son was slow on reading. This book has such great insight and has changed how I'm approaching my teaching. He is much more receptive and is starting to retain better.

[Ellen]

Excellent book. Wiley Blevins really shows how connected we must be in our instruction. we teach phonics so that children can learn to read - so they need to be doing that while they are learning how letters work! So simple. Yet, so complex.

[Theresa]

Specific dos and don’ts for teaching phonics makes this book more of a handbook and guide than just a book. I’m eager to discuss with my teaching team. I wish I’d had this before my first year teaching first grade.

[Jkeeler]

Amazing book full of practical ideas to successfully teach phonics. My colleague and I liked it so much we used it as a basis for a professional development class for our district institute day!

[Heather B.]

Excellent resource

[Chris Heim]

I highly recommend this book for K-2 classroom teachers (especially K-1) and for reading specialists.

[Michell Karnes]

This was a very informational book on the pitfalls and ways to find success in the instruction of phonics.

[Hope Abar]

A great resource with new research & resources for primary educators❣️

[Deborah]

A practical and balanced set of lesson planning tools. I'll be referring back to this one.

[Martha Brown]

By this book. It’s that good.

[Irena]

a bit repetitive, but I appreciated the emphasis on repetition, applicable practice, and mastery of skills

[Sarah McClure Starr]

Excellent resource for small group!

[Lori Emilson]

Great review of scientifically-backed phonics instruction strategies. Lots of practical ideas. I appreciate how the author cautions teachers that phonics is only one of the required aspects of learning to read.

[Brianna]

I highly recommend this book if you want to take your phonics instruction to the next level. This book goes into detail about readiness skills, scope & sequence, blending, dictation, word awareness activities, high frequency words, reading connected text, and more. The information and routines presented in this book are practical for both group and one-on-one instruction.
Read my full review and summary on my blog: https://www.slpliteracycorner.ca/blog...

[Kristin Weis]

A good balanced literacy approach while also affirming the necessity of phonics. Refreshing to read with great ideas for implementation. This is a book that I will constantly be referencing during the school year.

[Mika]

4.5⭐️

[Becky]

W