Phonics From A to Z: A Practical Guide

by Wiley Blevins

In this new edition of his best-selling classic, Wiley Blevins outlines the most recent brain research, 7 key characteristics of strong phonics instruction, and powerful instructional routines for accelerating student learning. Also includes special sections on meeting the needs of struggling readers and English language learners, speed drill forms, fluency tips, word sort and word building support, engaging lessons, word lists, games, learning center ideas, technology resources, and more.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Teachers

320 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

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

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating to me. In first grade a good reader reads 1900 words a week while a bad reader only reads 16! (Don't quote me on that, but it is something to that effect). I'm sure this book was written just for new teachers although it is a very accessible book and didn't feel very academic. As someone who didn't learn phonics as a kid and hardly learned to read at all in school this book answered so many questions I've had for a long time. There were a ton of things I didn't know, and too much to remember from just one reading. There were tidbits on just about every letter, a break down of the likely hood a "rule" is correct, and lists and list of words for kids. It was easy to get the big picture on how kids should learn to read and how to evaluate and help them along (at least in theory). I only have one kid, who has not shown any trouble with reading, so I pretty much read it for myself. Even so I would recommend it to a curious parent to check it out of the library as there are some good games like the "word ladder" by Timothy Rasinski which is a fun little puzzle covering so many of the skills kids need to practice. And not that I imaging many people would make this mistake, but the author mentions that reading the same text multiple times is good for a number of reasons, which I did not know. I had been trying to find new books all the time because my kid would memorize stories the first time we read them. His preschool teacher had told me he could read, but in my mind I thought, oh she doesn't know how many of those stories he can tell without the book. I didn't want to read the same thing with him because I didn't think he could learn to read if he had already memorized a book. Now I feel kind of like a jerk as it seems obvious that is a really good way to learn as something becomes more and more familiar. Practice makes perfect, right?

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phonics A-Z gives a summary of phonics and teaches the basics of phonics awareness. It gives practical suggestions for phonics lessons and gives special instruction for struggling readers and ELL students. There are ready to use lesson plans, games and learning center ideas. For those teachers that work with struggling readers, this book helps to explain the reasons behind our phonics rules which in turn made it easier for me to explain why letters make the sounds they do in a word. The book is geared toward elementary, but I think all teachers could benefit from the ideas in this book.

[Nikki Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent summary of phonics and has some great word lists. My favorite section is the discussion of how often the phonics "rules" we teach students are actually correct. "When 2 vowels go walking the first one does the talking" only true about 40% if the time! Great reminder to be thoughtful in our teaching practices!

[Aimee Guarnaccio · Rating 5 out of 5]

S-tier gift to give families starting their homeschooling journey. Invaluable resource for struggling readers. I pull it out every time my emergent reader looks at me and goes “huh?”, e.g. when I’m trying to simply show how to break a word down into syllables, or give guidelines or generalizations for attacking tricky words (I bet you this is the first time you’ve really thought about why the o in “home” is long, but sounds different in “come”). Activities abound, explanations are clear. Can’t recommend enough.

[Chris Heim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book, particularly for literacy educators who work with students in Grades K-2. It is an excellent guide for making decisions about reading instruction based on data from assessments, and provides many concrete ideas for how to support readers in many specific areas. I suspect I'll be returning to this book frequently in my work with struggling readers.

[Michael DeCaprio · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Almost) everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Is missing the methods for systematic instruction. Lots and lots of learning and good ideas for each component. But is very much the kitchen sink. Would be a cool to look at before investing a system.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book on teaching phonics. This will be a book that I will borrow again or add to my library.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great instructions

[Gabby May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the third edition—very insightful

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phonics from A to Z Blevins, Wiley 3 NF Reading treating phonics 2015 10/28/2015

[Martha Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for phonemic awareness and phonics instruction!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great refresher for learning phonics.

[Sheila Mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough explanation of phonics and simple solutions that can be implemented in the classroom.

[Victoria Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while working on a phonics professional development for graduate school. I LOVED it. I recommend it for every teacher. It was super informative and really walked the reader through evening you needed to know about phonics.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has many phonics word lists.