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

“In most instances, there isn’t one main cause of a systematic breakdown in phonics instruction. Rather, a combination of causes can create a perfect storm of failure.” 
—Wiley Blevins

Picture a class of kindergarteners singing the alphabet song, and teaching phonics  seems as easy as one-two, three, A, B, C, right? In a Fresh Look at Phonics, Wiley Blevins explains why it can get tricky, and then delivers a plan so geared for success, that teachers, coaches, and administrators will come to see owning this book as a before and after moment in their professional lives. 

In this amazing follow up to his renowned resource Phonics From A-Z, Wiley uses the data he has collected over two decades to share which approaches truly work, which have failed, and how teachers can fine-tune their daily instruction for success. 

You will learn to focus on the seven critical ingredients of phonics teaching that produce the greatest student learning gains— readiness skills, scope and sequence, blending, dictation, word awareness, high frequency words, and reading connected texts. Then, for each ingredient, Wiley shares:  

• Activities, routines, word lists, and lessons that develop solid foundations for reading
• Ideas for differentiation, ELL, and advanced learners to ensure adequate progress for all learners
• Help on decodable texts, what not to over-do, and what you can’t do enough of for your students’ achievement
• Interactive “Day Clinic” activities that facilitate teacher self-reflection and school wide professional learning

In a final section, Wiley details the ten common reasons instruction fails and shows teachers how to correct these missteps regarding lesson pacing, transitions, decodable texts, writing activities, assessment and more. A Fresh Look at Phonics is the evidence-based solution you have been seeking. 

Wiley Blevins, Ph.D., is a world-renowned expert on early reading, and author of the seminal book Phonics From A-Z among many other works. He has taught in both the United States and South America, and regularly trains teachers throughout Asia. He holds a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University, and has worked with numerous educational scholars, including Jeanne Chall, Isabel Beck, Marilyn Adams, Louisa Moats, and Dianne August, and others.