PHONICS. It's Practical.

Teaching phonics is simple. In the days of one-room schoolhouses, young teachers taught all their students to read with phonics while also teaching the other R's to older students.

You can teach a beginning reader easily with "Phonics Pathways" by Dolores Hiskes or with Don Potter's free online copy of Hazel Loring's Blend Phonics. The best method for teaching a beginning student to read is probably Noah Webster's Blue Backed Speller, also known as The American Spelling Book. It teaches spelling and reading at the same time. You can also use the online beginning reading lessons at starfall.com. These online lessons are free, and they are better than many programs that cost much more.

A remedial reading student can become a proficient reader in 6 to 30 hours using "Phonics Pathways" or Blend Phonics, an excellent phonics program that Don Potter has used to successfully remediate many students. You should to follow either of these methods with "Rx for Reading: Teach Them Phonics," by Dr. Ernest Christman or with "We All Can Read" by James Williams. You can also use the online quicktime reading lessons on my website or the American classic, Webster's The American Spelling Book

A complete list of good books and videos for teaching reading can be found at the National Right to Read Foundation, or NRRF. (Not all phonics programs teach everything you need to know to learn to read well. Also, just because a program has phonics in its name or is well known does not mean it is a good phonics program.) You should use a phonics program recommended on my website or a phonics program recommended by the NRRF.