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 Explode the Code is a comprehensive phonics series that has been available since 1977.  The series includes eight levels of workbooks and now has supplemental workbooks to review the concepts covered in levels one through six.  Each workbook is approximately one hundred pages of focused phonics drill and practice.  Level One has students work on consonant and vowel sounds and CVC pattern words.  Level Two teaches students about initial and final consonant blends.  Book Three introduces silent final e, the consonant digraphs and common vowel digraphs (like ay and ow).  In Level Four, students will learn about compound words, common suffixes, and common syllable patterns and divisions.  Book Five covers the different pronunciations of the -ed ending , three-consonant blends, and some of the spelling exceptions (like -al, -ild, and -ind).  Level Six teaches about r-controlled vowel sounds and the more difficult vowel digraphs (like oo, oy, and ou).  Level Seven goes over some specific spelling rules, such as hard/soft c and g, -mb words, kn- words, and the different ways that -ear can sound.  Finally, in Book Eight, the curriculum covers many more suffixes (including -ence and -ance, -sion and -tion, and -ous) as well as the -ti- and -ci- letter groups.  Collectively, the series includes opportunities for review and reinforcement, and with the addition of the supplemental workbooks, will offer the extended practice that some struggling students will need.

Explode the Code is appropriate for use at any age or stage of reading instruction.  The simple line drawing illustrations are not too juvenile to use with adult learners if needed, but they are clear and concrete enough to work well for younger children or developmentally disabled learners.  Most pages have only six to ten items for response, so learning disabled students or those with low tolerance for frustration should be able to complete the task comfortably.  Many different kinds of responses are used, including circling, underlining, crossing out, and copying.  This will allow teachers to choose the best method for a student with limited motor skills.

All in all, the Explode the Code series is a good tool for phonics instruction.  It can be used with students who are learning at a normal pace and it is also appropriate for students who are in need of remedial services.  It is appropriate for all age groups. 

Each student will need his or her own workbook, as they are not reproducible.  The product is available from Reading and Language Arts Centers, Inc. of Michigan.  Each workbook is priced at $6.75 as of April, 2005, and they are available in sets for a discount.  Supplemental materials are also available, including a readiness series and a wall chart.  RLAC’s website is here.

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© 2005 Sandra Fleming

 Parents and teachers alike will find this book to be a great resource in many ways.  Whether you are teaching in the intermediate grades and are searching for some guidance about appropriate reading skills to work on, or are working with older readers who are not developing their skills in the usual time frame, you will find answers and suggestions in this book.  Unlike many more scholarly works, this one is rife with practical, hands-on suggestions.  It explains the development of the reading process fully and in ways that a nonprofessional can grasp easily.  The text is clear and easy to read, and the book will be a great help to homeschooling parents or those who feel they need to take a hand in their children’s reading instruction for whatever reason. 

Wiley Blevins carefully explains the concepts within the scope of the book, including exactly what phonics is, how children learn about phonics, the methods generally used in phonics instruction, and how to teach the necessary skills.  The book includes many actual lesson plans, lists of words that fit with different phonics concepts, and a complete outline of how to fit phonics into the larger area of word attack skills.  A student who masters the skills outlined in this book will be well on the way to being a competent reader. 

In addition to the detailed lesson plans and activity ideas, Blevins has included many, many helpful references.   The reader is steered toward more detailed works about language development, word analysis, and more.  Blevins also reviews and assesses several common reading programs with proven successful track records, including the Wilson System, the Lindamood program, and five other programs.  Simple assessments that parents or other adults can give are also included so that concerned parents can quantify their child’s strengths and weaknesses and be better informed when talking to teachers.

Teaching Phonics and Word Study in the Intermediate Grades is clearly written and easy to read.  The author has made great use of titles and subtitles, graphic organizers, bulleted lists, and insets of information, clarifying and distilling most concepts so that the reader can easily skim and find relevant information rather than reading cover to cover if that is preferred.  I highly recommend Teaching Phonics and Word Study in the Intermediate Grades!  This resource book by Wiley Blevins calls itself a “complete sourcebook,” and that’s certainly true.

Sound interesting?  Check it out at Amazon.com!

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© 2006 Sandra Fleming