The ABC's and All Their Tricks: The Complete Reference Book of Phonics and Spelling

A Practical Phonics Rules and Spelling Guide for Teachers and Adult Learners

The ABC's and All Their Tricks is a comprehensive phonics and spelling reference that explains the rules, patterns, and apparent exceptions behind written English. Designed for teachers, adult learners, tutors, and homeschool parents, it helps you understand why words are spelled and pronounced the way they are—and gives you clear explanations you can use when teaching or learning phonics.

Many of the "exceptions" that make English seem unpredictable actually follow patterns once you know where to look. Trusted by teachers and homeschool families for over 40 years, this resource helps you:

• Find Phonics Rules Quickly: Look up letters, sounds, blends, digraphs, and spelling patterns through an easy-to-use alphabetical format.
• Understand How English Works: Learn why words are spelled and pronounced the way they are, rather than simply memorizing lists of rules and exceptions.
• Build Your Phonics Knowledge: Strengthen your understanding of the English sound-spelling system whether you are teaching students or learning phonics yourself.
• Know What to Teach and When: Find guidance on appropriate grade levels for introducing different phonics elements.
• Understand Patterns and Exceptions: See how frequently spelling patterns occur and which words are genuine exceptions.
• Support Struggling Readers: Explore additional guidance for students and learners who need more help with phonics, decoding, and word analysis.
• Connect Phonics and Spelling: Learn why spelling should be taught alongside phonics and how the two reinforce one another.
• Support Structured Literacy Instruction: Use the book alongside explicit, systematic phonics instruction and other structured literacy approaches.

Clear Answers to Difficult Phonics Questions

English spelling can seem confusing—even to experienced teachers and adult learners. The ABC's and All Their Tricks gives you a reference to turn to when you encounter questions such as:

• Why does c say /s/ in city but /k/ in cat?
• Why is have spelled with a silent e?
• Why do we double the consonant in words such as running?
• What should you know about the many sounds and spellings of ough?
• When should different phonics patterns be introduced?

Rather than treating English as a collection of unpredictable exceptions, the book reveals the underlying rules and patterns that make much of the language more regular than it first appears.

For Teachers, Adult Learners, and Homeschool Families

Teachers can use the book as a professional reference for planning instruction, answering students' questions, strengthening their own phonics knowledge, and supporting struggling readers.

Adult learners can use it to gain a deeper understanding of phonics, spelling patterns, pronunciation, and the logic behind words that may initially seem irregular.

Homeschool parents and tutors can use it alongside an existing reading or spelling program to teach with greater understanding and confidence.

The ABC's and All Their Tricks is not a student workbook or scripted reading curriculum. It is an in-depth phonics rules and spelling reference designed to be used alongside the reading, phonics, or spelling program you already use—or as a guide for anyone who wants to better understand the structure of written English.

The book also includes a full chapter devoted to remedial reading and decoding instruction.

Margaret M. Bishop, a graduate of Columbia University, was a specialist in languages and had long experience in teaching children by the phonics method. She also used her method with juvenile and adult ex-offenders who were illiterate or nearly so, and started many of them on the road to a more successful life. She trained reading tutors and found that both professional teachers and volunteers can successfully use the phonics approach to reading.