Sound It Out! Phonics in a Comprehensive Reading System

Are you interested in phonics coverage as part of a comprehensive reading program? Rather than treating phonics as an end in itself, this brief text shows how phonics fits into the overall process of a child’s learning to read. It helps students understand how phonics can be integrated successfully into an effective classroom reading program. While it includes a wealth of suggestions for practical classroom applications, the book has a solid research base so that students will understand what they are doing and why they are doing it in the classroom. The text includes information about all types of phonics programs and the different approaches to teaching phonics for reading and spelling.

John F. Savage is Professor Emeritus at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, where he was Coordinator of the Graduate Reading/Literacy program for 33 years. He began his career as a classroom teacher when Dick and Jane dominated the reading scene. He taught reading with a phonics/linguistic approach and was an active participant as whole language gained popularity in classroom programs. He has witnessed the ebb and flow of phonics in schools for over 40 years, and he still maintains an active role in classrooms with teachers and children. Dr. Savage’s professional writing includes five college texts in reading and language arts, including Teaching Reading and Writing: Combining Skills, Strategies, and Literature (McGraw-Hill, 1998) and For the Love of Literature: Children and Books in the Elementary Years (McGraw-Hill, 2000). He has also written scores of professional journal articles, a children’s trade book on dyslexia, and other material that ranges from magazine articles to basal stories. Most recently, he has written a comprehensive primary grade phonics program, Phonics Plus (Educators Publishing Service, 2006). A popular speaker, John Savage has conducted workshops on reading instruction all over the Unites States, in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia, where he was a Senior Fulbright Scholar.