A Long History of
Proven Results
The Free Phonics Program, also known as Super Phonics, has been a cornerstone in literacy education and systematic phonics instruction since 1999. Developed by Essential Skills, this program was originally designed as a desktop application and has since been used by over 500,000 educators to help more than 15 million students build strong phonics foundations and become confident readers.
Proven Success Over Decades
Super Phonics has been rigorously tested and refined over decades, showing consistent and significant improvements in student outcomes. This program is used in over 20,000 schools and has earned a devoted following due to its systematic phonics instruction and proven effectiveness.
"Our grade one teachers say that their children have made dramatic gains each year from working on the Super Phonics programs. Test scores have gone way up for their children!"
~ Denise Watts, Martin Luther King Elementary
Research Basis of The Free Phonics Program
Professionally Developed & Grounded in Research:
The Free Phonics Program, also known as Super Phonics, was meticulously developed by a special education and computer teacher with over 25 years of classroom experience. Grounded in well-established research and best practices, Super Phonics employs a structured, systematic, and explicit approach to phonics instruction, ensuring that early learners acquire essential reading skills one step at a time.
Systematic & Explicit Phonics Instruction:
Research indicates that systematic phonics instruction is highly effective in improving children’s reading and spelling abilities. Super Phonics aligns perfectly with these findings by providing a sequential and scaffolded learning experience. The program starts at the foundational level, teaching the letters of the alphabet, and gradually progresses through consonant sounds, short and long vowels, and consonant blends. This step-by-step progression is crucial for building a solid foundation in phonemic awareness and decoding skills, which are essential components of effective reading instruction.
Sequential & Scaffolded Learning:
Each section of The Free Phonics Program follows a logical sequence where each new skill builds upon previously learned ones. This approach is consistent with the synthetic phonics method, which focuses on blending sounds to form words. By systematically introducing and reinforcing phonics skills, Super Phonics ensures that students develop a comprehensive understanding of phonemic structures and their application in reading and writing.
Multisensory Learning Approach:
Super Phonics incorporates a balance of auditory, visual, and tactile typing activities, catering to various learning modalities. Research supports the effectiveness of using multisensory approaches to enhance phonics instruction. By engaging students through listening, seeing, and hands-on typing activities, Super Phonics promotes mastery and retention of phonics skills for a wide-variety of learning styles. This multisensory strategy aligns with the phonics through spelling method, which emphasizes the importance of segmenting words into phonemes and writing them out.
Proven Effectiveness:
The effectiveness of Super Phonics is further validated by its significant impact on student outcomes, as demonstrated in various case studies and testimonials. For instance, at Morgan Township Elementary, students using Super Phonics showed a remarkable average improvement of 37.36% in initial consonant sound recognition over six months. Such impressive results underscore the program’s ability to deliver substantial gains in phonemic awareness and reading proficiency. Super Phonics has been tested in hundreds of thousands of classrooms over 25 years, making it the quintessential research-based phonics program.
Conclusion:
The Free Phonics Program, with its robust research foundation and proven instructional strategies, stands out as a premier tool for early literacy education. By integrating systematic phonics instruction and catering to diverse learning needs, Super Phonics effectively equips students with the skills they need to become confident and proficient readers.
Helping Children Learn to Read:
Evaluating the programs from Essential Skills in the context of current research
Case Study:
Morgan Township Elementary, Indiana
Morgan Township Elementary conducted a study to evaluate the impact of the Super Phonics program on students' initial consonant sound recognition. The study involved DIBELS testing at the beginning of the school year in September and again six months later in March. During this period, students used the Super Phonics program once a week for 30 minutes.
Remarkable Results:
Significant Improvement: The average sound fluency score increased from 45.81% to 83.17%, representing a remarkable 37.36% improvement.
Widespread Gains: Out of the 11 students that utilized the Super Phonics program, three students gained between 32 to 41 percentage points, while four students gained an impressive 54 to 62 percent. The lowest gain was 13 points.
Exclusive Use of Super Phonics: Super Phonics was the only program used for initial sound recognition, with no additional instruction provided.
Phonemic Awareness:
Phoneme identification, or letter sound recognition, is a foundational skill in teaching children to read. According to the U.S. National Reading Panel report, phonemic awareness is a critical component of effective reading instruction. The use of computers, as seen with Super Phonics, has been shown to yield significant effects in teaching phonemic awareness and enhancing reading skills.
Conclusion:
The case study at Morgan Township Elementary demonstrates the powerful impact of the Super Phonics program in significantly improving students' phonemic awareness and sound recognition skills. This evidence underscores the effectiveness of Super Phonics in fostering early reading success, making it an invaluable tool for educators.
Sharon Gutierrez, Shell Creek Elementary
"We use Super Phonics to demonstrate growth for kindergarten students, and because of that growth, we were able to go to a full day kindergarten!"
Judy MacDonald, Durham District Community School
"The data I collected was gathered by doing a simple pre-test and post-test. The most remarkable results were from a student who has been using the Super Phonics program for two years. He went from a Grade 1 level to a Grade 5 level!"
Barbara Kennemur, Hanceville Elementary
"I have used the Super Phonics programs for at least five years. These are wonderful programs! I have never come across better phonics instruction than what these programs provide."
Ready to Join the Success?
Discover how The Free Phonics Program can transform your classroom, school, or district today. Gain instant access to over 400 auditory, visual, and tactile activities for systematic phonics instruction. Join thousands of educators already utilizing this research-based program to set their students on the path to reading success!
