Frequently Asked Questions 

1. How important is handwriting?
   
   Handwriting is an absolute essential for learning to read and spell well. Students who write legibly have a significant edge over students whose handwriting is laborious to produce and difficult to read. The quality of handwriting impacts the quality of the impression the letters make on the brain.  I like to begin every tutoring session with a Timed Alphabet Warmup, writing the entire uppercase and lowercase alphabet: Aa Bb Cc Dd to Zz.
   
   Mr. Blumenfeld preferred teaching cursive before manuscript. While I acknowledge the advantages of teaching cursive first, I must admit that it is much easier to teach manuscript than cursive. The handwriting test I give all my students indicates that all the students coming to me for tutoring are in desperate need of manuscript handwriting instruction. Students can - and should - learn cursive later with a program like my Shortcut to Cursive. Here is a nice workbook version of my program Shortcut to Cursive.   Here is a sample of the one of my former students' cursive: Annie's Birthday Letter. 

Here is a link to the material I use to teach the Zaner-Bloser Manuscript Handwriting to my tutoring students. I have also created a YouTube Training Video for the Zaner-Bloser handwriting strokes. The video will prove very helpful for first-time handwriting teachers. I recommend the Zaner-Bloser Kindergarten workbook for teaching beginning manuscript handwriting for ALL ages. 

Here is a link to the Zaner-Bloser handwriting templates. Here is a very condensed but helpful Zaner-Bloser Manuscript Stroke Description. Here is a link to the First Grade Zaner-Bloser Manuscript Template which has a row for each verse of the Alphabet Song. Here is my Manuscript Handwriting Warmup. Here is a video demonstration of my Handwriting Warmup. 

"Why write? Penmanship for the 21st Century" by Jake Weidmann, who explains, "You see it is not technology that is the direct enemy of the pen, it is our dependency on technology - what we may soon find is that we've created the most technically advanced way of creating illiteracy."  

 Dr. Bob Rose wrote an insightful book on the importance of teaching kindergarten students to write the alphabet fluently:  Forget  the Bell  Curve.  This book motivated me to develop my ABC Handwriting test, whose dismal results stimulated my current work on using direct instruction to teaching kids to write the ABCs fluently. 

 The Neuroscience Behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing - Who Wins the Battle? (Feb. 22, 2025). A synthesis of modern studies contending that handwriting contributes more to a broader network of brain regions involved in motor, sensory, and cognitive processing than typing. 

Handwriting Literally Rewires Your Brain by Makai Allbert. Creating Better Readers & Writers: The Importance of Direct, Systematic Spelling and Handwriting Instruction in Improving Academic Performance by J. Richard Gentry & Steven Graham. The Simple View of Writing: Transcription and Composition by Amy Siracusano. Dr. Gentry published, "5 Reasons Every Child Should Learn Handwriting." "How Handwriting Benefits the Brain" by Dr. Audrey van der Meer.  Here is a presentation by the late Wiliam Van Cleave on "Effective Core Writing Instruction - Handwriting K-2." I attended one very helpful training session with Van Cleave.

Mary Pecci said it well,  "It is very important to teach letter-recognition in sequence from A-Z. In this way we correlate letter-writing and letter-recognition as we work though the alphabet. This powerful reinforcement is what really brings home the message because it is when the children write the letters that they really retain them. It is especially effective when the children recite the letter-name as they write the letters in neat rows – “Capital ‘A,’ small ‘a,’ Capital ‘B,’ small ‘b’, etc. If you are working with older students with scrambled, illegible handwriting, you will be amazed at the results of re-teaching with carefully guided strokes. Most of these students have simply had inadequate instruction. Initial introduction of letter-writing will accomplish two important things: It will greatly reinforce letter-recognition and recall, and it will enable the children to spell and write word in correlation with reading – which is indispensable in learning to read.  Continue to give formal guided letter-writing instruction throughout the year. Many children resort to careless habits of letter-writing when not periodically reviewed with formal guided instruction. It is also very important that formal guided instruction continue in all proceeding grade levels. Remember that most letter-writing problems are simply the result of inadequate instruction." (From At Last! A Reading Method for Every Child.) 

Ortin-Gillingham practitioner, Betty Sheffield, writes, “When fluency is high, the students will be able to write several words at a single glance. They will also be able to record their thoughts so effectively that they will be able to think and write at the same time, freeing up cognitive capacity for creative writing. Handwriting allows access to kinesthetic memory, our earliest, strongest, and most reliable memory channel. Serviceable handwriting needs to be at a spontaneous level so that a student is free to concentrate on spelling, and to focus on higher-level thought and written expressing.”  (Betty Sheffield, “Handwriting: A Neglected Cornerstone of Literacy,” Annals of Dyslexia, 1996)

Marilyn J. Adams explains, "Both theory and data suggest that instruction on neither the sounds of letters nor the recognition of whole words should be earnestly undertaken until the child has become confident and quick at recognizing individual letters" (Beginning Reading, 363). She also wrote, “It has been shown that the act of writing newly learned words results in a significant strengthening of their perceptual integrity in recognition.  This is surely a factor underlying the documented advantages of programs that emphasize writing and spelling activities. " (388)

Sentence dictation can be used to determinte placement in the program. Students have mastered the contents of the lessons they can write from dictation. 

2. What about Spelling?

I am glad you asked! Spelling and reading should be taught together. They reinforce each other in a powerful way. Focus on good spelling and good reading will be a natural result. Alpha-Phonics Self-Tutor is the perfect vehicle for teaching both.  Here are my Lesson Plans for 1999-2000. The spelling lists are at the end of the Lesson Plans. Students who complete the program should be spelling on at least a fourth-grade spelling level as measure with the Gentry Grade-Level Spelling Test. Here is my Expanded Gentry Grade-Level Spelling Text with sentences for the student to write containing the word being tests. The "Expanded" version has the advantage of giving information on sentence writing ability. All the words in the sentences are appropriate for the grade level being tested. Dr. Gentry has published many superb articles on spelling on Psychology Today. Here is a recent one, "Why the Human Brain Needs Spelling." For a deep dive read, "How Spelling Supports Reading" by Dr. Louisa Moats. Another good (normed) spelling test that correlates well with reading levels is the Morrison-McCall Spelling Scale. 

"Encoding is not simply a first step to writing, but it is a vital but underappreciated route to reading," (Herron & Gillis, 2020) 

3. What is the best way for the students to listen to the lessons? 

Students can listen to the lessons on the Internet using a computer, cell phone, tablet, or other such device. The audio files can be downloaded and transferred to a portable mp3 player for listening off-line. Here is a Listening Record Chart with lines by each lesson on which the student can write tally marks for each time they listen to the recording.  These recordings have proven VERY VALUABLE with my students and enable them to receive professional instruction at home between tutoring sessions. The student are to repeat the words and sentences along with the recording while pointing at the words. They can use pause to stop the recording and then say the word or sentence on their own and then use play to check to see if they read it correctly. Most of the lesson recordings are quite short: Recording Times. 

4. What is the main difference between the 1983 and 1997 editions of Alpha-Phonics - and the 2025 Self-Tutor?

Both editions are great. Curiously, they have slightly altered names. The 1983 edition is simply called Alpha-Phonics. The 1997 edition was titled Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics, which originally included a separate Teacher's Manual. The 1997 has numerous refinements that were the fruit of Mr. Blumenfield's experience teaching the book over the years. Here is my Detailed Comparison. The Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics Self-Tutor follows the second edition. My Self-Tutor edition simply repackages the content of the book formatted to make it easier to follow my audio instruction. I converted the columns to numbered rows to make it easier for the students to follow the recorded instruction. The phonogram is listed to the left of each row. My Self-Tutor deleted the two lessons of nonsense words (but retained lesson numbers) and added two lessons at the end for past tense ending -ed and long vowels in open syllables. Sam had developed the core of his approach to teaching intensive phonics in his 1973 The New Illiterates: And How to Keep Your Child from Becoming One, which included a valuable Home Primer - including valuable information on how to teach reading with intensive phonics for superior results. Here is the original Instruction Manual for the 1997/2005 edition, which I followed when making my audios. 

5. Do you teach letter names? 

Yes! We teach letter names first because the kids need to be able to give the name of the letter when they see it and write the letter when they hear the name in order to spell the words. This is called SOS (Simultaneous Oral Spelling). This knowledge gives young readers a huge advantage before they start serious instruction learning to read. Curiously, most kids coming to me for tutoring are not aware that we can spell words with letter names. My Alphabet Tapping Exercise and Alphabet Flashcards  are very helpful. I use three alphabet decks: Deck 1: Uppercase and lowercase together in ABC order; Deck 2: Lowercase letters not kept in order; Deck 3: Uppercase letters not kept in order.  For younger students, it is best teach a few letters at a time with lots of practice. I realize this is an area of controversy, but my experience and theoretical considerations have convinced me of the wisdom of teaching letter names early. Many letter names give valuable hints about the sounds: b, d, f, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, & z, and long vowels: a, e, i, o, u. I like to start each tutoring session with an Alphabet Writing Warmup, timing the students writing all the uppercase and lowercase letters from a to z: Aa, Bb, Cc, Ee, etc. Dr. Donald Durrell's article Learning Factors in Reading explains the importance of knowing the letter names and letter formation. Here is an interview with Dr. Marilyn J. Adams explaining the importance of  teaching letter names. Here is Mary Pecci's Alphabet Strip in manuscript letters to be taped to the desks. 

6. How do you use the material in a tutoring class?

There are many options here. For a large class, I like to teach everything on a chalkboard, whiteboard, or on a screen with a document camera. I have taught the entire program on a chalkboard in cursive in a single semester to five tutoring students who copied ALL the words and sentences on handwriting paper. This was especially helpfully for kids with attention deficits. I now teach using manuscript, but the procedures and results are the same. Words and sentences are tested with daily dictation. Always remember to Teach, Review,  Test at each step. 

7. Is there any evidence that Alpha-Phonics is effective? 

Well, I am not aware of any formal, full-scale evaluation by scientists. But having used the program almost continually since 1994, in my elementary bilingual classrooms and private tutoring, I have seen its effectiveness with a very wide range of students.  Here are unsolicited Alpha-Phonics Testimonials that Mr. Blumenfeld collected over the years. They are solid proof of the effectiveness of the program with both parents and teachers. I taught two of my grandchildren to read with Alpha-Phonics. I would be delighted to assist any graduate student who would like to do a formal study of the effectiveness of the program. It would be worthy of a thesis. 

8. How important are dictionaries? 

They are VERY important. No person can become an independent reader without one. I recommend The American Heritage Children's Dictionary for elementary students. For older students, The American Heritage College Dictionary is excellent. The pronunciation system in the Merriam-Webster Elementary Dictonary is too complicated, so I do not recommend it. Students should be familiar with all the features of their dictionary so they can find words quickly, pronounce the words correctly, and determine the meanings of the words. I was astonished to discover that most of my tutoring students have never used a dictionary and virtually none have received instruction in its usage. Student remember information they have located in a printed dictionary better than an Online one. Here is an article by Mary Pecci from 2015, "Unlock That Key in Your Dictionary." 

9. Do you teach sight words?

This deserves a nuanced answer because the term "sight word" is ambiguous until precisely defined. The popular use and scientific use of the term are different, which leads to serious confusion and miscommunication.  A "sight word," as used by scientists, is any words that is identified by sight without needing to take time to sound it out consciously.  Any word can become a sight-word according to scientists. On the other hand, the popular use of the term "sight word" is for words that are to be memorized as whole words without regard to spelling or phonics: such as the Dolch or Fry Sight Word lists (The link is to what not to teach!). Many of the words in these timed lists are slightly irregular, falling outside high frequency spelling patterns. The word "was" is a classic example of an irregular word: the w and s are regular but the -as does not rhyme with as and has. Mr. Blumenfeld dealt with this eloquently and successfully by teaching the irregular words with their spelling families. This approach contributes early on to statistical learning. Sam's essay, "Creating Dyslexia: It's as Easy as Pie," explains in detail good reasons for not teach Dolch or Fry "sight words." Here is a study I did proving that there is no reason for teaching kids to memorize lists of "sight words" in the popular sense of the word since they are all taught in our program: "Concerning the Wisdom of Teaching the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary." 

10. How does Alpha-Phonics fit in with the Science of Reading Movement. 

I believe that Alpha-Phonics Self-Tutor is fully aligned with the Science of Reading. I taught it throughout most of my career in public and private education, even though Whole Language (Guided Reading & Balanced Literacy) was in the ascendency. Teachers I trained in Alpha-Phonics experienced success with their students. I attended many training workshops in Whole Language but never accepted that now-disproven approach. I simply taught decoding and encoding with Alpha-Phonics and had the kids read the 1987 Riverside Basal Readers. I found myself swimming against the current but was fortunate to have wonderful principals who allowed me to teach phonics and cursive handwriting, even when it was not official district policy. Here are a few links to material regarding the Science of Reading: "You Were Probably Taught to Read Wrong." A good place to start for people interested in learning more about the Science of Reading is Marilyn J. Adams' seminal "Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print: Executive Summary" (1990). Reading Universe has a lot of good information on the Science of Reading (SoR).  Mark Seidenburg's Language at the Speed of Sight, Daniel Willingham's The Reading Mind, and J. Richard Gentry's Brain Words are all good references.  Here is Dr. Gentry's 2018 article, "Bridging the Gap Between Science and Poor Reading in America. It is a must read! 

11. What about Comprehension?  

Sentences can be turned into questions for practicing the 8 Powerhouse Comprehension Skills: 1. Facts & Details, 2. Facts & Opinion, 3. Sequence of  Events, 4. Cause & Effect, 5. Main Idea, 6. Predict Outcomes, 7. Draw Conclusions, and 8. Generalization.  The first five are literal, and the last three are inferential. Research indicates that most kids struggle with comprehension due to weaknesses in decoding rather than faulty comprehension. For practicing comprehension, I have found the McCall-Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading to be very helpful and easy to use.  Spalding has publish the McCall-Harby (yes/no) and McCall-Crabbs (multiple choice) Test Lessons in a single volume. I published a free pdf of Book A of the 1961 edition of McCall-Crabbs.  Here is the McCall-Harby tests that I use. The McCall-Harby tests are for young beginning readers and should be used before the McCall-Crabbs' tests. 

12. What do you recommend for the kids to read?

The Blumenfeld Alpha-Phonics First Readers has one reader for each of the 10 Decoding Skills Steps in our program. I have added a special timed fluency component for increasing reading speed, which in turn leads to improvements in comprehension. Here is a study of the grade level for each First Reader. I emphasize Social Studies (History) and General Science (Physical, Earth, Life), all of which are interesting, and introduce advanced vocabulary, promote thought, and foster comprehension. Mary Pecci wrote an excellent series of  developmental readers for beginning and remedial readers featuring basic foundational vocabulary and word frequency controls: Preprimer 1, Preprimer 2, Preprimer 3, Primer, Reader 1: 1. I made Vocabulary Cards for all the words in the Pecci's Readers. The readers are perfect for transitioning smoothy from decodable to normal text. Here is a link to my Pecci Progress Charts. Here is a Study of the Vocabulary and Word Frequency Controls. Mary published an important pamphlet: "Five Steps to Save our Schools (and our Children) - Through the lenses of 50 years in the system." Here are my personal notes on Pecci's At Last! Manual.  Here are my notes from Edward Dolch's Psychology of Teaching  and Reading, 2nd Edition, 1951, which explains how developmental readers were created and why.  Mr. Blumenfeld explains the benefit of introducing students to adventure stores, "Another good way to get a young pupil into the habit of reading is to introduce him or her to a popular adventure or detective series, such as the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. These books can create a voracious reading appetite and set a healthy pattern for lifelong pleasure reading. " Here is my manuscript of The Hardy Boys' first detective story, The Tower Mystery, in the 1927 edition. I plan to publish this in paperback, but for now you are welcome to read the free pdf. The print is in handwriting font to correspond with my emphasis to promote handwriting and spelling as the pathway to fluent reading and  writing. 

Beginning readers love the Alice & Jerry Reading Series by Mable O'Donnell, which features fine tuned vocabulary and word frequency controls.  Here are my Flashcards for First Grade.

For older dyslexics, I recommend the Noah Text, which is a specially coded text that indicates the long and short vowels and syllable divisions.  It features a form or scaffolding that helps kids develop fluency (speed and accuracy). I have converted my two favorite boyhood text to Noah Text: Bears of Blue River (1900) and Uncle Tom Andy Bill (1908) by Charles Majors. Here is Nathaniel  Hawthorn's The  Great Stone Face in Noah Type.

13. How does the Blumenfeld Alpha-Phonics Self-Tutor teach phonics?

Mr. Blumenfeld taught phonics (associations/links/bonds) between the sounds (phonemes) represented by the letters and letter combinations (graphemes) directly without using pictures or clues of any kind. He felt that it was better to have a direct link between the letters and the sounds. I have taught the program successfully that way. On the other hand, I have used the 1942 Phonovisual Charts for over twenty years with various phonics programs including Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics. My experience is that most parents - and not a few teachers - need instruction concerning how to form the English speech sound in order to successfully teach Alpha-Phonics or ANY OTHER phonics reading program. The Phonovisual Charts explain the production of English speech sounds in an organized manner that is easy to understand and has proven valuable for over 83 years. Here is my Blend Phonics Facial Diagrams and Articulation Test based on the linguistic organization of the Phonovisual Method. Here is a recent training video I did explaining the use of the Phonovisual Charts. The charts are such a good representation of the English spelling system that I call them The Engine under the Hood of EVERY good phonics program. Here are the desk size student Phonovisual Charts. They can be enlarged at Office Depot to make wall charts. Here is the Phonovidual Chart Training Audio by M. Nadonaly. Here are both Phonovisual charts side by side. Here is a pdf of the Phonovisual Teacher's Manual. Here are the Phonovisual Vowel Flipcards. For kindergarten, here is the Sound, Spell, Read Consonant Workbook. For First Grade, here is the Sound, Spell, Read, Do Vowel Workbook. Here is the Phonovisual Road to Power and Confidence - Consonant Workbook, which only teaches consonant correspondences and not word decoding. Here is the Phonovisual Road to Power and Confidence - Vowel Workbook, which teaches word decoding. Here are the Phonovisual Consonant Flipcards. Here is the Phonovisual Stepping Stones workbook for 2nd grade and up. For a deep dive into the method, here is Schoolfield's Better Speech and Better Spelling. Here are 3 Reviews of the Phonovisual Method and other information. Here is the Phonovisual Diagnostic Test. Here are my Direct Association Phonics Charts, in which the picture clues have been eliminated in keeping with Mr. Blumenfeld's preference not to use word or picture associations for teaching the sound-to-symbol relationships.  A good guide to teach phonics is June Leday Orton's A Guide to Teaching Phonics. The author was the wife of Samuel Orton, who taught Ann Gillingham and Romalda Spalding. Phyllis Phillips recent published a fantastic book for teaching consonants to young children in a fairy storybook fashion: Little Mr. Big Ears. For a course of self-study in phonics, I recommend The Sounds and Spelling Patterns of English: Phonics for Teachers and Parents (1993) by Phyllis Fischer. 

14. Why do you call your book a "Self-Tutor?"

This aspect of the program is based on the Neurological Impress Method. "The impress method is a reading process in which the child and teacher read aloud simultaneously. The book is held jointly, and the teacher, who is placed slightly behind the pupil, directs her or his voice into the ear of the child. Child and teacher read aloud simultaneously. The pupil slides his or her finger along the lines, following the words as they are spoken. In this way, the child’s visual, aural, oral, and tactile senses are involved in the reading process." In our case, the "teacher" in the definition is replaced by my free Online audio instruction. This can be used by students of any age, including teens and adults seeking improve their reading and spelling. I have only recorded the Self-Tutor lessons, not the First Readers. For the First Readers, I use repeated timed readings to promote fluency. Here are Two Papers explaining the value of repeated readings and the neurological impress method implemented with audio. 

15. What reading assessments (tests) do you recommend?
    
    

Reading assessments are absolutely necessary, both for planning instruction and measuring progress. I first test the student's ability to identity the letters of the alphabet by name and sound. I have them write the alphabet from a to z from memory and calculate letters per minute. I usually have them copy a simple pangram and calculate the copying speed. I always give students from mid-first grade and up the Gentry Grade-Level Spelling Test, either the Word Only Test or my Expanded Test with Sentences - the latter gives more information on sentence writing ability and a larger handwriting sample. The Miller Word Identification Assessment is my main assessment for dyslexia. To get a grade level reading score, I use the 1987 Riverside Informal Reading Inventory. (The industry standard is the GORT 5, but it is quite expensive and the Riverside IRI gives a similar score.)  When in a hurry or wanting a second opinion, I use the San Diego Quick Assessment.

16. Is your program good for teaching whole classes?

That's an important question. Many Orton-Gillingham dyslexia programs and even Whole Language programs like Reading Recovery or Leveled Literacy Intervention designed for small group instruction and difficult to scale up to whole class instruction. My experience indicates that our program is equally good for individual tutoring, small group remediation, and regular whole class instruction. For example, I taught it to a large class of second grade bilingual students at the Murry Fly Elementary School in Odessa, TX for the 1999-2000 school year. The results were excellent. Most of their previous instruction was in Spanish. I split my day into a Spanish period and an English period of equal time. The results that year were outstanding. I am happy to say that three years later - in 5th grade - they were all free of dyslexia and reading and writing well in English. Implementation of the program in regular classes of any size would largely eliminate the need for remediation. I use it daily in my weekly one-on-one tutoring with outstanding results, using the self-tutor audio for homework between tutoring sessions. 

17. Would Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics Self-Tutor be a good choice for a homeschool?

It is the perfect choice for homeschool. It was designed by Mr. Blumenfeld for exactly that group. He explained to me that he kept everything simple and uncomplicated, so anybody who can read can teach it without an extensive background in teaching or phonics. There are no complicated rules to memorize or diacritical markings to learn. Thousands upon thousands of homeschool parents have taught their kids to read successfully with Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics. We have reformatted the program with the goal of making it even easier to teach successfully. 

18. What about dyslexia?

I taught my first dyslexia class in 1994 with the Herman Method. Later I taught Spalding and was trained in Project Read: The Language Circle. My simple definition of dyslexia is an otherwise capable student having trouble with reading and spelling. I doubt that dyslexia has a single cause. Quite a few of my students have been one to two years in dyslexia classes, usually Wilson or Take Flight (Scottish Rite). All I can say is that they all do well with Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics Self-Tutor. All are phonics approaches, but our Self-Tutor moves much faster - and require vastly less teacher training. 

19. Where's the app? 

The app is the chalkboard or whiteboard, paper, and pencil. This may sound strange in the Digital Age and now with the with the advent of AI, but the hidden dangers of Online digital devices are being document on a regular basis and needs no extensive documentation here. Kids learn better with writing than with swiping.  Here is a recent video by Jared Cooney Horvath concerning The Digital Literacy Paradox. Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation is a wakeup call. 

20. Who was Samuel L. Blumenfeld?

 Mr. Blumenfeld was my mentor from 1995 to his passing in 2015. It was during my 4th year as an elementary public school bilingual teacher that a homeschool mother loaned me a copy of the 1983 edition of Alpha-Phonics. I was teaching bilingual students at the Burnet Elementary School in Odessa, TX. A first grade teacher asked me to help a regular English speaking student she thought might have dyslexia. He became the best reader in his class and went on to do excellent academic work. The next year I switched from Classroom  Phonics (an early form of Saxon Phonics) to Alpha-Phonics for my bilingual kids because it was easier and faster to teach, yet got superior results. Here is a video of Mr. Blumenfeld explaining How He Got Involved in Literacy and the development of his Alpha-Phonics. 

21. What do you recommend for teaching kids to decode longer words once they have finished your program?

I recommend my WISE OWL Polysyllable Program. Here is the link to purchase the paperback edition: Wise Owl Polysllables: Advanced Skills for Young Readers. The bare word lists without sentences is available for free: Wise Owl Polysllalble: Word Lists. Here is access to the the program on Power Point Slides. I also recommend Beyond Blend Phonics: English Morphology Made Easy teaches advanced decoding skills based on the language of origin (Anglo-Saxon, Romance, Greek & Homonyms). Dr. Marcia K. Henry's "Organizing Decoding Instruction," serves as an introducton to this book. 

22. What English grammars do you recommend? 

Unfortunately, many school today teach very little English grammar. I believe after students finish our Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics Self-Tutorthey should be introduced to a systematic study of English grammar from grade to grade.  I also recommend the Reed & Kellogg Graded Lessons in English. My favorite English Grammar is Bonnie Walker's Basic English Grammar. Here is the 4th grade grammar book I taught to fourth grade and found very effective. Students should be comfrotable using proofreading marks. 

23. Can you recommend any method of instruction?
    
    

 I highly recommend the Barak Rosenshine's "Principles of Instruction." I follow these principles in both classroom and tutoring. A much larger book is Powerful Principles of Instruction (1996) by Stephen L. Yelon.  

24. My school adopted HMH Into Reading. What do you think of that program? 

I am puzzled that close to 90% of the schools in America have adoped this incredibly complicated program. I have read the first grade teachers' manuals and find them dense, complicated, and confusing. Instead of a direct line to literacy, the teachers are give a plethora of strategies from which to choose. The handwriting program is extremely weak. I would suggest supplementing with my free Shortcut to Manuscript or the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Program. The spelling lists are okay, but the activities for teaching kids to learn the words are totally inadequate without extensive supplementation. Here is a list of the HMH Into Reading First-Grade Spelling Words with suggestions for teaching kids to learn to spell them. Here is a detailed Scope & Sequence and suggestions for teaching the program. Keep in mind that the Start Right Readers (decodable text) are unfortunately listed as "optional differentiation" when they should have been classified as "necessary foundation." I think teachers would be smart to supplement with either Zaner-Boser Spelling Connections (the industry standard) or Spectrum.