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In June 2003, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released the 2002 results for its National Report Card on reading proficiency for fourth, eighth, and twelfth grade students. The National Report Card has been issued five times since 1992. Although the 2002 results showed that the percentage of fourth-graders who performed at or above the basic level was higher than previous years’ results, it was not significantly different from 1992. In addition, 36 percent of fourth-graders and 25 percent of eighth-graders performed below the basic level. Therefore, roughly, 1 in 3 fourth-graders and 1 in 4 eighth-graders failed to demonstrate even a partial mastery of reading.

From interpersonal contact with thousands of parents, teachers and educators nationwide, Frontline Phonics has found a large percentage of consumers are still approaching reading curriculum selection by trial and error methods, and few have found a research-based curriculum that will provide consistent results year after year.

Frontline Phonics, a program based on decades of research and 17 years of field testing, is designed to take beginning readers to an advanced first grade reading level in one school year. Frontline Phonics was developed by teachers using thousands of children and pilot classrooms to achieve fun, results-driven reading instruction. The Frontline Phonics methodology is based on the six implications in teaching a child to read condensed from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) research findings in the report A Synthesis of Research on Reading from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Bonita Grossen, PhD., University of Oregon, 1997).

Dr. Grossen has studied the Frontline Reading Curriculum and found a precise correlation between her findings in the NICHD synthesis of reading research with Frontline.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE ENTIRE RESEARCH REPORT IN PDF FORMAT.
Below is an excerpt from Dr. Grossen's study.

According to the synthesis of NICHD research, appropriate early direct instruction appears to be the best medicine for reading problems, evidenced by the fact that children who fall behind at an early age (kindergarten and first grade) fall further and further behind over time. (Fletcher, et al, 1994) The six major implications the NICHD research suggests for early reading instruction represent conclusions from multiple studies comparing the effects of different treatments on various population samples. The findings indicate that teachers need to follow these steps to prevent reading problems in students.

1. Begin teaching phonemic awareness directly at an early age.
2. Teach each sound-spelling correspondence explicitly.
3. Teach frequent, highly regular sound-spelling relationships systematically.
4. Show children exactly how to sound out words.
5. Use connected, decodable text for children to practice the sound-spelling relationships they learn.
6. Read interesting stories to children to develop language comprehension.

The more recent Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read (2000) substantiates the research implications,  Grossen reports. Correlational studies identified phonemic awareness and letter knowledge as the two best school entry predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first 2 years of instruction (NRP 2-1). The results of experimental studies led the Panel to conclude that teaching phonemic awareness caused students to improve in both reading and spelling (NRP 2-29, 2-41). The findings were replicated across multiple experiments and thus provide converging evidence for causal claims. Better reading performance will result from instruction designed around these implications, especially the first four implications.

Below we illustrate how Frontline Phonics incorporates each of these steps into its methodology. The fidelity with which Frontline Phonics incorporates these implications from the research distinguishes this program from many other beginning reading programs on the market.

This document focuses on Frontline Phonics 1, the first half of Frontline Phonics Complete Beginning Reading Program, which is most appropriate for preschool. The Complete Program is marketed to schools and education centers nationwide. Frontline Phonics 1 takes beginning readers to an advanced first grade reading level in the first year of instruction. The Complete Program would take readers to an advanced second grade Level. In addition, the term "teacher" is used frequently throughout the document. The word "parent" can be substituted and the same results will apply.

Frontline Phonics lessons are administered in 15 minute sessions focused on a single concept (i.e., letter-sound relationship). The materials are elemental in nature, incorporating colorful cartoon characters, nursery rhyme-like stories, large traceable letters and playful songs that appeal to ages 3 to 7—roughly preschool to second grade. Since the attention span of this age group is minimal and oftentimes motivated through play, Frontline Phonics methodology is effective in holding the attention of beginning readers and makes reading instruction feel similar to play time. Frontline materials focus on just one letter-sound relationship per lesson (one phoneme) that is introduced directly through verbal and audible repetition, sing-along songs, games, cartoon characters, and coloring worksheets that appeal ages 3-7.

1. BEGIN TEACHING PHONEMIC AWARENESS DIRECTLY AT AN EARLY AGE

Phonemic awareness (PA) is the ability to break down words into individual sounds or phonemes. PA is prerequisite to learning phonics and therefore do not yet involve the children in reading. Though the importance of PA has only recently received attention in research, Frontline Phonics has included instruction in PA since its development in the late 80’s.

Frontline Phonics incorporates several PA activities which hold the attention of beginning readers. For example, Frontline’s first lesson focuses entirely on the letter "m." During this lesson, students are introduced to a character called Morty Mouse through a short story. This story helps reinforce the phoneme through the Morty Mouse character and a story that emphasizes the /mmmm/ sound.

After children hear the story, they complete lesson worksheets that teach PA requiring them to identify words with the same initial phoneme, isolate sound/phonemes, and alliteration using the same phoneme (e.g., Morty Munching Mouse).

In addition to the above, children learn a specific song for the most common phoneme representing each letter in the alphabet. Children listen to the song of the phoneme they are working on.

2. TEACH EACH SOUND-SPELLING CORRESPONDENCE EXPLICITLY

Most basal reading programs of the 1980's as well as the linguistic basals of the 1970's, did not present letter-sound correspondences explicitly. Instead they recommended that letter-sound correspondences be presented implicitly. The following instructions from such an implicit phonic approach published by Harcourt, Brace-Jovanovich, direct the teacher to introduce the sound for s:

As is typical of the implicit approach, the sound /ssss/ for the letter s is never explicitly stated by the teacher, nor does the letter s appear in isolation. In contrast, the following is an example of instructions that present the letter-sound correspondence for s in Frontline Phonics:

In Frontline Phonics, the letter-sound correspondence is explicitly presented in isolation, teaching individual sound-spelling relationships.

After the letter-sound relationship has been taught explicitly in Frontline Phonics, the teacher reinforces the learning through activities mentioned in the previous section that include reference to the letter. The simple, repetitive lyrics recited in the context of seeing the letter reinforces children’s recall of the sound that goes with the letter. Students listen to the song twice during each lesson. They sing the "m" lyrics while the teacher points to the letter in isolation or in words or objects that begin with that letter provided in the Lesson Manual.

There is also an area on the lesson worksheet for children to trace the specific letter and then practice printing the letter on their own. [For a full lesson plan outline, see appendix.]

Once the worksheets and phonemic awareness activities have been completed by the students, the teacher checks student mastery of the individual phoneme again in a final review.

Note: There are several optional activities teachers can do in their classrooms throughout the week to reinforce letters and sounds for cumulative review. Most of these activities are physical or kinesthetic, (hide and go seek games, memory games, arts and crafts) requiring little prep time. These games can be played with the children on the days where no formal lessons or letter instruction is given so that phonemic awareness concepts are reinforced throughout the week.

• Get ready for the ant brigade! March around the room by creating a rhythm that your students can follow. Example: "aaaa, aaaa, ants are marching. aaaa, aaaa, ants are marching." You can also march to the rhythm of the "a" song.
• Give the child a tissue to hole in front of his mouth as he says "hhhh." The tissue will flutter if the child is saying the sound correctly.
• Can you do Turtle Tricks like Tiny Timothy Turtle on your tiny toes? Recite these words as you perform the actions with your students. "Try to twist. Tttt, tttt, tttt. Try to twirl. Tttt, tttt, tttt." Create a rhythm so it is easy for your students to follow along. Change the tone or speed of your voice to make the game more fun. Try this activity using the following words: twist, twirl, tumble, trip, tap, and tickle. When the game is over say "tttt, tttt, time’s up!"

Research supports these methods with findings showing that new letter-sound relationships should be briefly practiced each day, not in the context of words, but in isolation. The rest of the session involves practice reading the new letter in the context of words and stories that are composed of only the letter-phoneme relationships the children know at that point. (Adams 1986 etc.)

Frontline Phonics teaches explicit sound-spelling correspondence. By teaching them individually and then putting them into the context of other letters they’ve learned up to that point (explained in Section 4: Blending), children who use Frontline Phonics are able to experience early success and have increased motivation to continue learning reading skills.

3. TEACH FREQUENT, HIGHLY REGULAR SOUND-SPELLING RELATIONSHIPS SYSTEMATICALLY

"Teach systematically" means coordinating the introduction of sound-spellings with the material children are asked to read. Frontline Phonics is built around a specific letter order that does not follow alphabetical order. Rather, phonemes are taught beginning with some commonly used letters and sounds that will allow children to read words quickly as stated above.

According the NICHD research synthesis, "the order of the introduction of sound-spelling relationships should be planned to allow reading material composed of meaningful words and stories as soon as possible. For example, if the first three sound-spelling relationships the children learn are a, b, and c, the only real word the children could read would be ‘cab’. However, if the first three sound-spelling relationships were m,a,s, the children could read am, Sam, mass, ma’am."

Frontline Phonics begins with these same letters to ensure children will feel the success of reading early. The letters m, a, p, s, and t are introduced first to give children the ability to make the most words quickly. The following chart represents the letter order taught in Frontline Phonics:

Frontline Phonics teaches highly regular sound-spelling relationships systematically through materials that are developed specifically to provide practice in only the letter-sound relationships that have been taught up to that point.

4. SHOW CHILDREN EXACTLY HOW TO SOUND OUT WORDS

Going from sound-spelling relationships to actually sounding out words can be difficult for some students and will just "click" for others. According to research, direct instruction in blending (sounding out words) is necessary before students will acquire the generalized skill (Coleman, 1970). After children have learned two or three sound-spelling correspondences, Frontline Phonics begins teaching students how to "blend" the sounds into words. Children are shown how to move sequentially from left to right through spellings as they "sound out," or say the sound for each spelling. Children are only required to practice blending words composed of the sound-spelling relationships the children have learned.

Many reading programs don’t even teach blending. Regardless, Frontline Phonics shows teachers exactly how to explain blending to their students. After students have learned the first five letters of the program (m, a, p, s, t), teachers will focus on only two phonemes to introduce blending: ‘m’ and ‘a’. Students are instructed that they have a motor in their mouth. When they turn the motor on, they make the sound of a specific letter. The blending lesson is introduced between lesson 6 and 7—after children have learned and reviewed the first five phonemes. See the blending instruction below.

"Did you know these sounds can be put together to make a word? When you know words, you can READ! I have a little motor in my mouth. When I turn it on, it will say a sound—"mmmm." If I leave my motor running, it will make the sound last longer "mmmmmmmmm." Then I can put it with other sounds. Listen.

What does this letter say? "aaaa" (blue letter card)

What does this letter say? "mmmm" (blue letter card)

Now listen while I make my mouth motor stay on "aaaaammm"

Let’s do it again! "aaaaammm"

Now faster! "aaamm"

Listen for the word! "am"

Great! Good job!

Let’s do another word! What does this letter say? "mmmm" What does this letter say? "aaaa" What does this letter say? "tttt" Now listen while I make my mouth motor stay on. "mmmmaaaatttt." Let’s do it again, faster and faster with our motors.

Frontline blending instruction is based on research stating that children who did "not stop between the sounds" when they blended was more effective than allowing children to stop between the sounds (Weisberg and Savard, 1993). Frontline Phonics instructs teachers to show their students exactly how to sound out words and give them the opportunity to practice everyday. Only direct blending instructions (like those in Frontline Phonics) ensure that students will be successful using a sounding-out strategy for attacking words (Haddock, 1976; Chapman and Kamm, 1974). Students get comfortable blending from left to right as they practice turning their motors on to blend.

5. USE CONNECTED, DECODABLE TEXT FOR CHILDREN TO PRACTICE THE SOUND-SPELLING RELATIONSHIPS THEY LEARN.

The findings of the NICHD research emphasize that children need extensive practice applying their knowledge of sound-spelling relationships to the task of reading as they are learning them. This integration of phonics and reading can only occur with the use of decodable text. Decodable text is composed of words that use the sound-spelling correspondences the children have learned to that point and a limited number of sight words that have been systematically taught.

In Frontline Phonics, children begin to blend and decode after learning only 5 letter-sound relationships. As new letter-sound relationships are introduced, children are asked to read books that incorporate these new learnings along with what they’ve already learned.

To ensure students are able to apply their phonics knowledge to real reading, every lesson provides practice reading connected decodable text. The reading materials included in Frontline Phonics coordinate with the letters and sounds children have learned up to that point so children can approach new reading material with familiarity and confidence. There are 33 books included in the Frontline Phonics reading program.

Frontline Phonics introduces 3 Pre-Books during the initial decoding process. The Pre-Books are very simple (one word per page) and are designed to foster confidence and a sense of accomplishment as beginning readers practice reading words and turning pages of their very own book. For example, the first book children read in Frontline Phonics is called "Pam" (also referred to as Pre-Book 1). This book only consists of words made of the first 8 letters they have learned. Pre-Books 2 and 3 are designed in a similar format. See below.

As children learn additional phonemes, they read books which integrate the new letters with the letters already learned so the text is nearly 100 percent decodable. Because there are words in the English language that do not follow traditional phonics rules such as "is," "the," and "are," children are also introduced to up to 6 highly frequent words in each book to learn by sight. Each subsequent book builds on the learning acquired in the previous book as children learn new letters. Most importantly, Frontline Phonics books consist of text that is about 98 percent decodable (as sight words are not technically decodable).

Providing decodable text allows children to apply the sound-spelling relationships they have learned to their reading of the sentence, so the phonics component is integrated into the child’s real reading. Decodable texts provide children a context for using their new knowledge of sound-spelling relationships in the context of real reading.

Examine the progress that takes place in approximately 15 weeks of using Frontline Phonics as children move from Blue Book 2 to Red Book 9:

In Frontline Phonics, children learn to rely on their knowledge of phonics (letter-sound relationships) to read, rather than to guess words entirely from context. The decodable texts provide ample practice for students to become fluent and automatic in their decoding. Fluency and automaticity in decoding opens the door to comprehension. Children who decode effortlessly and automatically will have the mental space then to devote to comprehension.

6. USE INTERESTING STORIES TO DEVELOP LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

The text in the boxes above shows that early books, though 100 percent decodable, can’t always provide coherent story lines. Although the first book in Frontline Phonics is one word per page, students will be reading story lines and comprehending story characters and plots (in the following Frontline reading books) just two weeks after the first book is introduced. Children find they are the same age as the characters in the books and a lot of the stories deal with family values, siblings, animals, friends, sharing, and problem solving.

Since the first few books provide little in the way of a story line, teachers and parents are encouraged to read books to their child each day which, though well above their grade level, will help children begin to start asking and responding to questions about the text.

Any controlled connected text, whether it is controlled for decodability or for vocabulary, will not be able to provide entire coherent stories in the early stages of reading acquisition. During this early stage of reading acquisition, the children can still benefit from stories that the teacher reads to them.

Comprehension strategies and new vocabulary should be taught using orally presented stories and texts that are more sophisticated than the early decodable text the children read. The teacher should read this text to the children and discuss the meaning with them. After the children become fluent decoders, they can apply these comprehension strategies to their own reading.

Learning to read is a means to an end. The reason we read is to learn new information and communicate with the world around us. If we cannot comprehend what we are reading, there is no point to reading instruction. Frontline Phonics builds on reading comprehension by asking questions at the end of each book. For example, using the three story lines from the books examined above, there are four or five comprehension questions listed at the end of each book. Parents and teachers are encouraged to ask the child comprehension questions to ensure children are deriving meaning from reading instruction.

Frontline Phonics encourages teachers and parents to read to their children everyday. This is an opportune time to ask a lot of questions to make sure children are comprehending. Comprehension usually lags in children’s reading as they are first blending and decoding, but children soon catch up after they become automatic and fluent decoders through extensive practice reading decodable text.

In brief, Frontline Phonics Beginning Reading program follows decades of research performed by the NICHD and findings of the NRP. Frontline adheres to all six major implications in teaching a child to read as presented by A Synthesis of Research on Reading from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Frontline Phonics strongly believes in the methodology not only because the methods have been proven and replicated in several studies, but also because they receive successful feedback from parents and teachers coast to coast on a daily basis.

During the 2000-2001 school year, Ken Harvey, Chairman of the International Education Institute in Kennewick, Washington, compared reading scores for several kindergartens in Kennewick School District with reading scores for preschool students in the Learning Dynamics Preschool which uses Frontline Phonics exclusively. In the Kennewick School District’s own kindergarten test – which includes letter recognition, letter sounds, beginning word sounds, and rhyming – the preschool graduates outperformed Kennewick’s outgoing kindergartners in every school but one (a national award winning school).

Additionally, the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) test was administered to the preschoolers who had completed Frontline Phonics, a test also used with Kennewick first-graders. There are 11 books in the first-grade DRA test, each representing a gradual increase in reading ability from first month through the ninth month. The average preschool graduate who had received Frontline Phonics could read – with 90 percent proficiency – through Book 6 (actually 6.21) on the average, slightly above the first-grade midpoint. In other words, the Frontline graduates from preschool were performing 1.5 years above grade level in reading. If parents and educators understand and use these major implications for early reading instruction, children will be better equipped with the skills they need to become successful, confident readers. Frontline Phonics mirrors the synthesis of research conducted by the NICHD and the NRP. Parents and teachers are strongly encouraged to become active participants in providing their children the quality education Frontline Phonics provides.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE ENTIRE RESEARCH REPORT IN PDF FORMAT.