Discover Intensive Phonics Version 4.0
© 2007 HEC Reading Horizons
Are you looking for a carefully scripted collection of phonics lessons, with record keeping abilities for large groups of children? Designed for schools (with budgets), Discover Intensive Phonics offers clearly narrated, step-by-step lessons based on the 42 sounds of the English alphabet. The graphics are clean and are backed up by good quality sound effects. So when learning the letter 'B' for example, you see a bird, and hear a bird call as well; a nice touch. Note that the pedagogy is extremely scripted, with few opportunities for a child to explore or to skip ahead. Teachers can easily modify a student's plan, however, and have them start at any point in the program. Detailed records are kept. Other content includes six arcade-style games (including "Tomb Reader") that are unlocked as a child progresses, plus two handy references -- Alpha Say (see a pair of lips saying any letter or vowel sounds) and ABC Draw (with each upper or lower-case letter drawn slowly on the screen). This program was originally developed in the '70s by educator Charlotte Lockhart, who was inspired by Orton-Gillingham-based reading techniques, known for a scripted "watch/learn/practice" direct-instruction methodology. Reading Horizons is also sold to accompany the Tutorsystems Basic Skills Series (for Fourth grade and up). One license must be purchased for each computer running the software and an unlimited number of students may use a single station, one at a time. Prices are $600/station for one to four stations, $500/station for 5-9 stations and $400/station for 10-14 stations. An unlimited site license is $13,500.
Windows, Mac OSX
Teaches: phonics, reading, letter sounds, writing
CTR Rating: 82.5%