AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

The feature article in this issue of Phonics Talk consists of an important announcement about a major change regarding Phonics Pathways. Other topics follow, as listed below.



Feature Article: AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

MORE ON COMPREHENSION

TWO NEW AWARDS

ON MULTITASKING

Poem: *SAFE* PEOPLE

ON MEN AND WOMEN



AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!



It is our great pleasure to announce that as of April 2005 Jossey-Bass will be publishing the new 9th edition of Phonics Pathways. This is wonderful news for us as well as you, as Jossey-Bass is a widely- respected publisher that has far more resources than we ever could have by working alone. For example, they are able to price this new edition at only $29.95!

The new 9th edition retains all of the same content and format as before, but has many exciting new enhancements such as easily-reproducible masters of all Dorbooks' games, handy teacher/student record-keeping forms, a lovable, wriggly Dewey-the-Bookworm bookmark
to assemble and enjoy, and -- most importantly for teachers -- a carefully-researched appendix detailing how Phonics Pathways aligns with most State Standards. The beautiful new cover can be seen at
http://www.dorbooks.com and/or http://www.jossey-bass.com

All bulk orders (wholesale, reseller, schools, etc.) should now go directly to Jossey-Bass. Dorbooks will sell single-copy retail sales of this new edition only, to individual customers. We will continue handling all of our other products, wholesale and/or retail, exactly as we are doing now.

All Dorbooks' games, although soon available as templates in the new edition, will continue to be sold already made up for the time being, for those of you who prefer not having to run off your own copies.

For questions about the new edition (discounts, review copies, delivery date, etc.) call Jossey-Bass at 1-800-356-5016. For all other questions contact Dolores at 925-449-6983 or dor@dorbooks.com.



MORE ON COMPREHENSION



Much has been written about comprehension, in these newsletters as well as elsewhere. But it seems to me that *Comprehension* is not only a subject in itself, but a value that is best integrated in one's everyday living beginning from Day One, as opposed to a separate, isolated *Topic For Discussion.*

Comprehension should be an integral part of our everyday existence. For example, even when reading the first simple, two-word sentence in Phonics Pathways, *Sis sat,* you can ask your learner *What happened?* or *Who sat?* or *What did Sis do?*

As you work through the book, continue doing this. Not necessarily with every sentence on every page, but perhaps once or twice during every lesson. That way you can ascertain whether or not your learners are comprehending what they are reading, and developing their rudimentary analytical skills as well.

Of course once they begin reading simple stories, you will be able to ask more complex questions that will develop literary analysis for them as well, such as:

*Tell this to me in your own words.*
*Who were the characters in this sentence (or story)?*
*Why do you think Gus is fat?*
*Would you eat what Gus eats? Why or why not?*
*Tell what Gus ate in order.*
*Wasn't it funny when __? What else do you remember?*
*What did you think of __?*
*What's the first thing that happened?
*Next thing?
*Last thing?*
*Does this really happen in real life?*

Thinking things through should be part of our everyday existence. This will result in really seeing what happens, analyzing it wisely, and making better choices, not only in our own lives but in the world around us as well!



TWO NEW AWARDS



Phonics Pathways has just won the *Best Phonics Program* honor from The Old Schoolhouse for 2004, bringing the total first-place wins from them to three. We are very honored to receive this award from this most effective and highly-regarded homeschool magazine!

Noted author Cathy Duffy has also included Phonics Pathways as a *Top Pick* in her brand-new homeschooling resource, *100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum* in all categories.

We are dancing in the streets over these two wonderful new awards!



ON MULTITASKING



We hope you have had a wonderful year so far. Where did the Holidays go, anyway? I truly did mean to get a newsletter out long before this, but once again my life got in the way -- I was trying to do too many things at once. My own New Year's resolution, therefore, was (and is) to cut down on multitasking.

We lose more than memory when we mix things together -- we lose appreciation, and a sense of what makes something special. In our rush to *have it all,* we can end up having nothing. I must admit that I'm still working on it -- but I am learning how to take just one thing at a time. It's just a beginning, but so far it feels pretty good!



Poem: *SAFE* PEOPLE



"Oh, the comfort -- the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person -- having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

-Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, Victorian English poet. (1866)



ON MEN AND WOMEN



A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day..... 30,000 to a man's 15,000 words. The wife replied, "The reason has to be because a woman has to say everything twice." The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"

'Nuf said!



We hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. As always, please feel free to share it with others, or contact us. Call (925) 449-6983 or write to (dor@dorbooks.com) with any questions you may have -- we're always
here to help!

Best always,
Dolores

© Dolores G. Hiskes 3-05