Family Literacy Center, 1997. — 200 p.
I'm a former elementary school teacher and homeschooling mom and this book was very helpful to me. Dr. Throgmartin uses principles of Reading Recovery (a highly successful program used in schools for students who are behind) and shows how to integrate the best elements of phonics and whole language research to help your child get the meaning from the text, which, after all, is the point of learning to read. He includes simple assessments and log sheets to help you scientifically track progress. Of special interest was his explanation of whole language instruction and reasons for bias of many Christian educators against it. Actually, my own bias may have kept me from even reading the book if it weren't for the chapter on Reading Recovery, which, while teaching, I had observed to be the best remedial reading program used. Although I don't follow his program to a T, the elements I added to my son's phonics and writing instruction made an immediate change for the better. The only possible caution is his recommended book list. Although it doesn't contain anything blatantly offensive, there are many better books out there. However, he does give guidelines for rating book levels so you could start with the books your child already has and build from there. Overall, this book is easy to read and understand. I highly recommend it to teachers who rely heavily on phonics instruction or just want to spark their students' love for reading.