The new school year is already underway across the country, and parents should want to be sure their children are learning the most important educational skill of all: how to read and to understand what they read. If a child is not taught to read by the end of first grade, chances are he will have a much harder time becoming a proficient reader, and will fail to advance academically or learn to become an independent thinker.

Decades of research shows that children best learn to read by sounding out words through the phonics method rather than by memorizing a body of common words and guessing at others, also known as the whole language or sight word method. Often, teachers of older students complain that their kids cannot read, and that the schools put enormous pressure on them to "accommodate" these students. Most likely, all the "accommodation" these kids need is proper instruction using a good phonics-based reading program properly so they can learn to unlock the sounds and syllables, read words, and then quickly progress to reading sentences.

Parents can help their children avoid these pitfalls in both public and private schools by availing themselves of two wonderful, affordable teaching tools: First Reader (for young children), and Turbo Reader (for older students and adults). Both First Reader and Turbo Reader use the same reliable phonics instruction system developed by the late Phyllis Schlafly.

During her extraordinarily accomplished life, Phyllis was a passionate advocate of literacy, in particular, for teaching children to read by phonics before they enter school. In 1995, she made an important speech at the annual CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) conference about the alarming level of illiteracy in the U.S. and the problems created by the teaching of whole language. (Click on the image above to hear this great speech to the CPAC attendees.)

When asked the question what was the "most fulfilling thing" she had ever done, Phyllis famously responded that it was teaching her six children to read, and she knew from experience that the traditional phonics method was the most reliable way to teach them. She said: "Reading is the adventure of teaching the child to sound out letters and syllables and then say the word."

Both First Reader and Turbo Reader are easy to use and teacher-friendly. Because they employ a tried-and-true method, they never go out of style or need to be replaced, which means they can be handed down and used over and over again. First Reader is colorful and appealing to children of preschool age through first grade, and it also has an optional First Reader Workbook that helps teach them how to write words, and works in conjunction with First Reader. Turbo Reader follows the same logical sequence in a format more appropriate for older students, taking them from sounds to words to stories in a matter of weeks.

It's important to note that any teacher, whether public, private, charter, or homeschool, can teach their students to read using Phyllis' time-tested method. Over the years, users of both First Reader and Turbo Reader have commented on the ease and effectiveness of these important tools.

For example, a 2020 review by the mom of a five-year-old boy on Amazon.com said of First Reader: "We have tried several books and programs to teach him to read because he was showing great interest. However, none were really enjoyable for him [but] this one seems to progress at just the right pace to give him enough practice on each topic while not boring him from too much repetition. Also, it has pictures which he loves, but the pictures don't give away the words or sentences, which is a huge plus for me!"

Other comments attest to the user friendliness of the system and the fact that it requires "very little instruction." Another reviewer wrote: "I had gotten lots of suggestions for reading curriculum from friends and family, but they were either heavy handed on the reading principles that seemed to overcomplicate and overwhelm ... or they skipped the phonics altogether and only trained sight reading. I'm so glad that I kept looking! What a treasure."

Reading skills come easy to children taught to read using First Reader and Turbo Reader. Don't let your children (or grandchildren) miss out.

The Education Reporter Book Review is a project of America’s Future, Inc. To find out more about America’s Future, visit AmericasFuture.net.

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