Aardvark to Zucchini: Phonetic Alphabet Book
Written by Joan A. Hentschel
Illustrated by Suzanne M. Peyer
Having taught in a 3-6 Montessori classroom for 15 years, I found that teaching children to read can be done in many ways. There is no one right way for every child. There are lots of good ways that can be used with children according to their learning styles. In Montessori training, teachers are taught to use a phonetic approach, which is supported by the Sandpaper Letters, the Moveable Alphabet, the farm, objects, pictures, and a variety of other lessons. These materials and lessons are multi-sensory and multi-dimensional. They work well for most children. However, as in all of Montessori, we look at each individual to assess the best approach for them.
Aardvark to Zucchini is an interesting approach to phonetic reading. It depends on a child’s ability to learn through the visual and auditory senses and quite a bit of pure memorization. The order in which individual sounds, consonant blends, sight words and phonograms are introduced is totally different than in the Montessori classroom. It is a one-dimensional approach, as it is in textbook form rather than manipulatives.
Though there is always merit in looking at different approaches I would not recommend that parents who have children in Primary Montessori classrooms use this book at home. It could certainly be a resource for teachers, if what they are doing with a particular child doesn’t seem to be working, and they want to look for a different approach.
Reviewed by LornaMcGrath
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Tomorrow’s Child / May 2017 / Pg 36
