V-tech Phonics Reading Center Guide

Dear Parent,

You know how important reading is to your child’s future. If your child can

read, your child can do anything. That’s because reading is the foundation

upon which all fundamental learning is built. A good beginning is absolutely

essential.

That is why VTech designed the Fundamentals of Reading product line to

help your child develop language skills, the skills crucial to learning how to

read. Our age-appropriate activities will help your child feel successful

every step of the way. In fact, we provide three levels of reading progres-

sion to help your child move from a beginning reader, to a growing reader,

and finally to an advancing reader. Our curriculum begins with letters, let-

ter sounds, and letter formation all the way through vowels, consonants,

word recognition - even full sentences. With the Fundamentals of Reading

product line, children think they’re playing, but they’re actually learning.

So their confidence grows, their self-esteem grows and their appetite for

learning grows, too.

How Can You Help?

You’ve already started by showing you’re interested in your child’s reading

development. By being a good role model, your child should see you read

books, magazines and newspapers. Of course, there are other sources in-

cluding billboards, grocery lists, recipes and street signs. What’s most im-

portant is that reading is a fun, interactive experience that should be shared

with your child daily.

We encourage you to play the activities in the Fundamentals of Reading

product line together. You’ll see first hand what progress your child is mak-

ing. Children love positive reinforcement so praise your child’s achieve-

ments. As your child embarks on the road to learning, he or she will en-

counter challenges. This is a natural part of the learning process. Please be

patient and if your child needs help, be sure to provide it. Have fun. Re-

member, learning to read isn’t a race. It doesn’t matter who gets there

first, it’s simply “getting there” that really counts.

We wish you the best as you help your child get off to a great start in

becoming a lifelong learner. As your child grows, count on VTech to be

there with fun, innovative learning toys to help your child do his or her

best every step of the way.

We thank you for entrusting us with the responsibility of building your child’s

future. When your child can read, your child can do anything.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at VTech®

New 26100I/M 4/9/99, 4:57 PM2

PHONICS READING CENTER™

TO BEGIN PLAY

1. To begin play, press the ON BUTTONON BUTTON

ON BUTTONON BUTTON

ON BUTTON ( ).

You will hear a short tune followed by “Hello!

Are you ready to play?”

2. Select from 22 activities by pressing the TOUCHTOUCH

TOUCHTOUCH

TOUCH

SENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONSSENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONS

SENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONS. When you have

chosen an activity, the friendly voice will guide

you while you are playing.

3. Press the LETTER BUTTONSLETTER BUTTONS

LETTER BUTTONSLETTER BUTTONS

LETTER BUTTONS to hear letters, let-

ter sounds, and objects identified or to enter

your answer for most of the activities.

ROLLER BALL

MOUSE

REPEAT

BUTTON

HELP

BUTTON

OFF BUTTON

VOLUME CONTROL

SWITCH

MELODY

BUTTON

NUMBER BUTTONS/

ARROW AND

ENTER BUTTONS

LETTER/OBJECT

BUTTONS

CONTRAST

SWITCH

LCD SCREEN TOUCH SENSITIVE

ACTIVITY BUTTONS

SPEAKER

MOUSE

PAD

SHAPE

BUTTONS

ON BUTTON

TO BEGINTO BEGIN

TO BEGIN

PLAYPLAY

PLAY

New 26100I/M 4/9/99, 4:57 PM3

4. Press the SHAPE BUTTONSSHAPE BUTTONS

SHAPE BUTTONSSHAPE BUTTONS

SHAPE BUTTONS to hear the shapes

identified. You can also use these buttons to

hear the 20 built-in melodies played in dif-

ferent instrument sounds.

5. Press the NUMBER BUTTONSNUMBER BUTTONS

NUMBER BUTTONSNUMBER BUTTONS

NUMBER BUTTONS to hear numbers

identified or to enter your answers in the

number-based activities. You can also use the

ARROWSARROWS

ARROWS to move the LCD screen cursor up,

down, left, or right. Press the ENTER BUTTONENTER BUTTON

ENTER BUTTONENTER BUTTON

ENTER BUTTON

after using the arrows to enter your answer

for most of the activities.

6. Use the MOUSEMOUSE

MOUSEMOUSE

MOUSE to select answers on the LCD

screen.

7. Press the REPEAT BUTTONREPEAT BUTTON

REPEAT BUTTONREPEAT BUTTON

REPEAT BUTTON to hear the previ-

ous phrase or question repeated.

8. Press the HELPHELP

HELPHELP

HELP BUTTONBUTTON

BUTTONBUTTON

BUTTON once to hear the pre-

vious question repeated. If you press the Help

button a second time, the learning toy will give

you the answer. You will hear “Let me help”

followed by the answer to a question. For ac-

tivities that do not ask questions, you will hear

an invalid sound.

9. Press the MELODY BUTTONMELODY BUTTON

MELODY BUTTONMELODY BUTTON

MELODY BUTTON ( ) to hear

twenty different melodies randomly.

New 26100I/M 4/9/99, 4:57 PM4

10. To adjust the volume, slide the VOLUME CON-VOLUME CON-

VOLUME CON-VOLUME CON-

VOLUME CON-

TROL SWITCHTROL SWITCH

TROL SWITCH ( ) located to the left of

the LCD screen up for the high volume posi-

tion ( ) or down for the low volume

position ( ).

11. To adjust the contrast of the LCD screen,

slide the CONTRAST SWITCHCONTRAST SWITCH

CONTRAST SWITCHCONTRAST SWITCH

CONTRAST SWITCH ( ) located

to the left of the LCD screen up for the high

contrast position ( ) or down for the

low contrast position ( ).

12. To turn the learning toy off, press the OFFOFF

OFFOFF

OFF

BUTTONBUTTON

BUTTON ( ). You will hear a short tune

followed by “Bye-bye!”

13. You can choose from 22 different activities:

1. Letters, Numbers and Shapes 12. Alphabetizing

2. Find It 13. Puzzle Pictures

3. Alphabet & Number Order 14. Spatial Relationships

4. Learn the Words 15. Word Scramble

5. Sounds of Letters 16. Complete the Sentence

6. Sounds of Words 17. Sentence Scrambler

7. Beginning Letters 18. Sound Match and Music

8. Ending Letters 19. Mouse Skills

9. Spelling 20. Counting

10. Missing Vowels 21. Addition

11. Word Families 22. Subtraction

New 26100I/M 4/9/99, 4:58 PM5

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY 1 - LETTERS, NUMBERS AND SHAPES

This activity will help your child strengthen his or her letter, number and

shape recognition skills by reviewing the 26 letters of the alphabet, the

numbers 1-10, and four basic shapes.

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child -

The Letters, Numbers and Shapes activity

is presented to your child to reinforce the twenty-six letters of the alphabet,

numbers 1-10, and four shapes. Your child may explore at his or her own pace

by choosing which letters, numbers or shapes to press. This free explora-

tion is very inviting and encourages your child to take risks by pressing let-

ters, numbers, and shapes that he or she may not be familiar with.

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the Letters, Numbers and ShapesLetters, Numbers and Shapes

Letters, Numbers and ShapesLetters, Numbers and Shapes

Letters, Numbers and Shapes touch

sensitive activity button and you will hear a

short tune followed by “Let’s learn the let-

ters, numbers and shapes!” The friendly

voice will say “Press a button.”

2. Press the letter buttons to hear the letters

identified. The letter animation will appear

on the LCD screen.

3. Press the number buttons to hear the num-

bers identified. The number animation will

appear on the LCD screen.

4. Press the shape buttons to hear the shapes

identified. The shape animation will appear

on the LCD screen.

LETTERS, NUMBERSLETTERS, NUMBERS

LETTERS, NUMBERS

AND SHAPESAND SHAPES

AND SHAPES

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PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY 1 - LETTERS, NUMBERS AND SHAPES (continued)

How Can You Help?

• Encourage your child to find the beginning letter of his or her name as

well as other names of family members on the learning toy. Ask your

child to think of his or her friends’ names or favorite toys, stuffed ani-

mals, etc. and guide your child in finding and saying the beginning

letters of those words on the learning toy.

• Write some random letters, numbers, or shapes down on paper and

encourage your child to find the matching letter, number or shape on

the learning toy. After your child presses the letter, number or shape

button, ask him or her to tell you what letter, number, or shape it was.

• Allow your child plenty of free time to explore this activity. Have your

child touch and trace the letters, numbers and shapes on the learning

toy. He or she should say the name of the letters, numbers, or shapes

while tracing them. Have your child say, “The name of the letter, num-

ber, or shape is ____.”

ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT

This activity reinforces letter, number, word, and shape identification by having your

child locate random letters, numbers, words or shapes. A friendly voice will ask

your child to find a certain letter, number, word or shape. Your child must rely

on the skills presented in the previous activity in order to play this activity.

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Find It activity is presented to famil-

iarize your child with the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, numbers 1-10,

fifty-two words and four shapes.

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the Find ItFind It

Find ItFind It

Find It touch sensitive activity but-

ton and you will hear a short tune followed

by “Let’s find a letter, number, word or

shape.”

2. The friendly voice will ask a random ques-

tion. For example, “Find the letter A.” The

question animation will appear on the LCD

screen.

FIND ITFIND IT

FIND IT

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PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT (continued)

3. Press the letter buttons to answer the ques-

tions about letters or words.

4. Press the number buttons to answer the

questions about numbers.

5. Press the shape buttons to answer the ques-

tions about shapes.

6. If the answer is correct, you will hear a re-

warding sound with a positive phrase and

the answer will be identified. A positive ani-

mation and the answer will appear on the

LCD screen.

7. If the answer is incorrect, you will hear a

negative sound with an encouraging phrase

and the question will be repeated. A nega-

tive animation and the question animation will

appear on the LCD screen.

New 26100I/M 4/9/99, 4:58 PM8

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT (continued)

How Can You Help?

• Watch your child play this activity. You will be able to determine which

letters, numbers, words, or shapes your child is successful in identifying.

It will also give a good indication of which letters, numbers, words or

shapes your child is having difficulty identifying. Be sure to make note of

those and continue to have your child work on them. Remember to be

positive and praise the good work that your child has done!

• Write some letters of the alphabet, numbers (1-10), words, or shapes down

on paper and encourage your child to find the matching letter, number,

word or shape on the learning toy.

• Create a list with your child of words that begin with each of the letters

of the alphabet. You may want to create a booklet for your child with

these words. Devote a page to each letter of the alphabet.

ACTIVITY 3 - ALPHABET & NUMBER ORDER

This activity strengthens alphabetical and numerical order skills. Your child

will recognize that the letters of the alphabet and numbers are arranged

in a certain order. He or she will have opportunities to tell which letter

comes before or after certain letters as well as which number comes be-

fore or after certain numbers. Your child will be asked specific questions

such as, “Which letter comes before the letter B?” He or she will then have

the opportunity to look at the learning toy and find that letter.

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Alphabet Order activity is designed

to familiarize your child with the alphabet and numbers 1-10. Your child will

also be taught the concept of before and after. This activity provides op-

portunities for your child to identify letters of the alphabet and numbers

on his or her own.

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the Alphabet & Number OrderAlphabet & Number Order

Alphabet & Number OrderAlphabet & Number Order

Alphabet & Number Order touch

sensitive activity button and you will hear a

short tune followed by “Let’s learn alpha-

bet and number order.”

ALPHABET &ALPHABET &

ALPHABET &

NUMBER ORDERNUMBER ORDER

NUMBER ORDER

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PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY 3 - ALPHABET & NUMBER ORDER (continued)

2. The friendly voice will ask a random ques-

tion. For example, “Which letter comes be-

fore the letter C?” The question animation

will appear on the LCD screen with four

answers to choose from.

3. Press a letter button or use the mouse to

select the answer.

4. You may also use the arrow buttons and

the enter button located on the number

buttons to select your answer from the LCD

screen.

5. Or, the friendly voice will ask a question

such as “Which number comes before the

number 7?” The question animation will

appear on the LCD screen with four an-

swers to choose from.

6. Press a number button or use the mouse

to select the answer.

New 26100I/M 4/9/99, 4:58 PM10

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