Reading Rods

These brightl attachable blocks are a great way to teach reading. Parts of speech are color-coded.

Teaching Phonics is useful - at the initial stages

http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/does_decoding_contribute/index.html
eight:bold;">Stephen D. Krashen
Does Intensive Decoding Instruction Contribute to Reading Comprehension?
Result, not Cause
This conclusion is consistent with the views of Frank Smith (2004) and Kenneth Goodman (see Flurkey and Xu, 2003) who have maintained that our ability to decode complex words is the result of reading, not the cause.
This position does not exclude the teaching of "basic" phonics (Krashen, 2004; Garan, 2004). A small amount of consciously learned knowledge of the rules of phonics can help in the beginning stages to make texts comprehensible, but there are severe limits on how much phonics can be learned and applied because of the complexity of many of the rules (Smith, 2004).
The Reading First Final Report thus confirms the common-sense view that the path to reading proficiency is not through worksheets but through books and stories.

Please, read "The 88 Generalizations about Free Voluntary Reading" by Steven D. Krashen

http://www.sdkrashen.com/handouts/88Generalizations/index.html

Here are some of the most remarkable scientific findings:
More reading means:

better TOEFL performance
(Constantino, S.Y. Lee, K.S. Cho; Gradman and Hanania)
less writing apprehension (S.Y.Lee)
less memory loss
more hobbies
better sleep

Also: eminent people nearly all are voracious readers (Simonton)
More access to books – more reading
Comfort and quiet – more reading
One positive experience can create a reader
more reading takes place if books available (Von Sprecken)
supplementation that makes reading more comprehensible, interesting can help
(Shin, Manning)
more reading takes place if the teacher reads (Von Sprecken, Wheldall and Entwhistle)