Hooked on Phonics: Master Reader Lessons
By: Keith
If you use, or are interested in using Hooked on Phonics then I’ve written about its effectiveness on several occasions. You can check them out here (How I Homeschool, Anybody Can do it With Hooked on Phonics!, Hooked on Phonics Products (video), Reading Progress: 5 year old Alan, Hooked on Phonics: Master Reader (with videos), Hooked on Phonics: Retooled Experience, Hooked on Phonics Update). But today, as my youngest son is nearing the end of his Hooked on Phonics: Master Reader adventure, I reflected on how much he’s actually learned while doing the program. It’s well established that the boy can read and that Hooked on Phonics has a lot to do with his success. However, he learned other stuff too. It’s easy to miss the substance of the lessons when we’re mostly worried about the basic act of reading, but HOP has not held back concerning their subject material. Here is a list (along with short description by me) of all the cool stuff the boys have learned while doing Hooked on Phonics: Master Reader (every few lessons there are three reading cards in a bunch as review):
Blue Level:
1. The Big Test — An ethics question about cheating
2. Meet the Falcon – Learn about Falconry
3. What do you do with a Giant Pumpkin? – Pumpkin growing contests
4. Ryan’s Well – About a kid who devotes his time to building ground wells in Africa
5. A. Hiccups
B. Pig Saves Day – Heroic Pig
C. The Snowboard – Invention of the snowboard
6. King of Snakes – Cobras
7. A. The Great Escape (Alcatraz)
B. The Mistake (ethics)
C. Be Like Mike (Jordan)
8. Vampires
9. Suitcases for Kids – Feel good story about two kids who started a charity
10. A. Monster in the Lake (Lock Ness)
B. Teen Who Reached the Top of the World (Everest)
C. Babe the Batter (Babe Ruth)
Green Level:
11. Secret Agents – Dolphins in the Navy
12. The Standing Stones – Stonehenge
13. America’s Best Girl – Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, age 19.
14. A. Pele
B. Lost at Sea (The Robertson Family)
C. Saddle up and Ride (12 Blind Rodeo Champ)
15. Twinky the Seeing-Eye Horse
16. Presenting… the Bicycle! – Invention of Bicycle
17. A. Moose Love Cow (Moose/Cow Friendship)
B. The Most Amazing Butterfly of All (Monarch Butterfly)
C. The Invitation (an ethics question).
18. The Popsicle – Invention of the Popsicle
19. Henry “Box” Brown – A slave who shipped himself to freedom
20. A. Boy Meets World (Marco Polo)
B. The Gorilla Hero (Kid who falls into the gorilla pit at zoo)
C. The Fastest Woman in the World (Wilma Rudolph)
Orange Level:
21. Dragons Among Us! – Komodo Dragons
22. Mermaid Tales – Legends of mermaids
23. Save Dad! – 8 year old girl who saved her dad when he fell out of a tree
24. A. Man’s Best Friend (9/11 Seeing-eye dog who saved master)
B. Big Foot or Big Fake
C. Odd Man Out (ethics question)
25. Pie in the Sky – History of the Frisbee
26. Whale’s Tale – James Bartlett who got swallowed by a while and lived
27. A. Dads who do More (animal dads)
B. The Fights Master (Bruce Lee)
C. Ants on the Job (about ants)
28. The Boy who Invented TV — Philo T. Farnsworth
29. Tiger on the Green – Tiger Woods (might want to revisit this one!)
30. A. Into Thin Air (Amelia Earhart)
B. Old Ripp (A horned lizard got buried in foundation for 31 years and lived)
C. It’s a Twister (Tornados)
Red Level:
31. Lighting Roy – Roy Sullivan got struck 7 times and lived
32. Boy Wonder – Mozart
33. The Dog that Saved a Ship – A Newfoundland who saved 100 people from drowning
34. A. The White House Gang (T. Roosevelt Family)
B. The Diamond (about diamonds)
C. Koko (Sign language gorilla)
35. Lance Wins the Big One – Lance Armstrong
36. Voyage of the Dove – Robin Lee Graham who was 16 when he set off to sail around the world.
37. A. Pop Star (invention of Soda)
B. Lucky 13? (Apollo 13)
C. It Came from Way Out There (UFO’s)
38. Bermuda Triangle
39. The Ball Game (ethics question)
40. A. Got Bounce? (The Trampoline)
B. Disaster at the South Pole (Ernest Shackleton)
C. The Man Who Got Away (Harry Houdini)
And there you have it. If your kid does the Master Reader Program he’ll learn to read, of course. But he’ll also learn history, ethics, and a bunch of other random yet interesting things.
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Pretty awesome! I just bought the xp version last month while it was on sale for 49.95 (might still be) then used the slick55 promo code and got it for 21 bucks! I saved 175 dollars off the original price. I’m pretty excited for my oldest to get there and start reading these ones.
This does sound awesome! I hadn’t heard of this when I bought what I suppose is a standard HOP and my son hated it. So we went a different route that worked for him. It’s great that this Master Reader Lesson has great topics, because just like adults, kids aren’t going to want to read something that is boring. Even for assessments. LOL
My oldest took to reading pretty quickly, but I think my middle one might do well with this.
Where did you purchase it from cause I am interested in buying it and would love to save a bit of money!
Helen: You can buy it online from their website or you can buy it at a bookstore like Borders or Barnes and Noble. However, the big stores usually sell it at retail price. The HOP website may offer discounts, I’m not sure. My affiliate link here on almightydad might provide a discount too, but I’m not sure. Try the website direct, my affiliate link, and a bookstore. See which one comes out cheaper. The other option is to check craigslist or e-bay to see if you can find a set used. Good luck!