Presenting the ORIGINAL Alpha-Phonics (The Paradigm Company, 1983) with its distinct cover and original hand-lettered text.
40+ Years of Proven Success
The Alpha-Phonics PLUS, 2025 edition is available in both TEACHER and STUDENT copies, making this HOMESCHOOL CLASSIC available for use in the classroom.
The new PLUS Supplement was contributed by Meg Rayborn Dawson, author of Dyslexic No More: Saved by the ABC’s (2022).
It features Phonemic Awareness Exercises including: Alphabet Sound Charts; Decoding (blending) and Enunciation Drills, extra word lists for the extra-conscientious teacher, and more.
Teach Reading the
Old-Fashioned Way
Effective, step-by-step, intensive phonics
ALPHA-PHONICS is a comprehensive reading program that empowers beginners of all ages by providing straightforward, effective phonics lessons without the need for memorization, guessing, or gimmicks.
(CLICK on the apple and book cover and SEE Cathy Duffy’s website reviews.)
The Original 1983 Alpha-Phonics: A Primer for Beginning Readers
The Original Alpha-Phonics (Classic version) was designed and published by Peter and June Watt of The Paradigm Company in 1983. Here is what the author says about the product (from the 1983 Preface).
Alpha-Phonics was created to provide teachers, tutors and parents with a sensible, logical, easy-to-use tool for teaching reading. It is an intensive phonics instruction program based on the my many years of research and experience in the reading instruction field. It answers the need of a practical instruction book that anyone who wants to teach reading can learn to use with a minimum of training.
This program can be used to teach reading to beginners of all ages, older students in need of remediation and retraining, functional illiterates, dyslexics, special-needs students, the learning disabled, and non-English speakers who wish to learn to read English and improve their pronunciation.
The book’s step-by-step lessons in large, eye-pleasing, hand-lettered calligraphy make it suitable for direct one-on-one tutoring and regular classroom use. Parents who wish to teach their children to read at home will find the book particularly useful, since it is written in normal, everyday English and is free of the professional jargon that is characteristic of so many reading instruction books.
All of the lesson pages were carefully designed to eliminate distraction and to focus the pupil’s full attention on the work at hand. The program, as a whole, is flexible enough so that any teacher or tutor can adapt it to his or her own teaching style or situation.
If you have never taught reading before in this sensible, systematic way, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Samuel L. Blumenfeld, `1983
The Alpha-Phonics
Difference
For over 40 years Alpha-Phonics has been used around the world to teach reading. It is efficient, highly effective, and affordable. If teaching reading is going to be part of your curriculum, you can't be without it!
Simple Design: Straightforward approach with no distractions, focusing purely on phonetics.
Systematic Approach: Using a sequential phonics method, the material starts simple and gradually increases in complexity.
Proven Effectiveness: Used successfully by teachers and homeschoolers for decades.
Flexibility in Use: Adaptable for classrooms, tutoring, and homeschooling.
Cost-Effective: Single, affordable book without needing extra materials.
Focus on Mastery: Ensures content mastery through repetition and practice.
Buy Your Copy Now
The Birthing of an Idea
Can one person save the world?
by Meg Rayborn Dawson, co-author of Alpha-Phonics PLUS (2025)
June 17, 2026
Do you ever feel absolutely alone? You have an idea, and you’ve got experience and insight, but you don’t know where to begin?
This is my dilemma. Follow me in the coming days as I bring Operation Reading Snowball into Existence.
Praised by Homeschooling’s Top Curriculum Reviewers
Recipient of Mary Pride Practical Homeschooling Reader Award
Cathy Duffy’s
Top 100 Picks
Meet the Author
Samuel L. Blumenfeld
Sam Blumenfeld was an influential American educator, author, and passionate advocate for phonics-based reading instruction. Throughout his career, Blumenfeld championed systematic phonics as the foundation of literacy, firmly opposing whole language reading methods. His most renowned work, "Alpha-Phonics: A Primer for Beginning Readers," published in 1983, became a cornerstone resource for parents, homeschoolers, and educators seeking effective reading instruction. Blumenfeld was a vocal critic of progressive educational approaches and the influence of figures like John Dewey, arguing that the neglect of phonics contributed to declining literacy rates. He left a lasting legacy with "Alpha-Phonics," which continues to empower learners of all ages to achieve literacy. Samuel Blumenfeld passed away in 2015, but his impact on education endures through his writings and the countless readers who have benefited from his work.
250,000+
Readers taught with Alpha-Phonics
4.7 / 5
Stars on Amazon –
PLUS over 2000 reviews
40+
Years of helping students succeed
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Teach the Joy of Reading
with Alpha-Phonics
Learning to
Read for Adults
Alpha-Phonics isn’t just for children; it’s also a powerful tool for helping adults learn to read. Its straightforward, phonics-based approach builds foundational literacy skills step by step, making it accessible and easy to follow. By starting with basic sounds and progressing to more complex word formations, Alpha-Phonics allows adult learners to gain confidence and proficiency at their own pace. The simplicity and clarity of the lessons empower adults to improve their reading abilities and gain greater independence in their daily lives.
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