Zoo-phonics will close your classroom's gender gap

Research finds that boys are slipping behind girls on almost all academic milestones. The latest NAEP writing tests (July, 2003) show boys scoring an average 24 points lower than girls. For those in low economic areas or who are special education students, the chasm is even larger. The results reveal how crucial the early years of school are in laying the foundation to allay this discrepancy.

According to Michael Gurian's research1:
Boys' brains are 'wired' in such a way that language is a more difficult skill for them to acquire and use effectively in learning than it is for girls.
Early childhood language activities must be paired with movement and/or the use of manipulatives.
Boys are more dependent on pictures, diagrams and graphs.
Females write, read, and speak more words than males.
The teacher must engage boys by appealing to their "competitive energy" through physical movement, manipulation of physical objects, and games.

This is exactly what Zoo-phonics does best. It uses pictorial mnemonics (Animal Letters), Body Movements (the Signals) and teaches through physical games and activities. It makes an abstract skill (language) concrete and playful. No longer are boys left behind in early education language arts lessons!

1 Gurian, M. & Stevens, K. (2005) The Mind of Boys, Saving our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Gurian, M. & Ballew, A. (2003) The Boys and Girls Learn Differently Action Guide for Teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Zoo-phonics will accelerate your talented and gifted students
Talented and gifted students come to our classrooms with brains, minds and hearts hungry for learning. Too often, these students are left to their own devices or are given busy work. Says Delisle and Berger, "A young, curious student may easily become 'turned off' if the educational environment is not stimulating… approaches are inappropriate…assignments are consistently too difficult or too easy."
With Zoo-phonics, you can easily extend each concept in the lessons, which will lead students to more detail and depth in their reading, writing and critical thinking skills. Zoo-phonics will not only accelerate your gifted learners, but can reverse patterns of underachieving behavior that is too prevalently seen in our classrooms, especially as students age.
Zoo-phonics makes it easy for you to reach all these precocious students by providing challenging curriculum that stimulates their interests. Parents will be thrilled with their children's progress. Administration will be thrilled by the end-of-year results.


Zoo-phonics and children with special needs
Besides learning disabilities, ADD (with or without HA) and dyslexia, children who, having been diagnosed with Autism (including Asberger's), Apraxia, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, etc., have quickly learned the alphabet, and have been able to learn to read, spell and write through the Zoo-phonics methodology. Children (and their parents) quickly see their own progress, and self-image and confidence grows. Children have been successfully mainstreamed or included because of the efficiency of this program.
Zoo-phonics works exceptionally well with students with learning disabilities because it is concrete, uses pictorial mnemonics, is kinesthetic and multi-modal.
With Zoo-phonics, children learn to read and spell through their eyes, mouth, ears and body. If one perceptual channel is weak, there are three other channels to take over and support the weak one. For example, if a child has an auditory deficit, his/her eyes, mouth and body will take over and help him or her to access, understand, memorize, use and transfer the new information. Children learn though Zoo-phonics when no other program works.
The colorful Animal Letters and Body Movements (Signals) engage the child and hold his or her attention. Because the curriculum is so playful, children not only want to learn, their behavior improves because the children are on task and happy while learning through Zoo-phonics. Instead of telling children to "sit down and be quiet" we encourage them to wiggle their hands and body and make sounds (letter sounds)!

Zoo-phonics was born in a self-contained special education class... "We love Zoo-Phonics!!!!! In a little over a week, our boy, a 32-month-old with Down syndrome, learned all the signs and can now make almost all of the corresponding sounds. His speech therapist is elated and so are we! She says he is doing more and better work during speech therapy. He loves playing Zoo-Phonics and often initiates the play himself. The other day he started doing signals and sounds all by himself with no prompting or cards, so in a sense he is doing his own therapy. Thank you so much for this wonderful product! I believe it has changed our son's life."
— Sean King, Parent, Seattle, WA

Zoo-phonics and ELL children
Zoo-phonics supports ELL's (English Language Learners) by providing instruction and interaction while learning English. It's visual, auditory, aural and kinesthetic approach supports the ELL's need to use their eyes, ears, mouths, and bodies to learn how to speak, read, spell, and write. Zoo-phonics provides explicit instruction in the structure of English, while still teaching in a creative and kinesthetic way.
ELL's need a safe environment where learning how to speak, read, and write will be positively received and reinforced. Zoo-phonics provides a fun, playful environment allowing ELL's to take risks as they engage in conversation in English.
Zoo-phonics has been compared to the Total Physical Response methodology because of the concrete Animal Letters and Body Movements. ELL's actively participate in their learning with their whole bodies.

At risk ELL children WILL learn to read with Zoo-phonics!..."Our migrant children's centers are open for low income families with ELL children from at-risk groups. If these ELL children are going to be successful, they must learn to read. The key to reading is the sounds and shapes of the letters and Zoo-phonics is an amazing key to successful reading. Most of our children learned the sounds of the English alphabet in one week! Zoo-phonics is a very powerful ELL program!"
— Barry Marks, Coordinator, Pajara Valley USD, Buena Vista Children's Centers, Watsonville, CA