"Hands-on Phonics in Reading," HOPIR, was developed by Dr. Teddy B. Osantowski and copyrighted in 1989. When she began teaching a first grade class of 47 students, half of which only spoke Spanish or Arabic, she observed methods that other teachers were using and realized that children had more difficulty reading when using memorization of word lists or trying to read text from books, thus, she created the Hands-on Phonics in Reading Program.

HOPIR consists of five (5) phases.

• Phase one (1) uses word cards for association of pictures with corresponding words.
• Phase two (2) uses word cards, without pictures, to teach basic vowel sounds and vowel rules. Sentence structure and punctuation are introduced at this phase.
• Phase three (3) uses printed words to teach special vowel sounds, special consonants, consonant blends, suffixes, and prefixes which precedes more advanced sentence structure.
• Phase four (4) uses printed words to focus on syllabication rules.
• Phase five (5) uses printed words in context to learn comprehension in reading.

In the beginning reading process, the five phases are presented in sequential order and is implemented at the rate of the learner. Remedial readers begin at the phase where they are most comfortable. All phases require proactive learning. The learner becomes an independent reader after completing all five phases. The learner can master the program, on the average, in three (3) months.

HOPIR is, especially, effective with male learners who are, usually, highly active with short attention spans. It is designed for learners from pre-school to adulthood, as well as learners with special needs. The program allows immediate feedback and is fun for the learner.

HOPIR does not require purchasing CDs or books. It is a program which Dr. Osantowski and her facilitators teach, in a workshop format, to educators, tutors or parents, so that they can effectively teach learners to read. Get started now with this proven method of teaching Reading.