VTech PHONICS READING CENTER User Manual

Dear Parent,

You know how important reading is to your child’s future. If your child can
read, your child can do anything. That’s because reading is the foundation
upon which all fundamental learning is built. A good beginning is absolutely
essential.

That is why VTech designed the Fundamentals of Reading product line to
help your child develop language skills, the skills crucial to learning how to
read. Our age-appropriate activities will help your child feel successful
every step of the way. In fact, we provide three levels of reading progres­sion to help your child move from a beginning reader, to a growing reader,
and finally to an advancing reader. Our curriculum begins with letters, let­ter sounds, and letter formation all the way through vowels, consonants,
word recognition - even full sentences. With the Fundamentals of Reading
product line, children think they’re playing, but they’re actually learning.
So their confidence grows, their self-esteem grows and their appetite for
learning grows, too.

How Can You Help?

You’ve already started by showing you’re interested in your child’s reading
development. By being a good role model, your child should see you read
books, magazines and newspapers. Of course, there are other sources in­cluding billboards, grocery lists, recipes and street signs. What’s most im­portant is that reading is a fun, interactive experience that should be shared
with your child daily.

We encourage you to play the activities in the Fundamentals of Reading
product line together. You’ll see first hand what progress your child is mak­ing. Children love positive reinforcement so praise your child’s achieve­ments. As your child embarks on the road to learning, he or she will en­counter challenges. This is a natural part of the learning process. Please be
patient and if your child needs help, be sure to provide it. Have fun. Re­member, learning to read isn’t a race. It doesn’t matter who gets there
first, it’s simply “getting there” that really counts.

We wish you the best as you help your child get off to a great start in
becoming a lifelong learner. As your child grows, count on VTech to be
there with fun, innovative learning toys to help your child do his or her
best every step of the way.

We thank you for entrusting us with the responsibility of building your child’s
future. When your child can read, your child can do anything.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at VTech®

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PHONICS READING CENTER™

PLAYPLAY

PLAYPLAY

PLAY

TO BEGINTO BEGIN

TO BEGINTO BEGIN

TO BEGIN

SPEAKER

LETTER/OBJECT
BUTTONS

VOLUME CONTROL
SWITCH

REPEAT
BUTTON

HELP
BUTTON

CONTRAST
SWITCH

MELODY
BUTTON

TO BEGIN PLAY

1. To begin play, press the

You will hear a short tune followed by “Hello!
Are you ready to play?”

ON BUTTONON BUTTON

ON BUTTON ( ).

ON BUTTONON BUTTON

LCD SCREEN

SHAPE
BUTTONS

TOUCH SENSITIVE

ACTIVITY BUTTONS

NUMBER BUTTONS/

ARROW AND

ENTER BUTTONS

ON BUTTON

OFF BUTTON

ROLLER BALL

MOUSE

MOUSE

PAD

2. Select from 22 activities by pressing the
SENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONSSENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONS

SENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONS. When you have

SENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONSSENSITIVE ACTIVITY BUTTONS
chosen an activity, the friendly voice will guide
you while you are playing.

3. Press the

LETTER BUTTONSLETTER BUTTONS

LETTER BUTTONS to hear letters, let-

LETTER BUTTONSLETTER BUTTONS
ter sounds, and objects identified or to enter
your answer for most of the activities.

2

TOUCHTOUCH

TOUCH

TOUCHTOUCH

4. Press the
identified. You can also use these buttons to
hear the 20 built-in melodies played in dif­ferent instrument sounds.

SHAPE BUTTONSSHAPE BUTTONS

SHAPE BUTTONS to hear the shapes

SHAPE BUTTONSSHAPE BUTTONS

5. Press the
identified or to enter your answers in the
number-based activities. You can also use the
ARROWSARROWS

ARROWS to move the LCD screen cursor up,

ARROWSARROWS
down, left, or right. Press the
after using the arrows to enter your answer
for most of the activities.

6. Use the
screen.

7. Press the
ous phrase or question repeated.

8. Press the
vious question repeated. If you press the Help
button a second time, the learning toy will give
you the answer. You will hear “Let me help”
followed by the answer to a question. For ac­tivities that do not ask questions, you will hear
an invalid sound.

NUMBER BUTTONSNUMBER BUTTONS

NUMBER BUTTONS to hear numbers

NUMBER BUTTONSNUMBER BUTTONS

ENTER BUTTONENTER BUTTON

ENTER BUTTON

ENTER BUTTONENTER BUTTON

MOUSEMOUSE

MOUSE to select answers on the LCD

MOUSEMOUSE

REPEAT BUTTONREPEAT BUTTON

REPEAT BUTTON to hear the previ-

REPEAT BUTTONREPEAT BUTTON

HELPHELP

BUTTONBUTTON

HELP

BUTTON once to hear the pre-

HELPHELP

BUTTONBUTTON

9. Press the

twenty different melodies randomly.

MELODY BUTTONMELODY BUTTON

MELODY BUTTON (

MELODY BUTTONMELODY BUTTON

) to hear

3

10. To adjust the volume, slide the

TROL SWITCHTROL SWITCH

TROL SWITCH ( ) located to the left of

TROL SWITCHTROL SWITCH
the LCD screen up for the high volume posi-

tion (

position ( ).

11. To adjust the contrast of the LCD screen,
slide the
to the left of the LCD screen up for the high
contrast position (

low contrast position (

) or down for the low volume

CONTRAST SWITCHCONTRAST SWITCH

CONTRAST SWITCH ( ) located

CONTRAST SWITCHCONTRAST SWITCH

VOLUME CON-VOLUME CON-

VOLUME CON-

VOLUME CON-VOLUME CON-

) or down for the

).

12. To turn the learning toy off, press the
BUTTONBUTTON

BUTTON (

BUTTONBUTTON
followed by “Bye-bye!”

13. You can choose from 22 different activities:

1. Letters, Numbers and Shapes 12. Alphabetizing

2. Find It 13. Puzzle Pictures

3. Alphabet & Number Order 14. Spatial Relationships

4. Learn the Words 15. Word Scramble

5. Sounds of Letters 16. Complete the Sentence

6. Sounds of Words 17. Sentence Scrambler

7. Beginning Letters 18. Sound Match and Music

8. Ending Letters 19. Mouse Skills

9. Spelling 20. Counting

10. Missing Vowels 21. Addition

). You will hear a short tune

OFFOFF

OFF

OFFOFF

11. Word Families 22. Subtraction

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PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 1 - LETTERS, NUMBERS AND SHAPES

This activity will help your child strengthen his or her letter, number and
shape recognition skills by reviewing the 26 letters of the alphabet, the
numbers 1-10, and four basic shapes.

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

AND SHAPESAND SHAPES

AND SHAPESAND SHAPES

AND SHAPES

is presented to your child to reinforce the twenty-six letters of the alphabet,

LETTERS, NUMBERSLETTERS, NUMBERS

LETTERS, NUMBERSLETTERS, NUMBERS

LETTERS, NUMBERS

numbers 1-10, and four shapes. Your child may explore at his or her own pace
by choosing which letters, numbers or shapes to press. This free explora­tion is very inviting and encourages your child to take risks by pressing let­ters, numbers, and shapes that he or she may not be familiar with.

The Letters, Numbers and Shapes activity

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the
sensitive activity button and you will hear a
short tune followed by “Let’s learn the let­ters, numbers and shapes!” The friendly
voice will say “Press a button.”

2. Press the letter buttons to hear the letters
identified. The letter animation will appear
on the LCD screen.

3. Press the number buttons to hear the num­bers identified. The number animation will
appear on the LCD screen.

Letters, Numbers and ShapesLetters, Numbers and Shapes

Letters, Numbers and Shapes touch

Letters, Numbers and ShapesLetters, Numbers and Shapes

4. Press the shape buttons to hear the shapes
identified. The shape animation will appear
on the LCD screen.

5

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 1 - LETTERS, NUMBERS AND SHAPES (continued)

How Can You Help?

• Encourage your child to find the beginning letter of his or her name as
well as other names of family members on the learning toy. Ask your
child to think of his or her friends’ names or favorite toys, stuffed ani­mals, etc. and guide your child in finding and saying the beginning
letters of those words on the learning toy.

• Write some random letters, numbers, or shapes down on paper and
encourage your child to find the matching letter, number or shape on
the learning toy. After your child presses the letter, number or shape
button, ask him or her to tell you what letter, number, or shape it was.

• Allow your child plenty of free time to explore this activity. Have your
child touch and trace the letters, numbers and shapes on the learning
toy. He or she should say the name of the letters, numbers, or shapes
while tracing them. Have your child say, “The name of the letter, num­ber, or shape is ____.”

ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT

This activity reinforces letter, number, word, and shape identification by having your
child locate random letters, numbers, words or shapes. A friendly voice will ask
your child to find a certain letter, number, word or shape. Your child must rely
on the skills presented in the previous activity in order to play this activity.

FIND ITFIND IT

FIND ITFIND IT

FIND IT

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Find It activity is presented to famil-

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child ­iarize your child with the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, numbers 1-10,
fifty-two words and four shapes.

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the
ton and you will hear a short tune followed
by “Let’s find a letter, number, word or
shape.”

2. The friendly voice will ask a random ques­tion. For example, “Find the letter A.” The
question animation will appear on the LCD
screen.

Find ItFind It

Find It touch sensitive activity but-

Find ItFind It

6

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT (continued)

3. Press the letter buttons to answer the ques­tions about letters or words.

4. Press the number buttons to answer the
questions about numbers.

5. Press the shape buttons to answer the ques­tions about shapes.

6. If the answer is correct, you will hear a re­warding sound with a positive phrase and
the answer will be identified. A positive ani­mation and the answer will appear on the
LCD screen.

7. If the answer is incorrect, you will hear a
negative sound with an encouraging phrase
and the question will be repeated. A nega­tive animation and the question animation will
appear on the LCD screen.

7

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT (continued)

How Can You Help?

• Watch your child play this activity. You will be able to determine which
letters, numbers, words, or shapes your child is successful in identifying.
It will also give a good indication of which letters, numbers, words or
shapes your child is having difficulty identifying. Be sure to make note of
those and continue to have your child work on them. Remember to be
positive and praise the good work that your child has done!

• Write some letters of the alphabet, numbers (1-10), words, or shapes down
on paper and encourage your child to find the matching letter, number,
word or shape on the learning toy.

• Create a list with your child of words that begin with each of the letters
of the alphabet. You may want to create a booklet for your child with
these words. Devote a page to each letter of the alphabet.

ACTIVITY 3 - ALPHABET & NUMBER ORDER

This activity strengthens alphabetical and numerical order skills. Your child
will recognize that the letters of the alphabet and numbers are arranged
in a certain order. He or she will have opportunities to tell which letter
comes before or after certain letters as well as which number comes be­fore or after certain numbers. Your child will be asked specific questions
such as, “Which letter comes before the letter B?” He or she will then have
the opportunity to look at the learning toy and find that letter.

ALPHABET &ALPHABET &

ALPHABET &ALPHABET &

ALPHABET &

NUMBER ORDERNUMBER ORDER

NUMBER ORDERNUMBER ORDER

NUMBER ORDER

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Alphabet Order activity is designed

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child ­to familiarize your child with the alphabet and numbers 1-10. Your child will
also be taught the concept of before and after. This activity provides op­portunities for your child to identify letters of the alphabet and numbers
on his or her own.

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the
sensitive activity button and you will hear a
short tune followed by “Let’s learn alpha­bet and number order.”

Alphabet & Number OrderAlphabet & Number Order

Alphabet & Number Order touch

Alphabet & Number OrderAlphabet & Number Order

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PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 3 - ALPHABET & NUMBER ORDER (continued)

2. The friendly voice will ask a random ques­tion. For example, “Which letter comes be­fore the letter C?” The question animation
will appear on the LCD screen with four
answers to choose from.

3. Press a letter button or use the mouse to
select the answer.

4. You may also use the arrow buttons and
the enter button located on the number
buttons to select your answer from the LCD
screen.

5. Or, the friendly voice will ask a question
such as “Which number comes before the
number 7?” The question animation will
appear on the LCD screen with four an­swers to choose from.

6. Press a number button or use the mouse
to select the answer.

9

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 3 - ALPHABET & NUMBER ORDER (continued)

7. If the answer is correct, you will hear a
rewarding sound with a positive phrase. A
positive animation will appear and the an­swer will flash on the LCD screen.

8. If the answer is incorrect, you will hear a
negative sound with an encouraging phrase.
A negative animation will appear and the
incorrect answer will be identified. The ques­tion will be repeated.

9. When any shape button is pressed, the shape
will be identified and it will appear on the
LCD screen.

How Can You Help?

• Together with your child, look through magazines, newspapers, or cata­logs to help your child cut out the letters of the alphabet or numbers 1-

10. After you have found all of the letters or numbers, mix them up and
lay them in front of your child. Have your child glue them one by one
onto a large piece of paper in alphabetical or numerical order. Be sure
to ask questions using the words before and after while you are deter­mining the correct sequence.

• Your child should understand what the terms “before” and “after”
really mean. To help your child grasp this concept, practice this skill
with your child. You may wish to use objects that your child is familiar
with (i.e. colored blocks, small toys, etc.). Lay three or four objects in a
line and talk about before and after in regards to those particular objects.
This should help your child understand the concept of before and after.

• Talk about “before” and “after” in regards to events that have oc­curred throughout your child’s day. For instance, ask your child, “What
did you do before lunch?” or “What do we usually do after dinner?”

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PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 4 - LEARN THE WORDS

This activity builds vocabulary skills. Your child will be exposed to fifty-two
various objects with different beginning letters. He or she will learn the
beginning letter for each of these objects. As your child presses a letter
button, a friendly voice will let your child know the name of the object that
is pictured on the letter buttons.

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Learn the Words activity teaches new

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child ­vocabulary words to your child. Your child will have a chance to learn two
words that begin with every letter of the alphabet.

WORDSWORDS

WORDSWORDS

WORDS

LEARN THELEARN THE

LEARN THELEARN THE

LEARN THE

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the
activity button and you will hear a short tune
followed by “Let’s learn some words!” The
friendly voice will say “Press a letter but­ton.”

2. Press a letter button the first time to iden­tify the object pictured on the left. The word
and the object animation will appear on the
LCD screen. A sound effect or short tune will
follow.

3. Press the letter button a second time to iden­tify the object pictured on the right. The word
and the object animation will appear on the
LCD screen. A sound effect or short tune will
follow.

4. When any number button is pressed, the
number will be identified and a number ani­mation will appear on the LCD screen.

Learn the Words Learn the Words

Learn the Words touch sensitive

Learn the Words Learn the Words

11

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 4 - LEARN THE WORDS (continued)

5. When any shape button is pressed, the shape
will be identified and a shape animation will
appear on the LCD screen.

How Can You Help?

• Your child may already be asking you questions regarding beginning
letters of words such as, “What does the word bike begin with?” This is
great! Be sure to answer your child! Your child’s curiosity will only
increase by playing with this activity.

• Encourage your child to think of other objects that begin with the let­ters that he or she is pressing on the learning toy. If your child is hav­ing difficulty thinking of an object, go ahead and give some sugges­tions. By continuing to do this, your child will soon be able to think of
objects on his or her own.

• Point out objects that surround your child in your home. At first you
may need to tell your child, “B is for bed!” Model this behavior for your
child. Your child will hopefully begin to tell you what letters go with
various objects.

LETTERSLETTERS

LETTERSLETTERS

LETTERS

SOUNDS OFSOUNDS OF

SOUNDS OFSOUNDS OF

SOUNDS OF

ACTIVITY 5 - SOUNDS OF LETTERS

This activity teaches the sounds of the consonants and vowels. Your child
will hear the correct pronunciation of each letter sound. He or she will
recognize that the vowels A,E,I,O, and U can make two different sounds,
both long and short. He or she will also recognize that the letters C, G, and
Y can make more than one sound. Every time your child presses a letter
button, the friendly voice will tell your child the sound(s) that each letter
makes.

Learning Benefits for Your Child - Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Sounds of Letters activity introduces

Learning Benefits for Your Child - Learning Benefits for Your Child ­your child to the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. Your child will rec­ognize that all of the letters make a certain sound. He or she will learn that
some letters even make two sounds. There are no specific instructions tell­ing your child which button to press. This free exploration is very inviting
and should encourage your child to take risks by pressing buttons that may
be unfamiliar to him or her.

12

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 5 - SOUNDS OF LETTERS (continued)

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the
activity button and you will hear a short tune
followed by “Let’s learn the sounds of the
letters!” Then the friendly voice will say
“Press a letter button.”

2. Press the letter button to hear the letter
sounds. The letter animation will appear on
the LCD screen.

3. When any number button is pressed, the
number will be identified and it will appear
on the LCD screen.

4. Press the shape button to hear the shape
identified. The shape animation will appear
on the LCD screen.

Sounds of LettersSounds of Letters

Sounds of Letters touch sensitive

Sounds of LettersSounds of Letters

How Can You Help?

• Encourage your child to say the letter sounds along with the learning
toy. Your child could practice by saying, “The name of the letter is B.
The sound of the letter is buh.”

• This skill takes lots and lots of practice. Remember to remain positive and
praise your child when he or she can tell you the sound of a given letter.

• In everyday situations, have your child tell you what letter a certain
object begins with. Repeat the word slowly for your child by really
accentuating the beginning letter. Have your child tell you what sound
that letter makes.

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PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

PHONICS READING CENTER™ ACTIVITIES

PHONICS READING CENTERPHONICS READING CENTER

ACTIVITY 6 - SOUNDS OF WORDS

This activity introduces your child to sounding out words. Your child will be
able to hear every letter sound within a given word when completing this
activity. On each letter button, there are two objects pictured. The object
on the right will be sounded out. These words will help your child learn
phonics because they are very simple and easy to understand. Your child
will be able to look at the letters of the word as it is being sounded out.

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child -

Learning Benefits for Your Child -Learning Benefits for Your Child ­to help your child learn that letters make sounds and sounds put together
make words. This activity provides many opportunities for your child to
press any button he or she desires. Your child may press a certain object as
many times as he or she desires. This activity offers free exploration to
acquaint your child with sounding out words.

The Sounds of Words activity is designed

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Press the
activity button and you will hear a short tune
followed by “Let’s learn the sounds of
words!” Then the friendly voice will say
“Press a letter button.”

2. Press the letter button to identify the letter
sounds of the object that appears on the
right. For example, press the ‘Aa’ button and
you will hear “ant” followed by the phonetic
sounds of ant. The object animation will ap­pear on the LCD screen.

3. When any number button is pressed, the
number will be identified and it will appear
on the LCD screen.

Sounds of WordsSounds of Words

Sounds of Words touch sensitive

Sounds of WordsSounds of Words

WORDSWORDS

WORDSWORDS

WORDS

SOUNDS OFSOUNDS OF

SOUNDS OFSOUNDS OF

SOUNDS OF

4. Press the shape button to hear the shape
identified. The shape animation will appear
on the LCD screen.

14