K-2600
Phonics Firefly is a colorful, interactive, talking bug who will help your child develop the skills necessary to learn how to read. This cheerful firefly sings, spells, and plays games with your child, while building your child’s skills–and confidence–with motivating activities and encouraging words.
ou r c ar ?
By playing Phonics Firefly’s seven games, your child will learn alphabet and phonics skills—the building blocks of reading! The early reading skills taught by
Phonics Firefly include:
•
Saying the alphabet in order, from
a to z
•
Recognizing and naming the letters of the alphabet
•
Identifying the sound each letter makes: “The sound of the letter b is
buh as in bear.”
•
Learning to spell simple three-letter short vowel words, such as cat, hen, big, hot, rug
•
Making three-letter words
Learning to read is one of the most important skills your child will ever learn. Good readers become successful students, and phonics is one way to help children learn to read. Phonics is a time-tested method that helps children “sound out” unfamiliar words. Once your child knows the names of letters (c-u-p) and can associate sounds with each letter (cuh-uh-puh), he or she can blend these sounds together to read words (cup). Phonics Firefly’s activities are designed to introduce, reinforce, and enrich these alphabet and phonics skills.
Using music, lights, and sounds, Phonics Firefly’s seven motivating, interactive learning games help children build critical beginning reading skills in a fun and entertaining way!
Speaker
The high-quality digital “voice” says letter names, letter sounds, and hundreds of words. Music and sound effects provide fun feedback and guide learning.
Letter Buttons
Press these buttons to learn letter names and letter sounds, make words, and answer questions. The buttons light up to reinforce learning and guide play. Buttons are labeled with both lowercase and uppercase letters.
Consonants are printed in blue and vowels in red for easy distinction.
Battery Compartment
The batteries included in Phonics
Firefly are for demonstration purposes. Place four fresh AA batteries here for optimum performance.
On/Off Button
Press this button to turn the unit on or off. To conserve batteries, Phonics
Firefly will turn itself off after two minutes of nonuse.
Volume Button
Press this button to control volume level. There are three levels–low, medium, and high.
HELP Button
Press this button to hear the game directions repeated.
Game Dial
Turn the dial to choose from seven fun alphabet activities.
Before starting, place four fresh AA batteries in the battery compartment.
See instructions on page 9.
1. Turn Phonics Firefly on by pressing the On/Off Button. Phonics Firefly will greet you with an introductory message and a sound-and-light “show.”
2. Adjust the volume to the desired level by pressing the Volume Button.
3. Follow Phonics Firefly’s directions to play the game to which the Game
Dial is set, or turn the dial to play one of the six other games. (See pages
5 through 7 for a complete description of each game.)
4. Switch games at any time with a turn of the Game Dial. Phonics Firefly guides the player with spoken directions, music, and lights. Press the
Help Button to have a game direction repeated.
5. Encourage your child to turn Phonics Firefly off when he or she is done playing. However, to prevent battery drain, Phonics Firefly will automatically shut off after two minutes of nonuse.
Ph on re flly Ga es
Phonics Firefly’s seven games are designed to build beginning reading skills.
The games are sequentially ordered, beginning with learning “The Alphabet Song” and ending with players creating their own three-letter words in Game 7’s
“Word Explorer.”
G am e 11:: T he ph ab on g
Sing along with Phonics Firefly to learn the ABCs!
What a great way to learn the alphabet—from a to z! As Phonics Firefly sings its rendition of “The Alphabet Song,” each letter lights up. It’s a great way to reinforce letter names and alphabetical order, too!
G am 2:: L et s L ea n t ab t
Learn the alphabet as you light up the letters!
In this game your child presses Letter Buttons to learn the names of the alphabet letters. To begin the game, the player presses any Letter Button.
The letter flashes as Phonics Firefly names the letter. As new letters are pressed, they light up and are identified. When all 26 letters have been pressed (and all of the lights are on), the game is over.
G am Liig ht ut ” A ph ab rc h
Test your Alphabet I.Q. as you switch off the lights!
This game tests how well your child knows the names of the letters. At the start of this “lights out” game, all letters are lit. Phonics Firefly asks the player to find a letter, for example, “Find the letter c.” If the correct letter is pressed, that light goes out. If an incorrect letter is pressed, the light stays on, and the question is repeated. If the player answers incorrectly again, the player is guided to the correct answer. Fun messages encourage the player along the way until all the lights are out and every letter has been identified.
G am 4:: L et s L ea n t ph ab
Discover the Sound Alphabet as you light up each letter!
This game introduces your child to the phonetic sounds of the alphabet. To begin the game, the player presses any Letter Button. The letter flashes as
Phonics Firefly names the letter, its phonetic sound, and a word that begins with that letter, for example, “The letter d makes the sound duh as in duck.”
As new letters are pressed, they light up and are identified. Light all 26 letters to finish a game. Practice makes perfect, so encourage your child to play over and over.
Note: Phonics Firefly teaches the sound most commonly associated with each letter: the short vowel sounds, hard c and g, and the sound of x at the end of words.
G am s O ut ar h
Check your Sound Alphabet I.Q. as you turn off the lights!
This game tests how well your child knows the phonetic sounds of the alphabet. At the start of this “lights out” game, all letters are lit. Phonics
Firefly asks the player to find the letter that makes a specific sound, for example, “Find the letter that makes the sound duh as in duck.” If the correct letter is pressed, that light goes out. If an incorrect letter is pressed, the light stays on, and the question is repeated. If the player answers incorrectly again, Phonics Firefly guides the player to the correct answer. Fun messages encourage the player to continue playing until all the lights are out.
G am re t W or Ma ke
Phonics Firefly has 120 secret words for you to uncover!
In this game your child learns how to spell over 120 three-letter words.
Phonics Firefly asks the player to press three letters that make up a “secret word.” For example: “Press the letters c-a-t to make the secret word.” As the correct letters are pressed, your child hears each sound blended together
(cuh-aah-tuh — cat) to form the secret word! If incorrect letters are pressed,
Phonics Firefly gently guides the player to the secret word using lights and sounds. As with all of its games, Phonics Firefly offers fun messages and encouragement throughout game play.
G am Wo rd pllo re
It’s your turn to spell hundreds of three-letter words!
How many three-letter words can your child spell? Phonics Firefly has a word list of more than 500 words—everything from act to zoo! When a word in the Phonics Firefly word list is spelled, the player hears the correct spelling and the word. For example: “d-o-g spells dog!” If your child presses three letters that don’t make a “real word” or that make a word not found in the word list, Phonics Firefly prompts him or her to try another word. Fun feedback and special sound effects encourage your young learner to experiment with word formation. The included Phonics Firefly Word List enables you to engage your child in a variety of activities. For example, you can keep a record of words your child has learned to spell, or you can have your child read a word on the list and then check the pronunciation by entering its letters on Phonics Firefly.
Note: Some inappropriate words are unavailable for children to spell.
bye cab cad cam can cap car cat bra bud bug bum bun bur bus buy boa bob bog boo bop bow box boy
Ben bet bib bid big bin bit cot cow coy cry cub cud cue cup caw cay cob cod cog con coo cop koi lab lad lag
Kim kin kip kit joy jug jut
Kay keg
Ken key kid
Joe jog jon jot jib jig
Jim job jar jaw jay
Jeb
Jed
Jen jet lip lit lob log
Len let lid lie lap law lax lay lea led lee leg due dug dun duo dye ear eat ebb dip doe dog don dot dry dub dud
Del den dew did die dig dim din cur cut dab dad
Dan day deb end eon era ere err eve ewe eye eel egg ego eke elf elk elm emu fox fry fun fur gab gad gag gal fob foe fog for fit fix flu fly fib fig fin fir fee fen few fez fad fan far fat fax
Fay fed gin gnu gob god goo got gum gun gap gas gay gel gem get gib gig arm art ash ask asp ate auk ave apt arc are ark and ant any ape ail aim air ale all alp amp
Ana ace act add ado ads adz aft age ago aid awe awl axe aye bad bag ban bar bat bay bed bee beg hog hop hot how hub hue hug hum her hew hex hid him hip his hit ham hap has hat hay haw hem hen
Gus gut guy gym had hag
Hal ion ire irk its ivy jab jag jam hut ice icy ilk ill imp ink inn
Note: Proper names have been capitalized unless they are also familiar words, such as sue or bob.
mop mow mud mug mum nab nag nan men met mew mid mix mob mom moo man map mar mat
Max may
Meg
Mel lop lot low lox lug lye mad nit nod nor not now nub nun nut nap
Nat nay
Ned net new nib nil pat paw pay pea peg pen pep per owe owl own pad pal
Pam pan par orb ore our out oil old one opt oaf oak oar oat odd ode off pod pop pot pow pox pro pry pub pin pip pit ply pet pew pie pig rub rue rug rum run rut rye sad rig rim rip rob rod roe rot row ray red rib rid ran rap rat raw pug pun pup pus put rag ram set sew she shy
Sid sin sip sir sag
Sam sap sat saw say sea see tag tan tap tar tax tea
Ted ten sty sub sue sum sun sup tab tad sod son sop sow sox soy spa spy sis sit six ski sky sly sob ton too top tow toy try two tub the tie
Tim tin tip toe tog tom who why wig win wit woe wok won was wax way web wed wee
Wes wet via vie vim vow wad wag wan war tug urn use van vat vet vex yes yet yew you zap zip zoo woo wow wry yak yam yap yea yen
T ro sh oo tiin g
If Phonics Firefly is not working properly, replace the batteries with a fresh set. Weak batteries can cause a variety of malfunctions.
To prolong battery life, always turn off Phonics
Firefly with the On/Off Button when you are not using the unit. If Phonics Firefly will not be used for a long period of time, remove the batteries to prevent possible corrosion.
H ow Clle an P ho niic re y
Clean your Phonics Firefly with a slightly damp or dry cloth. Do not immerse Phonics Firefly in water. Do not spray liquid of any kind on
Phonics Firefly.
BATTERY INSTALLATION and INSTRUCTIONS
For the best operation, always use fresh alkaline batteries. Other battery types will have a shorter life.
1. Carefully open the battery compartment door located on the bottom of Phonics Firefly by loosening the screw holding it in place.
2. Install four fresh AA-cell (DC 1.5v) batteries in the battery compartment, carefully following the diagram showing correct battery installation. This diagram is found inside the battery compartment.
• Batteries must be inserted with the correct polarity.
• Do not mix old and new batteries.
• Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc), or rechargeable (nickel-cadmium) batteries.
• Remove exhausted batteries from the unit.
• The supply terminals must not be short-circuited.
• Non-rechargeable batteries must not be recharged.
• Do not use rechargeable batteries.
• Only batteries of the same or equivalent type as recommended are to be used.
3. Close the battery compartment door and tighten the screw.
4. Turn on the unit by pressing the On/Off
Button.
Note: Phonics Firefly has a battery-saving automatic shut-off feature and will turn itself off after two minutes of nonuse.
