The Godfrey Method

Shannah Godfrey, mother of 14, created the Godfrey Method of phonics instruction for her own children and has since shared it with others.  A Pretty Girl Was Alpha Bette is a beginning reader designed to be used with the Godfrey Method.  We actually don’t use the Godfrey Method; we use TATRAS (Teach America to Read and Spell), but the beauty of this book is that it can be used with a variety of methods.

The Godfrey method is explained in brief in the back of this book, preceding the phonics cards, which you can print out.  They’re a pretty clever concept — each letter is used as the basis for a drawing of an object beginning with that letter’s most common sound, giving a visual connection to the phonetic sound.  I would have preferred something a little different for “z,” because I find it difficult to differentiate the letter from the rest of the drawing, but the others are all excellent representations. In particular, I think these images are likely to help prevent the mixing up of “b” and “d.”

Of the Godfrey Method explanation, I disagree with only one point — I believe that children are perfectly capable of understanding both letter names and letter sounds.  As Frank Rogers (author of TATRAS) points out, children don’t confuse the name “cat” with the sound “meow” — they understand that things can have both names and sounds.  So I don’t think it’s necessary to avoid teaching letter names.  However, I don’t think it’s essential to begin with letter names, either.

I love the idea of calling rule-breaking words “platypus words”!

The Story

The story, A Pretty Girl Was Alpha Bette, uses the illustrations from the phonics cards as key parts of the story and, thus, the main illustrations.  They are also sprinkled throughout the text, whenever the words they reference are used.  (For example, the illustration for “b” is a boot, so when the word “boots” appears, the “b” is accompanied by its illustration.)

My beginning reader was frustrated by the fact that the chosen font does not have distinctly different capital I’s and lowercase l’s, so she wasn’t ever certain which one she was looking at.  Considering this was a book specifically designed for beginning readers, I found that a little strange.  (Sophia also decided she just didn’t like the story.  But I think she’s just being fussy.)

The Series

There are other stories in the series, as well, such as A Funny Boy Was Prince River.  As far as I can tell, each story has its own unique set of picture cards.  (The card for “q” in A Pretty Girls Was Alpha Bette, for instance, is a quail, while “q” in A Funny Boy Was Prince River is a queen.)

My Thoughts

I think these make a useful addition to the library of a beginning reader.  I’m not sure I would rely on them as a full phonics “system,” any more than any other children’s picture books we already own, but they are useful for practice and reinforcement.

Disclosure: We received a copy of A Pretty Girl Was Alpha Bette to facilitate this review.  As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own (and those of my family).