V-tech Alphabert s Sonic Phonics User manual

User's Manual
AlphaBert’s Sonic Phonics
™
AlphaBert’s Learn-to-Read System™

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Dear Parent,
At VTech®,weknowhowimportantlearningtoreadistoyourchild’sfuture. That’swhy
we created AlphaBert’s Learn-to-Read System™- a progressive line of interactive
learning products uniquely designed to teach your child how to read, while making the
experience fun and rewarding.
This progressive system eliminates the guesswork when selecting learning toys for
your child. Learning to read is a step-by-step process, and AlphaBert’s Learn-to-
Read System™provides the necessary building blocks in focused stages. Each stage
has its own unique learning milestone, and builds on existing skills with an extensive
curriculum that is personalized to your child’s age and ability.
Beginning Reader Stage: teaches letters, letter sounds and letter-object associations
Growing Reader Stage: teaches blends, phonics to sound out words and simple spelling
Advancing Reader Stage: teaches independent reading, comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, creative writing
Most importantly,AlphaBert and his friends make learning to read fun, not frustrating.
Your child will meet AlphaBert, Sprocket, AlphaBit, AlphaBetsy and AlphaBerto, the
reading robots who love to learn and want your child to share their excitement and
curiosity. AlphaBert & Friends are your child’s learn-to-read coaches who provide
encouragement to fill your child with confidence and pride.
As with all VTech®learning products, AlphaBert’s Learn-to-Read System™
incorporates advanced technologies that are easy-to-use and reinforce learning. Our
hands-on, multi-sensory toys engage diverse learning styles and promote productive
play.
Reading has the power to enlighten, entertain and develop young minds. We thank
you for trusting VTech®with the important job of helping your child learn to read!
Sincerely,
Your Friends at VTech®
To learn more about AlphaBert’s Learn-to-Read System™and other VTech®toys,
visit www.vtechkids.com
AlphaBerto
AlphaBert AlphaBetsy
AlphaBit
Sprocket

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AlphaBert’s Sonic Phonics™
TO BEGIN PLAY
1.To begin play, press the ON BUTTON. The keyboard will
pop out slightly and you will hear a short opening tune.
AlphaBert will identify himself, then Sprocket will turn and
look at AlphaBert then turn forward again, kicking his legs
and waving his hand and identify himself. AlphaBert will
then encourage you to select an activity.
2.Select one of the sixteen activities by pressing one of the ACTIVITY BUTTONS.
AlphaBert and Sprocket will guide you through each of the following activities:
1. Learning Letters
2. Uppercase & Lowercase Letters
3. Alphabet Order
4. Sounds Of Words
5. Word Challange
6. Beginning Letters
7. Missing Letters
8. Missing Vowels
LCD SCREEN
VOLUME CONTROL
SWITCH
ACTIVITY BUTTONS
LETTER BUTTONS HELP BUTTON
ENTER BUTTON
OFF BUTTON
ON BUTTON
SPROCKET
ARROW BUTTONS

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9. Beginning & Ending Blends
10. Rhyming Words
11. Word Groups
12. Word Scramble
13. Letter Catch
14. Hangman
15. Memory Challenge
16. Hear A Song
3.Press the HELP BUTTON to repeat the question, or to
receive the answer to the question.
4.To adjust the volume, turn the red dial to the left for high
volume or to the right for low volume.
5.AlphaBert’s eye will turn towards Sprocket each time he
asks a question, and Sprocket will turn to look atAlphaBert.
6.Sprocket’s mouth will move each time he speaks.
Occasionally he will kick his legs and wave his hand.
7.When the correct answer has been selected, Sprocket will
wave his hand and reward you with a positive response.
TO BEGIN PLAY

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8.The activity instructions will be repeated every 10 seconds if there is no input to the
unit.After about 30 seconds without input you will hear a fun phrase to remind you
that you have a question to answer.
9.To turn the unit OFF, press the OFF BUTTON or push in
the keyboard.
AlphaBert’s Sonic Phonics™ - ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - LEARNING LETTERS
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Learning Letters bypressingtheactivity
button.You will hear a sound effect followed by “Let’s learn
the letters and their sounds. Press a button.”
2.Press a letter button to hear the letter identified followed
by an object that begins with that letter. For example, press
the letter H button. You will hear the letter identified and
see the letter appear in uppercase and lowercase letters
on the screen, followed by an animation of a hat.
LEARNING LETTERS

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ACTIVITY 2 - UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE LETTERS
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Uppercase and Lowercase Letters by
pressing the activity button. You will hear a sound effect
followed by “Let’s learn uppercase and lowercase letters.”
2.An uppercase letter will appear on the top line of the screen
and three lowercase letters will appear on the bottom line.
The first letter will be highlighted with the cursor. You will
hear AlphaBert say “Match the uppercase and lowercase
letters.”
3.To select your answer, press the letter button or use the
arrow keys to scroll through the letters. When you have
scrolled through and selected your answer, press the enter
button.
4.When the correct letter is selected, AlphaBert will look at
Sprocket, Sprocket will wave his hand and respond with a
positive phrase such as “Yeah! You’re crankin’ now!” The
screen will display the uppercase and lowercase letters
together.
5.If an incorrect answer is selected, you will hear a sound effect and an encouraging
phrase such as “Uh-oh! Short circuit. Try again!” The question will be repeated. If
an incorrect answer is selected a second time, AlphaBert and Sprocket will show
you the correct answer.
ACTIVITY 3 - ALPHABET ORDER
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Alphabet Order by pressing the activity
button.You will hear a sound effect followed by “Let’s learn
alphabet order.”
UPPERCASE AND
LOWERCASE LETTERS

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2.A letter and a blank space will appear on the screen.
AlphaBert will ask a question, for example, “What letter
comes before the letter h?”
3.To select your answer, press the letter button.
4.When the correct letter is selected, AlphaBert will look at
Sprocket, Sprocket will wave his hand and respond with a
positive phrase such as “Yeah! You’re crankin’ now!” The
screen will display the two letters in the correct order.
5.If an incorrect answer is selected, you will hear a sound effect and an encouraging
phrase such as “Uh-oh! Short circuit. Try again!” The question will be repeated. If
an incorrect answer is selected a third time,AlphaBert and Sprocket will show you
the correct answer.
ACTIVITY 4 - SOUNDS OF WORDS
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Sounds Of Words by pressing the
activitybutton.You will hearasoundeffectfollowedby“Let’s
learn how to make words. Press a button.”
2.Press a letter button to hear the word sounded out
phonetically. For example, press the “ J ” button. The word
will appear on the screen and you will hear “juh, ahh, mmm,
jam!” Once the word has been identified you will hear a
short tune and see the object animation appear on the
screen.
ALPHABET ORDER/
SOUND OF WORDS

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ACTIVITY 5 - WORD CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Word Challenge by pressing the activity
button. You will hear a sound effect followed by “Can you
find the object?”
2.A word will appear on the screen, then three pictures will
appear and a flashing cursor highlighting the first picture.
3.To select the correct answer, use the arrow buttons to scroll
through the answers. When you have highlighted your
answer, press the enter button.
4.When the correct answer is selected,AlphaBert will look at
Sprocket, Sprocket will wave his hand and respond with a
positive phrase such as “Woohoo!That’s electrifying!” The
screen will display the animation and word.
5.If an incorrect answer is selected, you will hear a sound effect and an encouraging
phrase such as “Uh-oh! Sort circuit. Try again!” The question will be repeated. If an
incorrect answer is selected a second time, AlphaBert and Sprocket will show you
the correct answer.
ACTIVITY 6 - BEGINNING LETTERS
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Beginning Letters by pressing the
activity button. You will hear a sound effect followed by a
question such as “Can you find a word that begins with the
“buh” sound as in blimp?”
2.Three words will scroll across the screen. Each word will
stop in the middle of the screen. Press the enter button
when the answer appears on the screen.
WORD CHALLENGE/
BEGINNING LETTERS

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3.When the correct answer is selected, AlphaBert look at
Sprocket, Sprocket will wave his hand and respond with a
positive phrase such as “Woohoo! That’s electrifying!”The
screen will display the two words with the same beginning
letters.
4.If an incorrect answer is selected, you will hear a sound effect and an encouraging
phrase such as “That answer doesn’t compute. Try again!” The question will be
repeated. If an incorrect answer is selected a second time,AlphaBert and Sprocket
will show you the correct answer.
ACTIVITY 7 - MISSING LETTERS
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Missing Letters by pressing the activity
button. You will hear a sound effect followed by “Can you
find the missing letter in the word?”
2.An animation will appear on the screen followed by the
word with a blank space. AlphaBert will ask “Can you find
the missing letter in the word ape?”
3.To select your answer, press the letter button to complete
the word.
4.When the correct answer is selected,AlphaBert will look at
Sprocket, Sprocket will wave his hand and respond with a
positive phrase such as “Woohoo! That’s electrifying!”The
correct answer will be identified.
5.If an incorrect answer is selected, you will hear a sound effect and an encouraging
phrase such as “That answer doesn’t compute. Try again!” The question will be
repeated. If an incorrect answer is selected a third time, AlphaBert and Sprocket
will show you the correct answer.
MISSING LETTERS

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ACTIVITY 8 - MISSING VOWELS
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Select the activity Missing Vowels by pressing the activity
button. You will hear a sound effect followed by “A, E, I, O
and U are vowels.”
2.A word will appear on the screen with blank spaces where
the vowels belongs. AlphaBert will ask you to find the
missing vowels in the word. For example, “Can you find
the missing vowel in the word dress?”
3.To select your answer, press the letter button to complete
the word.
4.When the correct answer is selected,AlphaBert will look at
Sprocket, Sprocket will wave his hand and respond with a
positive phrase such as “Woohoo! That’s electrifying!”The
correct answer will be identified.
5.If an incorrect answer is selected, you will hear a sound effect and an encouraging
phrase such as “That answer doesn’t compute. Try again!” The question will be
repeated. If an incorrect answer is selected a third time, AlphaBert and Sprocket
will show you the correct answer.
ACTIVITY 9 - BEGINNING & ENDING BLENDS
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1.SelecttheactivityBeginning & Ending Blends by pressing
the activity button. You will hear a sound effect followed by
“When two letters combine to make a new sound, they form
a blend.”
2.You will see a word appear on the screen with a flashing
cursor under the middle two letters.AlphaBert will ask you
to find the blend in the word. For example, “Can you find
the blend ST?”
MISSING VOWELS/
BEGINNING & ENDING BLENDS