V-tech Buble Gum Phonics Guide

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A Guide to Using
Bubble Gum Phonics Fun™
Alphabet Apple™
3 years and up
80-26800
Alphabert The Ready
to Read Robot™
4-6 years
80-29400
The Search for Hidden
Treasure™
4-6 years
80-41000
Flip For Phonics™
3-5 years
80-29100
Get A Grip!™ Phonics
5-8 years
80-41400
Get A Grip!™ Math
5-8 years
80-41100

Dear Parent,Dear Parent,
Dear Parent,Dear Parent,
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 TechTech
TechTech
Tech® designed the Fundamentals of learning 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. Their confidence grows, their self-esteem grows and their appetite
for learning grows, too.
How Can You Help?How Can You Help?
How Can You Help?How Can You Help?
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 learning 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 TechTech
TechTech
Tech® 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 TechTech
TechTech
Tech®
1

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™
TO BEGIN PLAY
1. To begin play, press the coin-shaped ON/OFF ON/OFF
ON/OFF ON/OFF
ON/OFF button.
You will hear an opening short tune, followed by, “Hi!
Let’s get rolling. Please turn the dial to select an
activity.”
2. Turn the Activity Dial to select one of the six activities.
Our animated Gumball character will guide you
through each of the following activities:
1. Learn the Sounds 4. Spelling
2. Find It 5. Create a Song
3. Missing Letter 6. Music Box
3. To turn the learning toy off, press the ON/OFFON/OFF
ON/OFFON/OFF
ON/OFF button
again. You will hear, “See you later!” followed by a
short tune.
LIGHT-UP TRANSLUCENTLIGHT-UP TRANSLUCENT
LIGHT-UP TRANSLUCENTLIGHT-UP TRANSLUCENT
LIGHT-UP TRANSLUCENT
26 LETTER BUTTONS26 LETTER BUTTONS
26 LETTER BUTTONS26 LETTER BUTTONS
26 LETTER BUTTONS
LCD SCREENLCD SCREEN
LCD SCREENLCD SCREEN
LCD SCREEN
COIN-SHAPEDCOIN-SHAPED
COIN-SHAPEDCOIN-SHAPED
COIN-SHAPED
ON/OFF BUTTONON/OFF BUTTON
ON/OFF BUTTONON/OFF BUTTON
ON/OFF BUTTON
ACTI ITY DIALACTI ITY DIAL
ACTI ITY DIALACTI ITY DIAL
ACTI ITY DIAL
2
TO BEGIN PLAY

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™ ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - LEARN THE SOUNDS
This activity teaches sounds of 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, while consonants
C, G, and Y can also make more than one sound. Every time your child presses a
letter button, the learning toy will tell your child the sound(s) that the letter makes.
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Learn the Sounds activity introduces your
child to the letter sounds. Your child will hear the correct pronunciation of each
letter. He or she will learn that some letters even make two sounds. There are no
specific instructions telling your child which buttons to press, thus giving him or
her the freedom to learn at his or her own pace.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Turn the activity selector to the activity “Learn the
Sounds.” You will hear a short tune followed by “Hi,
let’s learn the letter sounds. Press a letter button.”
2. Press a letter button to hear the sound(s) of each
letter. For example, when you press the letter “A”
button, you will hear “This is the letter “A”; “A”,
says “a” and “ah.” The letter will appear on the
LCD screen.
3. If you don’t press any button for 12 seconds, you
will hear the phrase, “Are you still there? Press a
letter button.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3
LEARN THE
SOUNDS

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™ ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT
This activity reinforces letter identification, object identification and letter sounds.
The friendly voice will ask your child to find a certain letter, letter sound or object.
Your child must rely on the skills presented in the previous activity in order to play
this activity.
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Find It activity is presented to familiarize
your child with the 26 letters of the alphabet, their phonetic sounds, and their
associated objects.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Turn the activity selector to the activity “Find It.”
You will hear the activity name voiced, followed by
a short tune.
2. Then the friendly voice will ask a random question.
For example, you will hear, “Find the letter A”, “Find
the letter that says A and Ah” or “Find the APPLE”.
Each time a question is asked a visual clue will
appear on the screen.
3. Find the answer by pressing a letter button. The
friendly Gumball character will identify the letter,
object, or phonetic sound of the pressed button. If
you answer correctly you will receive a positive
response followed by a reward sound effect. For
example, you will hear “Cool, you got it!” followed
by a reward sound effect and the phrase, “A, APPLE.
APPLE begins with the letter A.”
4
FIND IT

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™ ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 2 - FIND IT
4. There are three chances to answer the question
correctly. If you are unable to find the correct
answer after three chances or within 30 seconds,
the friendly Gumball character will appear on the
screen and say, “Time's up! Let me help you! This is
the answer.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ACTIVITY 3 - MISSING LETTER
This activity strengthens spelling skills. Your child must decide which letter is
missing in order to complete the word. He or she must rely on his or her knowledge
of letter sounds in order to complete this activity. Using the objects from the
learning toy, your child will be asked to tell which letter is missing in order to
complete the word. Your child may refer to the letter buttons for help.
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Missing Letter activity provides opportunities
for your child to spell words correctly. The main objective is for your child to
recognize that there is a letter missing from the word. It also teaches your child
how to correctly spell 26 different words.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Turn the activity selector to the activity “Missing
Letter.” The activity name will be voiced followed
by a short tune. You will hear a sound effect and
an object will appear on the screen. You will then
hear, “This is the apple. What letter is missing in the
word APPLE?”
5
(co ti ued)
MISSING
LETTER

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™ ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 3 - MISSING LETTER
2. When the correct letter button is pressed, the
answer will be heard, followed by a positive phrase.
For example, for the question “AP_LE,” if you press
the letter “P” button, you will hear “ Cool! You got
it! P is the missing letter in the word APPLE.” You
will then see a reward animation on the screen.
3. When an incorrect letter button is pressed, you will
hear “Oops, try again! ” and the question will be
repeated.
4. There are three chances to answer the question
correctly. If you are unable to find the correct
answer after three chances or within 30 seconds,
the friendly Gumball character will appear on the
screen and say, “Time's up! Let me help you! This is
the answer.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ACTIVITY 4 - SPELLING
This activity explores spelling skills. Your child must rely on his or her knowledge of
letters and sounds in order to sound out and spell simple words. He or she will be
able to determine how many letters are in the word by looking at the number of
blanks on the screen. Your child will then need to enter the letters of the word in
the proper order.
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Spelling activity ties together all of the skills
of letter and sound recognition that your child has been practicing.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
6
SPELLING
(co ti ued)

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™ ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 4 - SPELLING
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Turn the activity selector to the activity “Spelling.”
You will hear the phrase, “Let’s learn to spell”
followed by a short tune. Then you will see an object
appear on the screen followed by a question. For
example, a picture of a tiger will appear on the LCD
screen and the question will be voiced, “How do
you spell the word TIGER?”
2. Press the letter buttons to spell the word in order
from left to right. Each correct letter will appear
one at a time, replacing the blanks on the screen.
When you have successfully finished spelling the
word you will hear a positive reward phrase and
sound effect followed by the complete spelling of
the word. For example, “Cool! You got it. TIGER is
spelled T I G E R.”
3. When an incorrect letter button is pressed, the
pressed letter will be identified. Then the unit will
erase the letter automatically and you will receive
a hint. For example, if you are spelling the word
TIGER and you press the letter “B,” you will hear
“B. Oops, try again! Give me a T.” This helps the
child identify which letter he or she is looking for
in an effort to spell the word correctly.
4. There are three chances to answer the question
correctly. If you are unable to find the correct
answer after three chances or within 30 seconds,
the friendly Gumball character will appear on the
screen and say, “Time's up! Let me help you! This
is the answer.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
7
SPELLING
(co ti ued)

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™ ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 5 - CREATE A SONG
This activity stimulates creativity by allowing children to create their own melodies.
Your child can choose notes to be included in his or her song by pressing each
individual button and hearing its accompanying note. Your child can replay the
song by pressing the letter “Z” or create a new song by pressing the letter “T.”
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Create a Song activity provides your child
with an opportunity to have some fun! This activity stimulates your child's creativity
through free play.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Turn the activity selector to the activity “Create a
Song.” You will hear the phrase, “Let’s create a song”
followed by a short tune and the activity instruction,
“Press a letter button.”
2. Press the letter buttons to create a song. Each of
the letters is a musical note with the exception of
letters “Z” and “T.” When you press the letter “Z”
you can hear the song you composed. Pressing the
letter “T” will erase the song that you have
composed and allow you to create a new song.
3. If you do not press a letter button within 12 seconds,
the friendly Gumball character will ask, “Are you
still there? Press a letter button.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
8
CREATE
A SONG

BUBBLE GUM PHONICS FUN™ ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 6 - Music Box
This activity enables your child to enhance his or her listening skills by pressing the
letter keys to play various songs. A fun animation will be displayed on the screen
while the song is played.
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your ChildLearning Benefits for Your Child
Learning Benefits for Your Child - The Music Box activity provides your child with an
opportunity to have some fun while enhancing his or her creative skills.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Turn the activity selector to the activity “Music Box.”
You will hear the phrase, “Let’s play a song” followed
by a short tune and the activity instruction, “Press
a letter button.”
2. Press a letter button to hear a song. There are 26 different melodies in this
activity. They include:
A The Alphabet Song
B Billy Boy
C Chopsticks
D Did You Ever See a Lassie
E Entertainer
F Für Elise
G Good Night Ladies
H Hey, Diddle Diddle
I I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
J Frère Jacques
K In the Hall of the Mountain King
L London Bridge
M The Mulberry Bush
N Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy ( From the Nutcracker Suite )
OOde to Joy
P Pachelbel’s Cannon
Q Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
9
MUSIC
BOX