What Is Funnix?
How Direct Instruction Is Proved to Work
Funnix is designed to make your life easier. We break each lesson into clear, actionable tasks for you and your child to follow.
Upon completion of the 220 Funnix lessons, children will have command of a vocabulary of about 2000 words, including multisyllabic and irregular words. Children who master Funnix also have the skills to decode thousands of words that aren’t introduced in the program.
The History of Direct Instruction
The roots of the Funnix program go back to the 1960s when Siegfried “Zig” Engelmann created an explicit, carefully sequenced teaching model known as Direct Instruction. Over the next several decades, Engelmann authored more than 100 instructional programs, all field-tested and revised to make sure that they worked — and worked well — before they were published.
These programs have been implemented around the globe with phenomenal success. More than ten million learners who previously struggled with reading are now successful readers, thanks to Engelmann’s Direct Instruction programs.
In 1998, Owen Engelmann (Zig’s son) decided to develop a homeschool computer program that teaches reading. Owen and Zig adapted work from a previously published program into a digital visual presentation for the computer, and Funnix was born.
Direct Instruction Works Better
Funnix was not designed to entertain, but you and your child will find it entertaining. It was not designed to be something your child does independently — it is not a video game — but you will both find it fun and easy to use. Most of all, Funnix is like the other products that Zig, Owen, and their colleagues developed: It doesn’t just work well, it works better than anything else you could use.
Don’t just take our word for it, see the research for yourself!