Phonics
Submitted by ESCORT Staff on Thu, 2006-08-10 09:17.
Literacy
Phonics is the understanding that there is a predictable relationship between phonemes (the sounds of spoken language) and graphemes (the letters and spelling that represent those sounds in written language.) The goal of phonics instruction is to help children learn and use the alphabetic principle – the understanding that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds. Knowing these relationships will help children recognize familiar words accurately and automatically, and “decode” new words. In short, knowledge of the alphabetic principle contributes greatly to children’s ability to read words both in isolation and in connected text.
Source: Put Reading First
Decoding is what teachers are referring to when they encourage readers to “sound out” words they do not recognize immediately. Rapid and accurate decoding is essential to skilled reading. A reader who is not proficient in decoding will bog down when reading a text in which more than five to ten percent of the words are unfamiliar.
Why should we teach phonics?
- Significantly improves kindergarten and first-grade children’s word recognition and spelling.
- Significantly improves children’s reading comprehension.
- Is effective for children from various social and economic levels.
- Is particularly beneficial for children who are having difficulty learning to read and who are at risk for developing future reading problems.
- Is most effective when introduced early.
- Is not an entire reading program for beginning readers.
Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more effective than non-systematic or no phonics instruction.
- Systematic: the plan of instruction includes a carefully selected set of letter-sound relationships that are organized into a logical sequence.
- Explicit: The programs provide teachers with precise directions for the teaching of these relationships.
Guiding principles of phonics instruction
- Phonics knowledge is developmental.
- Phonics instruction is integrated into beginning reading and writing instruction.
- Phonics knowledge is important not for itself but in its application.
- Strategic knowledge is required to use phonics concepts and skills.
- Phonics instruction involves teacher decision making.
- Peers teach each other phonics as they read and write site-by-side.
Source: Rethinking Phonics by Dahl, Scharer, Lawson, and Grogan
Recommendations on Sequence in Phonics Instruction
