| "Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more effective than non-systematic or no phonics instruction." (Put Reading First, 2001)
Why Teach Phonics? When you teach your children phonics, you are helping them understand that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters (graphemes) and spoken sounds (phonemes). Understanding the relationships between letters and sounds enables children to pronounce and comprehend, or "decode," new words they encounter in print.
What the Research Shows:
Researchers have examined two types of phonics instruction:
- Systematic, explicit phonics instruction, which relies on direct teaching of sound-spelling correspondences in a clear sequence.
- Incidental, or implicit, phonics instruction, which relies on children's ability to infer sound-spelling correspondences as they encounter words in texts.
The research confirms that systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more effective than incidental, implicit phonics or no phonics instruction (Adams, 1990). In fact, direct phonics instruction "significantly improves children's word recognition, spelling, and reading comprehension." (Put Reading First, 2001) Therefore, children should receive phonics lessons on a daily basis.
A good phonics lesson:
- links phonemic awareness to phonics.
- states a sound-spelling relationship.
- provides explicit instruction in blending, and practice using word lists.
- connects phonics to decodable text.
Systematic and Explicit Phonics Instruction
When you teach phonics to your children, follow this reliable six-part lesson structure:
- Warm up with phonemic awareness activities.
- Teach sound-spellings explicitly and in isolation.
- Practice blending together previously introduced sound-spellings to form words.
- Apply skills to decodable text to build fluency and automaticity.
- Practice dictation and spelling to make the reading-writing connection.
- Build, manipulate, and sort words to reinforce sound-spelling patterns.
| 
