Phonics

Phonics Instruction “Phonics instruction teaches children the relationship between the letters of written language and the individual sounds of spoken language” “The goal of phonics 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.”

Phonics Instruction The knowledge of relationships between letters and sounds helps children:  Accurately recognize familiar words  Learn to recognize words at an automatic level  Decode words that are unfamiliar to them  To read isolated words as well as words in context

Phonemic Awareness & Phonics (Post NRP )  Research indicates that: When instruction in phonemic awareness is quickly paired with phonics instruction involving letters, it strengthens both the student’s phonological awareness skills as well as their knowledge of the alphabetic principle Crawford, fcrr (2008)

Types of Phonics Instruction Systematic and explicit Direct teaching Letter-sound relationships taught in a specifically selected sequence Includes significant practice Use decodable text Non-systematic No specific sequence used Informal Embedded in text Not directly taught

Good Phonics Instruction Should… Teach the relationship between letters and sounds Teach children how to connect letters and sounds Teach children how to blend and segment sounds Help children to apply what they learn about sounds & letters to their writing Help apply sounds and letters to read words, sentences, and text

Phonics Most common sound/letter correspondences taught first moving to least common Names of letters Map single consonant to most common letter Map initial blends and then final Map single sounds with more complex letter representations Digraphs Orthographic patterns – bonus letter, “ck” rule Letter patterns – vowels, vowel teams, diphthongs, r- controlled

Phonics  Structural Analysis skills necessary for reading beyond 3 rd grade  Structural analysis is an advanced decoding skill that allows students to analyze words based on their parts These include: affixes compound words syllables – 6 syllable types; CLOVER contractions roots

Phonics  Morphemes – smallest unit of meaning jumped teacher butter  Roots Port (to carry) export, airport, deport, import, etc.  Prefixes and Suffixes Prefixes: un = not; re = again; trans = across Suffixes: s, ing, ly, er, ness

Interventions  Phonics Activities Letter/Sound Correspondence Onset/Rime Word Study Syllable Patterns Morpheme Structures