Teaching Phonics
Teaching Phonics
What is Phonics?
Phonics can be defined as a body of knowledge and skills regarding how the alphabet works.
In English, there are around 44 sounds or phonemes. Given that there are only 26 letters used in the language, and that many sounds have more than one possible spelling, it is helpful that students learn the relationships between the letters and sounds in a straightforward and explicit manner.
Phonics centers on the relationship between sounds and the ways in which they can be spelled. It focuses on the letter and sound correspondences to enable students to break written words down into their component sounds, before later recombining them to read the whole word. This process is known as segmenting and blending.
Segmenting and Blending:
phonics teaches students to look at the letters of a word and segment it into its component sounds, before blending these sounds back together to read the entire word.
Decoding and Encoding: The Bridge Between Reading and Writing
Phonics is rewarding for students in terms of the passive skill of reading. This is also known as decoding.
Student’s knowledge of phonics can help them develop the active skill of writing or encoding.
Teachers will often weave emergent writing skills, such as letter formation, into their phonics lessons to take advantage of the opportunity to bridge this gap between the skills of reading and writing.
The Stages of Phonics Teaching:
The Pre-Phonics Stage:
Listening skills
Sound reproduction skills
Sequencing skills
Sounds and Actions
Put a letters sound to an action, example: rub your tummy while saying “mmmmmm” as if something taste good.
The Letter and Sound Correspondences
Letter Names vs. Letter Sounds - It is crucial that children understand the difference between the names of the letters of the English alphabet and the sounds as these are two very different things.
Letters Don’t Make the Sounds - As the limited letters used in English are needed to represent many different sounds, it’s important to point out to students that letters don’t make the sounds, they are simply an option for showing the sound.
Avoid the Lazy Vowels - It is also important to remember that when teaching the letters and sounds to avoid making the lazy vowel or schwa sound at the end of a sound.
When teaching phonics in the classroom:
Keep Phonics Lessons Short and Sweet
Be Consistent
Keep on Moving
Keep Things Fun
Play Games: I Spy, Bingo, Sorting Activities, Partner Reading