Shared Phonics Instruction

Phonics is imperative to learning to read because it allows for the reader to distinguish these associations in letters and words that they read to captivate comprehension (Walbank & Bisby, 2016). At the preschool-grade, knowledge of the alphabetic principles should be extensive and in-depth, however, too much focus can lead to over application of this skills having words read but not comprehended. The directional approach for teaching phonics should be precise, articulated well with graphemes organised in a logical and systematic way allowing plenty of time to recite the new skills received inherited obtained attained gained acquired (Learning Point Associates, 2004). Likewise, with phonological awareness the expertise of listening to the sounds in phonemes and words, phonics helps complete the process of sounding out to decode what has been read to eventually move onto the primary goal of learning to read being comprehension (Fellows & Oakley, 2014). Another approach is to teach phonics is the analytical technique in which the teacher guides students to observe phonemes and graphemes by scrutinising full words to bring forth another critical thinking skill required to understand what the text means (Ewing & Maher, 2014). This essential component combined with

A systematic, explicit, phonics-emphasis program is one in which the teacher organizes his or her instruction based on a sequence of phonics and word-recognition skills, from easier to more difficult; this program also emphasizes students reading print without relying on pictures or memorization. The whole language approach, however, encourages students to guess unknown words from pictures, context, and a few letters, or to memorize whole words and repetitious language patterns. The phonics-emphasis program focuses on decoding words and on phoneme/grapheme correspondence that are taught cumulatively throughout instruction whereas the whole language approach does not focus on phonics or phonics is implicitly or haphazardly taught.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and understand the importance of a supplemental phonics program, such as Fundations by Wilson Language, to ensure that students are making noticeable and trackable changes in reading and understanding. Phonemic awareness is the key skill needed for students to better understand how letters and sounds correlate. Some basal reading programs do not have an

Phonics advocates have been arguing that in order for children to learn to read, they need to have an explicit instruction in the rules of printed text in order to read properly. The phonics approach has been described as “bottom up” as it teaches the children to decode text and then the meaning and understanding will follow while the whole word approach is described as “top down,” as the children depend on the pictures within the book, form hypothesis and make predictions of the words with the text of the book being read (Wren, 2003).

Within the field of education, a continuous debate about the most effective manner in which to provide reading instruction has been on-going since the Johnson Administration’s War on Poverty Report of the 1960s. The primary focus of that debate is whether a skills-based approach or a meaning – based approach was most effective for teaching beginning reading skills (phonemic and phonological awareness), comprehension, and enrichment. (Frey, et.al, 2005) The silks-based or direct instruction approach to reading instruction focuses on explicit and systematic instruction of letter-sound correspondence, phonological and phonemic awareness, and their relationship to reading and comprehension. The meaning- based or balanced

Although for awhile, phonics had lost some of its popularity, research has proven its usefulness when teaching children to read. Without explicit instructions in phonemic awareness and phonics a student is in danger of learning issues. The Headsprout Reading Basics program can prevent these issues from occurring through explicit instruction in phonemic awareness,

The teacher will ask the student to separate them onto the sheet to move easily.

Phonics is described as “understanding letter-sound relationships, as well as larger letter pattern/sound pattern relationships” (Ruddell, 2009). Though in my opinion there is a lot more to phonics than this. There are several aspects to phonics, different types of phonics, negatives to the idea, and several ways to teach it. In this paper I will address all of these based on research I found, the discussion I had with my peers, and my own opinion.

Teachers use environmental print to pique children’s interest in written and visual language. Children notice signs and logos, and they understand these symbols to mean the places and items represented. This emerging literacy is taken into the classroom, and, with intentional instruction, the foundation for fluent reading and writing is laid. Children use written language experiences, such as reading predictable books, writing notes to classmates, and playing in dramatic literacy play centers, to develop an understanding of the concept of a “word”. Alphabet concepts play a critical role in the emergent reader’s development. Phonemic and phonological awareness, along with phoneme-grapheme correspondence lead to phonics. Phonics generalizations

Dombey, H. (1999). Picking a path through the phonics minefield. Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, (27)1, pp.12-21.

Provide additional instruction and an emphasis on phonological awareness. Activities in which students match words with the same initial sound(s), produce words with one sound left out, and reverse the sounds in words may help overcome phonological deficits that may underlie reading difficulties. Explicitly explain instructions. For example, state the topic of the lesson; outline the lesson; write important information on the board; and use pictures, diagrams, and charts to support the information provided

Chard and Osborn (2017) expand on the effectiveness of using phonics and word recognition strategy instruction. Chard and Osborn (2017) suggest that using these stategies provide teachers with opportunities to become comfortable with the critical elements of phonics and word study. Reading Rockets adds additional information about strategies, and especially about assessment of the students' knowledge of phonic elements at their grade level. Reading Rockets also recommend that the assessment should be done one-on-one and students in grades one through three should be assessed for phonic elements numerous times throughout the year to guide phonics element instruction. An example of assessment questions would ask students what sound “s” and “h” make. The student should be able to respond “sh” or the teacher might ask how can you turn “cap” into “cape?” whereby the student should be able to respond add “e” to the end of the word. Chard and Osborn (2017) list the phonic elements and the instructional outcomes that should be obtained. Furthermore, teachers must make sure that their students have a clear understanding of the difference between Phonics and Phonemes. Phonemes are the individual sounds in words that can be

Since the mid-1600’s, the efficacy of phonics instruction has been a controversial and contentious topic in the field of education. Originating from the creation of synthetic phonics (sound by sound approach) by Blaise Pascal in 1655, educators began indoctrinating their pupils in the recognition of sound-symbol correspondences required to decode unfamiliar words (Rodgers, 2001). From that time, the pendulum has swung from phonics first to phonics last. The debate has continued from synthetic phonics to analytic phonics (utilizing a whole word approach) as to what clinicians consider best practice for reading instruction. Consequently, over the past 300 years, its teaching methods have fallen out of favor with educators, only to return to the forefront as reading achievement has floundered. The issue that confronts educators today is not the choice to incorporate phonics instruction into their curriculum, but how.

Children use picture clues and predictable language to decode text. This might be classified as the emergent level for beginning readers. Progression into stage one involves understandings about phonemic principles, such as onsets and rimes, syllables, and beginning and ending sounds. Often at this stage, readers are observed to “sound out” every letter in a word. Automatic decoding is a hallmark of stage two, therefore, freeing up more space in the brain for comprehension. Don’t mistake this stage as being the same as reading to learn, rather is it is where the child begins to integrate automatic reading and comprehension. Just as might be seen in the writing stages, beginning readers may be in between levels at any one time, showing characteristics of multiple stages. In knowing the developmental stages of fluency, a teacher is better able to adjust his or her instruction to the student. In my opinion, if a student does not master these three levels of fluency, it will be difficult for them to advance to the stage where they derive meaning from words and have comprehension…

Also, impart not only reading and writing, but also professional and technical knowledge, this can lead to a fuller participation in economic and civic life (Cummins, 1994). On the other hand, cultural literacy underlines the necessity for shared experiences and points of reference among an interpretive society in order to comprehend texts adequately. As opposed to functional literacy which focuses on skills, cultural literacy requires familiarity with a particular knowledge that is essential to meaningful text interpretation in particular cultural contexts (Irvin et. al, 1994). Furthermore, critical literacy is a sociocultural method that encourages individuals to analyse texts. It is crucial in the learning of reading, because it enables people to comprehend how a text works to position and who get benefits from this positioning. According to Cummins (1994), learners should not only read the word, but read the world. Reading the word creates limitations in the ways that individuals can understand the world. Critical literacy helps individuals to engage critically with how they interpret and apply the knowledge in the society.