What works best and why?

The research and evidence is clear - the most successful methods of teaching reading and writing teach systematic synthetic phonics explicitly from the start. So, what is explicit systematic synthetic phonics? Let's break it down:

Explicit - directly teaching the association between letters and sounds. This is in contrast to expecting children to make the connection themselves.

Systematic - English is complex! It is important that teaching begins with the simplest (most common) way to write the sounds, then systematically sequence the learning towards the more complex (& less usual) ways we represent the sounds.

Synthetic - Synthetic refers to the processes of blending and segmenting. Once students learn the letter-sound association, they need plenty of opportunity to practice blending the sounds together to read, and segmenting words into sounds to write. You will learn more about these skills in the specific lessons on blending and segmenting.

Phonics - knowing the relationship between sounds and letters.

Let's practice applying our phonic knowledge by reading these unfamiliar words:

docendo discimus

As you were reading these words, you would have applied your understanding of the letter sound relationship by looking at the letters, then making an association to sounds. You then blended these sounds together to 'read' the word. Try reading it again. This time, you will be more fluent as you rapidly recognize the associations.

So, even though you may never have encountered these words before, you were able to read them. For young students learning to read, most words will be unfamiliar. Knowing the letter sound association and how to blend those sounds, give students the skills to read words they have never seen before.

The process is reversible. That means, when students want to write a word, even one they have never written before, they can use the same process in reverse. First, the student will say the word. They then break it into individual sounds and finally apply their letter sound association knowledge to write it.

Why is Phonics so important?

Of course, there is more to effective reading than learning through phonics. An effective reader makes meaning from the text and this involves reading fluently, having an expanding vocabulary and a range of skills that leads to comprehension. You cannot comprehend though, if your decoding of words is not efficient. Phonics is at the core of learning to decode.

Phonics is also crucial when spelling. Being able to write down the words that you want to use involves applying your phonic knowledge.

Phonics allows students to read and write independently. It gives them the skills to decode words they have never seen before. It gives them to the skills to write words they have never seen before. These are lifelong skills.

To become skilled, fluent readers, students need effective decoding skills. Scientific studies continue to prove that explicit instruction in systematic synthetic phonics makes a bigger contribution to the reading skills of students than any other method.

Not all Phonics teaching is equal!

If you are using a program to teach phonics, it is important to identify what is effective and what isn't. Phonics programs tend to fall into two categories - synthetic and analytic. Their effectiveness differs, with research clearly showing that synthetic phonics is more effective.

What's the difference?

Synthetic Phonics will have a clear sequence to introducing the sounds to students. This sequence is based on research. The letter association will begin with the most common way that that sound is represented, progressing over time to the less usual ways. It will have a focus on blending and segmenting. There will be an expectation that it is taught explicitly, not implicitly (where students are encouraged to discover the connections).

Analytic Phonics has a focus on the whole word. It includes associating phonemes (sounds) with graphemes (letters) through the analysis of words. The letter - sound association is not taught in isolation, rather the student takes clues from the words then breaks the word down to compare parts of the word to previously taught words.

As educators, we need to ensure that we are using proven and effective approaches to teaching reading and writing.To learn more about what the research says about phonics, refer to the final lesson of this course where links to research can be found.

Pamela Snow, a Professor at La Trobe University, has created a thought-provoking self-audit for schools. Consider these questions:

1. Does your reading instruction begin with the introduction of a small number of letter-sound correspondences, and explicitly (and gradually) teach children how to blend, segment, insert, and delete sounds in order to produce different words?

2. Do you use decodable texts as the starting point for children starting to read, or predictable texts?

Maybe the self-audit is something you could take along to your next staff meeting as a way to begin the conversation about teaching reading effectively with your colleagues! Find the entire audit here.

Glossary of terms:

Systematic - a sequence of introducing the sounds

Synthetic - the process of blending and segmenting the sounds to read and write

Phonics - understanding the letter sound relationship

Alphabetic Code - outline of 44 sounds and the variety of ways the sounds can be represented, from most common way to least usual.

Blending - the process of linking individual sounds to hear a word

Segmenting - the process of breaking a word apart into individual sounds

Letters - the symbols of the alphabetic used to represent speech in writing

Sounds - individual parts of speech

Analytic -analysing whole words to learn the letter sound relationships

Discussion

How is Phonics currently taught at your school? Is there a consistent understanding about what Phonics is? Do you use a synthetic phonics program to support your teaching? What has your experience with Phonics been?

Post your comments below.