A Deeper Look at Phonics

We all know that phonics is important, but do we really understand why? Do we focus our instruction in the right areas? How do we know exactly what our students need and how can we support them? Today, I am going to break down just that for you. But first, things are about to get nerdy.

What is phonics instruction?

Phonics instruction is a type of instruction that helps students learn how to read and write. This happens through sound/symbol correspondences. There are 44 sounds in the English language and each of those sounds are known as phonemes. As with any language, there is an agreed code for how we write these sounds down. This means that each phoneme (sound) is represented by a grapheme (letter or letters).

Many letters represent different sounds in different words.

For example: The letter a can represent many different graphemes.

When we understand this, the phoneme, grapheme correspondence, we can begin reading.

A lot of people feel like the English language is too irregular to teach phonics, but if you dig deep enough, you will find that there is in fact a system and if we take time to learn and teach this system, we can help our students crack the code. . 

Why is phonics instruction important? 

We know that when students are learning to read, we must help them make the letter and sound connections. If students are able to decode, they are able to read. If they are able to read, they are able to become fluent, and if they are able to read fluently, they will be able to comprehend what they are reading. It is essential that we teach phonics instruction to our beginning readers if we want to set them up for success. 

We often hear that phonics instruction should be explicit, systematic, sequential, multisensory, and constantly reviewed. But what does all of that really mean? When I first started my journey as a teacher, those words sounded super complicated. I ended up just avoiding phonics all together because I just wasn’t sure how to teach it. Don’t be like me! Let’s break those complicated words into something that makes a little more sense.

Explicit

When you hear the word explicit, think of being direct! As the teacher, it is our job to explain exactly what it is we are teaching our students. This means that it should never be implied.

Example: Today we are going to learn what sound /ch/ makes. When we put the letters /c/ and /h/ together, they make a new sound /ch/. This is called a digraph and we will often see it in our reading and writing. 

Systematic

When you think of the word systematic, ask yourself- “ What system do I have in place? Do I know what my students know and need to know? How will I deliver this instruction? How will I monitor that instruction?

Sequential

When you think of sequential, think what’s my sequence? For example, students must understand short vowel, CVC words before they are ready for blends and digraphs. We want to make sure that we start from the easiest and work our way to the more difficult. You can download the sequence I use for free here. 

Reviewed

This may sound simple, but it is sometimes forgotten. When we are working with our struggling readers, it is important that we are constantly reviewing previously taught skills. This doesn’t have to take up a ton of time (2-3 minutes) but it should be done daily.

Multisensory

When you think of multisensory, think- “What are the ways that I can present this information to ALL types of learners in my classroom.” I think sometimes people hear the word multisensory and think that means they will be pulling out the shaving cream every day. Not necessarily, sometimes a multisensory activity can be as simple as tracing the letter in the air or on the table. 

Now that we have taken some time to break down those tricky terms, let’s take a look at a lesson plan. While this lesson plan is for beginning readers, it can absolutely be used with students who are struggling with phonics. 

The Components

Phonemic Awareness

I always like to start my lesson with a phonemic awareness warm up. This gets students warmed up and in the decoding mindset. We spend two to three minutes practicing phonemic awareness skills. These activities include blending, segmenting, adding, deleting and substituting sounds.

Automatic Word Recognition

Once we complete phonemic awareness, we move straight into review. This is where we review previously taught sounds, words, etc. to help our students gain automatic word recognition. 

New Skill- Phonics and Decoding

After reviewing, I will introduce our new skill. For example, if we are learning CVC or CCVC words, I may explain closed syllables to my students and discuss the sounds that are made. Beyond that, we work on activities that will reinforce what they learned. These activities include word building, decoding practice, sorting, segmentation, etc. 

Encoding-Sentence Dictation

One skill that is often left out is sentence or word dictation. This is such a crucial step. Students need to take what they have learned and apply it to print, both in text but ALSO through writing. 

Connected Text

I end my lesson with a connected text. If we are talking about digraphs, my students read a decodable text full of digraphs to practice decoding. Depending on my students’ ability, I may pull a book, passage, or just grab a handful of decodable sentences. 

Join Me!

If you would like to see this plan in action, head on over and sign up for my workshop! That’s the link to sign up by the way! I will be walking you through this lesson and giving you tips and tricks that will help you get started today!