Phonics Instruction
Phonics Instruction
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?
Consistent
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.
What is phonics instruction?
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 is 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).
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 the 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.
Phonics instruction should be explicit!
Explicit instruction expert, Dr. Anita Archer, shares the benefits of explicit instruction.
DO you want to grab my brand new phonics continuum? CLick below!
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