Phonics and Word Study

Phonics

Phonics is the next essential element of reading instruction I would like to discuss.  Phonics can be defined as the set of relationships between written letters and spoken sounds that those letters represent.  As we explore phonics and word study, we must keep in mind the close relationship between phonics and phonemic awareness.  Before children can begin to understand those relationships (between letter and sounds), they must understand the idea that spoken words can be broken down into individual phonemes and manipulate those sounds (phonemic awareness). 

There is and will always be great debate about phonics instruction.  You must always remember that we need to offer students a “healthy” balance of literacy instruction that includes all the essential elements (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension).

Before we begin, please take the opportunity to read the short article on Understanding Phonics below to activate your prior knowledge or build some background.  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/understand-phonics

“Phonics is one of the primary building blocks of reading. Without an understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds, reading cannot occur. This multifaceted connection between print and pronunciation is an important component of any instructional program in reading because it provides readers with tools for discovering new written words.

What is phonics?

Simply put, phonics is the connection between graphemes (letter symbols) and sounds. Because we have been readers for a good portion of our lives this relationship seems apparent and common sense. However, in reality there is no natural connection between words and their meanings. For example, there is nothing innately “cup-like” about the word “cup”. Even more, the written letters making up the word “cup” do not reflect anything about an actual cup. The word and its written form are agreed upon by English speakers and thus must be learned in order to communicate.

At the very core of phonics lies the alphabet. In order to master phonics a person must master the alphabet. Letters then need to be connected to their corresponding sounds. As we know as English speakers, this is easier said than done. Many letters can represent a number of different sounds. Thus learning phonics is an ongoing process for a developing reader.” (http://www.k12reader.com/what-is-phonics/)

 “Impact of Phonics on Reading Ability

Phonics instruction has a strong impact on the reading abilities of young children. Those receiving phonics instruction in the early grades (K-1) showed significant gains in their reading comprehension and spelling abilities and moderate growth in oral reading skills. Studies show that children in grades 2-6 also show growth in these areas, but theirs is not as considerable as that seen in primary grade students. At the upper grades, phonics instruction has a positive impact on the reading abilities of disabled, low achieving non-disabled students as well as those from low socio-economic backgrounds. These groups of children showed growth in their abilities to decode and spell new words. However, their reading comprehension skills were not affected by phonics instruction.” (http://www.k12reader.com/what-is-phonics/)

What elements to include in phonics or word study instruction?

Ø  Print awareness

Ø  Alphabetic knowledge (knowing shapes, names, and sounds of letters and progresses from letter names to shapes to sounds; ability to recognize and name letters with automaticity and accuracy)

Ø  Alphabetic principle (relationship between sounds and letters)

Ø  Decoding and reading practice with decodable text (word families, spelling patterns, and onset and rimes) (they will gradually move to more advanced decoding strategies such as inflectional endings, prefixes and suffixes)

Ø  Teaching of irregular words

Now that you have some new or refreshed knowledge of phonics instruction, I’d like for you to watch the following Phonics lesson.  As you watch the lesson, ask yourself some questions:

1.      What do I like from the lesson?

2.      What did the teacher do well?

3.      What would I do differently?

4.      What were the students' responses to the lesson?

5.      What was the teacher doing during the lesson?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IgQZVczLBs

 

So now a recap of phonics and word study instruction:

We know that systematic phonics instruction is a valuable and essential part of a successful classroom reading program and that it’s designed to increase accuracy in decoding and word recognition skills, which in turn facilitate comprehension. 

And most importantly phonics skills must be integrated with the development phonemic awareness, fluency and comprehension. 

 Looking ahead to next week: fluency :) YAY!!

 

Works cited

Blevins, Wiley. Understanding Phonics. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/understand-phonics

K-12 reader. Retrieved from http://www.k12reader.com/what-is-phonics/

Parry, Lucia. Youtube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IgQZVczLBs

Vaughn, Sharon and Linan-Thompson, Sylvia. (2004). Research-based methods of Reading Instruction Grades K-3. Alexandria, VA: ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development).