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Phonics

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Phonics, the Best Reading Instruction

Phonics instruction is essential if students are to become excellent readers. Some of the whole language theory might be viable and has its place, but whole language alone is truly lacking. Giving students the tools to read independently and at high levels must include direct phonics instruction.

Whole language is taught on the premise that if you provide vast amounts of reading materials children will somehow learn to read. That may be true for gifted children, or children who come from a reading rich environment, but this is not the majority of children. Even if the teacher does read the material so students can follow along and see the words in print, that causes them to rely on the teacher and not use self help skills to attack words.

Decoding is one of the best reading tools a child can receive. Teaching children how to decode words is the first step to becoming a great reader.

Granted both strategies involve memorization techniques to learn to read, http://www.halcyon.org/wholela n.html however phonics is teaching them tools to independently attack unknown words, while whole language is trying to remember every word they see in text.

Remembering every word in text becomes a very daunting task. Children are overwhelmed and feel frustrated when they come upon words that they don't know and have no idea how to decode them. Children who are taught decoding skills trudge right on through unfamiliar words with confidence.

Children who have a strong phonics based background tend to score higher on reading assessments and also have a better comprehension of the text.

California used the whole language approach for many years but saw the achievement in reading steadily drop. Since they have returned to phonics based instruction reading scores have continually improved. http://www.tampareads.com/phon ics/phonics-articles.htm

If children are read to daily with materials that include a rich vocabulary, and introduced to phonemic awareness strategies, children begin to see the sound symbol relationships. They recognize specific letters and can attach a specific sound to the letter. They also start to look at the placement of letters and learn the left to right sequencing in reading.

Parents can give kids a head start in reading by spending about twenty minutes a day. Start basic phonics early by reading and exploring words. Help build that valuable foundation for their child and give them the tools to succeed in reading.

Learn more about this author, Kathy Myers.
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