This has been a huge debate in our country over the last couple of decades, but when it comes down to it, PHONICS is essential in becoming a good reader.
Phonics teaches a reader the relationship between letters and sounds. Knowing this is CRUCIAL for developing strong literacy skills. Without a strong foundation in phonics, children can have a very hard time decoding words. Phonics provides the reader the ability to decode unfamiliar words and this increases reading fluency and comprehension. Phonics also helps with spelling and writing. Without proper phonics instruction, children may have a very hard time reading and spelling.
Phonics awareness can start in preschool and students should be taught reading in kindergaten using a program strong in phonics.
Some examples of phonics awareness in preschool are:
rhyming games
sound recognition games
sound segmentation activities (activities that help children separate the sounds in words)
Phonics continues in Kindergarten and can look like:
letter recogntion
sound recognition
phoeneme blending (the ability to hear the individual sounds in a word)
phoeneme segmentation (the ability to beak words down into individual sounds)
Do your child and your family a HUGE favor and talk to their teacher in preschool and kindergarten and make sure they are using a phonics based program as their main strategy for teaching reading. This will set your child up for better reading success. Do NOT assume the school system knows the best practices for reading. Educate yourself and ASK!
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