When it comes to best phonics learning method for primary school kids, there are several approaches and resources available.
Why Learn Phonics
However, as parents and educationists, we need to realize that the purpose of the phonics approach to teaching literacy is to help develop the child’s knowledge through building his understanding of the connection between letters and sounds. The written language can be seen as codes, so that knowing the sounds of individual letters and how they sound when they are combined will help our children decode words as they read. Understanding phonics will hence help our children know which letters to use when they are writing words.
In short, the primary focus of phonics instruction is to help early readers to recognize how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes) to form letter-sound correspondences and spelling patterns and to help them learn how to apply this knowledge when they are learning to read.
Phonics Learning Method
Here are a few popular options of phonics learning methods for primary school kids that are often considered effective:
1. Synthetic Phonics
This phonics learning method focuses on teaching our pre-primary and primary school kids the sounds of individual letters and letter combinations and how they blend together to form words. One can see that it starts from word parts and then builds them to the whole. It emphasizes the systematic teaching of phonics rules and the ability to code and decode words. Although systematic, one concern would be reading without understanding the context of the text.
2. Analytic Phonics
This approach takes a more holistic approach, rather the opposite of number 1. Children from pre-primary to primary levels start with whole words and learn to break them down to parts. In doing so, children learn to recognize whole words first and then, to analyze the phonetic patterns within them. It encourages children to identify common phonograms (letter patterns) and apply that knowledge to new words. This emphasizes on the more natural way of learning to read, that is, through inferencing and exposure to words. More time is then spent on whole words in the text allowing kids to learn patterns, rhyme and analogy.
3. Analogy Phonics
This is another approach of analytic phonics in which children analyse phonic elements according to the phonograms in the word. A phonogram, known in linguistics as a rime, is composed of the vowel and all the sounds that follow it, such as –ake in the word cake. Children use these phonograms to learn about “word families” for example cake, make, bake, fake, take, wake, rake, sake, lake.
4. Embedded Phonics
Children are taught letter-sound relationships during the reading of actual texts or books and connecting words within the text in order to gather more meaning of the vocabulary word. For example, a child might learn to decode the word ‘dolphin’ in the context of a short story about dolphins and other marine life. In other words, children learn about words and how to decode by reading actual books.
5. Phonics Apps and Online Programs
There is no shortage of phonics apps, games, and online programs out there in the market. From letter sounds to consonant blends to diphthongs to rhyming words, these apps will help children engage with phonics practice or exercises in a fun, challenging and exciting way. To an extent, they can help your child to practise sounding out words, which will help them to read.
These interactive phonics apps use games, quizzes, and engaging activities which can help teach children the relationship between letters and sounds and help them develop the skills needed to read and write. These resources often provide a combination of phonics learning with visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning (multi-sensory learning) experiences which can engage children while making reading seem fun and engaging.
6. Phonics Workbooks and Worksheets
Physical workbooks and free printable worksheets can be used to reinforce phonics skills. These materials typically include exercises for letter recognition, sound blending, word families, and phonetic patterns.
An example is The Fun Fonix series which starts with an Aa, Bb, Cc alphabet practice workbook and then progresses to more advanced phonics rules such as vowel digraphs and dipthongs. One can start at any level that is appropriate for your pre-primary or primary school kid and print portions to support your child in his phonics learning program.
7. Multisensory Phonics Instruction
Your approach could incorporate different sensory modalities, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, to enhance learning and make it fun. This phonics learning method could involve actions, gestures, manipulatives, and songs to reinforce phonics concepts.
Combining phonics learning with sensory learning is a necessary step for early learners.
Young children may be first taught the alphabet, starting with vowels before moving on to consonants. While learning these sounds, these children could be given sandpaper letter cards to touch and trace while they voice out the sounds of each letter.
8. Phonics-based Reading Programs
Several comprehensive reading programs, such as “Jolly Phonics”, “Letterland”, “Hooked on Phonics,” and “Wilson Reading System,” use a systematic phonics approach to teach reading skills. These programs often include a combination of teacher-led instruction, interactive activities, and decodable story books. They come usually with simple, step-by-step instructions and some are designed for children with short attention span or busy parents who cannot spare much time, hence the lessons are short.
Check out our carefully structured modules which cover motor skills for the little ones, phonics, reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, structuring text, planning and independent writing.
Conclusion
One must remember that the effectiveness of a phonics learning method can vary depending on the individual child’s learning style and preferences. It’s important to choose a phonics learning method or to incorporate the various methods that will suit your child’s needs in order to provide him ample practice and reinforcement of his phonics skills.
Here in ‘Seriously Addictive English’ (S.A.E.) @ HOUGANG, we use a structured phonics approach and an integrated literacy skills curriculum to help children read fluently and write confidently. The structured phonics approach simplifies English language into 44 sounds that can help the early learner to read and write. Our curriculum is customized for each child according to their reading and comprehension levels while we incorporate a variety of activities and text types to inculcate avid reading.
Learn more at our S.A.E. Hougang page.