Phonics teaches children the skill of decoding words by breaking them down into their individual sounds. When taught correctly, this skill will prove essential for enabling children to read and spell both familiar and unfamiliar words.
Contrary to what some people may believe, phonics principles are actually forged at a very young age, long before children set foot in a classroom. As babies and toddlers begin to identify sounds, play with language and listen to stories, their phonics education is already underway.
Why do we teach phonics?
Simply put, phonics is an easy way for children to learn to read and write. Teaching individual sounds equips children with the skills to not only read and write words that they know but any word in the English language. The more sounds children learn, the better they are able to ‘sound out’ or break down words when reading, and the more confident they will become when spelling.
In addition to learning how to read and write the individual sounds, children must also learn how to blend the sounds together to form words and segment or break down words into individual sounds. Mastering these skills is essential for children to become confident readers and writers as they progress through school and beyond.
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