How to Start Teaching Phonics

By Kara Bietz, eHow Contributor updated: September 13, 2010

Learning phonics is the first step to help your child become a reader.

Phonics is a method of teaching reading that involves learning to associate letter patterns with the sounds they represent. Phonics is not unlike math in that it is ideally taught in steps. Each step must be mastered before moving on to the next step. Each step will build upon mastery of the step that came before it. Most preschool and kindergarten programs agree that a strong phonics program is the best way to approach teaching reading.
Difficulty:

Instructions

Paper

Moderate

things you'll need:

Pencils or markers Picture books Easy reader books

1.

1 2 3 4

Read out loud to your child while letting him see the words in print. Listening to the rhythm of words while also looking at the printed page helps build a connection between letters and sounds.

Teach alphabet sounds. It is important to learn the names of the letters, as well as the sounds they produce. Play a game with your child, thinking of words that begin with different letter sounds. Write these words down so she can see the connection between the printed letter and the sound it makes.

Play rhyming games. Pick a simple three-letter word such as "hat" to begin. Ask your child how many words she can rhyme with "hat." Make sure to write down the words she names, pointing out that changing the very first letter sound is what makes a rhyme.

Introduce easy reader books. Choose an easy reader book that your child will be able to read independently. There are many choices available that contain only three to four short rhyming words. Ask her to read the book aloud to you.

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Tips & Warnings

Each child develops at his or her own rate. Some children will be interested in learning alphabet letters at the age of 2, while others may not be interested until the age of 6. Keep in mind your child's interests and developmental level when introducing phonics.

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Teaching Phonics - Step by Step

Teaching phonics is not dissimilar to learning mathematics. In maths you learn step by step. You learn to count before you add, add before you subtract, subtract before multiplication. It doesn't make sense to learn how to multiply before you understand the concept of counting. You learn in small incremental steps and it is the same when you are teaching reading. There is an unspoken order in teaching phonics just as there is an unspoken order in how to teach mathematics. However, if I may jump back to mathematics (sorry - this site really is about reading!), there can sometimes be hazy areas about what to teach and when. For example, how about 'place-value' - or when exactly do you teach counting in multiples of 5 or 2? When do you teach the 'silent /e/' rule? The point I am trying to get across is, that you do need to be somewhat flexible and be open to go back or forward a few steps if it helps your child. Sometimes you hit that 'teaching moment' when everything has somehow aligned up and your child has that beautiful 'light bulb' experience! You would be very unwise to ignore such a moment, pressing on with your 'schedule'. No, instead you would use that teaching moment to praise/encourage your child's observations so next time you re-visited that phonics rule, your child would be more likely to remember it. I like how Jolly Phonics teaches the order of letter sounds, introducing a couple of consonant digraphs early on see below:

1. s, a, t, i, p, n 2. ck, e, h, r, m, d 3. g, o, u, l, f, b 4. ai, j, oa, ie, ee, or 5. z, w, ng, v, short oo, long oo 6. y, x, ch, sh, voiced th, unvoiced th 7. qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar

To help you, I have listed some phonics basics to help you see the big picture. If you decide to teach consonant digraphs before blends or mix the two up a bit - it doesn't really matter. So long as you see the big picture of what

you are trying to achieve, review lessons frequently and remain willing to go at your child's pace of learning. Remember to look out for those magical 'teaching moments'. But above all, make it fun and not a chore!

Learning to read - The Basics:

Phonemic Awareness Initial Alphabet Sounds Short Vowels Consonants Long Vowels Blends Consonant Digraphs Vowel Digraphs 'R' Controlled Vowels Diphthongs More complex vowel sounds

Go to 'How to choose Reading Software' for teaching phonics

What are the Vowel Sounds?

From the 26 letters in the English alphabet, 5 of these letters are used to make 19 vowel sounds. The other 21 letters are used to make the 25consonant sounds. The 19 vowel phonemes consist of: 5 Long Vowels 5 Short Vowels 3 Dipthongs A long and short oo (2 sounds) 4 'r' controlled vowel sounds

5 Long Vowel Sounds

Here are some examples: long /a/ as in gate long /e/ as in need long /i/ as in nice long /o/ as in yoke

long /u/ as in you You can also listen to them here. Double click the ARROW to activate the video:

How to Teach the Elements of Phonics?

By Mandi Titus, eHow Contributor updated: March 26, 2011

Phonics instrution involves teaching students about the connection between written letters and sounds.

Teaching children the elements of phonics can be an effective step in teaching them to read. Phonics, the understanding that each written letter has a specific sound, allows students to blend sounds together to read or build words. Phonics instruction involves starting with basic principles, such as introducing letter names and building on each skill once the students have demonstrated comprehension and understanding.
Difficulty:

Instructions
1.

Moderately Easy

Introduce letter names and sounds. Show students pictures of each letter of the alphabet and tell them the name of each letter. Once students are able to identify all of the letters in both upper- and lowercase, introduce the primary sound for each letter, using short vowel sounds for the five vowels. Have students practice making each sound. For example, when showing the letter C, say "C says /k/."

Practice reading two and three letter words. Show students how to blend two sounds together by displaying a simple word, like "it" and modeling how to blend the letters together by saying each sound, /i/ and /t/, while touching the corresponding letters. Then blend the letters together by saying and holding each sound until the word is recognizable. Practice with a wide range of simple two or three letter words made up of short vowel sounds and consonants, such as "cat," "hot," "sun" and "ten."

Teach consonant blends and digraphs. Once students are comfortable with basic two and three letter words, introduce additional phonics concepts such as two letter blends, like "bl," "gr," "spl," and "tr," and simple digraphs, such as "sh," "ch," "th" and "ng." Show students the letter combinations and model the sound for each one before asking students to blend and build words with the new sounds.

Introduce long vowel sounds. Explain that each vowel makes its sound and also says its name in certain conditions. Teach the basic rules of long vowels, such as the idea that when two vowels are together in a word or there is a vowel in the middle and end of a four letter word, the first vowel usually says its name, like in the words "cake," "feet," "bike" and "toe" and allow students the opportunity to practice reading long vowel words.

Teach students additional phonics skills and spelling rules in the same way as previous skills have been introduced, as their reading skills progress. George Mason University suggests introducing students to silent letters, then vowel digraphs, such as "ai," "oa" and "ey," before vowel dipthongs, such as "aw," "oo" and "oy," and "r" controlled vowel sounds, such as those made by "ar," "ir" and "ur," with any additional phonics skills being taught after these have all been mastered.

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Tips & Warnings

Teaching students the elements of phonics takes several years.

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How to Teach Phonics Reading

By Karen Hollowell, eHow Contributor

Phonics is the most acceptable way to teach reading because it is research-based and proven to work for the vast majority of students. Phonics emphasizes the individual sound(s) that represent letters which, in turn, become words. Phonics is a process that begins with a letter and ends with a sentence.
Difficulty:

Instructions
1.

Moderate

1 2 3

Introduce letters. Do this with an alphabet chart on the wall and with flash cards for frequent review. Teach the alphabet with rhyming chants or songs. The reading program that the school uses will have a song or poem that is used to teach the letters.

Teach sounds. This can be done while teaching letter names. Teach that letters correspond with sounds. Always associate a picture with a letter, like an apple for "A" or a mouse for "M."

Blend sounds into words. A student can begin blending sounds before he has mastered the entire alphabet. For example, after teaching the letters and sounds for "a," "m" and "n," you can teach blending by saying that you are going to stretch the sounds to make the word "man." Use simple, three-letter words in the beginning until students are comfortable with this process. Then you can introduce longer words with blends (ch, sh, wh) and letter chunks (ai, ae, ar). Teach a new sound and use it to blend with those already mastered. This way, you are constantly building the students' vocabulary.

Combine words to make sentences. When the students can blend several words comfortably, have them put the words together to make a sentence. Explain that a sentence is a group of words that is expressing a thought. Teach spacing of words and simple punctuation such as periods and question marks

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