Tips for Teaching Phonics and Word Study
Phonics and Word Study
Phonics and word study are one of the five key areas of reading
instruction; they are essential components that lay a solid foundation
to read and spell successfully. There are four basic elements when
teaching phonics and word study:
- Letter-sound knowledge,
- Regular word reading,
- Irregular word reading and
- Decodable text reading.
Letter-Sound Knowledge
Letter-sound knowledge refers to the understanding that letters and
groups of letters in a word are associated with distinct sounds. Before
reading a word, a child must blend the individual sounds of each letter
together. Therefore, it is imperative that a child initially learn
each letter’s most common sound. The table at the end of this post
provides the most common spellings of forty-four sounds and a key word
to assist in pronunciation.
It is not recommended to teach letter sounds in alphabetic order but
rather in clusters that can form numerous words. For example, the
letters, /m/, /n/, /a/ and /t/ can be used to form several words, e.g.,
am, mat, tan. In addition, it is not recommended to initially introduce
confusing letter-sound relationships. In particular, avoid teaching
the following combinations simultaneously.
- /b/ , /p/ and /d/
- /d/ and /q/
- /p/ and /q/
- /w/ and /m/
- /u/ and /n/
While every child’s pace is slightly different, introducing two letter-sound relationships per week is ideal for most children.
Regular Word Reading
After a few weeks of letter-sound instruction, most children are
ready for regular word reading. A child who knows the letter-sound
association for /m/, /n/, /a/, /t/ , /i/ and /s/ can decode words such
as in, man, is and many more. The short /a/ sound should be one of the
first taught – it is so common in the English language that learning
this sound increases the words a child can read and write twofold. The
next step requires a child to blend known sounds together to read a
word. A child should silently sound out each sound and then say the
whole word quickly.
It is recommended to begin teaching words with the following patterns:
- Short vowel –consonant (VC), e.g., it, in
- Consonant – short vowel – consonant (CVC), e.g., sit, tin
As a child progresses, introduce the more complex patterns:
- CCVC, e.g., shop, stop
- CVCC, e.g., last, list
- CCVCC, e.g., truck, trunk
- CVCe, e.g., bake, rake.
As noted above, a child should begin with the consonant and short
vowel sounds. Then introduce blends (two or more consonants that
retain their own sound), digraphs (combining two letters to make one
sound) and long vowel sounds.
Irregular Word Reading
According to Dr. Moats, approximately 25% of the most common words used in children’s books are phonetically irregular. Irregular words and other very high frequency words are generally taught as whole words; these words are commonly referred to as sight words.
It is recommended to teach irregular words that appear often in
children’s writings and texts; review these words prior to their
encounter in a story. As you introduce new sight words, make sure you
review the previously taught words. Finally, use these words in both
reading and writing activities. For example, they can write two sight
words ten times and then write a sentence using the words. Select books
that contain the sight words you are currently reviewing.
Decodable Text Reading
After
a child receives instruction in both regular and irregular words, they
are ready to apply this knowledge and read a book. Try to select
reading material that contains those letter-sound associations as well
as sight words that a child has been taught. First, read the book
together and then have the child reread the book.
Once a child learns the four components of phonics and word study, they are well on their way to learning to read.
