What is Phonics?

As a Primary School Teacher, it is amazing to see how quickly children progress and become strong readers with daily Phonics lessons! 👩🏻‍🏫💪🏼

Phonics can feel like a foreign language to adults who learned how to read with a different method. In reality, Phonics is a much simpler way to teach children how to read and write in English 🙌🏼

All words are made up of individual sounds. These sounds are merged together as we speak to form words 💬

We use 44 sounds to make all of the words in the English language. However, we only have 26 letters in the alphabet. This means we have to combine letters to make up the difference. We also spell some sounds in more than one way 🤷🏻‍♀️

Phonics allows us to map the sounds that make up the English language and teach the different ways of spelling each sound. It is a structured and logical approach that also takes into account the inconsistencies of the English spelling system 💡

There is strong evidence to suggest Phonics is the most efficient and effective way to teach children how to read and write in English, provided that there is also a focus on reading comprehension and encouraging reading for pleasure 📚

YOUR TURN!
How many sounds are there in the word 'phonics?' Write your answer in the comments below! 👇🏼