The teaching of phonics is a means to an end. Children need to decode in order to independently read and write. Phonics shouldn’t feel like an interruption or detour away from these authentic experiences. Phonics should be the building of a curiosity—developed by a passionate, informed teacher—about how words work, an inquiry about how the sounds of our language are mapped onto visual symbols. It is discovering the purpose of letters, how letters can work alone or be combined to symbolize sounds, and later in the journey, how the spelling of words quite often intersects with their meaning. Phonics instruction simply gives children the information about how letter–sounds work so that they can build automatic word recognition that frees their conscious attention to concentrate on meaning.
Instead of quiet, passive students, imagine children spread out in groups on a brightly colored carpet spelling words with dry erase markers and boards. Imagine a first grader telling his teacher, “Look! Some, done, none, and above are the pattern!” Picture a small group of students with a teacher building words with magnetic letters. See a first grader sounding out a word for the first time: “/d/ /i/ /g/, dig? Oh! Dig! That’s it!” Envision a prekindergarten student using letter–sounds to recognize her friend’s name: “T, Taylor. T for Taylor.” This is phonics! Engaged word solving! Using letter–sounds to read and spell! The “I can do it!” smile on a child’s face when the grown-up world of words is unlocked.
When children are taught to decode words, they become fluent readers; they understand that they can use strategies when they encounter new words, which means they get stuck less often and we decrease the risk of them becoming disengaged readers.
…
Letter Lessons and First Words will be available for pre-order soon at Heinemann.com