First of all, we know that reading is a critical skill. We also know several students need to learn how to read better. We know that reading at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension is necessary. So for struggling readers, including students who are non-native English speakers, what role does phonics play in this goal to acquire fluency and comprehension?
|Decoding Skills Posters Hanging in the Hallway|
In addition, phonics is important to help students pronounce words correctly. Have you ever had a student ask, "Teacher, what is this word?" And then, once they hear the word pronounced, they say, "Oh, I know that word!" When students learn the phonemes (sounds) of English and the graphemes (letters) that represent them, they are better able to pronounce words. It's important that students pronounce words correctly because it contributes to better fluency and comprehension. Sometimes a word may look unfamiliar, but once the student hears or pronounces the word correctly, the student can connect the sound of the word to the meaning of the word that he or she already has stored in the brain.
In addition, spelling is improved when students learn phonics. Vocabulary is also enhanced when students are learning meaning of words simultaneously with the pronunciation of the words. Combining all of these benefits, students develop skills for independent learning because they are not dependent upon a dictionary or a teacher to tell them how to decode words that are unfamiliar in their reading.
|8th Grade Sorting Activity: The Three Sounds of -ED|
back to the basics. Some teachers are concerned that taking older learners back to the sounds and letters of the alphabet and teaching decoding strategies will cause the students to feel that the instruction is too "elementary." They are afraid that the students will feel like they are being taught like children. But I feel differently. If the instruction is delivered in a non-condescending way, older learners are grateful that someone took the time to cover the foundational skills that no one else dared to. An older student learning phonics once said, "No one ever took me back far enough." And there are numerous others who share the same sentiment. Sometimes we have to return to the basics.
See also the following related posts: