In this series, I am focusing on the five components of reading. Today, we will look at phonics.
Phonics – this is the understanding of the symbols used to represent sounds when written down. It combines phonological awareness with letters. Think of it as a secret code that you have to break in order to read.
Having a strong phonological knowledge (sounds of language) and knowledge of the alphabet are both great predictors of later ability to decode and comprehend written text.
How to start?
1. Teach the association between a sound and a letter. For example, if you are focusing on the /m/ sound, grab some small sticky notes and write the letter m on them. Go around and find things that begin with the sound and label them. Teach your child how to write the m and have them draw pictures of things that begin with m and write the m next to the picture (labeling). Keep working at this until your child has automatic recognition of the letter that makes each sound for the letters in the alphabet. (Note: stick with the sounds of each LETTER of the alphabet at this stage – do not get into /ch/, /th/, or other sounds that use a combination of letters yet)
2. Teach your child how words are made of a string of sounds. Have them start with simple 3 letter words like “cat” or “log”. Have them slow the word down and hold up a finger for every sound they hear. You could get some of those cheap alphabet magnets and use the fridge for this one. After they figure out the 3 sounds, have them find the letters to form the word. (Note: Some letters mimic other letter sounds like c and k or g and j. If your child substitutes the wrong letters, it’s ok. Teachers call this “invented spelling” because the child is using the logical sound for the word.)
3. Once they are proficient at forming these words, teach them how to string the words together into a sentence with spacing. We aren’t in the punctuation stage yet, but you can introduce it!
4. Now that your child has the basics, you can start introducing the more difficult sounds like ch, th, dge. Just do it slowly, one at a time.
5. Silent e can be taught separately.
These are just ideas to get you started. Remember not to force your child or belittle them when they do things incorrectly. You want them to LIKE doing this, not make it a chore. Ten minutes of practice where it is a GAME will get you further than an hour of battle of the wills.