For Teachers

Empower early readers to become students for life.

As an educator, you play a crucial role in children’s literacy development! Effective phonics instruction lays the foundation kids need to become curious, lifelong learners in the classroom and the world beyond.

Whether you’re considering which phonics instruction methods work best or looking for ways to introduce difficult concepts to students, phonics.org is here to support you.  

Phonics Resources for Teachers

phonics rules

10 Tricky Phonics Rules to Understand 

The more advanced children become at reading, the more complex certain phonics rules become....

teaching letter sounds effectively to kids

A Guide to Teaching Letter Sounds Effectively

Knowing the connection between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) is one of the first...

learn to reach decoding in reading for kids

Methods of Effective Decoding in Reading

When children are learning to read, they must be taught how to “sound out”...

what is phonics?

What is Phonics? An Introduction for Parents and Educators

Anyone who can read and write in an alphabetical language has mastered an important...

kids learning phonemic awareness activities

Classroom Phonemic Awareness Activities for Kids

Before learning to read, children must understand their spoken language. The first step in...

Best Books for Teaching Phonics Skills

Best Books for Teaching Phonics Skills

Learning to read is one of childhood’s greatest adventures, and the right books can transform phonics instruction from mechanical practice into magical discovery. While worksheets and flashcards have their place,…

The Wonderful World of Nonsense: Using Jabberwocky to Boost Early Reading Skills

The Wonderful World of Nonsense: Using Jabberwocky to Boost Early Reading Skills

The strange creatures and bizarre vocabulary of The Jabberwocky offer more than just giggles—they provide a unique opportunity to strengthen your child’s phonics abilities. There’s something magical about the way…

Silent E Words Help Your Child Master Long Vowel Sounds

Silent E Words Help Your Child Master Long Vowel Sounds

Learning to read involves many small steps that build upon each other. Among these important building blocks is understanding the silent e rule – one of the first “tricky” phonics…

Root Word Meaning: Building Vocabulary Through Phonics

Root Word Meaning: Building Vocabulary Through Phonics

Have you ever watched your child struggle with an unfamiliar word, sounding it out letter by letter, only to miss its meaning entirely? While decoding words is a crucial first…

Reading Comprehension Strategies: Building on Phonics Foundations

Reading Comprehension Strategies: Building on Phonics Foundations

Ever watched your child perfectly sound out every word in a story, only to have them stare blankly when you ask what the story was about? You’re not alone. This…

Text-to-Speech: Supporting Early Readers Through Assistive Technology

Text-to-Speech: Supporting Early Readers Through Assistive Technology

Ever watched a child’s face light up when they finally understand a story that previously seemed like an impossible code to crack? That’s the magic text-to-speech technology can bring to…

Supporting Early Writers: Connecting Phonics to Writing Development

Supporting Early Writers: Connecting Phonics to Writing Development

Ever watched a child laboriously sound out each letter as they attempt to spell a word on paper? That concentrated look—tongue slightly protruding, pencil gripped tightly—represents an incredible cognitive feat.…

Book Review: “A Bad Case of Stripes”

Book Review: “A Bad Case of Stripes”

David Shannon’s vibrant picture book “A Bad Case of Stripes,” tells the whimsical story of Camilla Cream, a young girl who cares too much about what others think. Her anxiety…

Practical Activities to Build Rhythm and Segmentation Skills

Practical Activities to Build Rhythm and Segmentation Skills

Teaching sound segmentation doesn’t require expensive materials or formal training—just enthusiasm and consistency! The key is to make these activities part of your daily routine and to keep them playful…

Cross-Linguistic Transfer in Reading

Cross-Linguistic Transfer in Reading

Does learning to read in one language help children learn to read in another? The answer is yes! Research shows that many reading skills can transfer between languages, a process…