Why Explicit Phonics Instruction is So Important

phonicsorg on March 6, 2024

Explicit phonics instruction is vital to literacy development, especially when it’s time for kids to begin reading. With the variety of phonics instruction methods and opinions in education today, it’s important to understand what works and why.

Let’s start by acknowledging the reality that children learn at different rates. Some students quickly adopt the skills they need to become readers; others require thorough instruction, effort, and repetition to grasp basic concepts and skills. 

Explicit instruction has proven to help even the most struggling readers. Let’s look at why explicit instruction is so important for all learners!

The Most Effective Method of Phonics Instruction

According to the science of reading, effective phonics education must be two things: systematic and explicit.

Systematic

Whether a child grasps reading concepts earlier than the rest of their class or struggles with literacy development due to a specific learning disorder, systematic teaching serves a crucial purpose.

Systematic instruction works by guiding students through a step-by-step process. You begin with the simplest, most foundational concepts and build upon them sequentially up until the most complex. 

In the same way you wouldn’t build a bridge without a carefully planned blueprint, thorough site preparation, and solid foundation, you can’t expect a child to read without first teaching them the core principles one after the next. 

Explicit 

Effective phonics instruction must be explicit. This means that teachers provide direct, structured, consistent teaching through modeling and examples, ensuring students comprehend the material before moving forward. 

Also known as direct phonics instruction, explicit teaching follows a clear scope and sequence, meaning you have a framework of what to teach (scope) and when to teach it (sequence). 

Explicit instruction is intentional, evidence-based, and practical. For example, an explicit, systematic phonics approach teaches similar letters together, focuses on short vowel sounds first, and introduces consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words.

Imagine throwing a child into the deep end of a pool. You would first need to help them prepare so they don’t drown! First, are they comfortable entering the water? Have you distinguished the shallow side versus the deep areas of the pool? Can they float? Have you taught them how to swim? The same analogy applies to reading and phonics. Explicit, supportive, and demonstrative instruction prepares kids with the knowledge and skills they must practice with a teacher until they can do it on their own.

Explicit, Systematic Phonics Instruction Meets Individual Learning Needs

Children who have difficulty with learning certain concepts may need an adapted approach. For early readers, adaptive teaching still uses the systematic, explicit method but may require:

  • A greater number of repetitions when learning a new skill (for example, some children learn a letter sound after only a few practices; others need hundreds of repetitions)
  • A different setting, such as learning in a group of readers at a similar level instead of learning surrounded by more advanced classmates 
  • Further one-on-one teaching with a specialist in addition to classroom instruction

Assessing a Reader’s Strengths and Weaknesses 

To teach phonics in a way that meets a child’s learning needs, you first need to know where they’re at in the developmental process. This not only identifies areas of weakness but also informs you of the child’s current capabilities and strengths.

Reading assessments provide information about a person’s reading skills and progress, as well as what instruction they need most. Assessments cover the core reading concepts including:

  • Letter knowledge
  • Phonemic awareness 
  • Decoding
  • Fluency
  • Comprehension 

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is a common reading assessment in education today. It’s reliable, research-based, and free to access.

A quality phonics assessment typically includes a child’s ability to read “nonwords.” These are simple words that aren’t in the English language but can still be sounded out at appropriate reading levels; for example: ‘noz,’ ‘taf,’ and ‘voth.’ Nonwords allow educators and specialists to differentiate between words a child has memorized and what the child does when trying to read a new, unfamiliar word. 

Once educators assess and understand a child’s reading abilities, they can facilitate progress through a direct phonics instruction approach.

Using the Response to Intervention Model in Reading Education 

When students are at risk of failing to learn crucial literacy skills, parents or teachers often arrange a reading intervention. Sometimes schools use a Response to Intervention (RTI) model to determine the intensity and duration of a child’s reading intervention. This RTI model has three tiers:

  • Tier 1: A whole-class instruction that all students receive.
  • Tier 2: Some students who aren’t making progress from whole-class instruction may need additional small group instruction to catch up to their peers. 
  • Tier 3: Children in need of the most intensive reading instruction require ongoing one-on-one support with specific interventions to help them improve their literacy skills. 

In all instances of Response to Intervention, instructors and specialists use explicit, systematic teaching methods. By focusing on the most basic skills a child needs to learn and then building upon that structure, RTI programs can successfully help children learn to read. 

Explicit Phonics Instruction: The Key to Lifelong Literacy 

No matter a child’s current reading level, they deserve the literacy skills they need to become learners for life. These skills are set in stone thanks to direct phonics instruction.

At phonics.org, we provide teachers and parents with the resources they need to help kids become empowered, literate individuals. With nearly 67% of U.S. fourth graders currently reading below their grade level, explicit instruction must be adopted early to prevent this statistic from growing. 

We’re here to make sure every child has the phonics essentials they need to succeed. To join the effort in raising strong readers and writers, reach out to us today.

Additional Resources:

Explicit Instruction (Dr. Anita Archer): A book that informs teachers about effective instruction for special needs learners.

DIBELS Tests for K-3: Standardized individual assessments for early literacy students. 

At a Loss for Words (AMP Reports): A thorough exploration of effective vs. ineffective reading instruction, including examples of student outcomes and various observations from teachers.

Fun Phonics Games for Kids: Activities to Try at Home 

phonicsorg on February 28, 2024

Kids need to master basic phonics skills before they can become proficient readers. While practice with systematic phonics instruction in the classroom is necessary, many children learn best through play! To help you encourage your child to strengthen their literacy skills at home, here are some fun phonics games to try together.

Letter Recognition Activities

Letter recognition and letter sounds are the first skills children need to learn when entering phonics instruction. The alphabetic principle, or the ability to correlate letters with the sounds they make, is a crucial skill in reading and writing. 

Here are some games to help your child learn letter-sound recognition.

Letter Bingo

For letter bingo, make some bingo cards with uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and several objects in the squares. Get some tokens or small figurines your child can use to place on the bingo spaces they match with the item called.

How to play:

Give each player an alphabet bingo card. Choose a literate person to be the host of the game, calling out different letters, corresponding letter sounds, or objects with specific letter sounds. Players will use their tokens to mark off the matching letters on their bingo cards. The first person to fill out an entire row wins “Bingo!” and then gets to be the leader for the next round.

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Go on an adventurous treasure hunt with your child to find letters and letter sounds! To set up the game, create index cards with different uppercase and lowercase letters written on them. Secretly choose some small toys, treats, or everyday objects that match the sounds on the index cards. Hide the index card with the item that has its corresponding letter sound. For example, hide the letter <H> next to a helicopter toy, hairbrush, or hat. 

How to play: 

Explain the rules of the treasure hunt. Give your child clues and then have them search for prizes that match your clues. You might give a directional clue (“This treasure is near something wooden”), a letter clue (“This item starts with <B>”), or a letter sound clue (“Look for something that has the sound, /sh/”). If they find enough treasures, let them choose a prize.

Whack-a-Letter

This is a fun phonics game for beginner readers who love physical activities. You (or another family member or friend) will collect wooden or foam toy letters to arrange on the floor. Give players something to “whack” the letters with. A fly swatter, toy paddle, or plastic baseball bat will do. 

How to play:

Explain that you are going to spell out words on the floor with the toy letters. The child’s job is to whack a letter! When he or she knows the sound of a letter, they have to whack it and sound out the letter only one time. If they get the whole word correct, celebrate with a quick dance party or some other physical activity your child loves. Make it fun and exciting like a game of whack-a-mole. This game often results in laughs and lots of fun!

Games to Practice Blending and Segmenting 

Blending is the sounding out of letters to form full words. Segmenting is the breaking up of spoken words into their sounds. Both are important skills required for reading, writing, and lifelong learning.

Fishing for Phonics

Go phonics fishing with your kids using only a few household supplies. You’ll need:

  • Construction paper
  • Markers
  • Paper clips
  • Magnets
  • Craft string

Create a makeshift fishing rod by attaching a magnet to a string. Cut out paper fish and write graphemes of words on them (for example, /sh/ /i/ /p/ for ‘ship’). Choose words that are appropriate for your child’s skill level.

How to play:

Lay out the paper fish in no particular order. Explain to your child that they’ll “fish” for words you say to try to create the whole word. Call out a word and then pay attention to how your child “catches” the letter sounds to blend. Offer guidance and encouragement if they get stuck.

Carnival Blend Cups

This is a fun carnival-style game for kids learning consonant blends and digraphs. To set up the game, get a stack of plastic cups and a few ping-pong balls or coins. On each cup, use a permanent marker to write a consonant blend (/bl/, /tr/, /sm/, /gr/, etc.) or digraph (/sh/, /ch/, /ph/, /th/, etc.). Arrange the cups at random at a reasonable distance so your child can throw something into the opening. 

How to play:

You can sound out one of the blends of digraphs, such as /sh/ or /tr/. Alternatively, you can say a word that starts with that blend or digraph. Then, your child tries to toss the coin or ball into the correct “blend cup.” Switch it up as your child progresses their phonics skills and scramble whole word segments they have to find before the time runs out!

Sound Train

This game doesn’t require any materials—just your attention, imagination, and voice. It’s a fun way to strengthen phonological awareness, memory, and comprehension. 

How to play:

The goal of this game is to create a spoken sound train with your child. Take turns saying individual letter sounds and then coming up with another letter sound to add to it until you make a word. For example, you say /m/, your child says /i/, you say /s/, and your child says /t/. Then, your child tries to identify the whole word: ‘mist.’ You can make it more challenging after you create a train: see if your child can spell the word on a piece of paper. Get creative and try to see the longest word you can make together. 

Rhyming Games

Rhyming helps kids identify similarities in different words. It also strengthens listening skills, vocabulary, and phonemic awareness in early phonics instruction. Here are a few activities to try with a group or children or one-on-one.

Rhyme Relay Race

This is a great activity that gets kids working their bodies and minds at the same time. You don’t need any materials for this phonics game—just six or more players, a field to run, and positive attitudes.

How to play:

Separate players into teams of two or more. Have players spread out along the course in a designated relay order: the first person at the starting line, the second person farther ahead, and so on. Establish a finish line at the very end of the field. Explain that the relay race winners will be those who can think of rhymes that match your starting word.

Choose a starting word (let’s say it’s ‘craft’). Call out, “On your mark, get set, ‘craft!’” The first player at the starting line must think of a rhyming word. When they call out a correct rhyming word, they run up to their next relay teammate and tag them. That teammate calls out a different rhyming word and goes up to the next teammate, and so on. The first team to get to the finish line wins!

Two-of-a-Kind Rhymes

If your child is younger and you want to play a rhyming game one-on-one, “two of a kind” is easy and can be played anywhere.

How to play:

Say three words out loud, two of which rhyme and one that does not. For example, ‘sat,’ ‘snail,’ ‘mat.’ Have your child guess the two that rhyme. You can make it more challenging by adding words that have slightly similar sounds but aren’t technically rhymes, such as, ‘cow,’ ‘clown,’ and ‘rainbow.’ Use this as a fun learning experience, talking through why each pair of rhyming words go together and going over any mistakes. 

More Fun Phonics Games for Kids and Parents

Looking for more phonics games to play with your child at home? No matter what stage of phonics instruction your child is in, there are many activities to support his or her learning. Check out phonics.org for useful and fun phonics resources that work!

Classroom Phonemic Awareness Activities for Kids

phonicsorg on February 7, 2024

Before learning to read, children must understand their spoken language. The first step in understanding spoken language is becoming aware of the different sounds that words contain within that language.

This is called phonemic awareness—one of the most important concepts in early literacy education. 

To help young learners achieve necessary milestones on their way to reading readiness, an understanding of phonemic awareness is crucial. 

Whether you’re new to this concept or simply want a refresher, here’s an overview of phonemic awareness for phonics instruction. We’ll also share some fun classroom activities that improve this important skill!

Phonemic Awareness: The Building Blocks of Phonics

Young children inherently learn that spoken language is made up of verbal sounds. As they build phonemic awareness during their first years of development, children learn many individual sounds that can be combined to form specific words. 

Building on this awareness, children begin to learn what certain words mean and then gradually use learned words to express themselves and communicate. 

Children build phonemic awareness over time in the presence of fluent adults and family. While language development happens naturally for most children, the phonics skills required for reading and writing must be explicitly taught. 

Therefore, phonemic awareness is the foundation of the reading pyramid:

There are proven activities that educators and parents can use to support phonemic development.

Activities to Strengthen Phonemic Awareness in Phonics Education

While phonemic awareness starts in early childhood development, direct instruction (and lots of practice) helps kids apply these skills toward phonics learning. 

Some children start learning phonics as early as three years old. Many, however, start learning once they enter kindergarten. Whether your little learner is in daycare, preschool, or kindergarten, you can give these activities a try!

1. Rhyme Scavenger Hunt

Rhyming is a crucial skill when it comes to phonemic awareness. To help kids identify and come up with words that rhyme, have a “rhyme” scavenger hunt.

  1. Create a list of classroom items you’ll use in the scavenger hunt. 
  2. Come up with words that rhyme with each item. These words will be the students’ scavenger hunt clues.
  3. Share the rhyming clue out loud then have students guess the answer. Let them get up, walk around, and physically “hunt” for the item they think rhymes with the clue.
  4. Every time students identify the correct item, have them raise their hands to guess what other words rhyme with it.
  5. You can also play this fun activity outdoors for an added challenge.

2. Sort Out the Sound

Engaging kids in sound sorting is an effective phonemic awareness activity. This helps them identify beginning, middle, and end sounds.

  1. Give students a sheet of paper that has pictures of different objects such as dog, duck, pig, pale, rock, and sock.
  2. Let students cut out each item.
  3. Instruct students to sort their cutouts based on the sounds you say. For example: “the beginning sound is /d/” or “the ending sound is /ck/”.
  4. Review students’ guesses and correct them when necessary.
  5. Repeat until all the sounds have been sorted.

3. Clapping Through Syllables

For syllable awareness, you can have children use their bodies to emphasize how many syllables a word has.

  1. Have students respond to words you say by clapping their hands for each syllable in each word.
  2. Repeat each word several times as a class, changing the speed from slow to fast.
  3. You can also change it up with stomping, jumping, or dancing.

4. Letter Mystery Bag

Help your students practice sound placement with this fun, interactive mystery bag!

  1. Place a bunch of toy letters in a bag. They can be foam, plastic, or wood.
  2. Have each student take turns reaching into the bag without looking. Whichever letter they pull out, ask them to make the sound that letter makes.
  3. Then, have the whole group repeat the letter sound.
  4. You can also have students pull out multiple letters in a row and see if the class can make a word from those letters.

5. Head-to-Toe Word Syllables

Get some movement in while practicing word segmentation for phonemic awareness.

  1. Explain and demonstrate the activity: students will touch parts of their bodies to show parts of a word.
  2. Beginning sounds = head.
  3. Middle sounds = hips.
  4. End sounds = toes.
  5. Say a word, such as “popsicle.”
  6. Have students repeat the word as they break up its syllables head to toe. 
  7. For “popsicle,” children touch their heads for /pop/, their hips for /sih/, and their toes for /cull/. 

6. Guess the Rhyme I’m Thinking Of

Have the class guess which rhyming word you’re thinking of.

  1. Give the class a rhyming clue: “I’m thinking of a word that rhymes with cat.”
  2. Let students guess the rhyming word, popcorn style.
  3. Feel free to use nonsense words for fun! For example: “I’m thinking of a word that rhymes with zoodle!” for the word “noodle.”

7. Make Sounds in a Mirror

For young children, making words in a mirror can be a fun activity at any time of day.

  1. Place a small mirror in front of the child.
  2. Ask them if they can repeat a word while making the funniest, most dramatic pronunciations with their face. Show them an example to begin with. 
  3. Talk about what the tongue and lips are doing while making a certain sound. 
  4. Have fun being goofy together and watching how words are formed!

8. Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters are a classic way to get kids thinking about phonemes and pronunciation. 

  1. Find skills-appropriate tongue twisters to try with the class.
  2. Practice each one through “repeat after me,” call and response, and recite from memory.
  3. Use this list of tongue twisters for plenty of ideas.

9. Sound Monsters

Make phonemes so playful that kids look forward to practicing every day. The sound-eating monster is a classroom favorite.

  1. Make several cute monsters using shoe boxes (for the body and mouth) and craft supplies (for the eyes, spikes, and facial features). 
  2. Explain how the Sound Monsters need to be fed every day. Sometimes the monsters have an appetite for different types of sounds, so the class needs to be careful which sounds in words they choose!
  3. Each day, get the class excited to “feed” the monsters. Rotate which students get to feed them so everyone has a turn throughout the week.
  4. Provide a bunch of notecards with pictures or words, such as baby, ball, apple, frog, etc.
  5. Choose which sounds a specific monster wants that day and act it out for the class. “Today, this Word Monster wants to eat the sound, ahhh.”
  6. Have students select notecards that contain words or pictures with the correct sounds.
  7. Make it fun and mix up the phonemes to make it challenging: “Today, this monster wants to eat the beginning sounds shh and sss.”

10. Simon Says Blending

Phoneme blending is one of the most important phonemic awareness skills students can have when learning to read. 

  1. Tell the class you will play Simon Says, a game where the teacher asks students to do an action, but only if they hear “Simon Says” first. 
  2. Instead of saying the action word, say all of the sounds in the word and ask students to blend the sounds to figure out the action. For example, “Simon says /s/ /i/ /t/ down” or “Simon says /j/ /u/ /m/ /p/ up!”
  3. Mix up the gameplay by asking one of the students to be the new “Simon”. 

Classroom Reading and Phonics Apps

Using technology in the classroom is helpful for digital native learners. In addition to these fun group activities, consider classroom reading and phonics apps that include phonemic awareness exercises.

Explore phonics.org to learn more ways to strengthen your students’ phonemic awareness. Find some of the best early phonics programs on the market today!

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