Synthetic phonics
It involves the learners rehearsing the writing of letter shapes, preferably with the tripod pencil grip, alongside learning the letter-sounds.
Synthetic phonics does not teach letter names until the learners know common letter-sounds thoroughly and how to blend sounds for reading and segment spoken words for spelling.
They are systematic because the letters and the sounds they relate to are taught in a specific sequence, as opposed to incidentally or on a "when needed" basis.
Teachers can use engaging games or materials to teach letter-sound connections, and it can also be incorporated with the reading of meaningful text.
However, their effectiveness vary considerably because the methods differ in such areas as the range of letter-sound coverage, the structure of the lesson plans, and the time devoted to specific instructions.
[10] Systematic phonics has gained increased acceptance in different parts of the world since the completion of three major studies into teaching reading; one in the US in 2000,[11][12] another in Australia in 2005,[13] and the other in the UK in 2006.
[citation needed] In 2009, the UK Department of Education published a curriculum review that added support for systematic phonics.
[14] It’s often referred to as ‘systematic’ synthetic phonics because children learn about the various sounds, spellings, and grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) in a structured manner.
Teachers using the analogy method may have students memorize a bank of phonograms, such as -at or -am, or use word families (e.g. can, ran, man, or may, play, say).
Johnston et al. (2012) conducted experimental research studies that tested the effectiveness of phonics learning instruction among 10-year-old boys and girls.
In America in the eighteenth century, Noah Webster introduced spelling approaches with syllabaries and in England the use of James Pitman's Initial Teaching Alphabet was popular in the 1960s.
In December 2005 the Department of Education, Science and Training of the Australian Government published a report entitled a National Inquiry into the Teaching of Reading.
[58] Notably, the teaching of alphabetic skills based on the science of reading has replaced the use of various cueing systems and a variety of strategies to construct meaning from text.
The Minister of Education for Ontario responded to this report by saying the government is taking immediate action to improve student literacy and making longer-term reforms to modernize the way reading is taught and assessed in schools, with a focus on phonics.
Their plan includes "revising the elementary Language curriculum and the Grade 9 English course with scientific, evidence-based approaches that emphasize direct, explicit and systematic instruction and removing references to unscientific discovery and inquiry-based learning, including the three-cueing system, by 2023.
A review of the teaching of early reading was undertaken by Sir Jim Rose at the request of the Department for Education.
The following is a summary of the report's observations and recommendations concerning phonics: Education Scotland found that explicit, systematic phonics programmes, usually embedded in a rich literacy environment, give an additional four months progress over other programmes such as whole language, and are particularly beneficial for young learners (aged 4–7).
[94] A five-year follow-up of the study concluded that the beneficial effects were long-lasting, in fact the reading gains increased.
In grades two and three children receive explicit instruction in advanced phonic-analysis and reading multi-syllabic and more complex words.
[101][102] In 2015 the New York State Public School system began a process to revise its English Language Arts Learning Standards.
The Ohio Department of Education has created a guidance manual for the year 2018–2019 that outlines the requirements for Researched-Based Reading Instruction.
[112] It contains four recommendations to support reading: 1) Teach students academic language skills, including the use of inferential and narrative language, and vocabulary knowledge, 2) Develop awareness of the segments of sounds in speech and how they link to letters (phonemic awareness and phonics), 3) Teach students to decode words, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words (phonics and synthetic phonics), and 4) Ensure that each student reads connected text every day to support reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.
Thus, "systematic phonics instruction should be viewed as a natural and logical consequence of the manner in which alphabetic writing systems represent spoken language".
[119] The first goal of this initiative is to provide educators with the in-depth knowledge and skills of "the science of reading" and evidence-based instructional strategies.
[120] This includes a change of focus to research-based instruction on phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
[121] Part of the instruction involves the use of a book and study guide entitled Essentials of Assessing, Preventing and Overcoming Reading Difficulties, by David Kilpatrick.
