When considering programs to help children to learn to read with phonics, the following guidelines have been put forward as a result of the most recent research in the field.
Upon the publication of a phonics program it should meet the following criteria. Provision of good quality phonic work of a systematic nature as the principal method for the interpretation of the written word. That children will have acquired sufficient phonics skills by age 5 and go on to become fluent readers with good ability to recognize words by age 10. That stand alone lessons should be given on a daily basis that promote progression from easier to more difficult phonics skills and abilities. Provide for regular assessment of children’s progress. The use of a visual, auditory and kinaesthetic elements in the program so that there is an emphasis on the stimulation of more than one sense in the learning process. That the system shows how words can be broken down into sounds for spelling and in reverse that sounds can be blended to form words. That children are encouraged to use their phonic skills in the first instance and as their main tool for reading even if the word does not adhere to phonic rules. That children be taught common words that dont conform to regular phonics rules. That at an early stage children read texts and write words that fall within the range of the skills they have gained even though they may still need help to read some of the words
1. Phonic work is best understood as a body of knowledge and skills about how the alphabet works, rather than one of a range of optional ‘methods’ or ‘strategies’ for teaching children how to read. For example, phonic program should not encourage children to guess words from non-phonic clues such as pictures before applying phonic knowledge and skills. High quality phonic work will make sure that children learn several things. Grapheme/phoneme (letter/ sound) correspondences ( the alphabetic principle) in a clearly defined, incremental sequence; To apply the highly important skill of blending (synthesising) phonemes, in order, all through a word to read it; To apply the skills of segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell; Blending and segmenting are reversible processes.
2. Teachers will make principled, professional judgments about when to start on a systematic program of phonic work but it is reasonable to expect that the great majority of children will be capable of, and benefit from doing so by the age of five. It is equally important for the program to be designed so that children become fluent readers having secured word recognition skills by the end of key stage one.
3. The phonics program should at first introduce children to some vowels and consonants that will enable them to read simple words.
4. If the program is high quality, incremental and systematic it will, by design, map progression in phonic knowledge and skills. It should therefore enable teachers to: track children’s progress; assess for further learning and identify incipient difficulties, so that appropriate support can be provided.
5. Multi-sensory activities should be interesting and engaging but firmly focused on intensifying the learning associated with its phonic goal. They should avoid taking children down a circuitous route only tenuously linked to the goal. This means avoiding over-elaborate activities that are difficult to manage and take too long to complete, thus distracting the children from concentrating on the learning goal.
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