Phonics

-Phonics- Hill, S (2006) defines phonics or word work as it can also be called, as a way of instruction and a process of word identification and spelling, and notes that phonics is mainly focused on the sound letter relationship that is involved with reading and writing and also includes the alphabetic principle.

Hill, S (2006) implies that the alphabetic principle is the idea that spoken language is made up of sounds that can be written as single letters or a combination of letters for example the word "photo" has 5 letters and 4 sounds because "ph" represents only one sound.

Hill, S (2006) says that promoting investigation is an important part in the teaching of phonics, as it is often thought of as a puzzle that children have to investigate so that they can figure out how sounds and letters work, and from there children are able to construct knowledge about language.

This website is one example of the many websites that are aimed at teaching children phonics by promoting investigation, with the use of interactive games. http://www.beenleigss.eq.edu.au/requested_sites/sounds/index.html

The games on the website vary as would the teaching of phonics to children, there is the learning of the: ** ALPHABET ** With the use of interactive games such as: [|Alphabet Animals] [|Alphabet Sounds] [|Phonic Fighter] [|Alphabet Connect the Dots] The website also covers the teaching of ** VOWELS  **    ** CONSONANTS **      ** CVC **** OU OW ** ** Each aspect covered by this website is an important step for children to make in their learning of phonics as they all take time and persistence to develop an understanding of, and this website helps the children to actively learn through experiencing the significance of such concepts for themselves.
 * OI OY **
 * IGH **
 * Y (as in 'fly') **
 * long A vowel **
 * long I vowel **
 * long U vowel

The [|International Reading Association] found that as "reading is the complex process of understanding written texts. Children learn to read by using many sources of information such as their experiences, illustrations and print on the page, and knowledge of language—including their knowledge of sound-symbol correspondences. When teachers share interesting and informative books, nursery rhymes, songs, and poems with predictable language patterns, children develop and refine their use of these various information sources. Children become aware of and understand how print on a page relates to meaning. When children engage with texts themselves, as readers or writers, they begin to orchestrate this knowledge of how written language works to achieve success. It is within these kinds of contexts of language use that direct instruction in phonics takes on meaning for the learner. When phonics instruction is linked to children’s genuine efforts to read and write, they are motivated to learn. When phonics instruction is linked to children’s reading and writing, they are more likely to become strategic and independent in their use of phonics than when phonics instruction is drilled and practiced in isolation." (pg 4) This reveals what was presented earlier that phonics goes hand in hand with reading and writing, that the teaching of one aspect will essentially lead to or include the teaching of another aspect, and that including other concepts within the learning of another concept will strengthen their learning overall.