Phonics

In simple terms, phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds. It helps the child determine the sounds in unfamiliar words. Phonics is important because it allows the child to connect phonemes with written letters (graphemes) so that they can transfer their knowledge of sounds to the printed word. Success in phonics depends on the child’s ability to master the first area of reading, which is phonemic awareness.

How do I know my child is having difficulty with phonics?

They have difficulty sounding the word out.
Reading is slow and choppy.
Your child has difficulty spelling words.
Your child guesses instead of sounding out the word.
Lack of comprehension because of the difficulty of sounding out words.

How can I assist my child?

Make sure they have mastered the sounds of the alphabet. Click here to watch a video.
Use the Tap It Out method. Give your child CVC words like cat, dog, bed, sit, etc., and have them tap it out on their arm. Each word will produce three taps. Click here to see an example.
Allow children to read stories that contain sight words and CVC (consonant/vowel/consonant) words. Click here and use pages 14-25. Beginning readers should be able to decode the passages. Click here for another free resource. You can also use Bob Books. You can find the books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target or Walmart. Here is another resource, but it’s not free. You can click on the books and see the words, but you won’t be able to enlarge them. This gives you an idea of what early readers should be working on.
Letter tiles. You can purchase these on Amazon. There are other options. Just search using the keywords, letter tiles.
Elkonin boxes teach students to blend sounds and read CVC words. Say a CVC word aloud and have your child put an item in the box, (counters, small toys, etc.) while saying each sound in the word.
Help them sound out the words.
Purchase, A Handbook for Reading by Abeka. This book can be found on Amazon.