Phonics and Decoding

What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky's Song

By: Sebastian Wren (2005)

This article illustrates the difference between being able to decode words on a page and being able to derive meaning from the words and the concepts they are trying to convey.

Phonics: Watch & Learn

By: Reading Rockets (2004)

The following are six short video clips that offer you the chance to watch and learn effective phonics activities. The video clips are from Reading Rockets' PBS television series Launching Young Readers.

Meet the Word Families

By: Between the Lions (2003)

Creating a word family chart with the whole class or a small group builds phonemic awareness, a key to success in reading. Students will see how words look alike at the end if they sound alike at the end - a valuable discovery about our alphabetic writing system. They'll also see that one little chunk (in this case -an) can unlock lots of words!

English Language Learners and the Five Essential Components of Reading Instruction

By: Beth Antunez (2002)

Find out how teachers can play to the strengths and shore up the weaknesses of English Language Learners in each of the Reading First content areas.

The Phive Phones of Reading

By: Sebastian Wren (2002)

Who can understand all the jargon that's being tossed around in education these days? Consider all the similar terms that have to do with the sounds of spoken words – phonics, phonetic spelling, phoneme awareness, phonological awareness, and phonology – all of them share the same "phon" root, so they are easy to confuse, but they are definitely different, and each, in its way, is very important in reading education.

The Alphabetic Principle

By: Texas Education Agency (2002)

Children's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read. Knowing letter names is strongly related to children's ability to remember the forms of written words and their ability to treat words as sequences of letters.

Literacy Milestones: Age 6

By: Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, Kathryn Perkinson, and Lance Ferderer (2000)

Identifying a reading problem is a challenge without a sense for what typical literacy development looks like. Find out what language accomplishments are typical for most children at age six.

Literacy Milestones: Age 5

By: Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, Kathryn Perkinson, and Lance Ferderer (2000)

Identifying a reading problem is a challenge without a sense for what typical literacy development looks like. Find out what language accomplishments are typical for most children at age five.

Phonics Instruction

By: National Reading Panel (2000)

Phonics instruction is a way of teaching reading that stresses the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences and their use in reading and spelling.

Teaching the Alphabetic Code: Phonics and Decoding

By: Learning First Alliance (2000)

Early skills in alphabetics serve as strong predictors of reading success, while later deficits in alphabetics is the main source of reading difficulties. This article argues the importance of developing skills in alphabetics, including phonics and decoding.

Tuning In to the Sounds in Words

By: Bruce Murray (1999)

Thinking about the sounds in words is not natural, but it can be fun. Here are some games children can play to develop phonemic awareness, as well as a method for segmenting words that prevents children from distorting the pronunciation of the phonemes.

Teaching Alphabetics to Kids Who Struggle

By: Mary Fitzsimmons (1998)

This article describes two processes that are essential to teaching beginning reading to students with learning disabilities: phonological awareness and word recognition, and provides tips for teaching these processes to students.

Difficulties With Alphabetics

By: G. Reid Lyon (1997)

Invariably, it is difficulty linking letters with sounds that is the source of reading problems, and children who have difficulties learning to read can be readily observed.

How Now Brown Cow: Phoneme Awareness Activities

By: Edwin S. Ellis (1997)

Phonemic awareness training is essential for students who are at risk for reading difficulties. This article describes the components of phonemic awareness and provides activities that special educators can use to provide this training to at risk students.

Figuring Out Written Words: Practical Ideas for Parents

By: Texas Education Agency (1996)

Children can use what they know about letter-sound matches to decode (figure out) written words.

Letters and Sounds: Practical Ideas for Parents

By: Texas Education Agency (1996)

Provide your child with the opportunity to learn that written words are made up of letters that match the sounds in spoken words.

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

By: National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators (1996)

Thousands of children have a learning disability, and many more fail in school because of difficulties in learning to read. An analysis of decades of research about how young children can best learn to read indicates that, in most cases, these difficulties can be prevented. The following are concrete strategies teachers can use to help students build a solid foundation for reading.

Is Phonics a Worthwhile Component of Beginning Reading Instruction?

By: Marilyn J. Adams (1990)

One of the earliest efforts in the recent trend to synthesize what we know from reading research, Marilyn Adams' 1990 book, "Beginning To Read" was a landmark review of the research on phonics and reading acquisition. Read her description of what she did and what she learned as she went through the process of producing this report.

Skillful Readers and Poor Readers: Research and Theory

By: Marilyn J. Adams (1990)

One of the earliest efforts in the recent trend to synthesize what we know from reading research, Marilyn Adams' 1990 book, "Beginning To Read" was a landmark review of the research on phonics and reading acquisition. Read her description of what she did and what she learned as she went through the process of producing this report.