{"id":4496,"date":"2023-12-20T11:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T19:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abcmouse.com\/learn\/?p=4496"},"modified":"2025-03-25T12:29:04","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T20:29:04","slug":"what-is-phonics-and-how-do-i-teach-it-a-guide-for-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abcmouse.com\/learn\/advice\/what-is-phonics-and-how-do-i-teach-it-a-guide-for-parents\/4496","title":{"rendered":"What is Phonics, and How Do I Teach It? A Guide for Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How to Teach Phonics<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Phonics are an essential part of learning to read. Here are some tips to help you get started with your child. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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By Jill Staake<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewed by Dr. Stanley Diih<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Table of Contents<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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What is phonics?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is phonics important?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I teach phonics to my child?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make Learning Phonics Fun<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching preschool phonics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching kindergarten phonics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching first grade phonics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching second grade phonics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is phonics?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Phonics is the idea that every word can be broken into individual sounds (phonemes), and each of those sounds can be represented by letters. It\u2019s one of the building blocks of the reading process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We teach new readers that each letter makes its own sound(s). When you combine those sounds together, you get a word. The process of sounding out a word is known as decoding<\/a>, and it goes hand-in-hand with phonics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the English language is a tricky one, with letter combinations like \/sh\/ and \/th\/ that make entirely new sounds. It also includes long and short vowel sounds, silent-E words<\/a>, R-controlled vowels, and more. Phonics helps emergent readers learn to recognize all of these patterns and the sounds they make, building on their skills over time.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Why is phonics important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGive a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decades of research<\/a> have shown that phonics and decoding <\/a> are extremely effective in teaching reading. When you make the connection between letters or letter patterns and sounds, you can decode the vast majority of words you come across. Of course, students must also develop their vocabulary<\/a> to understand new words, but phonics gives them the ability to read the written words themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a part of the science of reading<\/a>, phonics has clear benefits for all readers. An emphasis on phonics generally helps kids learn to read faster, developing the fluency<\/a> they need to become proficient readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do I teach phonics to my child?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can start preparing your child for phonics at a very young age, by developing what\u2019s known as \u201cphonemic awareness.\u201d Essentially, this means helping children to recognize different sounds, and hearing those individual sounds within words. Then, move on to learning the alphabet<\/a> and matching letters with the sounds they make. Finally, kids are ready to combine those sounds into words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many experts recommend teaching letter phonics non-alphabetically, to help kids master letters in an order that gets them reading real words more quickly. The sooner they\u2019re able to read simple words, the more excited they\u2019ll be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here are just a few expert-recommended letter orders to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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