Why is letters and sounds important

Once children start to make connections between letters and sounds, they'll be able to begin to read some very simple texts. First, they'll sound out the words very, very slowly, as if they're "glued to the print. The alphabetic principle is definitely one of the more important skills for children to develop. But don't try to rush it. Lots of experiences with print will put them on the right track toward learning—and loving—to read. Create a List. List Name Save. Rename this List.

Rename this list. List Name Delete from selected List. Save to. Save to:. Save Create a List. Create a list. Save Back. Grades PreK—K. To grasp the alphabetic principal, children need to understand that: letters represent speech sounds letters go together to make words changing the letters changes the sounds and the words This is not an easy concept for many young learners to absorb.

View not found. It sets out a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills for children starting by the age of five, with the aim of them becoming fluent readers by age seven. There are six overlapping phases. The table below is a summary based on the Letters and Sounds guidance for Practitioners and Teachers. For more detailed information, visit the archived Letters and Sounds Department of Education website. Skip to content Letters and Sounds is a phonics resource published by the Department for Education and Skills in Phase Two Reception up to 6 weeks Learning 19 letters of the alphabet and one sound for each.

Blending sounds together to make words. Hua-Chen Wang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The efficacy of phonics as a method of teaching has been debated for several decades, and has recently come back to the forefront of public debate.

This time, the focus is on the phonics check — a screening tool designed to identify early readers who may be in need of intervention, and provide some indication of how successful current phonics teaching methods are. This has raised some concerns. Scientific studies have repeatedly found that explicit systematic phonics instruction is the most effective way to teach children how to read. Without it, some children will end up having serious reading difficulties. But what is explicit systematic phonics?

Explicit — directly teaching children the specific associations between letters and sounds, rather than expecting them to gain this knowledge indirectly.

Systematic — English has a complicated spelling system. It is important to teach letter sound mappings in a systematic way, beginning with simple letter sound rules and then moving onto more complex associations. For example, some programs, such as Embedded Phonics, teach phonics by asking children to guess unfamiliar words using cues, such as the meaning of a word gleaned from sentence context. Other programs ask children to look at words for example, pig , page , pen all start with the same sound and learn letter-sound rules by analysing or making comparisons between those words analogy or analytical phonics.