Why Phonics Is The Key To Strong Reading Skills
By Rich Daniels

To date, over 180 research studies have confirmed that phonics is the best way to teach children how to read. Unfortunately, 80% of our nations schools do not use an intensified phonics approach for reading instruction.

They use a whole word approach (see and say) or a combination of phonics and whole word.

While children can learn using the whole word method, it is not the best or most efficient way to learn how to read. The whole word method teaches reading through memorization and guessing.

Unlike the Japanese and Chinese languages which are picture based, the English language is phonetic. There are only 44 sounds while there are about 1 million words in English.

These facts readily explain why having to memorize 44 sounds as opposed to memorizing hundreds of thousands of words is the most efficient way to learn to read.

Reading and writing is simply talking on paper. When children learn to talk, they do so by imitating sounds. They then combine the sounds to form words.

The brain is programmed to learn language in this fashion. Therefore, the most efficient way to learn to read is through phonics because it teaches children to read the same way they learned to talk.

A two decades study on the best way to learn how to read, funded by the National Institute of Health, discovered that the three important aspects of reading – identifying letters, identifying sounds associated with the letters, and reaching for meaning of the written word – are each accomplished by different parts of the brain.

A three-part plan that incorporates this information to guide you as you help your child learn to read.

- Part 1: Phonemic awareness, or learning the individual sounds that constitute a language, for example, “kuh” as the sound of “c”.

- Part 2: Phonics, or the letter-sound relationships available in the language, for example, “kuh—aah—tuh” sounds out “cat”.

- Part 3: Exposure to meaning of the written word through reading and being read to, for example, “kuh—aah—tuh” sounds out “cat” which is “a furry mammal that purrs”.

These elements should be used as building blocks, each necessary to support the next. With phonemic awareness as the first block, a child can begin to puzzle out words in books.

With the help of a parent or sibling by his side he’ll begin to have the answers to questions he will soon begin to ask.

Now is the time to point out important clues, such as how letter sounds blend, how an “e” at the end of a word changes a vowel sound from short to long, how some consonants have more than one sound.

Discuss lower and upper case letters. Point out the eighteen frequently used words best learned by sight. And remember to keep reading to your child to include exposure to meaning, the all important part 3.

What does your child need in order to read well?

You need to provide 4 things to your child, preferably at an early age, to build a proper reading foundation:

1. Phonics information and the ability to manipulate the sounds that make up spoken language.

2. Phonics skills and the understanding that there are relationships between letters and sounds.

3. The ability to read fluently with accuracy, speed, and expression.

4. To apply reading comprehension strategies to enhance understanding and enjoyment of what they read.

There are many commercial reading programs available that combines whole word and phonics based principles. Whatever reading program you decide to use, make sure that it’s recommended by parents and teachers, find out how long the program has been on the market and verify it’s success rate.

how to choose a reading program

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LEARN PHONICS ONLINE
ClickN READ Phonics is an award winning phonics program. Based on scientific research, it effectively teaches your children to read using fun animation. Kids love it coz’ learning becomes a game.
Click here to discover more about ClickN READ phonics program.

Phonics Bingo Games

Author: Sunil Tanna

Phonics is a very popular method of teaching children to read and write. It is based on the idea that particular letters or groups of letters can be associated with a particular sound. Teachers use a variety of teaching techniques, and classroom activities to teach children these phonics rules – typical classroom activities include flash cards, reading and writing games, and group activities. One particular classroom activity that is especially suitable for teaching phonics is phonics bingo.

All versions of phonics bingo are based on the same general principle: Each child is given a bingo card or worksheet, the teacher or parent reads out words or clues as bingo calls, and the children mark off squares from their cards which correspond to the bingo calls. The winner is the first child to achieve a winning pattern (for example, a straight line of five marked off squares) on their bingo card and call out “bingo!”.

The most basic phonics bingo game is “phonemic awareness bingo”. In this case, the children’s bingo cards are printed with a random selection letters. The teacher calls out words, and children must try to identify the beginning sound of the letter, and find the matching square on their card. For example, if the teacher called out “apple”, the children would look for a bingo square containing the letter “a”.

As students progress, more advanced versions of phonics bingo can be introduced. In these, children have to recognize a word called out by the teacher on their card. Generally you might start with “CVC words” (words consisting of consonant, short vowel, then another consonant), and then gradually progress through more advanced phonics concepts, such as consonant and vowel digraphs, r-controlled vowel words, bossy E words, etc.

One additional variation that can be a lot of fun, and again is good practise for students learning to recognize word sounds, is rhyming bingo. In this version, the teacher calls out a word, and students look for rhymes on their bingo cards. For example, if the teacher called out “bat”, students could match a square which contain “cat”, “hat” or “mat”.

About the Author:

By S. Tanna. Discover more about phonics bingo and download free phonics bingo printables at http://www.phonicsbingo.com/

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Phonics Bingo Games

p.s. Click here for more phonics games ideas.

It’s halloween and your kids just can’t wait to go trick-or-treating. Need some ideas to keep them preoccupied? While waiting, you can keep them busy with these easy kids craft ideas.

Ghost Hand Puppet
Kids love playing with puppets and there’s hardly an easier puppet to make than a ghost. All you need is a white paper towel, or a white handkerchief, a rubber band and a black marker.

Ask your child to spread out her thumb and pinky, but keep the 3 other fingers together. Drape the paper towel over her hand and secure the rubber band around the three fingers. This will be the ghost’s head; the thumb and pinkie form the arms. Draw eyes and a mouth on the paper towel and the little ghost puppet is finished.

Ghost Lollipops
Dress up the lollipops you are giving away for Halloween by wrapping a white tissue or small piece of fabric over them. Secure it with a piece of string or a rubber band. Take a black marker and draw eyes and a round mouth on the ghost’s face.

Spider Webs
What would Halloween be without spiders and spider webs? Make these cute little spider webs with the kids and hang them in the window. All you need are 3 craft or clean popsicle sticks and some white or black yarn. Take two of the craft sticks and glue them together to form a cross. Glue the 3rd one right in the middle, forming a star shape. Tie one end of the yarn around one of the craft sticks in the center. Start weaving it over one craft stick and under the other. Keep going around, forming your spider web. Make sure you leave at least 1/4th inch of the craft sticks sticking out and secure the loose end by tying it to one of the craft sticks. Glue a small plastic spider in the center and hang your spider web up.

Witch Broom Pencil
Witch broom pencils make a cute Halloween gift that doesn’t involve candy. You can turn any pencil into a witch’s broom with a handful of household items. All you need is a regular pencil, some small twigs out of the yard, some string and a little glue.

Break the twigs into equal lengths pieces and line them up around the unsharpened end of a pencil. Make it look like an old fashioned broom. Secure the wigs with string, and then apply a thick layer of glue to keep it all in place.

Cauldron Candy Dish
To make this cute cauldron candy dish, start with an empty round plastic container (like a cool-whip container). Clean it, dry it, and then paint it black. Paint three small wooden balls black as well. After the paint is dry, glue them to the bottom of your plastic container. Add a handle made out of wire if you’d like and your candy dish cauldron is done. Just add some of your favorite Halloween candy.

Pumpkin Painting
Carving funny or scary faces into a pumpkin is a lot of fun, but it also gets quite messy and small kids can’t really do much since there’s a knife involved. Buy a few small pumpkins instead, or in addition to the big carving pumpkin. Use permanent pens or acrylic paint to draw funny faces on your mini-pumpkins.

p.s. Want to save some money by making your own Halloween costumes? Click here for Quick, Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas

Learning to read and spell is basic to every child’s education. There are schools with wonderful reading and spelling programs. But there are also plenty of schools that do a lousy job at equipping their students with this necessary skill. Do not be surprised that some children can’t read and spell until third grade. These unfortunate children end up struggling to catch up for years to come. That’s why parents cannot depend on schools to teach their children to read and spell. We must take charge and ensure our children get the support they need when learning to read & spell.

Hiring a tutor can burn a hole in your pocket. There are lots of reading & spelling products in the market but they too can cost you a bomb, ranging from $99-$279!! Not only do you need to spend lots of money, but these products also require that you spend time and effort in educating your child. That is the problem for many busy parents.

Below is one mother’s solution to helping her child read and spell.

I was looking online for something to help my 5 year old with her reading spelling and I came across some amazing and affordable programs called ClickN READ Phonics & ClickN SPELL.

ClickN READ is only $59.85 & ClickN SPELL was only $49.95 for a lifetime membership and they even let you pay it in 3 payments. The programs guarantee that your child will learn to read or spell or both or your money back! No other products that I could find provide that guarantee. They also are the only products needed to teach your child to read & spell. ClickN READ teaches the entire phonics curriculum that is taught in US schools & ClickN SPELL teaches the 800 most commonly used words.

These programs are so easy to use that once I set up the account for my child which took about 5 minutes from the time I purchased it, she was able to then start the first lesson- it’s totally hands off for the parents after you set up the account except for looking at daily reports that show you how well your child did with each lesson.

Cera Jane
Sherman Oaks CA

Learn more about these affordable products by clicking the links below:
ClickN SPELL: Kids spelling software
ClickN READ PHONICS:Learning to read with phonics