What are phonics words

What is phonics? | ReadwithPhonics

What is phonics? (UK)

Phonics is a method of learning to read. Phonics works by breaking each word up into it’s individual sounds before blending those sounds back together to make the word.  Children learn to 'decode' words by breaking it down into sounds rather than having to memorise 1,000's of words individually. Research has shown that phonics, when taught correctly, can be the most effective way of teaching children to learn to read. Sounds are taught from easiest to hardest: starting with single letter sounds and then moving on to two letters making a sound and then three and so on. Learning phonics and learning to read is one of the most important stepping stones in early education as it gives your child the skills they need to move forward in every subject, you simply cannot progress without it.

All over the UK (and now in some primary schools in New Zealand and Australia), schools are using phonics as their preferred method of learning to read. Phonics was first introduced in the UK in 2012 and since then has had great results. Unlike learning words by sight and shape, phonics has provided students with the ability to learn a skill that enables them to work out how to read almost any word in the English language.

The alphabet is a great place to start learning phonics as if you learn the simple 26 letter sounds of the alphabet you will be well on your way to learning all 44 sounds. Our alphabet phonics song is a good way to learn all of the alphabet letter sounds:

Phonics Terminology 

To start to understand phonics terminology its important to understand the difference between sounds that are said and sounds that are written. A sounds that is written is called a grapheme and a sound that is said is called a phoneme. Phoneme and grapheme recognition come hand in hand as your child starts to learn phonics they will make an association between the two. For example when you write the letter ‘a’ this is a grapheme, it makes the short ‘a’ sound (like in ‘ant’), but when the short ‘a’ is said this is the phoneme. 

The 44 sounds of the english language are not just made by up by single letters sounds, two letters can work together, sometimes three! These are know as: digraphs, trigraphs and split digraphs. A digraph is made up of two letters working together to make the same sound, for example ‘oa’ like in ‘boat’. Trigraphs are three letters working together to make the same sound, for example ‘air’ in ‘hair’. A split digraph is two letters that work together to make the same sound but are separated by another letter for example ‘i_e’ in ‘bike’.

There are some combinations of letters that sound the same but are spelt differently for example, ‘oa’ in boat an the ‘o_e’ in ‘bone’, both words have the ‘o’ sound but different combinations of letters are used. We call this alternative spelling combinations. 

The sound that most children struggle to spot the most when breaking down words into its individual sounds is the 'split digraph'. Like a normal digraph, this is when two letters work together to make one sound, however with a split digraph, they are separated and have a letter in the middle.

E.g. cake, make, bike, phone

Below is a little phonics codebreaker to help you remember the terminology. 

The phonics codebreaker

Phoneme - a sound as it is said

Grapheme - a sound that is written

Digraph- two letters that work together to make the same sound

Trigraph - Three letters that work together to make the same sound

Split digraph - Two letters that work together to make the same sound, separated by another letter

If you are unsure of letter sounds, download Read with Phonics Parent Guide

What is the Phonics Screening Check?

The Phonics Screening check is a compulsory assessment that all children in the UK take at the end of Year 1. It is designed to make sure students have developed phonic decoding skills to an appropriate standard. It was first introduced in 2012 and has shown promising results in raising attainment in literacy and reading.

The Phonics Screening check is made of up of 40 words, 20 ‘real words’ and 20 ‘pseudo words’. Each child reads the words and the teacher observes.

The question is, how important is the screening check to the child?

It can benefit the child by giving them a solid foundation of which to progress through school. If they have passed the screening it means they have phonic decoding skills that they can use to decode most words.

The importance of the check should be to make sure that a child is ready to progress into Year 2. The simple fact is, if a child can read, passing the check is easy.

Phonics in the USA

In America, phonics is taught a little differently to the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Below are some of the key differences:

Short and Long Vowels: When a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) is followed by one consonant, that vowel is usually short for example ‘e’ makes the ‘e’ sound in ‘get’.

A vowel is long when it says its own name. When a single vowel is at the end of a word or syllable, it usually makes the long vowel sound, as in ‘go’ and ‘paper’.

Silent ‘e’: When ‘e’ is the last letter in a word and there is only one other vowel in that word, the first vowel usually says its own alphabet name and the ‘e’ is silent, like in ‘cake’.

Consonant digraphs and blends: In a consonant digraph, two consonants work together to form one sound that isn’t like either of the letters it is made from. 

E.g.

ship

think

Consonant blends are groups of two or three consonants whose individual sounds can be heard as they blend together. 

E.g. 

clam

scrub 

grasp.

Phonics in Australia

Phonics in Australia is taught much the same as in United Kingdom. The terminology and methods of teaching mirror that of synthetic phonics programs taught in the UK. 

Phonics in New Zealand

Over the past decade, New Zealand’s educational system has favoured the whole language approach to reading. This teaches children to learn new words based on context: for example, by encouraging them to guess a word in the book they’re reading based on the story, pictures, or words around it. 

With a whole reading approach, children don’t learn to break down sounds individually, but to take words at face value and associate them with prior knowledge. If a child sees the word ‘dog’ written enough times with a picture of a dog he or she will then associate that word, in it’s entirety, with the idea of a dog.

But phonics is making a come back! More teachers are using phonics as a way to learn to read instead of a whole reading approach, as used by teachers in the UK and Australia.

What are phonics? or What is Phonics?

What are phonics? 

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What is phonics?

Phonics is a group of English sounds. A phonic is a sound produced by a letter that does not sound like its letter name, like the “o” in “to” or by a combination of letters, like the “sion” in “expression,” or by a plain letter that sounds like its letter name, like the “o” in “go.”

Note: What is phonics? — vs.— What are phonics? The correct grammar is to ask, “What is phonics?” and “What are phonics?” is incorrect. However, most searchers type, “What are phonics?” in search engines to find our site, and we wish to be found.

What do we mean by learning phonics?

Learning or teaching phonics does not only mean teaching the ABC’s and the letters that sound like their letter name. Typically, teaching phonics means teaching all the sounds produced by combinations of letters like the “sion” in “expression” and by letters that do not sound like their letter name like the “o” in “to. ”

Learning or teaching phonics precisely means identifying which letter or combination of letters to choose when spelling every single sound in every English word, like remembering to choose a “y” or an “ey” to spell “hockey.” In short, learning phonics means learning to choose the correct spelling patterns of sounds to spell words.

Number of English Sounds and Spelling Patterns: There are approximately 90 sounds that we call all of them together phonics and the 90 sounds are spelled in over 180 spelling patterns.

Learning English Phonics is a Complex Process: Learning the 26 plain letters and using them in a word like “fast” is the easy part of learning to read and spell. More complex is the process of learning all the letters that do not sound like their letter name (to), and all the combinations of letters that produce a single sound (expression). The most complex part of learning English phonics is identifying which letter or combination of letters to choose when spelling every sound in every English word.

Teaching Phonics in 32,000 Words

Comprehensive Phonics Books: The 10 phonics-based spelling books teach nearly all of the combinations of letters and the letters that do not sound like their letter name (sounds and the spelling patterns of sounds) in 32,000 words.  

In fact, no learner has escaped learning to read or spell from our program. An example of a feature is the grouping of nearly all the words that share a sound and a spelling pattern. Learners feel they can conquer English when they see such comprehensive lists of words. Read more

Sample phonics lesson taken from The Vowel A to teach the “aw” sound as in “Dawn,” which is spelled in three other spelling patterns, as in false, falls, and auction:

Dawn took the straw·ber·ries out of the freez·er to let them thaw.  Dawn drank her straw·ber·ry shake with a straw.  Dawn ate raw veg·e·ta·bles and cole·slaw.  Dawn ate shrimp and prawns.

Dawn was awe·some.  Dawn was not awk·ward.  Dawn spoke with a South·ern drawl.  Dawn gave a long, drawn-out speech at her job.  Dawn wan·ted to draw up a new plan.  Dawn wan·ted to draw back from the com·pa·ny’s old a·gree·ment.  Dawn saw a law·yer to dis·cuss busi·ness with him.  Dawn’s com·pa·ny spawned hun·dreds of new com·pa·nies.  Dawn wan·ted to with·draw her mon·ey from the com·pa·ny’s bank.  Dawn’s with·draw·al was a huge with·draw·al.

Dawn saw the fish spawn in the wa·ter.  Dawn saw the taw·ny fawn at dawn.  Dawn saw the shark’s big jaws.  Dawn saw the ship being moored by a haw·ser.  Dawn saw the cat’s long claws and saw the cat claw·ing at the dog.  Dawn saw the dog’s paws as he pawed at the bone.  Dawn saw the hawk kill·ing a dove.  Dawn saw the dove’s maw.  Dawn said that see·ing the hawk kill·ing its prey was aw·ful.  Dawn heard the bulls bawl.

Dawn re·mem·bers when her son, Law·son, crawled.  Dawn re·mem·bers when she saw Law·son daw·dling near the wall and she asked him not to daw·dle.  Law·son was a·ble to sprawl out his legs like a gym·nast.  Dawn read a book pub·lished by McGraw-Hill. Dawn’s yawn caused her son to yawn.  Law·son stud·ied law and be·came a law·ful law·yer.

Dawn’s in-laws were im·mi·grants.  Dawn’s in-laws em·i·grat·ed from War·saw to the U.S.  Dawn’s father-in-law woke her up at dawn. Dawn’s father-in-law fixed the lawn·mower and mowed the lawn.  Dawn’s father-in-law used a jig·saw to trim the trees.  Dawn’s father-in-law used to be a car·pen·ter and he knew how to use a saw; he sawed wood for most of his life.

Dawn’s mother-in-law was a raw·boned wom·an who liked to sit un·der the awn·ing.  Dawn’s sister-in-law was maw·kish and that gnawed and awed Dawn’s mother-in-law.  Dawn saw her brother-in-law pawn his watch at the pawn·shop.  Dawn saw the law of·fi·cer at the pawn·shop.  Dawn’s brother-in-law was taw·dry and scraw·ny.  Dawn saw and heard the brawl·ing be·tween her mother-in-law and her brother-in-law.  Dawn saw that her mother-in-law was in awe of her son.  Dawn was drawn to her mother-in-law’s side.  Dawn told her brother-in-law that he had some flaws.  Dawn told her brother-in-law that she heard him brawl with his moth·er.

Dawn’s hus·band, Shaw liked to draw.  Dawn took her taw·dry shawl out of the draw·er and asked Shaw to draw her face.  Dawn’s face was drawn by Shaw.  Dawn and Shaw played chess and he lost two pawns at the start.  Dawn asked Shaw to scrawl a note if he were to leave.

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Cannot Memorize without Spelling Rules

Logical learners cannot learn or memorize anything without seeing the logic behind what they are about to memorize. Without logical spelling rules, logical learners whose learning style is a logical learning style, usually have various types of difficulties in spelling or in reading or in both. In English, memorizing the 26 letters is not enough. In English, one needs to memorize over 90 sounds we call phonics, over 180 spelling patterns of the 90 sounds, and which of the spelling patterns to choose when spelling every single sound in every English word.

For instance, one needs to remember which of these 10 spelling patterns to choose when spelling the single long “e” sound in thousands of words, as in heat, meet, complete, we, receive, believe, elite, ski, lucky, and monkey.

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Logical Learners → Poor Spelling → Dyslexia

Logical Learners → Poor Spellers: Reality is that less than 50 percent of any people can memorize without logic, and the rest are logical learners whose learning style is a logical learning style. Logical learners are analyzers not memorizers; they constantly question why a sound should be spelled one-way, and not the other way. Logical learners are always searching for spelling rules to make sense of the way English words are spelled. They are so logical; they expect “My cat is cute.” to be “Mi kat iz qut. ” Without spelling rules, logical learners are the ones that become poor spellers. Lee, a 6th grader who could not read words, was told he had dyslexia in reading and in spelling, but Lee learned quickly when spelling rules were presented. See how Lee Learned to Read in a Week!

Poor Spelling → Dyslexia: Having to spell or read the same sound in a number of ways causes reading and / or spelling difficulties or both among logical learners. Spelling difficulties cause dyslexia in spelling or in reading or in both. Languages that have one letter or one symbol to represent a sound every time that sound is written do not have spelling difficulties nor do they have the need for remedial reading courses or dyslexia in spelling.

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Phonetic word | it's... What is a phonetic word?

Phonetic word , or rhythmic group ^{[1] :27} — an independent word together with adjoining auxiliary words that do not have their own stress ^{[2], in other words, 9000 words for which they are independent is the reference [3] . Characterized by the presence of a single word stress [1] :28 , which can fall both on an independent and on a function word (in the latter case, they say that an independent word devoid of stress is an enclinomen [3] ): Rus. on the mountain - on the mountain [4] .}

From the point of view of phonetics, a phonetic word is a group of syllables united by one stress. The stressed syllable combines syllables within a word due to the fact that the characteristics of the vowels of unstressed syllables (quality, intensity, duration) depend on their position in relation to the stressed syllable. Inside a phonetic word, the same phonetic patterns operate: assimilation, dissimilation, as inside any word ^[5] .

As defined, a phonetic word may not be the same as an orthographic word or a word as a unit in a dictionary ^[5] .

In Russian

It is believed that in Russian a phonetic word cannot include more than one significant word. However, there are data according to which the phonetic opposition of a phonetic word and a combination of two independent words can be neutralized ^[6] .

Notes

1. ↑ ^{1 2} Kodzasov S. V., Krivnova O. General 90 - M.: RGGU, 2001. - 592 p. - 4000 copies. — ISBN 5-7281-0347-2
2. ↑ Akhmanova O. S. Phonetic // Dictionary of linguistic terms. - Ed. 4th, stereotypical. - M .: KomKniga, 2007. - 576 p. - 2500 copies. — ISBN 978-5-484-00932-9
3. ↑ ^{1 2} Plungyan V.A. - Ed. 2nd, corrected. - M .: Editorial URSS, 2003. - S. 28-29. — 384 p. — (New linguistic textbook). - 2000 copies. — ISBN 5-354-00314-8
4. ↑ Bondarko L. V. Emphasis // Russian language. Encyclopedia / Yu. N. Karaulov (editor-in-chief). - 2nd ed., revised. and additional .. - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, Bustard, 1997. - S. 574-575. — 703 p. — 50,000 copies. — ISBN 5-85270-248-X
5. ↑ ^{1 2} Kedrova G. E., Omelyanova E. B., Egorov A. M. (Russian phonetic word). Russian Phonetics: Teaching Materials . Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. (Retrieved July 28, 2010)
6. ↑ Kasevich V. B., Yagunova E. V. Stress and phonetic word in Russian // Problems of socio- and psycholinguistics: Sat. article / Res. ed. T. I. Erofeeva; Perm. un-t. - Perm, 2003. - V. 3. - S. 19-25.