So easy, in fact, that the letters "A," "B," and "C" don't even enter the equation in learning how to read ... well, not until much later, anyway. The reason this is so correlates to the idea of what reading experts call Phonemic Awareness (PA). Phonemic Awareness is the idea that words are made of individual sounds, and because of this, these individual sounds can be manipulated to make new words (How the Brain Learns to Read 33).
According to the National Reading Panel, phonemic awareness and letter knowledge (knowledge that the letters of the alphabet correspond to a sound, or phoneme, in spoken speech) are the two best predictors of how well a child will learn to read during his first two years of instruction. So, even though there is always controversy in whether a phonemic approach vs. a whole language approach (that learning how to read can be acquired through the way spoken language is acquired) is better, research indicates that children who have systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness do better. And if you think about it, it is logical for the following reasons:
According to the National Reading Panel, phonemic awareness and letter knowledge (knowledge that the letters of the alphabet correspond to a sound, or phoneme, in spoken speech) are the two best predictors of how well a child will learn to read during his first two years of instruction. So, even though there is always controversy in whether a phonemic approach vs. a whole language approach (that learning how to read can be acquired through the way spoken language is acquired) is better, research indicates that children who have systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness do better. And if you think about it, it is logical for the following reasons:
- thorough instruction in the basics of reading does not focus on the letter, but the sound of the letter, or if you want to be fancy, the phoneme. In fact, practice at first, focuses on nonsense words, because explicit instruction in hearing the different sounds in a "unit" is more important than realizing that the /b/ sound is appointed to the letter "b." If a learning reader cannot distinguish between the /b/ and /d/ sound, what difference does it make if the child knows what "b" and "d" is?
- mastery of phonemic awareness leads to learning readers becoming better spellers. If a student knows that the sounds /m/ /a/ /p/, put together, spell "map," it is only because proper instruction in phonemic awarness allows the child to understand that those sounds put together make a word that has a meaning.
- Meaning, then, leads to comprehension, and comprehension is key for students learning how to read. That is a key reason why reading instruction based on phonemic awareness is much more beneficial than instruction based on a whole reading approach. Frequently, if you take a word from a book that a student knows because of a whole reading approach, and isolate it, the student will not be able to read it outside of the context she knows. However, if a student knows the sounds (phonemes) of a word, she can read that word, independent of whether it is in her favorite bedtime book.
Ultimately, systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness is key to having a successful reader at home. Of course, as the National Reading Panel suggests, there are other contributing factors, such as quality and intensity of instruction, the quality of teacher or tutor, and the motivation of the student. However, with a solid base of instruction being based on phonemic awareness, with the right instructor and motivations, the other factors fall into place, nicely.
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