The word “Phonics” sounds scary to most parents. Sounds like a complex subject in itself. It is almost the same as “Phonetics” for advanced level pronunciation learning.
Phonics is an approach to help preschoolers. H. I teach language to children aged 3 to 5 years old. Not as complicated as phonetics. In fact, it is designed to be easy for learners to read.
Basically, phonetics is about making connections between sounds and letters. After the students have used the alphabet, combine those letters or alphabets.
Phonics introduces learners to vocabulary in a fun way. Instead of jumping to random words, phonics groups words together to make them sound rhythmic and song-like.
The aim is to help learners recognize the sounds of individual letters and groups of letters. This brings you one step closer to practicing spelling.
Stage 1 – Vowel sounds
- a – apple
- e – egg
- i – ink
- o – ox
- u – up
Stage2 – Consonant sounds
- b – boy
- c – cat
- d – dog
- f – fig
- g – goat
- h – hat
- j – jug
- k – king
- l – lion
- m – mat
- n – net
- p – pet
- q – queen
- r – rat
- s – sat
- t – tiger
- v – van
- w – watch
- x – xylophone
- y – yak
- z – zebra
Stage 3 – Three letters’ words with a vowel or Word Families
- bat, cat, sat
- pet, set, met
- six, fix, mix
- mop, hop, cop
- hug, jug, mug
Stage 4 – Long vowel sounds
- apron, angel
- Eagle, eat, easel
- iron, ivy,
- oval, open,
- uniform, unicorn
Stage 5 – Blends of consonants
- br – brown, break
- cr – crown, cry
- bl – black, blue
- cl – clap, climb
- sn – snake, snap
- ch – chair, chin
- sh – shoe, shirt
- th – thin, thick
Stage 6 – Double letters
- ll – well, bell, fill, will
- ee – feet, deep, teeth
- oo – spoon, moon
Parents can prepare flashcards of
- letters
- combination of letters (br, cr, sl, sn and so on) and
- words
So that children can fully practice what they learn in school. It is always helpful for parents to have the big picture behind what their children are learning and to be able to anticipate the next lesson or stage.
Approaching language learning through phonics helps in
- developing pronunciation
- reading better and faster
- comprehension
- vocabulary building
The above guide will further help parents choose the right resources (videos, DVDs, etc.) and activities to make learning fun for their children.