The second floor to the construction of ‘reading success’ is phonics or decoding and sight words and use of symbol imagery. Let’s discuss phonics or decoding first. To have a strong foundation for mastering decoding, your child must be proficient with phoneme awareness as I discussed first. The next floor is decoding and sight words in this journey of learning how to read.
Why decoding or ‘cracking the alphabetic code’ is essential for your child’s success:
As a parent, you want what’s best for your child. You want them to be happy and successful in life. One of the best ways to help your child succeed is to make sure they learn how to decode.
Decoding is the ability to read words by breaking them down into their individual sounds. It’s a necessary skill for reading fluency and comprehension. Without decoding skills, your child will struggle to understand what they’re reading. They may be able to read the words, but they won’t be able to understand what they mean.
There are a few different ways you can help your child develop their decoding skills. One way is to read aloud with them regularly. This will help them hear how words are pronounced and see how they’re written. You can also have them practice decoding words on their own. There are a variety of decoding games and activities you can find online or in reading books.
Why phonics is essential for early reading success:
There are many reasons why phonics is essential for early reading success. First, phonics helps children understand that spoken words are made up of smaller units of sound, or phonemes. This understanding is critical for being able to read and spell words correctly. Second, phonics instruction teaches children the relationships between these phonemes and the letters that represent them. This knowledge is essential for being able to decode unknown words. Finally, phonics-based reading instruction gives children practice in applying their knowledge of sound-letter relationships to real reading and spelling tasks. This practice helps them become more fluent, independent readers.
There are many different approaches to teaching phonics, but all effective programs share some common features. First, they begin with the simplest sound-letter relationships and gradually build to more complex ones. Second, they provide ample opportunity for practice in reading and spelling words containing the target sound-letter relationships. Third, they make use of a variety of engaging activities, such as games, songs, and stories. And fourth, they provide regular assessment to ensure that children are making progress.
Encourage your child to keep practicing their decoding skills. With time and practice, they’ll be able to read with ease and confidence. Their success in school and in life will thank you!
Learning How to Read: Phonics and Decoding was first published on NutsAboutReading.com.
