*Effective reading instruction involves a combination of powerful instructional settings. This post is the next in our "What is...?" series, where we define each instructional context that makes up a coherent literacy system.
In an alphabetic language such as English, phonics describes the relationships between the sounds of language and its graphic symbols, i.e., the letters. When students learn these relationships, they are able to "decode" print more efficiently. For example, students see the letter a at the beginning of a word and know that this symbol often stands for the sound /a/, the sound at the beginning of the words and, ask, apple, astronaut, alligator, and many others.
The true purpose and promise of phonics instruction is to expand and refine students' reading and writing competencies. With knowledge of letter-sound relationships, students add to their ability to derive meaning from print, to accurately turn sounds into their own print (i.e. spelling), and to solve increasingly longer words. Most students acquire this knowledge and learn how to use it under the guidance of a skilled teacher who provides a wide range of learning opportunities.
Phonics, spelling, and word study principles are generally taught to all students in the whole-group meeting area of the classroom. The group share at the end of the lesson also occurs here. The application activity may take place in a word study center, at a small-group table, or at each student's desk or table.
Systematic instruction for phonics, spelling, and word study takes place throughout the day. Teaching, application, and sharing are provided both during a separate, dedicated time for "out-of-text" teaching and during "in-text" instructional contexts, such as interactive read-aloud and guided reading, throughout the school day.
"One goal of our teaching is to help children become active examiners and analyzers of print." – Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell
An important task in teaching phonics, spelling, and word study is to present lessons that reflect a systematic, organized approach to becoming an expert word-solver. These areas of learning represent a comprehensive inventory of phonics, spelling, and word study knowledge.
In any coherent system of literacy learning, such as Fountas & Pinnell Classroom™, phonics, spelling, and word study are not the end goal. Instead, these important understandings contribute to children's competence and ease in reading and writing continuous texts.
To learn more about the Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study System, click the link below.
Adapted from The Literacy Quick Guide: A Reference Tool for Responsive Literacy Teaching by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Copyright (C) 2018 by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Published by Heinemann.
~The Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ Team
Check out the entire "What is?" blog series: