phonics help

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Actually phonics are not really that difficult as we use them every time we speak. We speak in phonics sounds but we sometimes need phonic help when we have to decode words into phonic sounds. If I get stuck saying a word I just drag out the sound like ‘ccccaaaaattttt’ for ‘cat’ and that way you usually end up with the phonic sounds. 

I like to teach phonics two ways: 

the main way is with rhyming, where the phonic sound is spelt the same. That is picking one word and then teaching words that rhyme with the main word, very easy and everybody loves it. For example the word ‘cat’ rhymes with hat, mat, sat, rat, etc, etc. These are good for beginners as the phonic letter stays the same. 

The more difficult way, where phonic help comes in handy is to pick a phonic sound and then teach the words that sound similar but the spelling is different. We can use these words, fork, ball, sauce, law, saw, door, core, thought, where the phonic sound is the same, the words rhyme but they are spelt differently. 

This is usually the case with phonics as there are 44 different phonic sounds and 26 letters. I don’t know which is the best way. For more advanced learners I like to use the second method. 

When teaching reading and writing I use the Montessori way as it has passed the test of time and it uses sandpaper letters. These help to implant the words on your child’s mind. I use this Montessori course and I have found it to be quite effective.

For other phonics products that I recommend see out teaching reading page.