Hooked on Phonics was developed by literacy experts and has continually evolved through the years using current research on the most effective methods for teaching children how to read.

Becoming a Nation of Readers

In response to the National Institute of Education’s landmark report, Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the National Commission on Reading, Hooked on Phonics took to heart the committee’s conclusions in creating its reading programs. Specifically, that:

1. 1. Parents play an important role in laying the foundations of learning to read.
   2. Parents have an obligation to support their children’s continued growth as readers.
   3. Kindergarten programs should stress oral language and writing as well as the beginning steps of reading.
   4. Phonics instruction improves children’s ability to identify words.
   5. Reading primers should be both interesting, comprehensible, and instructive.
   6. Both oral and silent reading are important for the beginner.

The Hooked on Phonics White Paper outlines the specific ways in which the Commissions’ recommendations were used to develop and refine Hooked on Phonics’ reading programs.

COMMON CORE

The reading programs from Hooked on Phonics also provide systematic instruction in phonics and phonemic awareness, aligning it with Common Core Reading Foundational Skills in use across the United States.

The specific Common Core Reading Skills Hooked on Phonics addresses are:

Print Concepts

Understanding the organization and basic features of print.

Phonological Awareness

Demonstrating an understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

Phonics and Word Recognition

• The basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
• Being able to associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
• Reading common high-frequency words by sight.
• Being able to distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

National Institute of Education (1985), Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the National Commission on Reading. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education

1. It doesn’t discriminate.

   Research shows that phonics instruction produces significant benefits for children of all ages, abilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

2. It builds phonemic awareness.

   This is the #1 predictor of a child’s early reading ability-understanding how words are made up of sounds. For example, the letter c says “c,” and the word cat is made up of the sounds /c/, /a/, and /t/, blended together make the word cat.

3. It helps with word recognition.

   Exposing children to words both in isolation and in context helps achieve effortless word recognition, also called automaticity.

4. It helps with print exposure.

   Simply put, children who have more opportunities to read (and be read to) are more likely to acquire the building blocks of reading-fast, automatic word recognition and decoding skills.

5. Every child is different.

   While some kids can read a word once and then recognize it later on, most kids need to read a word 4-8 times in a short period of time before it becomes automatic. Others may need 15-20 exposures. The phonics method offers those opportunities.

6. It provides opportunities for “just-right” reading.

   Kids need the chance to read books that are tied to their independent reading level, meaning the books can be read with 90-95% accuracy. This allows kids to be able to focus on the specific skill being taught.

7. It helps build confidence.

   With the phonics method, even young kids can fairly quickly learn to “read” a “just-right” book on their own—often for the first time. This success makes kids feel proud and gets them to start to think of themselves as readers.

8. It boosts self-esteem.

   Don’t kid yourself. Learning to read is hard. It doesn’t come naturally for everyone. Phonics gives children a tool that breaks down the process of learning to read into bite-sized, doable chunks. Kids who can feel successful through their own efforts are more likely to have higher self-esteem.

9. It helps with spelling.

   Studies show that kids who are able to break down the sounds that make up words (called decoding) are better at spelling.

10. It allows children to read for meaning.

    Research shows that giving kids to opportunities read books with a high percentage of familiar patterns (phonics) allows kids to focus on comprehending and understanding the story, instead of decoding words.

Read more about the Research Behind Hooked on Phonics.

]]>