A mother was reading to her child from a zoo book before his nap. As they were flipping through the pages of the book, the child points to a picture and proudly says,
“Look Ma! It’s a frickin’ elephant!”
Trying to hide her shock, Mom takes a deep breath and asks, “What did you call it?”
“It’s a frickin’ elephant, Ma! It says so on the picture!”
Mom reads the caption under the photo . . .  And so it does . . .
African Elephant

I have to admit. This one made me laugh.

We’ve all heard the jokes about how teaching phonics causes people to become bad spellers. “Heck! The word phonics can’t even be spelled phonetically. It doesn’t start with an f!”

Believe me, I get it. There are so many irregular spellings in the English language how is any kid–let alone one with reading challenges–supposed to learn to spell?

You may be surprised to hear that, from an educational perspective, research shows that a strong foundation in phonics actually helps children learn to spell. Despite all of the irregular spellings in the language, which children will have to learn, instruction in letter-sound correspondence (phonemic awareness) and learning the basic phonetic rules help children learn to be better spellers.

Louise Spear-Swerling wrote a peer-reviewed article with some tips on how to teach spelling to children with disabilities. Here are some highlights:

Suggestions for teaching spelling to students with Learning Disabilities

1. Provide systematic phonics instruction that incorporates teaching of phonemic awareness. Although this kind of instruction alone will not be enough to make students flawless spellers, phonemic awareness and phonics knowledge form an essential base for accurate spelling in English.

2. Teach common irregular words from the earliest stages of spelling. It is virtually impossible to generate a complete sentence without common irregular words such as of, what, and were. Therefore, it is important to begin teaching these kinds of words early, as one part of a more comprehensive spelling program. Multisensory techniques involving repeated tracing and saying of words can be especially helpful for introducing irregular words . . .”

3. Teach useful spelling rules. Although many English words do not conform to consistent rules, some generalizations are very helpful to students, such as rules for adding endings to words with a silent e (make, making) or to closed syllables that end in a single consonant (sit, sitting).”

Here’s a link to Louise Spear-Swerling’s complete article, Spelling and Students with Learning Disabilities in LD Online: The Educator’s Guide to Learning Disabilities and ADHD.

But I like a good spelling joke as much as the next person. So, please feel free to Tweet your phonics spelling jokes to me @HookedonPhonics.

Examples of sources

Peer-reviewed journal articles:

Bruck, M. (1990). Word-recognition skills of adults with childhood diagnoses of dyslexia. Developmental Psychology, 26, 439-454.

Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (1991) Tracking the unique effects of print exposure in children: Associations with vocabulary, general knowledge, and spelling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 264-274.

Greene, J. (1996). Language!: Effects of an individualized structured language curriculum for middle and high school students. Annals of Dyslexia, 46, 97-121.

Invernizzi, M., Abouzeid, M., & Gill, T. (1994). Using students’ invented spelling as a guide for spelling instruction that emphasizes word study. Elementary School Journal, 95, 155-167.

Other helpful sources:

Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Ehri, L. C. (1998). Learning to read and learning to spell are one and the same, almost. In C. Perfetti, L. Rieben, & M. Fayol (Eds.), Learning to spell: Research, theory and practice across languages (pp. 237-269). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Moats, L. C. (1995). Spelling: Development, disability, and instruction. Timonium, MD: York Press.

Moats, L. C. (2000). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co.

Treiman, R., & Cassar, M. (1998). Spelling acquisition in English. In C. Perfetti, L. Rieben, & M. Fayol (Eds.), Learning to spell: Research, theory and practice across languages (pp. 61-80). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

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.

]]> https://www.hookedonphonics.com/brookes-hooked-on-phonics-story/ Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:18:31 +0000 http://blog.earlymoments.com/?p=43 Watch how Brooke used Hooked on Phonics over 20 years ago and how it has changed her life. For more information, please visit us at https://hookedonphonics.com/

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