Understanding Phonics: A Key to Reading Success

Phonics is a method of teaching children to read by connecting sounds (phonemes) with letters or groups of letters (graphemes). This approach helps children decode words, making reading easier and more intuitive. Phonics is crucial because it lays the foundation for reading fluency and comprehension, enabling children to become confident and independent readers. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word, like the "s" in "sun," while a grapheme is the written representation of that sound, such as the letter "s." By mastering phonics, children can unlock the door to a world of reading and learning.

At Home Activity

Have some fun at home looking at your names through the eyes of phonics.

First count the phonemes (sounds) that you can hear. E.g. Melissa = m/e/l/i/s/a or William = w/i/l/e/a/m

Then have them explore the graphemes (what letters are representing each sound) E.g. m/m/ e/schwa/ l /l/ i/i/ ss/s/ a/schwa/

Last have fun comparing your names here are some questions to help.

• Who has more letters than sounds? Who has the same number?
• Who has 2 letters representing 1 sound?
• In our names can we find the same letter making different sounds? E.g. the a in Amy and the a in Abigail
• In our names can we find the same phoneme represented by a different grapheme? E.g. /schwa/ represented by e and an a in Melissa and William
• Was there any surprises about the phoneme and grapheme connections? E.g. i making the long e phoneme in William

We would love to hear any interesting things you discovered about your names as a family. Please share them with us!