Phonics Curriculum

Phonics is the understanding of how letters combine to make sounds and words. Phonics curriculum usually starts with teaching letters, slowly creating a working knowledge of the alphabet. Children learn the sounds of each letter by associating it with the word that starts with that sound. Phonics skills grow through reading activities, and students learn to distinguish between vowels and consonants and understand letter combinations such as blends and digraphs.

While a phonics curriculum is a critical step in learning to read, many parents and educators forget that before you can succeed with a phonics curriculum, you must teach phonemic and phonological awareness. Time4Learning makes sure that the children have the necessary pre-phonics skills to be successful with a phonics curriculum. Learn more about Time4Learning's reading and phonics curriculum available through our online educational system.

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness involves the understanding of the relationship between sounds and words. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made of sounds that can be used, like reusable building blocks, to construct words (h + at = hat, f + at = fat, etc). Phonological awareness is another pre-phonics skill that trains a child's ear to discriminate between similar sounding sounds (with phonemic awareness, children will distinguish between "three" from words like "free" or "tree").

Contrary to popular belief, phonemic awareness does not appear when young children are learning to talk, because this pre-phonics skill not necessary for speaking and understanding spoken language. However, phonemic awareness is critical for a successful phonics curriculum.

Pre-Reading Activities for Students

Parents can do a variety of reading activities to enhance a phonics curriculum. Start with showing your child the letters of the alphabet, spell their name and sound it out to them. Help your preschool student learn the letters in their name. Encourage your preschooler to pay attention to the sounds in words, and make language a game. When you sing songs and nursery rhymes while showing them the matching words on the page, you will help your child understand that words are made of sounds and help them distinguish separate sounds into words.

Early Reading Activities for Students

By the end of kindergarten, students should know the letters and their corresponding sounds. Your phonics curriculum should use reading activities that will help your student identify words that begin with the same sounds and reinforce letter recognition. Use reading activities that show your child the difference between upper and lowercase letters.

Be careful not to push your kindergartener too hard. While most children follow the same sequence of acquiring literacy skills, they do so at their own pace. Your phonics curriculum should recognize that all children are different, and cater to your child's learning style.

Advanced Phonics for 1st and 2nd Graders

Advanced phonics teaches children beyond decoding words with single syllables. This advanced phonics curriculum teaches your 1st grader to identify syllables into words and how to spell. In 2nd grade, your student will advance their phonics knowledge by mastering multi-syllabic words and learning to spell as well as decode. As the reading foundation becomes more solid, the advanced phonics curriculum should slowly expand your 2nd grader's understanding by encouraging them to attempt larger, more complicated words and to start recognizing word roots, prefixes and suffixes.

From preschool to 2nd grade, Time4Learning uses reading activities and fun interactive games to teach and reinforce your phonics curriculum. Children learn at their own pace in a safe, supportive environment designed to build a foundation of pre-phonics skills that will lead to a greater understanding of advanced phonics. Get on the right track to teaching your child phonics. Learn more about Time4Learning's comprehensive reading and phonics curriculum.