How To Teach Phonics To Your Child

The relationship of a child with sound starts from birth. At birth, it is the only thing that he or she is said to understand. Different types of sounds convey different emotions for a baby. Thus, sounds can be effectively used to teach children how to read and write. By teaching the children, the difference between the letter patterns and the sounds they represent, it becomes very easy to teach them the English language. During the 1980s using phonics to teach language to the children became very popular, though it is still riddled in controversy. Phonics depends on the principle that there is a relation between word sound and form, which owes its origin from the roman text, ‘The Doctrine of Littera’. Since then furious debates have been going on for using or not using phonics to teach the English language. Phonics can give children a good grasp of the language and is easier for them to learn as they can retain most of it by associating with the sound. If you are looking to teach phonics to the child then, go through the article below for phonics teaching tips.

Teaching Phonics To Children

First, the child should be taught the sound of the letters together with their names. The names of the letters are often different from how they sound. Explain with examples like the letter C is pronounced as ‘see’ with two sounds. Make the child understand by providing a few examples and then asking him or her to give you some.
The child may find it hard to pronounce the sounds, so, it is better for you to be flexible. This is because children find it hard to let go of regional accents and weak auditory skills, to say the words in an academically correct way. Always remember that learning sounds is the precursor to learning to read.
Start with teaching the lower case letters first. This is very important because the child will encounter only 5% of capital letters in written English, yet all ABC textbooks teach upper case letters first. That’s why it is all the more necessary to teach the lower case letters first. It has also been found that lower case letters are more important in developing the reading skills.
Don’t make the mistake of stressing about grammar while teaching phonics. This is because kids cannot handle complicated concepts. Preschoolers, kindergartners, and first graders think in a very concrete way and so you will find it hard to make them understand the consonants, vowels, and other rules of the English language. Always remember that children can learn to read even without grammar, so it is better not to burden them with it.
Concentrate only on the mechanical skill of reading. This can be best done through conversation. Talk to your child so that he or she can listen and imitate. When you talk, they can concentrate on you listening to the sounds as you speak to them correctly.
Another very good way to teach phonics to a child is to use funny facial expressions, hand and body movements. In this way, you will break the monotony and the children will find it fun and enjoyable. Through funny facial expressions, you can also effectively transfer the mode of sounds to the children.
To make the sounds associate with the letters, nothing is better than pictures. Using pictures, you won’t find it difficult to teach phonics because children anyways are enamored by pictures which captivate their interest and arouse their curiosity. Only choose the pictures that are simple and colorful.
Rhyming is a good way to bring humor and fun to the teaching. Rhyming will give the children an idea of how letters and sounds behave when they are sounded together.

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