Phonics

At Lake Dow Learning Academy, we understand that phonics in early childhood focuses on helping children understand that sounds and letters have a relationship. Through phonics, our students learn that written English consists of groups of letters that represent a series of sounds, and that these sounds get translated into a meaning. Phonics education sets the stage for reading.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children and the International Reading Association, in a joint position paper on learning to read and write, emphasized the importance of phonics education. Careful planning and instruction are essential, they concluded, and children need “…exposure to books, rich conversations, experiences in drawing, pretend play, and other symbolic activities, and instruction in recognizing letters and making connections between letters and sounds.”

At Lake Dow Learning Academy, we offer our students a rich and engaging environment and curriculum that is conducive to developing important pre-reading skills. We expose students to a variety of language learning strategies to allow students to make connections between phonics and their everyday experiences. Songs, posters, puppets, sensory activities, and much more all combine in a systematic and sequential way to develop our students into strong readers.

At Lake Dow Learning Academy, we have discovered that decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven't seen before. Although children may sometimes figure out some of these relationships on their own, most children benefit from explicit instruction in this area. Phonics is one approach to reading instruction that teaches students the principles of letter-sound relationships, how to sound out words, and exceptions to the principles.

Phonics education is important in the development of your child as a strong reader. While phonics education is systematic and sequential, it can also be fun and engaging. Your child’s Lake Dow Learning Academy teachers and you can work together to promote reading success and to help your child become a lifelong reader.