PHONICS BEST PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS 1 Phonics Best Practice in Early Childhood Classrooms Emily Gallmeyer EDUC 340 May 7, 2010PHONICS BEST PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS 2 Abstract Good phonics programs lay a foundation for literacy instruction by teaching young learners the relationship between speech sounds and spelling patterns (Tompkins, 2010). When choosing a phonics program, early educators should look for programs that include authentic application, explicit instruction, systematic sequence and lively instruction (Varricchio, 2008). Tucker Signing Strategies for Reading, created by Dr. Bethanie H. Tucker, contains all of the necessary elements of a successful phonics program and has current research to back it up. Children and educators who work with Tucker Signing experience interactive learning through a systematic program. The approach quickly teaches students their letters and also helps to gain independence, release excess energy, and even enjoy reading (Tucker, 2001).PHONICS BEST PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS 3 Phonics Best Practice in Early Childhood Classrooms “A is for apple, armadillo and air. B is for book, beach ball and bear. C is for cat, crayon and cape. D is for dog, dragons and drapes,” chants a classroom of early learners (Jones, 2010). Around the world, early childhood classrooms exercise phonics activities like this every day. Phonics lays a foundation of letters and sounds and prepares children to explore the word of reading and writing. Good phonics programs have proven to lay a solid foundation for children and have facilitated the development of good readers and writers. Because of the importance of phonics in the development of readers, teachers must incorporate the best practices in phonics research into their daily instruction. Gail Tompkins (2010), the author of Literacy for the 21st Century, defines phonics as a system that teaches the relationship between speech sounds and spelling patterns. The program should typically occur from kindergarten to second grade and phase out of the curriculum by third grade (Tompkins, 2010). Because children need to see the correlation between spoken sounds and written letters, children first learn about the letters and the sounds they make. Next, students learn to blend sounds to make words and to pull words apart to find individual sounds. This helps students make new words thus expanding their vocabulary and spelling knowledge. Lastly, phonics teaches children the specific rules that apply to the English language. Because the alphabet consists of twenty-six letters and forty-four different sounds, children may find understanding the rules a daunting task (Tompkins, 2010). As a progressive system, a foundation is laid and built upon to generate good readers and writers. Because phonics programs lay the foundation for all literacy instruction, they serve as a necessary part of early childhood classrooms. Reading will not come naturally nor will children logically pick up on all the rules that go along with it. To properly grasp the concept, educatorsPHONICS BEST PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS 4 must immerse their students in a systematic program that introduces letters, sounds, and all the rules of the English language (Donnelly, 2006). If not properly taught during early childhood, children will continue to fall behind. Students identified as struggling readers in the first grade have an eighty-eight percent chance of still being a poor reader in fourth grade (Beck, 2006). For this reason, phonics programs must provide children with the proper tools and techniques. A reliable program develops good readers and writers and incorporates all the valuable components. The components include authentic application, explicit instruction, systematic sequence and lively instruction (Varricchio, 2008). Authentic application gives students the opportunity to perform their knowledge of letters and sounds. Gail Tompkins (2010) states, “Without meaningful application of what they are learning, phonics instruction is often ineffective” (p. 162). For this reason, teacher must demonstrate how to use the information through practice activities. Through application activities, students make meaningful connections between instruction and everyday events such as reading and writing. Teachers should use these moments to determine what needs reinforced through mini lessons or which areas students have mastered. Application activities can take many different forms. Teachers many lead interactive writing session where students segment words in sounds or practice making letters on a large chart in the front of the class. Other activities include making words, word ladders, and words sorts. Teachers should incorporate application into their curriculum in combination with the other important components. Good phonics programs need to include explicit instruction. Research has show that teaching explicitly has consistently had positive effects on reading. Ball and Blachman (1991) conducted a study on two groups of kindergarteners. Half received explicit instruction while the other half received normal classroom instruction. The explicit instruction group showed a growthPHONICS BEST PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS 5 of 26% in comparison to the 13% of the control group, thus doubling the progress of normal classroom instruction. Educators achieve this precise way of teaching by using mini lessons directed towards the whole class. The teacher first presents the information about a skill then he or she demonstrates how to use it. During this time, students receive words that relate to the lesson. This way, students can use the words during their practice time. Teachers provide guided practice through activities such as replicating letters or words on dry erase boards or with magnetic letters, word and pictures sorts, word cards, and poster representing a phonics concept (Tompkins, 2010). This allows students to work with sounds while reading and writing words. For many early learners, understanding and mastery will come from explicit instruction (Pollard-Durodola and Simmons, 2009). Explicit instruction influences the abilities of readers and writers and act as a key component of a good phonics program. Good phonics programs