Teaching Phonemic Teaching Phonemic Awareness and PhonicsAwareness and Phonics

An Explanation of the An Explanation of the National Reading Panel National Reading Panel

Meta-AnalysisMeta-AnalysisBy Linnea C. EhriBy Linnea C. Ehri

Contributors of Reading Contributors of Reading AcquisitionAcquisition

Phonemic Awareness InstructionPhonemic Awareness Instruction

Systematic Phonics InstructionSystematic Phonics Instruction

Alphabetic KnowledgeAlphabetic Knowledge

Implications for Teaching Implications for Teaching ReadingReading

What does strong systematic What does strong systematic phonics instruction look like in phonics instruction look like in classrooms?classrooms?

Vote with Your Feet

Cast your vote for each Cast your vote for each statement by statement by moving tomoving to one of one of the signs posted around the the signs posted around the roomroom

– IncorrectIncorrect

–CorrectCorrect

–Partially correctPartially correct

key student key student capabilitiescapabilities

Acquire knowledge of the Acquire knowledge of the alphabetic system alphabetic system (alphabetic principle)(alphabetic principle)

CorrectCorrect

Acquire phonologicalAcquire phonologicalawareness, particularly in awareness, particularly in segmentation and blendingsegmentation and blending

CorrectCorrect

Learn a few grapheme-Learn a few grapheme-phoneme correspondencesphoneme correspondences

Partially correctPartially correct

Students learn Students learn majormajor grapheme-grapheme-phoneme correspondencesphoneme correspondences

Students are not taught Students are not taught to decode the word’s to decode the word’s spellingspelling

IncorrectIncorrect

Students Students are taughtare taught how to decode how to decode the word’s spellingthe word’s spelling

Practice reading words so Practice reading words so that they are able to read that they are able to read

Partially correctPartially correct

Students practice reading words so that Students practice reading words so that they are able to read words they are able to read words

automaticallyautomatically

““If you walk into a classroom during If you walk into a classroom during a phonics lesson, you should see a phonics lesson, you should see one or more of these capabilities one or more of these capabilities

being taught or practiced.” being taught or practiced.” Linnea C. EhriLinnea C. Ehri

key instructional key instructional componentscomponents

Have a plan for teaching Have a plan for teaching all major letter sound all major letter sound correspondencescorrespondences

CorrectCorrect

Teach students to Teach students to transform graphemes transform graphemes into phonemesinto phonemes

Partially correctPartially correct

Teach students to transform Teach students to transform graphemes into phonemes graphemes into phonemes and and to blend them to form to blend them to form recognizable wordsrecognizable words

Phonics and phonemic Phonics and phonemic awareness skills are awareness skills are actively taught by actively taught by explaining and explaining and modeling the use of modeling the use of alphabetic principlesalphabetic principles

CorrectCorrect

Phonics skills are Phonics skills are embedded in daily embedded in daily activitiesactivities

Partially correctPartially correct

Phonics skills are embedded in Phonics skills are embedded in

daily activities daily activities and and worksheets are not worksheets are not used extensivelyused extensively

““Systematic phonics instruction by Systematic phonics instruction by itself does not help students itself does not help students

acquire all of the processes they acquire all of the processes they need to become successful need to become successful

readers.”(Ehri)readers.”(Ehri)

““Phonics instruction Phonics instruction needs to be combined needs to be combined

with other forms of with other forms of instruction to create a instruction to create a comprehensive reading comprehensive reading

program.”program.” EhriEhri(Phonemic Awareness, (Phonemic Awareness,

Vocabulary, Fluency and Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension)Comprehension)

Teaching Reading is Rocket Teaching Reading is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Science: What Expert Teachers of

Reading Should Know and Be Able Reading Should Know and Be Able to Doto Do

(American Federation of Teachers,1999)(American Federation of Teachers,1999)

Dr. Donald Langenberg, a physicist, Dr. Donald Langenberg, a physicist, member of the National Reading Panel member of the National Reading Panel

complained the above title was complained the above title was misleadingmisleading….….

He realized “teaching reading is really much harder than rocket science.”

(Hearing on the Importance of Literacy, 2000)