Phonics is a method of teaching reading which first teaches the letter sounds so that children can blend these sounds together to achieve full pronunciation of whole words. The method relates to the English language only.

RWI cards used throughout the SSP Approach

SSP Blue Level Sound Pic Sandwich (split digraph)

Speech Sound Clouds used to show all spelling variations for the speech sounds

Phonemic Awareness

•Phonemic awareness is NOT phonics.

•Phonemic awareness is AUDITORY and does not involve words in print.

Research indicates a strong relationship between early phoneme awareness and later reading success and, conversely, links reading failure to insufficiently developed phonological awareness. Research has identified PA as the most potent predictor of success in learning to read. It is more highly related to reading than tests of general intelligence, reading readiness, and listening comprehension. It is central in learning to read and spell. Intervention research clearly demonstrates the benefits of explicitly

teaching phoneme awareness skills. It is recommended that you screen Prep children for phonemic awareness within the first two

weeks, as well as struggling students.

When you can read, your brain can scan ahead, and make sense of words it

recognises, even if jumbled. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltteers are in the rghit pclae: you can raed it wouthit a porbelm bcuseae we don't raed ervey lteter but the word as a wlohe

Our brains scan ahead all the time as readers – we barely look at the smaller

parts (the sound pics) because our brains is telling us we know it, and is moving to the next word. Read the

label again..

When you don’t know the words, however, and especially if located within a sentence you don’t understand (so you can’t even guess at

meaning) your brain struggles as it can’t link the speech sounds to the speech sound pics. Read this aloud, quickly...

Polysyllabic numbers present gargantuan quandaries for students,

who become conspicuously discombobulated.

This is why knowing the code (sound pic recognition), and how to blend, isn’t enough.

Vocabulary knowledge is also necessary. However, even if you know how to pronounce ‘polysyllabic’ etc can you explain what it

means? This is the comprehension part of the puzzle. Now, can you spell the words correctly if read to you?....If you

memorise them will you remember them in a month?...

Of COURSE you need all five elements, but phonemic awareness and phonics are needed to create a solid foundation for life.

Without it, your wall will always be shaky and not serve its purpose.

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