Phonics Instruction
Paige Pullen and John WillsLloyd, University of Virginia
Alert Issue 14, Spring 2008
Phonics is an instructional approach that teaches children the systematic relationship between letters and sounds, and how to use that system (the alphabetic principle) to read words. Research indicates that phonics approaches in beginning reading produce better outcomes in decoding, comprehension, and collateral skills (e.g., spelling) than do alternative methods.