PHONICS - What is it?

Phonics is not a specific teaching method. In fact, there are many ways to teach it. However, what most types of phonics instruction have in common is that they focus on the sound-spelling relationships so that a child can come up with an approximate pronunciation of a word and then check it against his or her oral vocabulary.

English is an alphabetic language in which there are consistent, though not entirely predictable, relationships between letters and sounds. When children learn these relationships most of the words in their spoken language become accessible to them when they see them in print. When this happens, children are said to be able to de-code.

Phonics instruction is particularly beneficial for children that are learning English. With phonics instruction they make faster progress in acquiring literary skills such as reading and writing. Phonics is an essential part of early reading instruction. The purpose of this instruction is to teach children how to read with accuracy, comprehension, fluency, and pleasure.

How do we teach phonics?

At Kukai Kindergarten our English Phonics Program has a unique phonics system that was developed by our very own Ms. Tammy. After working in the education field for many years she found that her students learned much faster when they were using more than one Multiple Intelligence. The English Phonics Program she designed includes speaking, listening, seeing and moving!

One of the reasons for the success of her English Phonics Program includes the fact that they use lots of repetition! Studies have shown that by hearing, seeing and moving over and over and over again, recognition and recall are significantly increased.

Some other reasons Ms. Tammy's English Phonics Program is so successful include the following: The vowels are taught first (short then long sounds.) Every word in the English language has vowels, so learning the vowel sounds early is important. Besides just repeating A E I O U, we use movement and a clear voice to exaggerate the sounds of the vowels. We also use songs, as a method, to help our students learn quickly.

Above all else, learning phonics should be fun! We use a variety of fun and engaging activities, manipulatives and visuals that reinforce all of the phonics lessons. These are just a few ideas that we use to keep our classes interesting and fun! Ms. Tammy's English Phonics Program has a proven success rate. This program is only available through Kukai Kindergarten.