1. Three Approaches to Phonics - based on an article by John Savage
Synthetic (Explicit)
Analytic (Integrated)
Embedded (Implicit)

2. Synthetic (Explicit) Built on the alphabetic principal
Direct, systematic teaching
Sound-symbol relationship
“This is ‘m’ and it says /m/”
Learn to blend individual sounds/symbols into syllables and words

3. Synthetic Phonics Programs
Orton Gillingham
Wilson
Project Read
Multi-sensory
with VAKT, sequential, many repetitions, and students work to mastery
Decoding uses controlled text

4. Recommended by the US National Reading Panel for its systematic, direct method, Synthetic Phonics has become the foundation of the “Reading First” component of the “No Child Left Behind Act.” Children first learn how to connect letters or letter combinations with sounds, and then how to blend the sounds together to form recognizable words. They are then taught to sound out and blend letters to pronounce unfamiliar words. Synthetic Phonics rapidly teaches children to read within months rather than years.

5. Analytic Phonics Also known as integrated phonics instruction
Direct presentation of sound-symbol relationships
One part of overall curriculum
Lists of words with blends, digraphs, short vowels, vowel teams, etc.
Students analyze word elements word families

6. Integrated Phonics Programs
Basal readers
Children’s Literature
Games with word sorts, word building
Other activities to help students master the orthographic system
A separate time may be set aside for phonics
Balanced with other instructional components designed to teach reading and writing

7. Analytic Phonics Students look at the Word level
They learn how to break words down rather than build them up whole to part
Word Study: A new approach to teaching spelling
Usually not used with the at-risk reader (without add’l remediation, review, or repetition of some type)
The Whole Word Method: Letter Sounds or Whole Words

8. Embedded (Implicit) Begins with the story and builds
phonics into the lesson
Instruction in sound-symbol relationship is built into authentic reading experiences
Informational purposes not for skill development
Phonics is naturally embedded in writing
Decoding and encoding develop together
This approach lacks structure – some could “fall through the cracks”

9. Embedded Phonics Programs
Consciously built into shared reading, guided reading, and authentic experiences that use trade books
Could be effective for some students to learn decoding skills as part of real reading experiences

10. Research Results
Foorman: “empirical evidence favors explicit bibliography coding instruction.”
Baker and Stahl believed in the importance of directly teaching alphabetic coding.
Overall: explicit instruction in l/s correspondence is not necessary for all children but implicit instruction offers no known advantage; thus, explicit phonics never seems to hurt and often seems to help meet the needs of all.