Teaching Phonemic Awareness and Phonics An Explanation of the National Reading Panel Meta- Analysis By Linnea C. Ehri

Contributors of Reading Acquisition Phonemic Awareness Instruction Phonemic Awareness Instruction Systematic Phonics Instruction Systematic Phonics Instruction Alphabetic Knowledge Alphabetic Knowledge

Implications for Teaching Reading What does strong systematic phonics instruction look like in classrooms? What does strong systematic phonics instruction look like in classrooms?

Vote with Your Feet

Cast your vote for each statement by moving to one of the signs posted around the room Cast your vote for each statement by moving to one of the signs posted around the room –Incorrect –Correct –Partially correct

key student capabilities

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

Acquire phonological awareness, particularly in segmentation and blending  Correct

Learn a few grapheme- phoneme correspondences  Partially correct  Students learn major grapheme- phoneme correspondences

Students are not taught to decode the word’s spelling  Incorrect  Students are taught how to decode the word’s spelling

Practice reading words so that they are able to read  Partially correct  Students practice reading words so that they are able to read words automatically

“If you walk into a classroom during a phonics lesson, you should see one or more of these capabilities being taught or practiced.” Linnea C. Ehri

key instructional components

Have a plan for teaching all major letter sound correspondences Correct Correct

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

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

Phonics skills are embedded in daily activities Partially correct Partially correct Phonics skills are embedded in daily activities and worksheets are not used extensively Phonics skills are embedded in daily activities and worksheets are not used extensively

“Systematic phonics instruction by itself does not help students acquire all of the processes they need to become successful readers.”(Ehri)

“Phonics instruction needs to be combined with other forms of instruction to create a comprehensive reading program.” Ehri (Phonemic Awareness, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension)

Teaching Reading is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do (American Federation of Teachers,1999) Dr. Donald Langenberg, a physicist, member of the National Reading Panel complained the above title was misleading ….

He realized “teaching reading is really much harder than rocket science.” (Hearing on the Importance of Literacy, 2000)