The Role of Phonics in the Teaching of Reading

http://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101/phonics

Phonics instruction helps children learn the relationships between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. Children are taught, for example, that the letter n represents the sound /n/, and that it is the first letter in words such as nose, nice and new. We've found great apps that give kids practice with basic phonics skills, including recognizing the letters of the alphabet, learning upper case and lower case letters, alphabet matching, and word building. These apps help kids work on listening skills while also practicing spelling and building their vocabulary.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/reading-language/reading-tips/what-is-phonics/

https://www.eduplace.com/lds/article/phonics.html

The Role of Phonics in the Teaching of Reading:
A Houghton Mifflin Position Paper

A reputable body of research substantiates the positive effects of well-designed phonics instruction and provides guidance about the form that instruction should take. The following research conclusions guided the development of Houghton Mifflin's newly published program, Invitations to Literacy:

• Phonics is an essential part of a comprehensive approach to the teaching of reading.
• Phonics instruction needs to be explicit and direct; incidental and opportunistic approaches to developing phonics are less effective.
• Phonics instruction can and must be meaningful, lively, and engaging; phonics should not be equated with repetitious drill or the mindless completion of worksheets.
• In order for children to gain full use of phonics skills they need guidance in integrating them with other word identification skills and in strategically and fluently applying those skills.
• In order for children to gain full use of phonics skills they need many opportunities to apply them to functional and interesting reading and writing activities.
• While the development of phonics and other word identification skills is essential and necessary for skillful, mature reading, it is not sufficient; skillful mature reading must also build upon language, vocabulary, and concept development as well as a variety of thinking skills.