Learning Phonics Helps Children Decipher Words

One of the main benefits of learning phonics is that it teaches children to decipher words on their own, which means they ultimately need less help with reading. When children learn the sounds that letters and groups of letters make, they can decode words they have not encountered before in their reading. This allows children to learn new words independently and read more confidently.

Learning Phonics Expands a Child’s Vocabulary

Another advantage of learning phonics is that it gives children a foundation for learning new words, adding to the words they already know. Through phonics, children learn parts of words, which they can remember when they encounter new words they have never seen before. This makes learning to read much easier in the long run. Additionally, phonics can lead to whole-word recognition, which helps children read faster as they practice. As children begin to recognize whole sections of words without sounding out individual phonemes to decipher each word, reading is much faster and more fluid.

Learning Phonics Encourages Children to Recognize Text Fluently

When children learn phonics, they also learn critical language rules that help with fluency down the road. Learning phonics involves an introduction to specific language rules related both to the pronunciation of the words and also how they are represented in written form. Through the phonics system, children develop the ability to be able to recognize patterns both within words and between words, while developing essential language skills that will be drawn upon again and again.

Learning Phonics Enables Stronger Reading Comprehension

Empowered with the knack of phonics application, children become more fluent more quickly, they are able to stop focusing on the individual letters of each word (as this becomes automatic) and are thus free to focus on the meaning of what they are reading. This, in turn, supports a stronger development of reading comprehension skills overall, as well as a superior understanding of the language as a whole.

Learning Phonics Boosts Writing Ability

Another benefit of learning phonics is that it ultimately helps children learn to write by using written lessons and activities to help children master both reading and writing skills. Children also tend to develop their spelling skills much more quickly, as they are learning which letters or combinations of letters create sounds in words that they write.

Learning Phonics Helps Kids Develop Strong Thinking Skills

Over the many decades in which phonics systems have been used to teach young children to read, research has found that phonics-trained students demonstrated superior performance in the area of critical thinking over the long term. Since the English language doesn’t always follow predictable rules, with the help of the tools provided by the phonics system, young readers are able to develop logic, reasoning, and analysis skills, which translates to stronger thinking skills overall.

Learning Phonics Makes Reading and Writing Fun

Most systems for teaching phonics to young children are designed specifically to be fun and engaging, with games incorporated into lessons along with visual material featuring vibrant colors and memorable images that children come to associate with the learning-to-read process. Many experts believe that this approach to reading not only enhances the learning experience but ultimately results in a more thorough development of reading and writing skills.

Learning phonics provides an excellent way for children to read both quickly and effectively, giving them a systematic approach to reading upon which they can build and expand their skills.