Does research support phonics as a proven method of teaching reading?
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Panel Recommends Methods To Teach Reading By Bob Bock In the largest, most comprehensive review of its kind, a congressionally mandated independent panel supported by NICHD found that the most effective way to teach children to read is through instruction that includes a combination of methods such as: • Phonemic awareness — the knowledge that spoken words can be broken apart into smaller segments known as phonemes. • Phonics — the knowledge that phonemes are represented by letters of the alphabet that can then be blended together to form words. • Guided repeated oral reading — having children practice what they’ve learned by reading aloud while receiving guidance and feedback from more proficient readers. • Reading comprehension strategies — techniques for helping children to understand what they read. “For the first time, we now have guidance — based on evidence from sound scientific research — on how best to teach chil
