What is the relationship between SCRL and phonics?
SCRL does not directly teach phonics, but it makes the learning of phonics easier and the application of phonics rules more effective. Children who learn phonics first will gain a wealth of experience with SCRL applying what they have learned. They will also learn to better handle the many words that either are phonetically irregular, or otherwise cannot be completely decoded with phonics rules. A child truly understands the rules of phonics only after much experience with the written English language. SCRL gives the children this experience. If the teacher presents phonics rules after starting SCRL, every child who has used SCRL for a reasonable length of time will have a base of experience upon which to draw, and therefore will learn phonics rules more quickly.
