Phonics is a way of teaching children to read and write. Children are taught how to:
- Recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes
- Identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make – such as ‘sh’ or ‘th’
- Blend sounds together from left to right to make a word
- Segment sounds in words in order to attempt to write them
Children can then use this knowledge to ‘decode’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read and write.
Phonics: How to pronounce pure sounds
Learn how to pronounce all 44 phonics sounds, or phonemes, used in the English language.
Phonics: How to blend sounds to read words
This video explains how letter sounds can be blended to read words, and gives tips on how to practise phonics with your child.