Phonics is the system of teaching reading and spelling by focusing on the relationships between sounds and letters. Here's how it works:
Decoding:
1. Identify the sounds of individual letters or letter combinations (graphemes). For example, "c" says /k/ in "cat" but /s/ in "cent".
2. Blend those sounds together to form words. So, "c-a-t" becomes "cat".
3. Read words in context to understand the meaning of the sentence.
Encoding:
1. Break words down into their individual sounds. So, "cat" becomes /k/ /a/ /t/.
2. Choose the correct letter or letter combination (grapheme) to represent each sound.
3. Write the letters together to form the word.
Here's an example:
Decoding:
Sentence: The cat sat on the mat.
* "Th" says /th/
* "e" says /e/
* "c" says /k/
* "a" says /a/
* "t" says /t/
* "s" says /s/
* "a" says /a/
* "t" says /t/
* "o" says /o/
* "n" says /n/
* "th" says /th/
* "e" says /e/
* "m" says /m/
* "a" says /a/
* "t" says /t/
Blending these sounds together, we read the sentence: "The cat sat on the mat."
Encoding:
Sentence: The dog chased the ball.
* "Th" represents /th/
* "e" represents /e/
* "d" represents /d/
* "o" represents /o/
* "g" represents /g/
* "ch" represents /ch/
* "a" represents /a/
* "s" represents /s/
* "e" represents /e/
* "d" represents /d/
* "th" represents /th/
* "e" represents /e/
* "b" represents /b/
* "a" represents /a/
* "ll" represents /l/
By writing these letters together, we spell the sentence: "The dog chased the ball."