ne of the most difficult decisions to make when developing any phonics program is the order, or sequence, in which the sound-spelling relationships are taught. Educators have considerable debates about this issue. One of the key areas of dissent is the teaching of vowel sounds. Some argue that long-vowel sounds should be taught first since these sounds are easier to discriminate auditorily than short-vowel sounds. In addition, the long vowels “say their names.” One drawback to this approach is that there are many long-vowel spellings, and introducing children to such complexities before they have gained key insights into how the
“system” works might create serious problems. Others argue that short-vowel sounds and their one key spelling should be taught first because many simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words (such as cat, sun, hit) can be generated. Many of these words appear in early reading materials (high utility), and the ease with which the “system” can be taught is increased.
I recommend the following regarding sequence:
◆ Teach short-vowel sounds before long-vowel sounds. Efficiency and ease of learning are critical. The simplicity of using short-vowel spellings and CVC words is beneficial to struggling readers.
◆ Teach consonants and short vowels in combination so that words can be generated as early as possible. Phonics is useless if it can’t be applied, and what is not applied is not learned. By teaching short vowels and consonants in combination, you can create decodable, connected text so that children can apply their knowledge of learned sound-spelling relationships.
◆ Be sure that the majority of the consonants taught early on are continuous consonants, such as f, l, m, n, r, and s. Because these consonant sounds can be sustained without distortion, it’s easier to model blending.
◆ Use a sequence in which the most words can be generated. For example, many words can be generated using the letter t; however, few can be generated using the letter x. Therefore, higher-frequency sound-spelling relationships should precede less-frequent ones.
◆ Progress from simple to more complex sound-spellings. For example, consonant sounds should be taught before digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ph, gh, ng) and blends (br, cl, st, and so on).
Likewise, short-vowel sound-spellings should be taught before long-vowel sound-spellings, variant vowels, and diphthongs. Here is a suggested sequence:
◆ short vowels and consonants in combination
◆ digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh)
◆ blends (r-blends, s-blends, l-blends)
◆ final e (a_e, e_e, i_e, o_e, u_e)
◆ long vowels (multiple spellings)
◆ variant vowels (oo, au, aw) and diphthongs (ou, ow, oi, oy)
◆ silent letters, inflectional endings (-ed, -s, -ing)
Phonics From A to Z © Wiley Blevins, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Following are the grade 1 phonics skill sequences used in two current basal reading programs known for their strong phonics instruction. Note the similarities. Also note how the sound-spellings taught are highly generative (many words can be formed from them) in the early part of the year.
Another primary decision is the scope of instruction: deciding which sound-spelling relationships are important enough to warrant instruction and which, because of their lower frequency in words, can be learned on an as-needed basis. The chart on page 117 shows the most frequent spellings of the 44 sounds covered in this book. These are the sounds and spellings covered in most basal reading programs.
The percentages provided in parentheses are based on the number of times each sound-spelling appeared in the 17,000 most frequently used words (Hanna et al., 1966). These included multisyllabic words.
In addition to sound-spelling relationships, other aspects of phonics knowledge, such as word analysis and syllabication, must be covered. You’ll find a recommended scope of skills for each grade on page 118 (Chall, 1996; Blevins, 1997).
After decisions about scope and sequence are made, my last recommendation is that the instruction be systematic. What do I mean by this? Systematic instruction follows a sequence that progresses from easy to more difficult. Systematic instruction includes constant review and repetition of sound-spelling relationships, application to reading and writing, and focus on developing fluency through work with reading rate and decoding accuracy. Just because a program has a scope and sequence doesn’t mean it is systematic. The instruction must be cumulative. The cumulative nature of children’s growing knowledge of sound-spellings should be reflected in the types of literature they are given to practice using these sound-spellings to decode words. In addition, the instruction should help children understand how words “work.” That is, how to use knowledge of sound-spellings to blend the sounds in words. In essence, the system should not only be in the reading program, it should be in the children. The type of instruction you give them should enable them to internalize how the “system” works.
PROGRAM A
m, a, -ad, l, t, s, o, -ot, -op, h, i, -id, p, -og, f, n, c, b, -ill, w, j, -ab, z, d, r, -op, e, -en, -et, g, x, k, ck, -ap, -ick, u, -un, th, /z/s, -in, y, v, -ut, q, sh, -ob, a-e, -ace, -ake, i_e, o_e, u_e, long e (e, ea, ee), -eat, r-blends, l-blends, s-blends, ch, wh, long a (ai, ay), -ain, /ô/ (all, aw, au), -ed, long o (o, ow), long e (ey, y), long o (oa), /∑/, /√/, /ou/ (ou, ow), -ink, -ing, -ank, -unk, long i (igh, y), -ild, -ind
PROGRAM B
m, a, t, h, p, n, c, d, s, i, b, r, f, g, o, x, ar, ck, u, z, l, e, ea, y, w, wh, r-controlled vowels (er, ir, ur), sh, th, ch, tch, k, long a (a, a_e), j, dge, ge, gi, long i (i, i_e), ce, ci, long o (o, o_e), /z/s, v, long u (u, u_e), long e (e, e-e, ea, ee), q, long vowels plus r, long e (y, ie), long a (ai, ay), long i (igh, y, ie), ng, long o (oe, ow, oa), long u (ew, ue), /ou/ (ou, ow), /ô/ (aw, au), /∑/ (oo, ue, u_e, u, ew), /√/, kn, /oi/ (oi, oy), wr, ph
Phonics From A to Z © Wiley Blevins, Scholastic Teaching Resources
The Most Frequent Spellings of the 44 Sounds of English Sound Common Spellings
1. /b/ b (97%), bb
2. /d/ d (98%), dd, ed
3. /f/ f (78%), ff, ph, lf
4. /g/ g (88%), gg, gh
5. /h/ h (98%), wh
6. /j/ g (66%), j (22%), dg
7. /k/ c (73%), cc, k (13%), ck, lk, q
8. /l/ l (91%), ll
9. /m/ m (94%), mm
10. /n/ n (97%), nn, kn, gn
11. /p/ p (96%), pp
12. /r/ r (97%), rr, wr
13. /s/ s (73%), c (17%), ss
14. /t/ t (97%), tt, ed
15. /v/ v (99.5%), f (of)
16. /w/ w (92%)
17. /y/ y (44%), i (55%)
18. /z/ z (23%), zz, s (64%)
19. /ch/ ch (55%), t (31%)
20. /sh/ sh (26%), ti (53%), ssi, s, si, sci 21. /zh/ si (49%), s (33%), ss, z
22. /th/ th (100%)
23. /†/ th (100%)
24. /hw/ wh (100%)
25. /ng/ n (41%), ng (59%)
26. /A/ a (45%), a_e (35%), ai, ay, ea
27. /E/ e (70%), y, ea (10%), ee (10%), ie, e_e, ey, i, ei 28. /I/ i_e (37%), i (37%), igh, y (14%), ie, y-e
29. /O/ o (73%), o_e (14%), ow, oa, oe 30. /y√/ u (69%), u_e (22%), ew, ue
31. /a/ a (96%)
32. /e/ e (91%), ea, e_e (15%)
33. /i/ i (66%), y (23%)
34. /o/ o (79%)
35. /u/ u (86%), o, ou
36. /@/ a (24%), e (13%), i (22%), o (27%), u 37. /â/ a (29%), are (23%), air (21%)
38. /û/ er (40%), ir (13%), ur (26%)
39. /ä/ a (89%)
40. /ô/ o, a, au, aw, ough, augh
41. /oi/ oi (62%), oy (32%)
42. /ou/ ou (56%), ow (29%)
43. /√/ oo (38%), u (21%), o, ou, u_e, ew, ue 44. /∑/ oo (31%), u (54%), ou, o (8%), ould
Phonics From A to Z © Wiley Blevins, Scholastic Teaching Resources