April 1, 2021
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Phonics helps children learn to read by correlating sounds with letters of the alphabet or written syllables. It is important because children's reading development depends on understanding that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language, and understanding phonics forms a bridge between written and spoken language that helps children to "decode" writing through words and sounds. words using phonetics.
It's important to focus on phonics in preschool, partly because it provides a solid foundation for more complex language skills later on, but also because young children like what Dr. Maria Montessori described as the sensitive period for language , which lasts from birth to 6 years and allows them to quickly internalize and master new language skills.
Children who learn using phonics exercises develop greater reading proficiency and are especially helpful for children who have difficulty recognizing written words because phonics helps them recognize the sounds in the word they are reading. Phonics helps children with letters and syllables, which not only improves reading speed but also helps comprehension.
When it comes to reading, comprehension is more valuable than speed in developing language fluency, and phonics drills that require matching letters, syllables, simple words, and sounds with pictures help children “connect the points” in the language. form sounds and common objects and concepts that these sounds represent. Phonics increases comprehension by improving reading accuracy, which in turn leads to greater self-confidence in the child's language skills.
benefits of phonetics
When children learn the phonetic method of reading, it leads to increased proficiency and mastery of their language skills at a younger age. This gives them a head start on reading and writing and helps build confidence in their language skills, making learning new material a fun experience. Here are some of the top benefits children often see when using phonics:
increase vocabulary
Phonics helps children learn the parts of a word by pronouncing letters and syllables, which they can use when encountering new words for the first time. This helps increase overall word recognition and allows them to add new words to their vocabulary faster. As they practice reading, phonics becomes internalized and soon they can recognize new words naturally and fluently.
Help unscramble words
Word unscrambling is the process children use to sound out the various letters and syllables of a new word using phonics. As they learn the sounds associated with letters and syllables, their language skills increase and they are better able to figure out new words. This builds the child's confidence in her reading ability and helps him progress from simple to more complex reading material.
Encourages reading skills
The increased confidence and independence that phonics gives children helps reduce frustration with learning to read and encourages them to read more often. This helps immerse children in a rewarding reading process and allows them to confidently tackle new and more complex reading material. Children feel ready to pick up new books, armed with the ability to sound out new words as they go, helping them determine meaning and leading to the development of superior language skills at an early age.
Increases cognitive abilities
The English language has absorbed many linguistic components from other languages and, as a result, does not necessarily follow predictable rules. This can lead to frustration and confusion that undermine young children's reading proficiency, but by using phonics, you give children the tools to create their own mind map of language and encourage them to read more often. Phonics is a wonderful tool to help children develop reasoning, analysis and logic, and helps increase their cognitive language skills.
Support writing skills
By using phonics to pronounce letters and syllables, children can not only read more efficiently, but also more capable words and phrases through their sounds as they write. Many children write by saying words in a sentence in their head and then writing the words on paper, but they often encounter frustration with spelling, which can get in the way of early writing. Phonics helps them pronounce the parts of a word on their own, which helps them overcome difficult word obstacles and helps them write words and sentences with greater skill.
Montessori Phonetic Education
When phonics is taught using the Montessori Method, the focus is on learning groups or sets of letters rather than the entire alphabet. Letters are introduced by their sounds rather than names and are taught in manageable groups to help children quickly begin using letters to encode and decode words. Visual association is also an important part of the learning process, and simple words are associated with specific objects. Instead of a process of memorizing thousands of words, phonics helps children develop language proficiency by breaking language down into a collection of just 44 sounds.
Sensitive periods of child development are important in learning phonetics. These are the periods of rapid growth and development that Dr. Maria Montessori described when children can quickly absorb information and master new skills, and they play an important role in helping children master language skills like reading. The Montessori approach to phonics is holistic in nature and encourages children to discover and recognize the sounds that each letter makes and to learn the relationship between sounds, letters and words. Instead of concentrating on memorizing letters to create words, the child's focus is directed toward the combination of letters and sounds that make up words, which children can use to more easily decipher the words they read.
The Montessori method approaches phonemic education holistically and attempts to engage multiple senses in the learning process to reinforce association and increase learning retention. One approach to multisensory phonics education involves sensory touch using letters made from sandpaper. Children can trace the outline of each letter with their fingers and feel the touch of the sandpaper while simultaneously pronouncing the sound associated with it. This provides a tactile association between the letter's shape and its individual sound that helps children learn more effectively. As children continue their language growth and development, they may progress from single letters to single words, and then short sentences eventually compete with each other.
Montessori methods for teaching phonetics
The Montessori method for teaching phonetics has proven to be a very effective tool for developing linguistic competence in preschool children from the age of 4. Dr. María Montessori described a series of activities to effectively introduce children to phonetic principles, such as:
Teach the sounds before the letter names
In the Montessori approach, letters are first introduced by their sounds rather than their names. They can be presented in six groups of four letters each and must be pronounced clearly so that children learn the correct sounds. Once again, the alphabet is not presented in a contiguous order, but by how useful the letters are in helping children form words.
teach lowercase letters first
In Montessori schools, lowercase letters are introduced first, because most of the words that children will encounter when they begin to read are made up of lowercase letters. Capital letters are introduced later, after children feel confident with lowercase phonic associations.
Teach the short vowels first
Children are also introduced to words with short vowel sounds first because they are likely to encounter them first in initial reading. Short vowel sounds are found in words like "cat," "bed," and "sit." Their simplicity makes them easier to pronounce and memorize, and the short words that contain them are an easy transition in complexity from single-letter sounds.
using sandpaper letters
Sandpaper letters have a rough texture, which helps children associate the tactile sensation of tracing the letter shape with their fingers with associated phonics. This reinforces Dr. Montessori for education that involves the use of eyes, ears, and hands as part of a coordinated learning activity that reinforces learning and reinforces the child's retention of language skills.
Use of the mobile alphabet box
The small mobile alphabet is a wooden box containing 26 wooden letters, with the vowels painted in blue and the consonants in red. It is a tool used in Montessori learning to teach reading, spelling and writing, giving children a tactile dimension to learning phonics similar in nature to sandpaper letters. When children can feel the shapes of the letters, it helps reinforce the phonics they associate with them, and by putting the letters together, they learn the process of encoding words.
Embracing Montessori phonics education
Over a century of Montessori learning has demonstrated the benefits of phonics education for children, especially in a multi-sensory environment where phonics is taught according to the principles outlined by Dr. Maria Montessori. Phonics has proven to be highly successful in helping children develop basic language skills and confidence in their own abilities and because of this it is now being embraced by the mainstream educational community as well.
Phonics is not without controversy, but the national adoption of phonics in countries like Australia, the UK, the US, Singapore, the Bahamas and Nigeria is a testament to the growing popularity of this natural and organic method of language teaching. . Learning sounds and object associations is a fun and enriching experience for children, giving them a head start on language skills that often puts them ahead of their peers throughout their school career.
Ultimately, phonics is a valuable tool for giving children the best possible introduction to language skills and provides a linguistic context and familiarity that help children progress as self-directed and confident readers and writers. It should come as no surprise that phonics' ability to empower children to learn on their own is one of the reasons Dr. Maria Montessori chose this method of learning. Teaching children to recognize letter sounds and syllables equips them with the ability to look at a word and discern the most reasonable sound in the word, promoting greater competence and valuable independence in literacy.