Phonics is defined as "teaching reading by training beginners to associate letters with their sound values," according to Princeton University. When a child can put letters and their sounds together, they are able to read. An example of this is when your child learns that the letter "s" has the /s/ sound and "at" put together sounds like /at/. Putting them together you get the word "sat." Thus starts the process of being able to read the written word.

What makes phonics so important?

Teaching your child phonics is very important because reading is an activity that they will use on a daily basis throughout their entire lives. When you think of all the things that we have to read, from books and magazines, to signs and food labels, it becomes very apparent that a person could be lost without the ability to read. Phonics trains your child to be able to read.

Another important thing about teaching your child phonics is that it helps him to spell correctly. This not only helps your child know how to read the material around him, but also aids him in knowing how to spell correctly. When your child wants to communicate with someone else through the writing or typing, it is appropriate to know how to spell the words properly.

Phonics is also very important in order to help children understand what they read. What good is putting together letter sounds and being able to say a word correctly, if you don't apply it to reading a story or informational piece? Phonics helps children comprehend what they read, and helps them build their vocabulary as well.

When should my child start learning phonics?

Phonics generally starts in kindergarten, although many preschools will start children on the right track to learning phonics as well. It is with beginning to learn the alphabet that the whole process of learning phonics begins. Kindergarten is where your child will learn the consonant sounds, excluding the vowels a, e, i, o, and u.

First and second grade is where learning short sounds and long sounds for vowels begins in most school systems. This is where your child learns to put sounds together to make words. First grade students start reading beginner books, some of which will concentrate solely on specific letter combinations, such as the "at" sound. This is accomplished through rhyming books. Second grade students advance to reviewing letter sounds and combinations in order to make reading and spelling automatic.

Do all children learn phonics at the same pace?

Children will usually stay on the same path when learning phonics basics. Some children will show a greater comprehension of the process and move ahead with reading and spelling at a quicker pace. That is why many schools offer separate reading groups within a classroom. While the teacher is helping students who are more advanced in their reading and spelling capabilities, a volunteer or teacher's aid might be helping students at the normal level of their comprehension of learning phonics.