![]() ![]() Teaching children letter-sound correspondences and how to decode may seem remarkably simple and straightforward. Also, providing students effective instruction in letter-sound correspondences and how to use those correspondences to decode is important because the resulting benefits to word recognition lead to benefits in reading comprehension (Brady, 2011). These students will have high initial accuracy in decoding, which in itself is important since it increases the likelihood that children will willingly engage in reading, and as a result, word recognition will progress. Students who understand the alphabetic principle and have been taught letter-sound correspondences, through the use of phonological awareness and letter-sound instruction, are well-prepared to begin decoding simple words such as “cat” and “big” accurately and independently. Such instruction results in dramatic improvement in word recognition (Boyer & Ehri, 2011). ![]() Some children are able to gain insights about the connections between speech and print on their own just from exposure and rich literacy experiences, while many others require instruction. Similar to phonological awareness, neither understanding the alphabetic principle nor knowledge of letter-sound correspondences come naturally. For example, a teacher may provide a phonics lesson on how “p” and “h” combine to make /f/ in “ phone,” and “gra ph.” After all, the alphabet is a code that symbolizes speech sounds, and once students are taught which sound(s) each of the symbols (letters) represents, they can successfully decode written words, or “crack the code.” Why decoding is important The instructional practices teachers use to teach students how letters (e.g., i, r, x) and letter clusters (e.g., sh, oa, igh) correspond to the sounds of speech in English is called phonics (not to be confused with phoneme awareness). Once a word is accurately decoded a few times, it is likely to become recognized without conscious deliberation, leading to efficient word recognition. Decoding is a deliberate act in which readers must “consciously and deliberately apply their knowledge of the mapping system to produce a plausible pronunciation of a word they do not instantly recognize” ( Beck & Juel, 1995, p. Students can then be taught to decode, which means to blend the letter sounds together to read words. When students make the connection that letters signify the sounds that we say, they are said to understand the purpose of the alphabetic code, or the “alphabetic principle.” Letter-sound correspondences are known when students can provide the correct sound for letters and letter combinations. When teaching children to accurately decode words, they must understand the alphabetic principle and know letter-sound correspondences. Another critical component for word recognition is the ability to decode words.
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