Phonics and Whole Language Terms
If your child's school teaches phonics you may hear phrases like:
- Skills-based learning
- Vowels
- Consonants
- Blends
- Diagraphs
- Souding out
- Alphabetic Code
- Decoding
- Traditional methods
- Bottom-up approach
- Foundation skills
- Letter-sound relationships
If your child's school takes a whole-language approach to reading, you may hear phrases like:
- Look-Say
- Holistic teaching
- Literature-based curriculum
- Process-oriented
- Word method
- Key word
- Invented spelling
- Immersion in literature
- Writing as reading activity
- Top-down approach
- Using context clues to guess unknown words
Many educators recommend a balanced and individualized approach to teaching reading. Listen for clues that your child's teacher uses a variety of methods and styles to teach reading.
Reprinted with the permission of EduGuide. © 2008 EduGuide.
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