Teaching phonics to kids is no easy feat. Reading and writing are complex skills that must be explicitly learned, practiced, and mastered over time if children are to become proficient readers.
Whether your child is learning phonics in their classroom or you’re educating them from home, a consistent and proven phonics program can have positive outcomes.
In this guide, we share practical tips on how parents can start teaching phonics at home—in ways that are proven to support kids’ development. Let’s dive in!
1. Create a Phonics Routine
The first thing you need to do if you want to teach phonics at home is to start an at-home phonics routine with your child.
Consistency is important not only for children’s emotional development but cognitive development as well. Practice, routine, and clear expectations help children feel more comfortable and confident in their everyday lives.
When learning something new such as phonics—even if it’s challenging—children benefit from daily routine. Whether it’s ten minutes or thirty minutes per day, a structured learning practice makes a big difference.
2. Read Aloud With Your Child
Read books to your child regularly when they’re little. As they learn basic phonics skills, read with them, making a point to include them in the reading process.
- Let your child choose books they want to read with you
- Welcome your child’s questions about the story and characters
- Take turns reading and kindly correcting each other’s mistakes
- Encourage active participation, using questions and real-world connections
When you read to (and with) your child, you model fluency and reinforce positive reading experiences. Even when you might not notice it, your child is “absorbing” a lot of useful information from reading aloud with you.
3. Prioritize Letters and Sounds
No matter what you include in your child’s phonics education at home, make it a priority to practice letter-sound correspondence.
This is the relationship between alphabetical letters and the sounds they represent in spoken language. It’s the fundamental basis of reading because essential skills like decoding rely on knowledge of letter sounds. To learn a few letter-sound teaching exercises, read this article from phonics.org.
4. Make Phonics Education Playful
Try playing some entertaining phonics games with your child to keep them interested and engaged. Kids typically learn best through play, so make this an opportunity to enjoy quality time together and strengthen those budding phonics skills.
For example, to focus on letter sounds, play games like “I Spy,” where you silently identify an item in your surroundings and give letter clues. For pineapple, you’d say: “I spy something that starts with <P>.”
5. Take a Multisensory Approach
Leverage the use of multiple senses during phonics instruction to go beyond sight and sound. Ideas include:
- Tactile objects (foam letters, alphabet tiles, writing in sand)
- Auditory cues (alphabet songs, nursery rhymes)
- Physical movement (jumping/clapping along with syllables, letter hopscotch)
Sensory phonics games are especially helpful for kids who hate sitting still or those who need a break from focused “work” at a desk.
6. Apply Phonics to Everyday Life
Use real-life situations as opportunities for phonics instruction. Ask your child to sound out words on restaurant menus, find a specific letter on a street sign, point at labels in the grocery store, and do other fun quests.
7. Use Educational Technology
Learning phonics isn’t limited to print. Thanks to the development of digital learning today, some educational apps and resources can enhance your child’s phonics learning.
For kids who are digital natives, online phonics programs can be useful, beneficial, and fun. Put screen time to good use and choose a phonics app that implements proven instruction methods, engaging activities, and user-friendly experiences.
To find online apps that help kids learn to read, check out our phonics program reviews from literacy experts.
8. Extend Patience and Encouragement
Seeing your child progress in their phonics lessons is so exciting! It’s easy to provide words of praise when they’re doing so well. When a new concept or skill doesn’t come naturally, though, it’s even more important to extend patience to your child and offer encouragement.
According to Havard’s Center on the Developing Child, consistently encouraging children to learn through curiosity, play, and social interaction can have a direct impact on the level of intrinsic motivation they experience into adulthood. So in addition to words of encouragement, model curiosity to your child and show them it’s okay to make mistakes when learning.
9. Monitor Your Child’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Every child has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to literacy development. Regardless of their skill level or expected abilities for their age, it’s important to monitor their unique experience. That way, you can notice which areas they need more support in.
Ensure your child has a reading assessment to understand where they’re succeeding and if they need additional support. Generally, children are assessed or screened for reading difficulties three times a year – at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Some children may require additional help and could be monitored more frequently to track progress and next steps.
Some reading assessments are more reliable than others. The DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a reliable resource for this. Explore the DIBELS screening tips for parents and families.
10. Give Your Child the Support They Need
Adequate phonics instruction provides a solid foundation for kids to become avid learners. When children know how to read and write effectively, the world is theirs to discover. With these tips, we hope you can better support your child’s phonics journey at home.
An additional note: It’s worthwhile to acknowledge that sometimes, children may need more help than what we can offer as parents. If a student experiences underlying issues that result in reading difficulties—such as stress, learning disorders, or a behavioral struggle—those issues must be addressed. If you and your child’s teachers have tried everything but still notice little improvement, talk with a clinician or reading specialist.
No matter where your child is on their path to literacy, you can learn more reading education tips from our parent resources at phonics.org.
