Teaching children how to read is a crucial and sometimes complicated process. Phonics instruction becomes the foundation of reading, so taking an effective and proven approach is required if kids are to grasp these essential skills.
If proper instruction is so important, why are there different types of phonics in English education? Which method works best for teaching kids to read?
Let’s look at the four main types of phonics instruction, the relationship each one has with reading, and how effective they are. Whether you’re a teacher of a classroom or a parent wanting to help your early reader, knowing these methods can help you make informed decisions about which phonics program to use as your child develops literacy skills.
Synthetic Phonics
Synthetic phonics focuses on alphabetical letters (graphemes) and their correspondence to phonemes (individual sounds of spoken language). It is the ‘synthesis’ or combination of individual letter sounds to decode words.
The most effective method of using synthetic phonics is with an explicit and direct approach to teaching.
Here’s how it works:
- Students learn individual letter sounds (/a/ for ‘apple,’ /b/ for ‘bin,’ etc.)
- They then learn how to blend letter sounds together (/b/ /i/ /n/ = ‘bin’)
- Reading instruction is systematic, meaning children learn the simplest concepts first and then progress toward more complex ones. This motivates the mastery of buildable skills.
- Readers learn to rely on decoding to read new, unfamiliar words they encounter in text.
Decades of scientific studies point to the reliability of synthetic phonics instruction. Because reading is a skill that doesn’t come naturally to humans, it must be taught with clear, systematic instruction and lots of practice.
Synthetic phonics has also become the most effective and recommended method of teaching phonics to children diagnosed with or at risk of reading difficulties. Extensive brain research has found that this structured, synthetic method helps kids develop strong reading foundations.
Analytic Phonics
The analytic phonics approach uses the “analysis” of text. It teaches children to associate letter sounds with whole words. Typically, it involves a lot of recognition as well as breaking down familiar words into smaller parts.
For example, students learn whole words such as ‘mat.’ They then learn to identify individual sounds within the word and the alphabetical letters they represent. Instruction also involves pointing out similarities and patterns across words.
Analytic phonics can be useful in some cases but it’s typically not as structured as a systematic teaching method. With the lack of foundation, children might struggle with this method—especially if they have a learning or reading disability.
Analogy Phonics
Analogy phonics is a subtype of analytic phonics. It focuses on identifying patterns and “analogies” of words.
Children learn word families that share letter-sound correspondences, such as ‘cat,’ ‘mat,’ ‘rat,’ ‘hat,’ and ‘sat.’ All of these words contain the ending /-at/. Students are expected to use prior knowledge of a similar word (such as ‘cat’) to make sense of patterns and then interpret new, related words.
While analogy phonics can supplement more systematic methods of phonics instruction, it’s no longer recommended for educational settings.
Embedded Phonics
Embedded phonics is the opposite of explicit phonics, in which case students learn to read words through contextual, implicit reading.
Typically, teachers provide whole texts to students and then use the material to teach specific concepts—whether it be letter-sound correspondences, spelling patterns, or word families.
Through embedded phonics (also known as incidental phonics), phonics instruction occurs on an “as-needed” basis. Instead of preparing children with a strong foundation of explicit, systematic concepts so they can practice decoding new texts, students learn concepts “as they arise” in the text they’re provided. Through this, students often have to rely on contextual letter recognition and memorization of sight words since the provided literature dictates which letter-sound relationships are practiced (often randomly).
Today, embedded phonics is widely known as an ineffective instruction method because it involves a lot of guesswork. Although it can be a useful exercise to expose readers to real-world, connected texts, it cannot replace the instruction needed to develop a reading foundation based on the science of reading.
Taking a Systematic Approach to Phonics Instruction
A systematic approach to phonics instruction has been proven to be the most reliable method because:
- Emphasis is on decoding as soon as children begin learning to read, equipping them to figure out new words without relying on context or guesswork.
- Reading specialists use synthetic instruction to help students with specific learning disabilities (such as dyslexia) learn to read.
- The use of structured, progressive skill-building enables students to master the simplest skills first and gradually work their way up to the most complex.
- It is the method that most aligns with how the brain learns to read.
Overall, the other types of phonics—analogy, analytic, and embedded—should not be the primary method of instruction. They often lead to confusion for many children unless there is a synthetic and explicit foundation provided first.
Which Type of Phonics is Best for Teaching Kids to Read?
The goal of phonics instruction is to equip students with the strongest foundation of skills for lifelong reading. Although different types of phonics have been used (and are still used) in specific scenarios, there is an abundance of modern research proving systematic, synthetic phonics works for most children.
Children must learn how to decode words and gradually progress onto more complex skills, eventually building strong reading proficiency. Other types of phonics such as analytic or analogy methods are most useful as a supplemental approach, with synthetic phonics taking the lead.
To learn more about phonics instruction, reading science, and literacy development, explore the resources at Phonics.org. We review synthetic phonics programs and provide educators and parents with honest ratings to see which one works best for young readers.
