Tip #78 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley & Trombly) - phonics vs whole language
Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #78 The Tools in Your Toolbox One of the greatest and simplest tools for learning more and growing is doing more. ~ Washington Irving You may be aware of the current tug-of-war many professionals in education struggle with year after year. It is the debate whether phonics or whole language is the best way to teach kids how to read. Luckily, as a parent, you do not have to commit to one or the other. You can simply commit to helping your child become the best reader he can be. Simply put, phonics is the dissecting of a word into chunks* (or parts—letter sounds and symbols) and putting them together to form a recognizable word. However, the hard reality of the English language is that not all words are phonetic. In fact, many cannot be "sounded out.” This has traditionally been the primary way teac...