This assignment will describe and explain the teaching of phonics as an approach within the teaching of reading. It will do this by identifying the research that supports systematic synthetic phonics and outlining the statutory expectations set out by the Government. We will also explore why phonics is a priority in primary schools. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Phonics is a learning method in which children are taught to read by teaching them the relationships between sounds and letters. Children need knowledge of the alphabetic code and blending and segmentation skills to be able to read. In phonics the letters are synthesized so that children are taught to blend the letters together. The national curriculum expects children to be "able to read fluently and confidently" by the end of their primary school years. The aims of the national curriculum are that children can “write clearly, accurately and coherently” and “read easily, fluently and with good understanding”. This highlights the importance of phonics being taught early as children are expected to be reading by the end of key stage one. The curriculum states that “Spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing”, underlining the importance of teaching phonics in the early years. The first year reading requirement involves all children using their phonics knowledge as the curriculum states that children should be taught to 'decode words' and 'blend sounds'. (DoE, 2013) In primary school, children are taught that phonemes are letter sounds and graphemes are individual written sounds. Then they learn the different types of phonemes. A digraph is two letters that produce a sound; for example /sh/, /th/, /ee/. A trigram is made up of three letters that form a sound; for example /igh/, /tch/. A quadgraph is made up of four letters that form a sound; for example /ough/, /eigh/. Teaching correct terminology to children is helpful as it avoids confusion. Children should then notice phonemes in words which will help them develop their reading and writing skills. Phonological awareness is an expansive skill that includes recognizing and manipulating parts of the English language, such as words, syllables, onsets, and rhymes. Children who have phonological awareness are able to identify and pronounce rhymes, can clap the number of syllables in a word, and recognize words with the same starting sounds such as "most" and "money." Phonemic awareness is the ability to focus on and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words. There are 44 phonemes in the English language that can be mixed to form syllables and words. Phonemic awareness is important for children to acquire because it forms the foundation for spelling and word recognition skills. Phonemic awareness can predict how well children will learn to read during the first two years of primary school. Pupils who struggle with reading usually have lower levels of phonological awareness and phonemic awareness than their peers excluding SEND and EAL. You may also be interestedHow to read when you hate reading: tips + explore reading In contrast to the previous century, the accelerated pace of life and the mass transition to e-learning, lead people to quick and easy solutions...In phonetics children are taught to blend learned phonemes in order to pronounce words. Blending occurs when phonemes are mixed together.