Writing and reading is a code humans invented to represent speech sounds. Kids have to crack that code to become readers. The first step to cracking the code is to hear and manipulate the sounds (phonemic awareness). The second step is connecting those sounds to letters. Our video lessons teach these sound-letter correspondences.

Build phonological awareness into your word building by saying and having the child say the sounds as they read and write words.

Phonological awareness refers to many aspects of oral language, such as words, syllables, rhymes and individual sounds. 

Phonemic awareness refers only to the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. So, phonemic awareness is included in (and is a large part of) phonological awareness.

The first step to phonemic awareness is recognizing the sound (hear it).
The second step is to generate the sound (say it).
Then segment, blend, and manipulate the sounds in words.

Phonics is visual and auditory and deals with the relationship between letters and sounds (oral language, reading and writing).

The alphabetic principle is the understanding that sounds of spoken language are represented by letter(s).

In case your learner would like some pre-writing practice before you get started:

• isolate words

  eg. “She went fishing” 3 words

• isolating a sound

  at the start is easiest: /n/  nod
  at the end is medium /p/ cup
  in the middle is the hardest /a/ dad

• alliteration

  beginning sounds  eg. big brown bear

• rhyming

  ending sounds  eg. cat sat mat

• segmenting sounds or syllables

  sounds: cat -> /c/ + /a/ + /t/

  syllables: forgetful -> for get ful

• blending sounds or syllables

  sounds: c  + a  +  t  ->  cat

  syllables: for get fun -> forgetful

• manipulating sounds

  adding a sound: nag -> snag

  subtracting a sound: slip -> lip

  substituting a sound: tiger -> take out the ‘g’ sound -> tire