During my work with beginner readers in schools, I have been asked:
"Does he need more phonics?"
When I inquire further, I find this question often means:
"Do we need to teach this child more letters and sounds?"
Yet, when I spend time with children who are experiencing difficulties in their reading development, I frequently discover their overriding need is for specific, individualised instruction in how to use and apply their existing phonics knowledge to the reading process.
Many years ago, Diana M R Hutchcroft wrote:
'The complexity of the reading process needs to be appreciated so that an oversimplified view of the matching of sounds is prevented and the need for alternative pathways for individual requirements is understood.'
It is absolutely vital for beginner readers to become skilled at using and applying what they know about the alphabetic code to continuous, punctuated text. It is a huge challenge to achieve this goal solely through the delivery of a distinct, daily, 20-30 minute phonics lesson. Training in the code for reading and writing has to be embedded into every part of the curriculum, if the child's responses are to become fast and automatic. Children also need to be equipped to grow into independent readers; we need to provide them with plentiful opportunities to read (and re-read!) engaging texts, which are appropriately matched to their current reading ability.
In all reading and writing activities, it is imperative for us to keep drawing children's attention to the letter detail in words. Any unhelpful guessing strategies must be nipped in the bud, to prevent bad habits from developing.