Since the English language has a deep orthography (a complicated written system), almost all beginning and intermediate English learners can benefit from explicit instruction in English phonics.
Fast Track Phonics is designed for students who have had at least a few years of formal education in their home language or in English.
Level 1 Phonicsis the best place to start for students who have not had opportunities for formal education in their home language and are new to English classes.
This 5-minute Screening Tool can help you decide which phonics resource to choose. For emergent reader students, you may also want to use the ABLE Test to establish a baseline and measure progress over time.
These free Teacher Training Modules can help teachers learn effective techniques for teaching phonics and other foundational literacy skills. Students can make more progress in less time when teachers are well-trained in techniques specific to teaching phonics and other foundational literacy skills. Don't skip this step!
Explicit instruction in English phonics is important, but it should be only one small piece of your overall lesson. Plan to spend no more than 20-30 minutes on phonics practice per day. The rest of the lesson time (40-90+ min.) should be devoted to building language through authentic, relevant topics. Continue reading to learn more about Language Instruction.
