Page "Literacy" Paragraph 28

There are any number of approaches to teaching literacy ; each is shaped by its informing assumptions about what literacy is and how it is best learned by students.

Phonics instruction, for example, focuses on reading at the level of the word.

It teaches readers to observe and interpret the letters or groups of letters that make up words.

A common method of teaching phonics is synthetic phonics, in which a novice reader pronounces each individual sound and " blends " them to pronounce the whole word.

Another approach is embedded phonics instruction, used more often in whole language reading instruction, in which novice readers learn about the individual letters in words on a just-in-time, just-in-place basis that is tailored to meet each student's reading and writing learning needs.

That is, teachers provide phonics instruction opportunistically, within the context of stories or student writing that feature many instances of a particular letter or group of letters.

Embedded instruction combines letter-sound knowledge with the use of meaningful context to read new and difficult words.

Techniques such as directed listening and thinking activities can be used to aid children in learning how to read and reading comprehension.