Group Encourages Use of Phonics

Research used to justify a return to a “back-to-basics” method of teaching U.S. children how to read is flawed, according to a study presented at a national reading conference in Orlando. The traditional phonics method teaches children to sound out words, as opposed to the so-called whole language approach in which children learn to identify words through their context in sentences or stories. The report was produced by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and concludes that phonics should be the sole method of instruction for all beginning readers.