What is the primary focus of phonics instruction?

The primary focus of phonics instruction is to teach the relationship between sounds and letters. Phonics is foundational for helping students understand how to decode words, which involves recognizing the sounds that correspond to specific letters or groups of letters. This knowledge enables students to read unfamiliar words by sounding them out, fostering basic reading skills essential for literacy development.

While developing vocabulary, improving reading fluency, and encouraging creative writing are important aspects of reading and language arts instruction, they are not the central tenet of phonics. Vocabulary building is more about understanding word meanings and usage, reading fluency refers to the speed and accuracy of reading aloud, and creative writing involves expressing thoughts and ideas through writing. These elements often build upon the skills developed through phonics, which serves as the starting point for reading proficiency.