3 Steps to Teach Phonics in the French Immersion classroom
When I began my teaching journey, I noticed that reading was one of the hardest areas to tackle. Reading is so important, yet so complex. I quickly realized that no matter the subject, students will struggle to succeed if they struggle with reading. Reading affects more than simply being able to understand instructions or a story, it also affects the learning of new ideas, and the level of confidence that a child has.
When I was teaching, one of my favourite moments was when a child improved in reading and noticed their progression. The smile on their face, and mine, was priceless. I want you to have that same smile too.
The secret to providing children with the tools that they need to succeed in reading lies in phonics.
Simply put, phonics is the relationship between the sounds and letters in an alphabetic writing system. Students learn to read by matching the letters or groups of letters to a specific sound. Learning the relationship between specific letters and sounds allows children to apply these relationships to familiar and unfamiliar words and begin reading harder, longer texts with fluency.
For example, the sound “u” correlates to the letters “ou” in French. This way of learning to read is called phonics.
Once students have mastered phonics, they can master reading. By learning and understanding phonics, students can apply these letter-sound rules to almost any word, and READ!
You may still be wondering how you can implement a phonics program into your classroom in a way that is effective and results-driven. I’m going to provide you with three steps that you can use to kick-start a phonics program that you feel confident about!
1. Understand the Basis of Phonics
It is very important to understand what phonics is, and what it isn’t. This is something that took me years to understand, and all of the terminologies were frightening to me.
Phonics is a method of teaching students how to read. It is not the only method, and there are different types of instruction under the umbrella of phonics.
Here are the four types of phonics that are typically used in the classroom:
a) Synthetic phonics: focuses on phonemes (letter sounds) and blending them to make words. This is a more explicit type of phonics that is useful when teaching students how to spell and read new words.
b) Analogy phonics: focuses on using groups of words that are similar to build a child’s reading vocabulary.
c) Embedded phonics: focuses on teaching vocabulary in an authentic way. Students learn how to decode words as they read.
d) Analytic phonics: focuses on deconstructing words and finding the phonemes within them. This method emphasizes decoding (breaking down a word into spoken parts, similar to orthographic mapping).
Note that these ways of teaching phonics do not have to be done in isolation. When different methods are applied depending on the context, it is more likely for students to have that “aha!” moment and begin learning how to read.
Different terms are used in phonics to describe the letters, the sounds and the practices/ activities used. This can be very overwhelming, especially if you are in your first few years of teaching. However, understanding the ideas and terms used in phonics will help your teaching methods become stronger and more effective.
This is why I created the French Phonics Practice Booklets which contain a teacher and parent guide to help teachers succeed without having to do all of the prep! The teacher guide contains information on important terms, a French phonetic alphabet, and a thorough explanation of the phonics activities in each booklet. There’s no need to do your own research and spend hours looking for results! Everything you need is in one place. Check it out here!
2. Develop a system that works for you
After you understand what phonics is, and what activities can assist students in their reading journey, it is up to you to decide which program or system works best for you.
Do you want a structured system that heavily incorporates the use of synthetic phonics? Is there a system that you enjoy that is less structured, that incorporates embedded phonics? Are you looking for a way to incorporate all four methods?
Do some reflection and make some observations. Think about your preferred method of teaching and your students’ preferred method of learning. After all, the process should be an enjoyable one!
The great thing is that you do not have to spend hundreds of dollars on a prepared phonics system to start teaching your students about phonics. A lot of activities can be done at little to no cost!
Because I am a very “Type A” person who craves structure, I loved applying a system that was based on synthetic phonics. Each week, my students would learn a new focus sound (synthetic phonics). We would learn about words that contain this sound and think of others that we could add to this list (analogy phonics). We would then do activities such as orthographic mapping to identify the phonemes in the words (analytic phonics). Lastly, I would pull students to read with me either in small groups or individually and we would decode unfamiliar words as we read (embedded phonics).
See, that was easy! And you can do the same thing in your classroom. Develop a system that works for you and your students.
Using my French Phonics Practice Booklets, you can practice over 6 different phonics activities that incorporate the various types of phonics. There are activities such as orthographic mapping, word family identification, spelling activities, and syllable identification, all based on one sound. With over 20 sounds included, students will master your phonics program!
3. Provide feedback and assess regularly
Lastly, and most importantly, provide feedback and assess regularly. Students, no matter what age, need feedback. Feedback allows students to grow, improve and learn. Phonics is taught, just like any other subject. Although there are no formal “tests”, assessments can be done frequently to let students and parents know how the child is progressing.
Feedback should be provided:
- informally through praise, correction or observation
- formally through a feedback form or a certificate
- through a peer or a self-evaluation
And yes, these can all be applied to your phonics program. Get students excited about learning by providing them with certificates as they master each sound. Have students and parents be a part of the assessment process by providing them with the opportunity to reflect on learning. Create a checklist with co-created success criteria (with your grade-level partners and your students) to determine what your expectations of a good reader are.
These are all simple steps that set you and your students up for success. If you feel overwhelmed reading these steps and need some assistance creating a phonics program that works for your class, click here to take a look at my French Phonics Practice booklets and see if they are the right fit for you!
Also, remember that every system that has ever been put in place always takes revision, feedback from data and consistency. I promise you, if you use this system consistently for a year in your classroom, you will see a difference!
Good luck with your teaching,
Nikki
P.S.: Now that we have discussed how to have a successful phonics program, what about speaking? Do you find that your students are hesitant to speak French all of the time in your classroom? Click here to read my blog post about How to Get your Students Speaking in French all of the Time!