Posted by Katie, Malkie and Bonnie. This article addresses the debate between teaching systematic phonics and teaching phonics as part of a whole language approach. It mainly deals with the flaws in the research on this debate and not so much with ultimate conclusions on the matter, however, it is stated that a whole language approach to reading instruction is always beneficial.

Research based literacy center activities for kids in grades K-2. Has great phonics center suggestions!

This is a portion of a website called Reading A-Z which focuses on various strategies used to teach students to ID letters and their corresponding sounds. Some of the segments of information include: the alphabet song, alphabet books (these are available through Reading A-Z if you have a membership), teaching sounds, writing letters and alphabet activities. Many of these activities are multi-sensory and interactive, engaging ways to teach the alphabet and sounds to young children. They would make good whole group, small group or literacy center activities in the classroom.

This source is a list of research-based strategies you can use to teach beginning phonics and phonemic awareness skills to struggling readers. It is meant to used as intervention methods.  Some of these suggested activities would be good for use in whole group scenarios but many of the activities would be better for us in working with small groups of students. Most of the suggested activities are multi-sensory and interactive.

Within the website "Starfall" for beginning level readers there is an entire letter practice session; it is in the form of an interactive game. All of the letters of the alphabet are presented and students are able to click on one. It then takes the student through an interactive presentation (visuals and sounds) of that letter: it shows the upper and lowercase form of the letter, makes the letter sound, shows and says words that begin with that letter and dictates a sentence to students using many words beginning with the chosen letter. This would be good for students who are struggling to identify the letters of the alphabet and their sounds; good for repetitive, independent practice as students could use this by themselves on a computer.

On Starfall.com, there is an entire phonics section titled "Learn to Read" that begins with focus on beginning sounds, making words and word families and gradually gets harder as you progress through. It is an interactive making words game where students that are playing can hear a word, see a matching picture, select a letter that begins the word, hear the sound that the selected letter makes and hear the completed word - all in the context of word families. The game is also self correcting - there is a buzzer noise if you select the wrong beginning sound/letter, so students know to choose again. Within the "Learn to Read" section, there are also books that use the words from the making words activities and videos for students to watch. This would be a great tool to use for a student to independently practice phonics at a literacy center when they can't be working with the teacher because it is visual, it reads to the student, it is easy to use and follow, and it is self-correcting so that students are practicing correctly.