Try-worthy Phonics Activities for Kids and Its Advantages

How to get my child to learn phonics

Phonics Activities for Kids and Its Advantages

Being able to read confidently comes with years of practice and a thorough holding of the sounds that the letters of the alphabet make. That is why it is good to start learning it early on. When your child understands the correspondence between sounds and spelling patterns that make up a language, their hold on it will become unquestionably well-built. In addition to helping kids decode the spellings using sounds associated with them, phonics offers various other benefits. 

7 of the prime advantages are listed below:

1. Helps decode unfamiliar words - Instead of relying on rote learning of difficult words, phonics helps kids understand the basics of which letters give the term its particular sound. That instigates a sense of familiarity with the language and helps them read complicated texts extensively and without difficulty. So, the rarer words your child can recognize at an early age using phonics, the better their grasping skills are later in life. 
2. Assists them in spelling better - A well-rounded knowledge of phonics allows children to use sounds when trying to spell new words. This ability will make sure that they familiarize themselves with the spellings of the words using just the sounds and is an effective way to remember spellings. Using sounds to navigate their way towards spelling helps children become confident writers.   
3. Introduces language rules - Every speech has its own set of guidelines that dictate the sounds of different words. Let us understand the phonics rules of the English language with an example here. You can spell the 'sh' sound in English using sh, ch, ti, ci, or si. Using phonics, your child can grasp the predictable patterns in the spellings and further decide which sound works with what word.
4. Improves fluency - Teaching children the art of phonics at a growing age develops a habit of mapping sounds onto spelling. That means the child can recognize the spelling of a word by the sounds associated with it. They can then decode unfamiliar words and keep improving upon their word recognition. Once they recognize newer words quickly and efficiently, their reading fluency boosts drastically.   
5. Enhances reading comprehension - Understanding a language verbally is as crucial as grasping its written side. Phonics allows children to try spelling new words. It also helps them relate this to the sounds associated with the terms. Forming such a habit early on amplifies their reading skills. With appropriate training in phonics, your child will be able to see written words and relate them to their sounds, a process that automatically improves their reading comprehension.  
6. Raises the grasp of vocabulary and language - Well, it is a given that the more your child reads using phonics as the basis of their word recognition habits, the wider and more profound their vocabulary will become. In today's times, a person should have excellent communication skills to be successful in their profession. And being able to read unrecognizable words confidently highlights the grasp your child has on the language in their learning years itself. 
7. Upgrades academic performance - Lastly, reading has, time and again, proven to be an excellent source of knowledge. Hence the sooner your child begins to read effectively, the better their academic performance will get. That happens because your child will be able to read newer words in other modules and understand what the text means without much difficulty. 

At this point, I am sure you must be thinking, but how do I help my child with phonics? Well, I have got you covered with a set of super fun yet functional phonics activities. Let's get to it! 

• Rainbow hop letter sounds game - If your kid loves board games, this activity will surely make them happy while learning. All you need is colored paper, a die, and a marker. You will use these to create a stepping-stone for each letter of the alphabet. Then your child rolls the dice, takes the allotted number of hops, and pronounces the letter they land on. You can make it more challenging by adding new pieces with 'ch' and 'sh' if your child is familiar with them.
• Alphabet ball - Kicking or chasing a ball to tag someone is always fun for kids, which is what this activity is all about. To begin with the game, you will call out a letter while your child responds with a word that starts with that letter. Then you could either kick the ball or tag your kid after chasing them to pass it. Now, it is their turn to give you a letter for which you will say a word and so on.
• Alphabet phonics clip cards - You and your child can play this portable and location-friendly activity literally anywhere! All you need to do is download and print the phonics clip cards that are available online. When your child picks a card from the pile, they will have to say a word that starts with the letter on the card. This will help them associate words and sounds.
• Walk the word - With children, the goal is to keep them moving to heighten their engagement in the activity. That is where this game shines. In walk with the word, you will choose a word that will then be written on the ground in large block letters with chalk. Your kid will either hop or walk across each letter to pronounce the word based on the consecutive sounds. I bet you will want to try one too! 
• Mix and match cups to make words - Another intriguing activity that helps kids learn CVC and sight words is mixing and matching cups. Here, you will label letters or letter blends like 'sh', 'tw', etc., on plastic cups and set them out. Your child will use these to mix and match different words based on their learning. Simple, yet effective.

Related:  School and College | Education and Style

All in all, phonics learning from an early age offers several benefits and can be super fun! Perform these activities with your kids to ensure that they excel in their language skills as early as possible while also enjoying themselves in the process. 

Author: Samidha Raj works as part of the content marketing team at PlanetSpark, a platform that provides online classes to K8 learners on "New Age Skills" like English Communication, Public Speaking, Grammar, Creative Writing, Debating, etc. She is passionate about empowering the youth by educating parents about the importance of 21st-century skills. In her free time, you can find her watching documentaries or animated movies and organizing game nights (board games are her thing)!

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