Phonics: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

Phonics is reading instruction that helps children understand how letters and groups of letters link to sounds, forming letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns.

Phonics is not a particular reading program—it is an essential part of explicit and systematic instruction for beginning readers.

• When children know that the letter B says /b/ and t-i-o-n says /shun/, they’re using phonics.

• The ability to apply these predictable relationships to familiar and unfamiliar words is crucial to reading success.

  
  

Systematic Phonics: What Does It Look Like?

Systematic phonics instruction:

• Begins with basic letter-sound correspondences—the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent.

• Progresses to more complex letter-sound relationships, helping students decode both regular and irregular words.

• Should be targeted, evidence-based, engaging, systematic, and explicit to be effective.

  
  

Letter-Sound Relationships: How Do We Teach Phonics?

While there is no single instructional sequence for introducing letter-sound relationships, best practices include:

• Start with high-utility sounds like m, a, and s, so students can begin reading words quickly.

• Teach a few sounds at a time, introducing each letter of the alphabet with its most common sound.

• Name the letters while explicitly teaching the sounds they represent.Avoid confusion by staggering similar sounds (e.g., b & v) and visually similar letters (e.g., b & d).

• When introducing a new letter-sound relationship:

  • Use a word that begins with that sound.

  • Show an object or picture representing that word.

  • Create a short sentence or story to reinforce learning.

• Introduce both uppercase and lowercase letters together.

• Provide multiple opportunities for practice to build mastery.

Important! Pictures in phonics instruction help associate sounds with letters, but they should not be used to predict or decode words. Once students transition to connected text, the focus should be on letters and sounds alone—not pictures.

Why is Phonics Important?

Phonics unlocks the written language for children by helping them:

1. Decode words—understanding how letters and sounds work together for reading.

2. Encode words—knowing which letters to use when writing.

Additionally, phonics plays a critical role in:

• Phonemic awareness – linking the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken words to actual print.

• Fluency – reading words, phrases, and sentences accurately, at an appropriate speed, and with expression.

• Reading comprehension – quickly decoding words so students can focus on understanding what they read.

  
  

The ultimate goal? Every child should be able to read and understand text with confidence!

SUGGESTED CITATION

National Center on Improving Literacy. (2025). [Infographic title]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Retrieved from improvingliteracy.org.