Most children begin learning phonics by sounding out letters and
learning what items represent that sound and that letter, i.e. A
is for apple; A sounds like “aaaaaaaaaaaaaa”. Children begin
learning phonics from parents, siblings, videos, and music at a
very early age (2-4 years old) even before entering school.
Phonics and phonemic awareness are comingled when teaching
children in this manner. Phonics involves the relationship
between sounds and written symbols, whereas phonemic awareness
involves sounds in spoken words. Therefore, phonics instruction
focuses on teaching sound-spelling relationships and is
associated with print. Most phonemic awareness tasks are oral.
Even though parents are the initial teachers, it will take a
professional to instill all of the rules of phonics and to teach
students decoding skills as they begin to read. Hiring a tutor
with experience teaching early learners will ensure a student’s
success as they begin elementary school. A professional tutor
can also reinforce phonics for