Types of Phonics

Types of Phonics

• Analogy phonics

• Analytic phonics

• Embedded phonics

• Synthetic phonics

​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Success Criteria

By the end of this topic, I will be able to:

• Compare and contrast the four different types of phonics

• Examine the strengths and weaknesses of each type of phonics

• Demonstrate how each type of phonics is taught

• Analyse and compare each type of phonics using a graphic organiser

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Overview

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Multiple Choice

Which type of phonics is demonstrated in this video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UelDGI6Zbc&t=3s

• Synthetic phonics

• Embedded phonics

• Analogy phonics

• Analytic phonics

Analogy Phonics

• Analogy = comparing things based on their similarities

• Uses known word families to help children decode unfamiliar words

• Teaches phonograms (or rimes) and their related word families (formed by adding onsets or consonant patterns at the front)

• 37 high-frequency phonograms found in over 500 words commonly found in lower-level texts (Wylie & Durrell, 1970):

  • -ack, -ail, -ain, -ake, -ale, -ame, -an, -ank, -ap, -ash, -at, -ate, -aw, -ay

  • -eat, -ell, -est

  • -ice, -ick, -ide, -ight, -ill, -in, -ine, -ing, -ink, -ip, -it

  • -ock, -oke, -op, -ore, -ot

  • -uck, -ug, -ump, -unk

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Open Ended

What are some strengths and weaknesses of analogy phonics?

Analogy Phonics

Strengths:

• Builds a Child’s Vocabulary: Starts with the familiar and builds on it to reach unfamiliar or less well-known words.

• Helps Children Identify Patterns: The repetition and clustering of words helps children learn patterns in the English language.

Weaknesses:

• Uses Guess Work: Children often get away with guessing phonemes (and at times are encouraged to). They will know either the onset or rime, and guess the rest of the word rather than focusing fully on all phonemes in the word.

• Not as Good for Constructing Words: The focus of this approach is on deconstructing rather than constructing words.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Analogy Phonics

Instructional Routines:
Analogy Phonics is a "whole-to-part" method that teaches children to use predictable, decodable sound-spelling chunks (phonograms or rimes) from familiar words to identify new, unfamiliar words.

• Step 1: Explain the Purpose: Begin by explicitly introducing the concept of a "word family". Tell students that learning shared ending patterns (phonograms) will help them read and spell many rhyming words.

• Step 2: Drill and Review: Show a list of previously taught words belonging to a familiar word family (e.g., the -ay family: bay, day, hay, play) and have students read them. Erase the list, dictate some of the words, and have students orally spell or air-write them.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Analogy Phonics

• Step 3: Introduce the New Phonogram: Show and blend the letters of the new phonogram (e.g.,i + ll = ill). Underline the new pattern and read it together6.

• Step 4: Build "Word Relatives" with Single Onsets: Model how to attach single consonant onsets to the front of the rime to form basic relatives (e.g., adding b, d, f, h, p, w to -ill to form bill, dill, fill, hill, pill, will). Guide students to read the newly formed word family.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Analogy Phonics

• Step 5: Move to Complex Relatives (Optional): Scaffold learning by introducing more complex word relatives containing blends, digraphs, inflections (-ing, -ed, -s), or prefixes and suffixes (e.g., bills, filling, drilling, spilling).

• Step 6: Apply to Connected Text: Have students apply their knowledge by reading phrases, sentences, or short stories containing the new word family using collaborative oral reading strategies (such as echo, choral, or buddy reading).

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Multiple Choice

Which type of phonics is demonstrated in this video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV3FcTMSSoE

• Synthetic phonics

• Embedded phonics

• Analogy phonics

• Analytic phonics

Analytic Phonics

• Start with familiar words that students have learnt by rote and then break them down into onset and rime

• Teach students to identify and analyze parts and patterns within whole words

• Teach students to apply established orthographic patterns to support memory of whole words

• Use memory of whole words to read with automaticity

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Open Ended

What are some strengths and weaknesses of analytic phonics?

Analytic Phonics

Strengths:

• Teaches Sounds in Context: Sounds are learned as parts of words, rather than in isolation and decontextualized.

• Starts with the Familiar: Teachers can start with words children are familiar with and use them as a springboard for further teaching.

• Helps with Decoding New Words: Emphasizes decoding, which is great for reading new and unfamiliar words

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Analytic Phonics

Weaknesses:

• Uses Guess Work: Children often get away with guessing phonemes (and at times are encouraged to). They will know either the onset or rime, and guess the rest of the word rather than focusing fully on all phonemes in the word.

• Some Students Slip Behind: Because instruction is not as structured and direct as in the synthetic approach, some struggling students could slip behind and not understand.

• Not as Good for Constructing Words: The focus of this approach is on deconstructing rather than constructing words.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Analytic Phonics

Analytic Phonics is a "whole-to-part" word-breaking approach. It begins at the whole-word level and avoids pronouncing individual sounds in isolation to prevent students from distorting sounds.:

• Step 1: Present Familiar Whole Words: Introduce a small group of words that students have already learned to read by sight or rote (e.g., put, pig, play, pet).

• Step 2: Isolate and Analyze the Onset (Initial position): Guide students to read the whole words and help them recognize that they all begin with the same sound associated with the letter p.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Analytic Phonics

• Step 3: Analyze the Final Position: Once students are confident with initial sounds, draw their attention to the end letters and end sounds of a different set of familiar words (e.g., noting that nap, cup, map all end in the sound associated with p).

• Step 4: Analyze the Medial Position (Middle Vowels): Draw attention to the vowels in the middle of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words (e.g., teaching the /a/ sound in the middle of cat, tap, bat).

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Analytic Phonics

• Step 5: Teach Onset-Rime Segmentation: Teach students to divide a single syllable into its onset (consonants preceding the vowel) and rime (the vowel and subsequent consonants) to analyze orthographic patterns within whole words (e.g., bat --> onset b, rime at).

• Step 6: Apply and Decode: Encourage students to apply these analyzed orthographic patterns to decode or spell new, unfamiliar words by comparing them to their memorized sight vocabulary.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Multiple Choice

Which type of phonics is demonstrated in this video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoaqX_-J-fs

• Synthetic phonics

• Embedded phonics

• Analogy phonics

• Analytic phonics

Embedded Phonics

• Teach phonics in authentic reading contexts

• Begin with a teacher reading a book and teach phonemes and graphemes when they arise in teachable moments (e.g. interesting, recurring)

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Open Ended

What are some strengths and weaknesses of embedded phonics?

Embedded Phonics

Strengths:

• Contextualized: Students learn about words and how to decode them while reading actual books.

• Good for Practice: Once children have learned the basics of phonics, they need a lot of practice – and when they stumble upon issues, they need reinforcement on those issues.

Weaknesses:

• Guess Work: When students look at context to understand a word, they are guessing rather than thinking about phonetics.

• Can’t be Used in Isolation: It won’t work alone – at some point students need direct explicit and structured instruction.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Embedded Phonics

Embedded Phonics is an implicit, contextualized approach. Phonics skills are not taught in separate, isolated sessions; instead, they are introduced during authentic reading experiences.

• Step 1: Engage in Whole-Text Reading: Begin a shared, guided, or independent reading session using an authentic, engaging children's book or story. Read for meaning, focusing on comprehension, vocabulary, and predicting text using pictures.

• Step 2: Identify a Teachable Moment: Pause the reading when you encounter a word that contains a target spelling pattern, inflection, or phoneme that serves as a useful "teachable moment".

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Embedded Phonics

• Step 3: Isolate and Zoom In: Use a physical tool like a sliding mask (a card stock template with a cut-out window) to cover the surrounding text and "zoom in" on the target word in print, reducing visual clutter and student anxiety.

• Step 4: Analyze the Word Structure: Slide the window strip open slowly to highlight visual subparts of the word. For instance, frame the CVC base word slap in slapped and slide the window to reveal how the final consonant is doubled before the -ed suffix is added and its letter-sound /t/.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Embedded Phonics

• Step 5: Practice and Extend: Ask students to write the word parts on whiteboards or suggest other words that share the same structural pattern (e.g., dip/dipped).

• Step 6: Return to Context: Remove the sliding mask and re-read the sentence in the book. Encourage students to self-check if their decoding attempt makes sense in the context of the story.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Multiple Choice

Which type of phonics is demonstrated in this video?

https://youtu.be/RbbEAyIztOc

• Synthetic phonics

• Embedded phonics

• Analogy phonics

• Analytic phonics

Synthetic Phonics

• Teach reading by blending the sounds of letters and letter groups to form words

• Start with teaching phonemes and then progress to teaching full words

• Systematically teach phonics beginning with explicit instruction about the 44 phonemes and graphemes in the English language

  • Usually involve whole-class explicit teaching lessons and a great deal of repetition of phonemes

• Then, move on to blending phonemes to build words

  • often gets the nickname of the ‘blending and building’ approach.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Open Ended

What are some strengths and weaknesses of synthetic phonics?

Synthetic Phonics

Strengths:

• Structure: It provides a very structured introduction to reading. This structure ensures no phonemes or graphemes are missed and students get thorough instruction.

• Good for Manipulating Language: The focus on blending and building words using phonemes helps children when they come across (or need to write) unfamiliar words. They will be very used to the process of blending phonemes to create words.

• Research Backed: Research consistently finds it to be the most effective method of teaching reading.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Synthetic Phonics

Weaknesses:

• Whole Class: Learning of phenomes and graphemes tends to be done through whole-class instruction rather than differentiated and individualised.

• Decontextualized: Phonemes and graphemes are learned out of context and disconnected to words. This may confuse students and make them unsure about the purpose of the lesson.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Synthetic Phonics

Synthetic Phonics is a systematic, "part-to-whole" approach often nicknamed the "blending and building" method. Students learn a small group of letter sounds rapidly and immediately learn to synthesize (blend) them to read and segment them to spell.

• Step 1: Revisit and Review: Conduct a quick-fire practice of previously taught grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) using letter flash cards. Conduct quick "sound-talk" drills where you say a word in broken sounds (e.g., /s/-/i/-/t/) and children orally blend it (sit).

• Step 2: Teach the New GPC: Explicitly introduce the letter of the day (e.g., s), model its shape, and state its sound. Ensure absolute phonetic precision by modeling the clean phoneme /s/ (avoiding the intrusive schwa "suh"). Guide students in tracing or forming the letter.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Synthetic Phonics

Step 3: Model Blending (I Do, We Do, You Do):

• Model (I Do): Display a printed CVC word containing the new sound (e.g., sat). Point to each letter sequentially from left to right and say its sound. Demonstrate successive blending by stretching out the continuous sounds and joining them smoothly without a pause (e.g., /s/ - /a/ - /t/ --> /sssaaat/, sat). Physically push magnetic letters together to visually demonstrate synthesis.

• Practice (We Do / You Do): Display other regular words (e.g., sand, seed, Sam) and have the children chorally blend and read the words on their own.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Synthetic Phonics

Step 4: Model Segmenting for Spelling (Reversibility): Demonstrate that spelling is the reverse process of blending.

• Dictate a word orally (e.g., sad or pad).

• Have students repeat the word, segment it into its constituent phonemes sequentially (/s/ - /a/ - /d/), select the corresponding letters from their magnetic boards (s-a-d), and place them in order.

• Have them blend the letter sounds back together to check that their spelling maps correctly to the spoken word.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Synthetic Phonics

• Step 5: Apply to Captions and Sentences: Immediately have students read decodable captions or write guided sentences that combine the new GPC with previously learned sounds and a few high-frequency irregular "tricky" words (e.g., "Dad is sad").

• Step 6: Assess: Conclude by discussing learning goals with pupils and conducting formative observations of GPC mastery.

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

Multiple Choice

Arrange the four types of phonics from the most structured to the least structured.

• 1. 1. Embedded

  2. 2. Analogy

  3. 3. Analytic

  4. 4. Synthetic

• 1. Synthetic

  2. Analogy

  3. 3. Embedded

  4. 4. Analytic

• 1. 1. Embedded

  2. 2. Synthetic

  3. 3. Analogy

  4. 4. Analytic

• 1. Synthetic

  2. Analytic

  3. Analogy

  4. 4. Embedded

Multiple Choice

Arrange the four types of phonics from the most contextualised to the most decontextualised.

• 1. 1. Embedded

  2. 2. Analogy

  3. 3. Analytic

  4. 4. Synthetic

• 1. Synthetic

  2. Analogy

  3. 3. Embedded

  4. 4. Analytic

• 1. 1. Embedded

  2. 2. Synthetic

  3. 3. Analogy

  4. 4. Analytic

• 1. Synthetic

  2. Analytic

  3. Analogy

  4. 4. Embedded

Wrap-up

​​TSLB3573 | Kho Chung Wei

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf9zUWaYrXE&t=175s