When focusing on teaching phonics, what should teachers aim to achieve first?

In teaching phonics, the primary goal is for students to blend letter sounds into meaningful words. This foundational skill is essential for effective reading because it allows students to decode unfamiliar words by sounding them out. Phonics instruction focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds, and blending those sounds is a critical step in developing reading fluency and comprehension.

By being able to blend sounds, students gain the ability to read new words independently, which boosts their confidence and encourages a love for reading. It helps them move beyond mere memorization of words or phrases, fostering a deeper understanding of how language works. This ability to decode through blending sets the stage for greater reading skills, enabling students to tackle varied texts successfully.

The other options, such as memorizing large blocks of text, recognizing words in context, or focusing strictly on spelling rules, do not establish the foundational decoding skills that phonics instruction is designed to teach. While these skills may play a role in a comprehensive literacy program, they should not be the initial focus when introducing phonics. The emphasis should first be on enabling students to articulate and blend sounds effectively.