IndexChallenges faced when learning phonicsChallenges of SSPWhat does the researcher say?Can phonics be exaggerated?Impacts of teaching SSP phonics on writingThe national curriculum and phoneticsConclusionDuring this assignment we will critically examine the role that systematic synthetic phonetics (SSP) has on writing. When learning to write, children are usually encouraged to break down words and sound them out, so that they can be able to write them down and then spell the word. SSP requires children to learn each individual sound and blend in a certain order. From this, sounds and blends can be put together to form words. Decoding words using this process is used as a writing strategy. This highlights the importance of phonics, especially in the early years. Phonics is crucial in teaching children how to write and write, this is because the sounds of words do not sound like the sounds we hear in the common alphabet. Without the role of phonetics, this would lead to spelling misunderstandings. Togerson's research details the process in which SSP is taught and how it is easily recognized by children. This research has been hugely influential on the teaching of phonics in primary classrooms today, particularly in relation to the national curriculum. For phonics to be successful in children's writing development, it is important that teachers have a solid understanding of the subject. Within the teaching standards it is highlighted that teachers have good pedagogy and can “demonstrate a clear understanding of SSP”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe challenges faced when learning phonicsIn this section I will explore the challenges children face when learning phonics and the limitations to teaching phonics. Phonics is a controversial strategy. Although it is mandatory, each school can have its own approach to teaching phonics; therefore, children will be taught differently. One method of teaching phonics that is taught in primary grades is the "whole language approach". Noam Chomsky had an idea of ​​“language acquisition,” which means that “the ability to learn a language follows a particular pattern and is instinctive.” Chomsky's work details that each of us has the instinctive ability to learn any language, but we do not learn by imitating others. So, could the SSP method of copying words and sounds be the wrong way to teach children to write and spell? Goodman then created a “whole word system,” which encourages children to use clues and recognize the whole word rather than breaking it down into sounds when using the SSP approach. If the whole language approach were the preferred method for teaching phonics in school, children might find it more difficult to learn to write and write. SSP gives children the skills they need to break down words, so it will make it easier for them to spell and write the words they need. If they have only been exposed to the whole-word approach, children may have difficulty decoding the words they hear and then being able to write or write them. This is because they have only been taught the whole-word approach, meaning that they do not have the ability to decode what they hear while their reading technique is to look at the whole word. The Challenges of SSPEvery child has their own preferred learning method, some children may not grasp certain concepts and SSP canbe one of the most difficult methods for children to learn. adapt. SSP contains many different grapheme variations, so when learning SSP; children can easily get confused when writing. This can be overcome if children are taught common grapheme rules such as "ay" at the end of a word and "ai" in the middle. Being exposed to these rules can make a huge difference to children's writing development, without them children will most likely become poor writers and have poor spelling. Another way to support phonics learning is to group words by grapheme. For example, the same, lame, came. In this way, children have the opportunity to learn words by association and therefore understand spelling patterns that can be applied to everyday writing. Although, according to Chomsky's language acquisition device; we don't learn by imitating. So, is this really the correct way we should teach children to read and write? The teaching of phonics is compulsory under the National Curriculum, so the methods shown are taught in classrooms across the UK; different regions and therefore different accents. While this may not seem like a big deal, it can technically cause a lot of misunderstandings in children. Depending on where you live, most people have different accents; one of the main indicators of a person's accent is the pronunciation of long vowels. Northern people pronounce the word "bath" differently than southern people. Therefore, it is important that teachers do not take the “emphasis” away from the child when teaching them the SSP approach. When teaching children English as an additional language, it is crucial that teachers change their accent to the correct pronunciation of the word. This is because these children are not familiar with the correct pronunciation, so it is the teacher's job to model it correctly, so that misunderstandings do not occur. I faced this problem when teaching a Polish child: it took him longer to grasp the concept of how to pronounce certain words than his peers from the Northeast. One of the main challenges of teaching SSP that I haven't talked about is "complicated words", these are words in the English language that cannot be decoded using an SSP approach as they do not follow the rules. These are words like "I, being and was". These particular words cannot be spoken, so they must be taught using recognition. These words usually take longer to learn because they have no particular process. In school I taught these words in various ways, as flashcards to review at home and in class. Placing them around the classroom often and developing games so that children can learn and be exposed to them in a stimulating way. What does the researcher say? Jim Rose is the author of a highly influential review detailing how SSP supports children's progression from a young age. Within the review it was discussed how a language-rich curriculum and high-quality phonics teaching can have a major influence on children's reading and writing development; which leads to high-level work. This is why it is important that schools and teachers include high-quality phonics lessons from the early years of the foundation phase. Given the implications within the National Curriculum, regarding the teaching of phonics; which I will explore later: Within the Rose Report many inspector reports showing negligence towards the teaching of phonics in early years classes are explored. During thisperiod of time progression in children's writing has been limited, this could lead to a disadvantage for children with EAL or Special Educational Needs; as the measures they needed to excel had most likely not been put in place. Within the report, Jim Rose explores the National Literacy Strategy, discusses how it has engaged many schools in developing high-quality phonics programmes; detailing the most effective ways of teaching to raise standards of writing. Rose highlighted the importance of speech and language alongside reading and writing, arguing that they are the “core skills needed to lead to emotional, social and intellectual progression”. It is vital that phonics is taught from an early age so that children can develop many communication skills, not having exposure to phonics from an early age can have detrimental effects on children's writing development. Within the rose report there is a short section on the “searchlights model” (SLM); this details how exposure to the fundamental principles of phonics can reduce the risks shown within SLM. The Rose Report had a major influence on the national curriculum we follow today. Can phonics be excessive? While there are many benefits to teaching SSP phonics, as highlighted by Belvins, his research also shows that successful phonics teaching cannot be regulated and depends on subject knowledge and teaching methods. As a result, if the teacher lacks confidence or knowledge of the subject, children may be at a disadvantage. In his literature, Belvins also states that it is possible to overdo phonics in the primary classroom, and from my personal point of view I think this statement may be correct. During the professional training, I discovered that in some schools children have a stigma towards phonics. When told it was phonics time, the children sighed and didn't want to participate, saying it was “boring” and they wanted to play instead. Upon further investigation into the phonics method taught at this particular elementary school, I discovered that every afternoon, every day, they had a 40-minute phonics lesson. This may not seem like a long period of time to adults, but to 4- and 5-year-olds; after dinner, their brains would be exhausted. This is why the children did not want to participate in the phonics group and why these children's writing and reading progress was so low. After a couple of weeks of observation; I obtained permission from the principal to conduct my phonics sessions using methods I had acquired from personal experience, college, and other internships. For the first week I did full 20 minute group sessions, from these I was able to see what level each child was at within the SSP 'letters and sounds programme'. Then I grouped the children according to their abilities and two groups were formed. Each morning, the teaching assistant and I lead a 15-minute interactive phonics session with each group. During this we covered a new sound, gave the children the opportunity to say it, allowed the children to write it down and then act it out. If a child was having difficulty, they could turn to their partner for help. At the end of each week, each sound was reviewed to ensure the children were getting the most potential out of what was on offer. After 6 weeks, we assessed the children and there was a noticeable improvement in their reading and writing with some children moving up 2 colors in their reading books. To thechildren enjoyed learning and this was the main aim, if children like what they are doing they will be more involved in the task and consequently get more from it. Children are also more alert in the morning than in the afternoon, which means they will get more out of the session. My 15 minute phonics strategy has now replaced the “boring” 40 minute session, at that particular school. This shows a correlation between excessive phonics teaching and a lack of interest in children; demonstrating little and often teaching phonics is more effective. Impacts of teaching SSP phonics on writing Although I have explored many challenges that pupils and teachers may face, phonics has many positive aspects in relation to children's writing development. Good phonics teaching allows children to become more ambitious, this is because their vocabulary is made up of words they have just discovered. They are able to attempt to write and read these words using their SSP knowledge. In contrast, the “global approach” can be considered obsolete, as mentioned above; requires children to read the entire word as a “whole”, this requires children to memorize the entire word. This limits children's vocabulary, especially in relation to their writing. When writing and spelling independently, children may have a word they want to use; even though they may not know how to spell it. Using the SSP approach children can decode the word, then reconstruct it to write it. If taught using the whole word approach, children are limited to using the words they have been exposed to and do not know how to write the new words because of the approach they have been taught. This will discourage children from being assertive with their writing as they will not be able to attempt unfamiliar words using the 'whole word approach'. Writing develops at a slower pace than reading. As part of an SSP reading program I taught, “read, write. inc”; children begin to practice letter formation when they initially learn sounds and when they begin to blend and segment words. This gives children the opportunity to develop their writing skills at a faster pace than in other phonics programs, where writing usually occurs later in the process. This helps overcome the national curriculum concern that reading develops much faster than writing. Writing skills can also be developed through conversation, using and sharing language with peers. This is why a language-rich environment is crucial in the primary classroom. This can influence children in learning how the language works as a whole and give them the opportunity to express what they would like to say. Children exposed to a language-rich environment have an advantage when it comes to applying written language to paper. Having the opportunity to discuss individual experiences allows children to gain ideas for emergent writing, this encourages children to say what they think and this will allow them to apply an SSP approach to breaking it down as they attempt to write it down on paper. During the writing process children should say their sentences one word at a time, then break them down and figure out how to write them. When first exposed to writing, children will begin to mark make, which is an element of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Creating signs will help children achieve their early learning goals, over time and after exposure to language these signs will begin.