Family Literacy Newsletter - February 2026

In the English language, there are 44 speech sounds but only 26 letters.  Phonics is a method for teaching how letters are used to represent sounds in written language.  In English there are approximately 250 letters and combinations of letters used to represent sounds.  Phonics instruction includes decoding (sounding out) words and encoding (spelling). 

Phonics instruction also includes learning about orthography.  Orthography is the standardized system of rules for a written language.  It tells us when to use which letters (e.g. when we use ‘ay’ or ‘ai’ in a word) when spelling.  Learning these rules helps English spelling make more sense and easier to remember. 

The system-supported tool for phonics instruction in the Grand Erie District School Board is the University of Florida Literacy Institute Phonics Program (UFLI). 

Phonics instruction is one piece of your child’s language program.  They will also be engaged in opportunities to read and listen to a variety of texts, develop reading comprehension skills, and learn and practice writing using different forms.  

• Offer your child opportunities to read when you are reading together. 
• When your child gets stuck on a word, you can try asking them to say each sound they can identify in the word in order from left to right (they may need help with some sounds, especially sounds that are made with 2 or more letters).
• Have your child blend the sounds together, saying the sounds as they move their finger along the word.  This may take a few tries.  Once they have blended the word, have your child reread it.  You may need to go back to the beginning of the sentence to read it again to make sense.  

• When walking, driving, and carrying out everyday tasks with your child, point out letters, having your child name the letter, its sound, and try to sound out words.
• Play letter and sound recognition games, like the ones found here: Top 12 Phonics Activities for Kids

As your child’s basic phonics skills develop, they will begin to work on more advanced phonics skills, including multisyllable word reading.  Multisyllable words are longer words, made up of 2 or more word-parts.  These word parts may include prefixes, suffixes, and root words.  As your child begins to read more complex texts, they will encounter more multisyllable words.

When reading with your child, and they are stuck on a longer, multisyllable word, you can help them by:

• Encouraging them to take the word apart.  Look for any prefixes or suffixes in the word that can be read separately.
• Have them look at the rest of the word and break it apart into syllables, sounding each one out at a time. 
• Once all the parts have been sounded out, have them blend the sounds together.  They might have to try this a few times before they make it sound like a real word.  Talk about the meaning of the word or help them look it up.