Synthetic Phonics

What is synthetic phonics?

Synthetic Phonics is currently the leading approach to literacy and the foundation of the Trainertext visual method used in DM Easyread is based on it.

The name comes from /synthesise/ which means to create from individual parts. A natural car oil is extracted complete from crude oil. A synthetic car oil has been constructed from different chemicals to create their ideal of a car lubricant. A cow synthesises meat, milk, bone and methane from grass, water and air.

So a synthetic approach to phonics is based on working with the very basic elements of the text sound code, which are the individual phonemes.

That contrasts with Analytical Phonics which works with groups of words with similar letter patterns and sounds (eg cat, fat, pat…).

Synthetic phonics teaches the learner the individual sounds in a language (43 in English) and then begins to present the different letter patterns that can represent those 43 sounds.

And that is where things get tricky. In some languages, such as Spanish, there is virtually a one-to-one relationship between graphemes and phonemes. In English there are around 190 phoneme grapheme relationships. Most phonemes have more than one possible grapheme and visa versa.

The problems with synthetic phonics

Like most reading systems, synthetic phonics can get great results.

However, it has a variety of problems:

It is very technical to teach. It will normally require several days of instruction to train a teacher to teach synthetic phonics well. And even then, many teachers will not be naturally inclined towards this type of teaching.
It is dull to learn. Frankly, phonemes are not very exciting! For a child, watching paint dry would probably be more fun. So it is hard to keep a group glued to a lesson.
The visual learners will probably not follow the lesson. The truth is that around 50% of a class will probably learn to read whatever way they are introduced to text. It is the other 50% that are a worry. Of those, the strong visual learners will probably not easily follow synthetic phonics when delivered in a group setting.

DM Easyread has been designed as a solution to these common issues.

Kelly Thoresen Isselhardt

2021-12-24

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As a parent working through the 20/21 school year in distance learning with 3 elementary kids, there were at least some positive upsides. For example, my daughter Laine’s (2nd grade, 8 years old at start) reading ability (when she is such a bright, exuberant, creative, SMART kid) kept me up at night. Something was not connecting. No amount of pressure or more reading was making up for the missing pieces in her ability to read. I was literally awake in the middle of the night, by chance watching Dr. Morgan’s Facebook ad and knew he was talking about my daughter. I started crying and felt I had been given such a gift. By morning in February 2021 she was signed up and on her way to decoding and cracking her reading struggles. It’s not been easy all the time, we have struggled through some lessons with tears and frustration. BUT today, Laine passed her 223 lesson, earned her helicopter (the code words/spy prizes have been a great motivator), and has gone from a 1.5 grade reading level to reading at a 5th grade level with limited assistance in only 10 months. I am so grateful for the Easyread program. Their attention to detail, one on one phone calls and Zoom meet ups, quick response time to questions, and consideration for my kid’s development has made us feel cared for each step of the way. If you have looked into the Easyread program and David’s description of your child’s reading journey hits home, run don’t walk to sign up. It has been one of our favorite blessings of this crazy year and I shout it’s praises to anyone who has a struggling reader.

Laura Stoker

2021-12-21

I was really skeptical about this for my 8 year old, how can 15 minutes a day and video, and games work? He struggled with blending and decoding. He know can use the trainer texts faster then I can figure out the word myself to see if he is correct. The system moves as he needs and the personal support is amazing.

Sara Cunningham-Neuff

What a fantastic programme! Our 8 yr old made such rapid progress I began to doubt myself whether she had had issues in the first place! When we looked at the video recording made at the beginning of the programme, her progress was remarkable within just a few weeks. She asks to do the session every day and complains if I don't have time - a massive difference from a child who used to invent the most incredible excuses to avoid reading before this. She now reads books in her own time and is even starting to get her head around spelling - all in less than 2 months. The personalised support from the Easyread facilitators is much better than I expected from an online course and the prizes are great too! Thank you Easyread!

Jared Amanda Stone

Our daughter has loved the Easyread program. She thinks she is just playing fun games on the computer but she's actually improving her reading and spelling skills. Her Spelling grades have improved from 50% to 90% in only a few months. Thank you Easyread for an amazing program! I would highly recommend your program for any children struggling to read and spell.

Carly Banks

2021-12-14

Wow, this program works! My 9-year old became a more fluent reader within weeks of starting, and she really enjoyed doing the assignments (structured like fun games) every day! She never complained about it once, even 2 months in she was excited to decode the words and play the games in Easyread. And she has so much more confidence now. Thank you Easyread!