Phonics vs Whole Language

When I think about how I was taught language, it seems as though there was a strong emphasis on phonemic awareness. As a young girl, I remember learning playfully through Kids Songs and nursery rhymes. I would sing along to these rhyming children’s songs and stories. I remember being a big fan of the Dr. Seuss collection, and I would constantly ask to be read Shel Silverstein’s poetry. These silly stories and poems helped me to hear rhymes, experiment with sounds, and create nonsense words.

I do not remember ever using phonics as way to learn language. From a young age, I remember practicing spelling just as frequently and I practiced my reading and writing skills. However, as my younger sister (who’s five years younger) was growing up, the popularity of the program Hooked on Phonics was soaring.

As a future middle school teacher, it is important to recognize the variety of ways my students will have learned language. Language Arts: Patterns of Practice presents both sides of the issues of phonics. According to the text, “phonics instruction should focus on the most useful information for identifying words; it also should be systematic and intensive, and it should be completed by the third grade” (120).