Phonics First

Phonics First is an educational approach that emphasizes teaching students to recognize the relationship between sounds and their written symbols, or letters. It focuses on explicitly teaching phonics skills—how sounds correspond to letters and letter groups—early in reading instruction. This method helps learners decode new words independently by breaking them down into sounds and blending them together, which builds strong foundational reading skills. Phonics First is often used to support struggling readers and is based on the idea that understanding the sound-letter connection is essential for fluent, confident reading.