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While synthetic phonics is the most preferred method, you should also be aware of the other
techniques with which it’s combined. Some of these are used as stand-alone methods as well.

Analogy Phonics

Since it’s such an intuitive approach, you’ve probably been using analogy phonics all along. In this
approach, you discuss a word that is already familiar to your students, thereby activating prior
knowledge. Then you simply have them make a textual connection between a new word that is very
closely related to a familiar word.

For example, you might want to introduce the word “prank.” Fortunately, you’ve already addressed
the concept of “bank” during your discussion of communities, and you had the presence of mind to
tape the word “bank,” neatly printed in large letters, on the Word Wall. You simply point to the word,
asking a student to read it. She correctly reads, “bank.”

You ask another student to state the last three letters of the word, and he correctly says, “a, n, k.” You
then ask that same student to state the last three letters of the new word. Once he does, you remind
the students that many words that end with the same letters also happen to rhyme.

Next, you point out that both words end in "ank." You then ask the question: "If we drop the /b/ and
add /p/ and /r/ to the beginning of the word, what does it sound like?" This, should elicit the word
"prank."

Analytic Phonics

Another approach to phonics that capitalizes on prior knowledge is called analytic phonics. This is
similar to the analogy approach, but with a small difference. In analytic phonics, you’d do everything
as it was done in the analogy approach described on the previous screen except for the way you
introduced the “p” and the “r” at the end of the lesson. With analytic phonics, you’d refer to a word
you’d previously taught that contains the “pr” blend, such as “pretty.” You’d ask the students to say
the word that starts like “pretty” and ends like “bank” in order to elicit the word “prank.” Notice that
you’re not discussing individual phonemes outside the context of a real word, as in analogy phonics.

Embedded Phonics

In some circles, the least popular approach to phonics instruction is embedded phonics. The
drawback many see with this approach is that it is more or less incidental; that is, it is not systematic
and explicit. However, if you happen to encounter a word such as prank in your reading of a learner-
appropriate text, you’re free to unleash the power of the analogy or analytic approach in order to
address this word. The only difference is that you’re addressing a word type as it happens, rather
than as an explicit strategy in anticipation of encountering such a word.

Spelling Phonics

An approach that is more successful with truly phonemic languages (such as Spanish) is phonics
through spelling. Despite the occasional frustration with words like one, scents, gnome, and knock;
and, of course, the less frequent bough, rough, trough, and through, this is still a fun and useful way
to get from spoken English to written words. After you have the students break their words up into
phonemes, they get to pick out letters to match those individual phonemes. Then they put them all
together and read the blended concoction.