Define "phonics."

Phonics is defined as a method of teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between sounds and the letters or groups of letters that represent those sounds. This approach helps learners understand how to decode words by sounding them out, which is essential for developing reading skills. By systematically correlating sounds with their corresponding letters, students gain the ability to read unfamiliar words independently, enhancing their overall reading fluency and comprehension. Phonics instruction typically involves activities like identifying sounds, blending sounds to form words, and segmenting words into their constituent sounds, making it a foundational component of early literacy education. Other approaches, such as those focused solely on reading comprehension or writing skills, do not emphasize the sound-letter connections that are central to phonics.