Reading Panel Urges Phonics For All in K-6

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

Washington

Systematic, explicit phonics should be a routine part of reading instruction for all elementary students, but teachers must be trained to teach such skills in a "vibrant, imaginative, and entertaining fashion" and to tailor their instructional strategies to student needs, a congressionally mandated panel has concluded.

But the long-awaited report by the National Reading Panel is unlikely to settle the rancorous debate over teaching strategies and could add to the discord.

Released last week, the report suggests that teaching all children phonics—how the sounds that make up speech are linked to letters of the alphabet—beginning in kindergarten can help them read more proficiently later on. The report also concludes that helping children develop fluency in reading words and build their comprehension skills is critical for them...