Explicit Phonics
Through the systematic instruction of explicit phonics, students learn the building blocks of the English language so they can learn to read, write, and speak fluently.
Methodology: K-3rd Grade
Explicit phonics involves teaching students the relationship between symbols and sounds in the English language rather than lists of sight words. This curriculum, which requires students to hear, say, and write phonemes at the same time, develops habits of care, neatness, and patience from an early age.
Students will learn the 72 letter-sound (phonogram) combinations used in the English language, beginning with the easiest sight-to-sound correspondences, and working towards those that are most complex. Syllabication is critical to a proper understanding of letter-sound relationships, so the program teaches syllabication from the beginning of kindergarten.
Alongside learning phonograms and implementing these into a potent spelling and vocabulary regimen, students using the Literacy Essentials Program will learn handwriting, including cursive handwriting. As students grasp the basics of English literacy, the program lays a foundation in basic grammar and composition.
Methodology: 4-9th Grade
Reading is at the very heart of NCA’s curriculum, and the central position of language in the curriculum continues throughout the elementary and middle school grades.
- 4-5th Grade: Students will learn Latin and Greek roots of English words.
- 6-9th Grade: Students begin learning formal Latin, and will continue with Latin through 9th grade.
Latin is introduced and taught alongside English so that students learn the structural underpinnings of their own language, expand their vocabulary, and improve their reading comprehension.
Explicit Phonics in Action: Phonograms & Spelling Rules
Students learn the “basic code” of English, meaning the 72 phonograms for 43 elementary sounds, which compose almost every English word.
A phonogram is the written expression of a sound. So, for instance, the word “ship” has three sounds: sh, i, and p. The “sh” is one sound written as two letters, and students learn the sound by hearing it, writing it, and saying it.
Similarly, students learn that the letter “a” has 4 main sounds, and that in certain circumstances “a” will sound like “glad” and in others like “glade,” in others like “gall” or “walk.” Phonograms such as these are the primary and most basic components of an explicit phonics program.
Students also learn 47 different spelling rules that help them combine phonograms in correct writing. Because English is a mixture of several languages – principally Old English, German, French, and Latin – students must learn explicit rules to make sense of English’s variety and richness.
A Research-Supported Approach
Explicit phonics is part of the Literacy Essentials Program, developed by Access Literacy, LLC, which is based on the Riggs Institute—The Writing and Spelling Road to Reading and Thinking. The program is a multi-sensory, brain-based approach to teaching explicit phonics, reading, spelling, and handwriting. It focuses on teaching students the “code” of the written English language, thereby giving students a strong foundation in the fundamentals of literacy and it addresses all learning styles.
Through the direct teaching of letter-sound relationships in a specified sequence, the foundation for literacy is established and provides students the ability to decode the printed word. Scientific research supports this method (Source: K.K. Stuebing, A.E. Barth, P.T. Cirino, D.J. Francis, and J.M. Fletcher, “A response to recent re-analyses of the National Reading Panel report: Effects of systematic phonics instruction are practically significant,” Journal Of Educational Psychology, 100(1), 2008: 123-134).
Now Hiring a Head of School
Do you want to be a part of forming the next generation in wisdom and virtue? We are seeking a Head of School to lead us in fulfilling our mission: To train the minds and improve the hearts of young people through a classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue.
