Teaching Exceptions to the Rules
Phonics generalizations are difficult to teach because the “rules” have many exceptions. Children need clearly defined rules to follow. The exceptions to the rule can be extremely confusing and make it difficult for them to decode even simple words.
For instance, Timmy is confused because he can’t tell the difference between two words that appear repeatedly in a book: “The little dear lost his mommy and does not know what to do. So the little dear asks the does, but they do not know.”
As teachers we can feel Timmy’s frustration. He is applying the phonics generalization “rules” correctly, but the exception to the rules is causing him a lot of difficulty. In Module 4 we will look at how Timmy can use context clues to help him decode the words correctly.
The solution is to teach and practice phonics generalizations along with other decoding strategies, while students are actively engaged in reading different kinds of books.
There are a number of approaches that can be used to help children recognize phonic generalizations and exceptions. These approaches include:
- Synthetic approach
- Analytic approach
- Onsets and rimes, and
- Decoding by analogy