In order for children to become good readers, it is crucial that they develop decoding skills during the early the school years.
Serveral major findings of the NRP involve instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics.
The Panel concluded that training in phonemics awareness is effective in improving phonemic awareness itselft as well as reading and spelling, especially when children are taught to mainpulate sounds using printed letters.
Subsequent research reveals that instruction in phonemic awareness is more effective when taught in the context of other literacy activities.