Phonics is described as which of the following?

• A. An approach that focuses on handwriting only
• B. An age-old strategy for helping students read by connecting written language to spoken language or by correlating sounds with letters
• C. A method to memorize whole words by sight
• D. A way to teach grammar rules

Answer: (B)

Phonics focuses on the connection between sounds and letters, and how those sound-letter relationships help children read and spell. By teaching which sounds correspond to which letters and common letter patterns, students learn to decode words: hear the word, map each sound to its written representation, blend the sounds, and pronounce the word. This shows why phonics is described as linking written language to spoken language or correlating sounds with letters. The other options describe approaches that don’t teach decoding: handwriting-only focuses on writing by hand rather than sound-letter mapping, memorizing whole words by sight bypasses decoding, and grammar rules address structure rather than how words are sounded out and read.