We also know that children learn fastest when they can practice what they're learning by reading early and frequently. The Hooked on Phonics - Learn to Read program is based on the latest research on how children learn to read.
Children become skilled readers by learning to recognize words.
This research demonstrates that the best predictor of early reading ability is a child's understanding of how words are made up of letters that have sounds. When children are taught to hear the sounds in words, they demonstrate greater abilities to recognize words. And a child's word-recognition ability in the first grade predicts up to 90 percent of what that child's reading comprehension level will be in the third grade. 4 Word-recognition is more important to reading success than contextual clues. Traditionally in U.S. schools, reading was taught through phonics instruction with its emphasis on developing word-recognition skills.