In synthetic instruction, what is emphasized during phonics lessons?

In synthetic instruction, the primary focus is on sound blending into words. This approach involves teaching students to break words down into their individual sounds (phonemes) and then blend those sounds together to form complete words.

By emphasizing the blending of sounds, synthetic instruction helps learners gain a clear understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds, facilitating the decoding process when they encounter new words. This method is foundational for developing reading skills, as it enables students to apply their knowledge of phonics to recognize and pronounce unfamiliar words.

Using whole texts, game-based learning, or group discussions, while valuable in other contexts, do not specifically target the mechanics of sound blending in the way that synthetic instruction does. Thus, the focus on blending individual sounds into coherent words is key to effective phonics instruction within this teaching framework.