When a child learns to read they must follow a process that requires mastering three different skills: phonics syntax, and semantics.
• Syntax is basically grammar and punctuation. It’s the way we put works together to properly form sentences. A child who grasps the rules of syntax understands the structure of a sentence and how and why punctuation is used in the sentence. Syntax skills are developed through rhyming and word patterns, relating the written word to the spoken word, writing, poetry, reading out loud with expression.
• Semantics is how those words in the sentence relate to each other. Semantic skills are developed through reading paragraph books (stories with a beginning, middle, and ending) and discussing a story as it is being read.
• Phonics is an alphabetical code that teaches a child the sounds that are made by letters and groups of letters - it’s the sounds that letters and groups of letters make. Phonics skills are developed through learning how to sound out words, being able to recognise groups of letters, and learning to differentiate words that are similar.
• Syntax is basically grammar and punctuation. It’s the way we put works together to properly form sentences. A child who grasps the rules of syntax understands the structure of a sentence and how and why punctuation is used in the sentence. Syntax skills are developed through rhyming and word patterns, relating the written word to the spoken word, writing, poetry, reading out loud with expression.
• Semantics is how those words in the sentence relate to each other. Semantic skills are developed through reading paragraph books (stories with a beginning, middle, and ending) and discussing a story as it is being read.
• Phonics is an alphabetical code that teaches a child the sounds that are made by letters and groups of letters - it’s the sounds that letters and groups of letters make. Phonics skills are developed through learning how to sound out words, being able to recognise groups of letters, and learning to differentiate words that are similar.