B2.1 Applying Phonics Knowledge
Phonics plays a crucial role in a student’s ability to read and write. Systematic, explicit instruction in phonics is a large focus in Grade 1 and lays the foundation for skills taught in Grade 3 and beyond.
During Grade 2, the focus was on:
- Continue to consolidate the Grade 1 skills to build automaticity and learn to decode and spell increasingly complex multisyllabic words like fantastic, umbrella, pencil, notebook, jungle, and pretend.
- When reading unfamiliar words, students will “adjust for close approximations.”
New for Grade 3:
- Students will use consolidated phonics knowledge to read and spell phonetically regular monosyllabic and multisyllabic words, both in isolation and in various contexts
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all expectations in this strand. For a more detailed view, please see the official Ontario curriculum.
Adjusting for Close Approximations
An important expectation that was introduced in Grade 2 is when reading unfamiliar words is “adjusting for close approximations.” This is also known as “set for variability” and continues in Grade 3. Set for variability means that when students are trying to decode unknown words, they will apply their knowledge of letter-sound relationships and spelling tendencies flexibility to try out different possible pronunciations of the word, adjusting the syllable stress and schwa as needed until they land on a real word that makes sense in context.
This is a very important skill for independent word learning. Like other decoding skills, adjusting for close approximations is a skill that should be taught explicitly.
Note: Set for variability is not the same as using context cues from three-cueing, where students were encouraged to use context to guess and confirm that guess by looking at the letters. Rather, this strategy starts with thoroughly examining the letters in the word and applying previously learned knowledge of phonics, spelling patterns, and morphology to arrive at an approximate pronunciation, then flexibly adjusting vowel sounds and syllable stress to arrive at the correct pronunciation of the word.
Further Reading
Suggested Resources
- Apply Phonics in Reading and Spelling
- Phinder
- Search “Phonics” in the Resource Library for more!
