What is the focus of phonics instruction?

• A. Phonetic decoding by mapping sounds to letters.
• B. Memorizing sight words only.
• C. Understanding grammar rules.
• D. Reading comprehension without decoding.

Answer: (A)

Phonics instruction focuses on teaching the relationship between spoken sounds and their written symbols and how to blend and segment those sounds to read and spell words. By mapping specific sounds to letters and letter patterns, students develop the ability to decode unfamiliar words, which is the core skill phonics aims to build. Memorizing sight words bypasses this decoding process and relies on whole-word recognition rather than sound-letter relationships, so it does not reflect phonics focus. Understanding grammar rules is about sentence structure, not the sound-letter associations phonics teaches. Reading comprehension without decoding ignores how readers access text at the word level, which phonics training supports through decoding practice. In short, the focus is decoding through sound-letter mappings and blending.