Whole Language and Phonics

Phonics

A method of teaching people to read by training them to associate letters with their phonetic values.

• Code-oriented theorists
• Bottom-up
• Skill based
• Reading is not similar to natural language processes
• Explicit instruction needed
• Philosophers of Science
• Conservative

Whole Language

Whole language is a philosophy of teaching reading that emphasizes meaning based activities.

• Meaning-oriented theorists
• Top-down
• Context based
• Reading is similar to natural language processes
• Explicit instruction not needed
• Social Scientists
• Liberal