LEM Phonics

LEM Phonics is a complete, definitive language starter program achieving excellent results in hundreds of schools and amongst many home-schoolers. The program is the only comprehensive intensive phonics program specifically designed for Australian English and Australian schools. LEM Phonics is simple to teach, easy to understand, and contains everything required to take students through the first four years of literacy education and beyond.

LEM Phonics 2020 represents the largest revision of LEM Phonics to date. Several changes have been made to the phonograms and the rules, but all in the name of consistency and simplicity. Resources have been polished and updated. A significant upgrade is the provision of state-based handwriting resources, featuring scripts used in all Australian schools.

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Why Phonics?

The Structure of English

The English language is built on the alphabetic principle. This principle simply states that written symbols represent spoken sounds, and there are systematic and predictable relationships between the two.

It seems logical, then, that a language built on the alphabetic principle should be taught using the same principle. The goal of phonics instruction is to gain the ability to interpret the written symbols of English intelligently (decoding/reading), and also to create those same symbols meaningfully (encoding/spelling).

Effective literacy instruction not only teaches the phonetic patterns of English, but simultaneously links the patterns of spelling rules in a coherent ‘package’. This allows the skills of reading, spelling and writing to reinforce and complement each other.

The Nature of the Brain

The brain’s right hemisphere predominantly processes visual stimuli, and does it holistically, while the left hemisphere processes information sequentially. A sequential, alphabetic language such as English is most effectively processed sequentially using the left hemisphere, to increase the ability to process words and understand grammatical concepts.

Imposing a pictorial method of learning (such as the ‘whole language’, ‘whole word’ or ‘sight’ method) upon an alphabetically designed system causes neural confusion in a large percentage of children.

The bottom line is that intensive phonics teaches the English language in a manner that matches both the structure of English, and the nature of our brains - this is why it is so effective.

At a Glance

Developed specifically for Australian English
Emphasis on the development of phonological awareness skills
Phonograms which cover the full spectrum of sounds and their written representations
Rapid teaching of all phonograms as essential tools for reading and writing
Consonant blends (tr, nd, st, etc.) are not taught as one sound
Strong emphasis on how to blend sounds in words
Multi-sensory strategies to benefit all learning styles
Emphasis on accuracy and fluency
Ordered, structured framework
Early introduction of interesting text
Focus on meaning and purpose for learning
Metacognitive approach to spelling which combines word building, rules and analytical thinking
Word list covering all usual patterns in spelling as well as exceptions and anomalies
Teachers use fingers for graphic clues in ‘signing’ words
Building new concepts on what is already known
Teaching awareness of word parts (morphology) and origins (etymology)
Early training in comprehension
Emphasis on accountability and review

LEM Phonics Overview

LEM Phonics aims to teach students the skills of communication—listening, speaking, reading, writing and spelling—which are basic to experiencing satisfaction and well-being in life. LEM Phonics is an intensive phonics method which differs significantly from traditional phonics. LEM Phonics teaches writing, reading and spelling simultaneously to enhance learning through as many of the five senses as possible. Whether students are visual, auditory or kinesthetic learners, they are given a wide range of opportunities to retain what has been learned.

The Phonograms

The program begins by teaching students to recognise the written symbols for the sounds of the English language, rather than teaching the names of the letters of the alphabet (e.g. the sound ‘b’ rather than the letter ‘bee’). The letter symbols representing these sounds are called phonograms. Phonograms may consist of a single letter (b, t), called single phonograms, or a group of letters (ee, igh), called multiple phonograms.

A sound may be represented by more than one phonogram. For example, the sound ‘ay’ can be represented by ai, a, eigh, ey or ei, depending on the word in which it is used. In the same way, a phonogram may represent more than one sound. For example, c represents the sound ‘k’ in cat and the sound ‘s’ in city.

Students first learn to read and write the phonograms representing the 26 letters of the alphabet (single phonograms). They then proceed to master the multiple phonograms. Workbooks provide students with reinforcement and practice in writing the phonograms and blending the sounds.

Handwriting

Writing the phonograms at the same time as learning to hear them and pronounce them is a fundamental principle of the method. The kinesthetic ‘feel’ of the shape of the letters as students form them uses the sense of touch and movement to consolidate the message to the brain. This early writing training helps to develop neat, legible handwriting and forms a good foundation for future cursive writing.

As an Australian-based program built specifically for Australian English, LEM Phonics integrates the official handwriting scripts from all Australian states.

Reading

Students will begin to read as they learn to blend the sounds of the phonograms. As they progress through the word list their reading ability will expand quickly. Reading ‘real’ books allows students to experience excellent written prose right from an early stage, and will enhance their oral and written expression. LEM Phonics includes readers for the single and multiple phonogram stages, carefully constructed to use only the known phonogram range so that students have no need to use sight words or guessing. These readers do not contain pictures (other than the cover), encouraging students to figure out the words and read using the tools they have been given.

Word List and Rules

After the first 60 phonograms are learned, students extend their vocabulary by working through the word list, beginning with frequently used words. Each word is analysed as the rules of LEM Phonics are introduced. These rules guide students in reading the word (which sounds do I say?), spelling the word (which phonograms do I write?) and also in the addition of prefixes and suffixes (beginnings and endings). As the rules are introduced for one word, students are able to apply them to many subsequent words.

Transitioning to Grammar and Written Expression

The basic principles of grammar are introduced in the first and second years of the program, however we recommend that students begin a separate grammar program by the end of the third year of formal education.

The fourth year focuses on the use of vocabulary and word building using prefixes and suffixes.

Whilst LEM Phonics is designed as a four-year program, some teachers may prefer to spread the work into a fifth or even sixth year.

Training

Professional learning and development is managed through our network of Registered Instructors. We encourage schools to contact your nearest instructor for more details on training and implementing LEM Phonics.

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