Which approach is the best for encouraging students to read new words with letter-sound associations?

Encouraging the exploration of letter-sound relationships is the most effective approach for helping students read new words because it focuses on the foundational principle of phonics. By learning how letters correspond to sounds, students develop the ability to decode unfamiliar words independently. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of the structure of language and equips students with the skills to sound out new words, facilitating both reading fluency and comprehension.

When students actively explore letter-sound relationships, they engage in practices such as blending sounds, segmenting words, and manipulating phonemes. This hands-on engagement cements their ability to tackle new vocabulary as they encounter it in various texts.

Other methods such as using color-coded letters, highlighting sight words, or promoting reading through multimedia resources serve distinct purposes within literacy development. Color-coded letters can aid in visual distinction but do not directly teach letter-sound connections. Highlighting sight words helps with recognition but focuses primarily on memorization rather than phonological awareness. Multimedia resources can enhance engagement and motivation but do not specifically teach decoding skills as effectively as exploring letter-sound relationships. Therefore, the exploration of these associations remains the best option for encouraging students to read new words.