This research has been provided to help adults understand the nature of reading and its problems. FANTASTIC PHONICS has been created to meet the needs of young readers, and conforms to each of the literacy requirements outlined through research.

The research provided was a synthesis project, to bring together the body of research completed over 30 years. It was prepared by the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It was commissioned by The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning with funding support from the Pacific Bell Foundation.

Major Research Findings

• About 30% of the school age population has reading difficulty.
• This percentage also applies to the general community.
• Phonics is essential for effective, fluent reading.
• Contextual clues are unreliable and ineffective for fluency.
• Most reading difficulties are due to a lack of phonemic awareness in the child.
• Reading difficulties (due to phonemic problems) can be resolved through early intervention with an explicitly phonic program.
• Begin phonemic awareness at an early age.
• Use beginner texts which are fully decodable using phonics, and where "sight words" are minimised.