In a new article for American Educator’s Winter 2018-19 issue, researchers Nell Duke and Heidi Mesmer discuss seven common instructional missteps in phonics instruction and how to correct them. The need to explicitly teach letter-sound relationships in U.S. classrooms is settled science. However, too often such instruction is not provided in the most efficient or effective way. These instructional missteps mean that fewer children will develop strong word-reading skills. In addition, ineffective phonics instruction is likely to require more class time and/or later compensatory intervention, taking time away from the growth of other important contributors to literacy development. Read more here.