Which instructional practice best supports decoding development in PK–3?

• A. Occasional practice
• B. Random discovery
• C. Clear letter-sound correspondences taught explicitly
• D. No alignment with decodable texts

Answer: (C)

Explicit, systematic teaching of letter-sound relationships provides a reliable pathway for mapping written symbols to spoken sounds, and it guides children through blending and decoding unfamiliar words. When learners know the actual sounds that letters and common letter combinations make and practice blending them, they gain a dependable toolkit for decoding. This approach is even more effective when paired with decodable texts that match the taught patterns, giving authentic opportunities to apply the skills and build reading confidence. Occasional practice and random discovery don’t provide the repetition and structured progression young readers need, and working without texts that align to the taught patterns makes it harder to transfer decoding knowledge to real reading.