Criticism
Jolly Phonics has attracted much controversy over the years. At one point, it was being used in 68% of UK primary schools when government policy advocated the opposite method of 'whole word' learning, indicating that support to retain (which?) previous policy had been lost. A research project in Clackmannanshire also demonstrated a large difference in pupils' learning (how?).
Critics have argued that not all children benefit from the synthetic phonics method. Some people's views (whose?) are that more time should be spent teaching children how to write whole words and say the alphabet in the traditional manner instead of breaking words down into letter sounds then blending them to read.
One of the major concerns regarding synthetic phonics is that it is taught in isolation and is boring for students. However, within effective literacy instruction, neither of these assumptions is true. Phonics instruction is part of a balanced literacy approach (which is very different from whole language) and should never be taught exclusive of meaningful connections to text. In addition, many teachers find that the interactive premise behind Jolly Phonics makes it fun for kids.
Read more about this topic: Jolly Phonics
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