A Study of Phonics Instruction: Teaching Phonics Dance to At-Risk Elementary Students to Improve Decoding Skills

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of the Phonics Dance as an effective tool to aid low achieving students in their ability to decode words. Student and teacher perceptions of the Phonics Dance were also investigated to find out if this method is something that students enjoyed and preferred. A quantitative approach was used to determine the effectiveness of the Phonics Dance using a Pretest/ Post-test approach with a control and a treatment group. Thirty-nine students received phonics instruction for four weeks. Students were assessed in their ability to read the sounds and digraphs taught to determine if the Phonics Dance was more effective in aiding students in their ability to decode words than the whole-language approach. The results were analyzed using a repeated measures ANOVA. While students showed significant difference between the Pre-test and the Post-test (p < .0010), there was no significant difference found between the control group and the treatment group.