Phonics being emphasized in England's primary schools

Primary schools in England are being sent DVDs and booklets on how best to teach children to read. The Letters and Sounds packs—also available online—follow a report by former director of inspection Jim Rose that advocated "synthetic phonics." The packs explain how to teach children listening skills and the 44 sounds of letters and combinations of letters before moving on to make words. Many schools in England already use phonics combined with other methods to help children learn to read, but proponents of synthetic phonics argue it should be followed strictly and not be mixed with other approaches. Read more at BBC News.