Changes

Under '''phonics''', once a child learns the basic and simple phonetic building blocks, the child can read any word and any book.  [[Public schools]] have typically taught a "look and say" or word recognition approach to reading<ref>"Whole language reading instruction (also known as "look-say" or "sight" reading) is the most widely used method of teaching reading in the U.S. and many other countries." [http://www.halcyon.org/wholelan.html''Whole Language vs. Phonics'']</ref><ref>"The education establishment prefers whole language, while most parents and some teachers prefer a phonetic approach." [http://www.home-school.com/Articles/WholeLanguage.html ''Whole-Language Boondoggle'']</ref>which limits the child to reading only words that the child knows.

Under '''phonics''', once a child learns the basic and simple phonetic building blocks, the child can read any word and any book.  [[Public schools]] have typically taught a "look and say" or word recognition approach to reading<ref>"Whole language reading instruction (also known as "look-say" or "sight" reading) is the most widely used method of teaching reading in the U.S. and many other countries." [http://www.halcyon.org/wholelan.html''Whole Language vs. Phonics'']</ref><ref>"The education establishment prefers whole language, while most parents and some teachers prefer a phonetic approach." [http://www.home-school.com/Articles/WholeLanguage.html ''Whole-Language Boondoggle'']</ref>which limits the child to reading only words that the child knows.

One reason [[homeschoolers]] perform better than [[public school]] students on tests<ref>http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp</ref> is because homeschoolers learn how to read with '''phonics''' in higher percentages than [[public school]] students do.<ref>Most homeschool curricula are phonics-based.  See, e.g., [http://www.pmschoolhouse.com/homeschool-curriculum/Saxon_Math.htm Saxon]</ref>

One reason [[homeschoolers]] perform better than [[public school]] students on tests<ref>http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp</ref> is because homeschoolers learn how to read with '''phonics''' in higher percentages than [[public school]] students do.<ref>Most homeschool curricula are phonics-based.  See, e.g., [http://www.pmschoolhouse.com/homeschool-curriculum/Saxon_Math.htm Saxon]</ref> In the [[United Kingdom]] it is sometimes described as a "back to basics" approach, which "despite being sneered at by the [[liberal]] tinkerers whose modern theories of teaching have caused so much damage to almost two generations, is turning the tide of illiteracy in some of the nation's most underprivileged areas."<ref>''Dispatches: Why Our Children Can't Read''. Channel 4 television. First aired 27 October 2007.</ref>

==Effectiveness==

==Effectiveness==