Literacy methods

definition of procedures and considerations for effective practice

Abstract

The article presents the most widespread literacy methods in the country, defining them in terms of its three fundamental features, i.e., a) starting point and course of literacy, delimiting the analytical and synthetic methods; b) the minimum analysis unit on the relationship between speech and writing, outlining the global, syllabic and phonic methods; and c) type of stimulation involved, distinguishing between traditional and multisensory methods. Brief history is presented on literacy methods, and the global and the phonics ones are described whit more details. The phonic method’s main objective is to teach the graphophonemic correspondences and to develop phonological skills, fostering decoding and encoding skills. The global method assumes that the learning of written language occurs by the word visual identification, focusing directly the associations between words and their meanings. In Brazil, the global method is the most broadcast in universities and most used in classrooms. In addition, in the country, the constructivist conception has exerted great influence on literacy practices. However, national and international researches have questioned the effec-tiveness of the global method and constructivist conceptions, and revealed the phonics as the most effective in literacy and, aside multisensory method, in the intervention with children with reading and writing problems. Re -cently, some academic and government initiatives has revealed a possible oncoming between educational practices and scientific evidence produced by cognitive psychology. This ‘education-science’ confluence could greatly benefit the country’s practices in elementary education.