California’s reading wars may finally be over. After decades of debate over how to teach reading, a new bill aims to use phonics to solve the state’s literacy crisis.

More American schools are now favoring the “science of reading" which focuses on phonics and vocabulary building block lessons over traditional “whole language" teaching.

Phonics was one of the tried and true methods that was used to teach reading back in the day (I’m almost 80). Even now, I use it to sound out new words that I come across.

There are many theories about the best way to teach reading: science of reading, whole language, balanced literacy. So what works best?

Children, especially children from challenged or disadvantaged environments, have been found to have underdeveloped or delayed language development and poor auditory discrimination for sounds.

Every school district in New York must revert to teaching phonics in grades pre-K through third, starting this fall, the Board of Regents decided Monday.

Lucy Calkins, a leading literacy expert, has rewritten her curriculum to include a fuller embrace of phonics and the science of reading. Critics may not be appeased.