In phonics instruction, what does the synthetic approach involve?

The synthetic approach in phonics instruction focuses on using individual letter sounds to form words. This method emphasizes the systematic teaching of each sound associated with letters and letter combinations, allowing learners to blend these sounds together to read new words.

For example, a student would learn the sounds for the letters "c," "a," and "t" and then synthesize them to pronounce the word "cat." This foundational skill helps students understand how sounds correspond to letters, which is essential for decoding new words as they encounter them in reading.

While the other options present different aspects of reading instruction, they do not align with the synthetic approach. Building words from whole phrases, analyzing phonemic patterns, and recognizing sight words immediately involve different strategies that may incorporate other elements of literacy development but are not specifically categorized as synthetic phonics.