Which phonics approach emphasizes recognizing familiar words first?

The approach that emphasizes recognizing familiar words first is analytic phonics. This method focuses on teaching children to read by promoting the recognition of whole words or familiar patterns, rather than starting with individual sounds or letters. In analytic phonics, students often learn to decode words through their context and visual recognition, allowing them to rely on previously learned vocabulary.

This contrasts with other approaches, such as synthetic phonics, which systematically teaches students to blend individual sounds together to form words. The phonetic approach typically emphasizes sound-letter relationships and phonemic awareness. Whole language, while it may include familiar words, underscores a broader view of literacy that integrates reading, writing, and experiences with language, rather than focusing specifically on word recognition first. Therefore, analytic phonics is the correct choice as it distinctly prioritizes word familiarity in the reading process.