Science of Reading Spurs Focus on Phonics

In the hopes that all U.S. children will be able to read at grade level by their third year in school, educators have turned to instruction rooted in “the science of reading (SoR).” This is a body of research about how children learn to read that emphasizes phonics and phonemic awareness along with fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Since the early 1990s, the teaching of phonics had been taking a back seat in U.S. schools as other methods of instruction gained favor.

In 2013, Mississippi began using an SoR-based approach with impressive results, leading other states—along with many individual teachers, schools, and districts—to follow suit as they tried to address students’ chronic lag in reading performance, exacerbated by pandemic-induced learning loss. As of April 2024, 38 states have passed laws or implemented policies related to science of reading-based instruction, according to Education Week.

This movement has led to the development of more instructional materials related to phonics and phonemic awareness for use in the classroom. It has also started to spur marketers of consumer-focused educational books and toys to highlight phonics in their sales materials for existing products where relevant, as well as develop new products dedicated to the subject. Some licensed offerings are in the mix:

• Last month, artist Jeff Koons and Clever Noodle announced they had paired for a phonics-based reading game called Popped! The card game, which features Koons’ Balloon Dog, teaches essential reading skills using methods based in the science of reading, as well as encouraging a love of art and learning. The product is available initially through Amazon and the Clever Noodle website, where 10 games signed by the artist are also available for purchase for $2,500 each. Clever Noodle is a nonprofit startup specializing in educational children’s games.

• In January of this year, Pinkfong paired with LG for a dedicated Baby Shark Smart TV app featuring educational and music content in seven languages, including English. Available in 184 countries, the app is updated with new content every other week. Topics include phonics, as well as other subjects ranging from healthy habits to rhythm.

• Alphablocks, a U.K.-origin, phonics-based animated TV property that debuted in 2010 and has since expanded globally, is the focus of a new agency representation deal in Japan, announced in October 2023, as Blue Zoo Licensing partnered with Phoenixx Ltd. to handle both Alphablocks and its sibling brand Numberblocks in the territory. Master licensing agent Larkshead Licensing has signed licensees for Alphablocks in the U.K. market, including Pearson and Sweet Cherry for books and Giggly for stickers, stampers, and a reading program that comprises magazines, stickers, and letter tiles. Some are available to U.S. consumers through the BlocksShop direct-to-consumer e-commerce site. In 2021, the licensor signed Learning Resources and its sibling brand Hand2Mind as the global master toy licensee for Numberblocks, but Alphablocks was not included.

• Hasbro’s Learn with Peppa program, sold by master licensee Ladybird in the U.K. and by Scholastic in the U.S., is a multifaceted educational program for preschoolers that encompasses seven categories: My Body, Creativity, Math, English, Emotions, Our World, and Community. In the U.K., the program launched in 2022 with phonics books in five levels, followed by novelty, board, and activity books across all subjects, for a total of 80 digital and physical titles to start. In the U.S., where the program is more limited, the first title, 5-Minute Phonics, was released in May 2023. This is a new format for Scholastic that is also being married with other licensed properties including Pokémon and Gabby’s Dollhouse. Scholastic also offers a range of licensed phonics-learning kits, including Disney Learning Phonics box sets featuring Toy Story, Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Disney Villains, Disney Princess, and others; Trolls Phonics Fun and Pokémon Phonics boxed sets; and more.

• Several other publishers sell licensed phonics books and box sets as well. HarperCollins, for example, offers several under its I Can Read! brand, mostly tied to its classic publishing properties, many of which are supported by licensing efforts overseen by the authors and their teams. They include Fancy Nancy, Pinkalicious, The Berenstain Bears, Pete the Cat, Biscuit, and Little Critter. It also offers Batman Phonics Fun! as part of this line. Similarly, Random House offers several phonics box sets under its Step Into Reading brand, including licensed varieties such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paw Patrol, and Thomas & Friends, as well as phonics workbooks for the Learning with Dr. Seuss brand.

As these examples show, phonics is not a U.S.-centric phenomenon, but an important part of reading instruction in all English-language markets as well as in English-learning programs in other territories.

It should be noted that phonics and phonemic awareness have long been included as components of broader educational programs for consumers, of which licensed examples are proliferating, but without much fanfare. There have also long been phonics-centric products featuring licensed characters available for home use; some of the titles from the leading publishers mentioned in this post have been on the market for a while.

Watch for phonics to be called out more frequently in marketing materials supporting these initiatives, however, as well as being featured in more dedicated products, as the subject gains increased emphasis in U.S. schools and parents and caregivers look to such offerings to support their kids in learning to read.