Which practice supports decoding in the basal reader approach?

• A. Exactly controlling vocabulary items.
• B. Included use of enlarged "big books".
• C. Precise control of word analysis skills.
• D. Utilization of word and picture cards.

Answer: (C)

Explicit instruction in how letters map to sounds and how to blend those sounds into words builds decoding skills. In the basal reader approach, teachers guide students through precise word analysis—phoneme-grapheme relationships, blending, and segmenting—so learners can decode unfamiliar words as they read. That focus on targeted word-analysis practice directly trains the decoding process, making it the best fit for supporting decoding.

Enlarged big books help with print exposure and fluency during shared reading, but they don’t by themselves provide the systematic decoding practice that explicit word-analysis work offers. Focusing on vocabulary items supports meaning, not the mechanics of decoding. Word-and-picture cards can aid recognition and context, yet without the structured, progressive word-analysis instruction they don’t deliver the same targeted decoding practice as explicit analysis of word structure and sounds.