What is an additional term that can describe the teaching approach that focuses on sounds and letter combinations?

The teaching approach that focuses on sounds and letter combinations is best described as phonics-based instruction. This method emphasizes the relationships between letters and the sounds they represent, which is essential for decoding words. In phonics-based instruction, students learn to recognize and manipulate these sounds and combinations, which aids in their reading and writing skills.

This approach typically involves systematic and explicit teaching of phonetic rules and patterns, allowing learners to understand how to sound out words, read fluently, and develop strong decoding skills. Phonics-based instruction is particularly effective for beginning readers, as it provides them with foundational skills that they can apply as they encounter new words in their reading.

The other terms mentioned, while related, do not specifically focus solely on sounds and letters. The whole language approach emphasizes understanding text and overall meaning, balanced literacy incorporates various methods including phonics but is more comprehensive, and analytic phonics involves analyzing whole words and their components rather than focusing on individual sounds and letters in a more systematic way. This distinction helps clarify why phonics-based instruction is the most fitting description of the approach that centers on sounds and letter combinations.