What method of teaching reading emphasizes teaching sounds within words that are then combined into words?

The method of teaching reading that emphasizes teaching sounds within words and then combining those sounds to form words is best described by synthetic phonics. This approach focuses on the individual sounds (phonemes) in words and teaches students to blend these sounds together to read words.

Synthetic phonics is systematic and explicit, guiding students through the process of decoding by first breaking down words into their constituent sounds before they learn to combine those sounds to read. This method is beneficial in helping learners understand the relationship between phonemes and graphemes, making it easier for them to tackle unfamiliar words independently.

Other methods, like the whole language approach, focus on understanding text through context and meaning rather than breaking down individual sounds. Analytic phonics, on the other hand, teaches children to analyze entire words and break them down into sounds rather than focusing on the construction of sounds into words. While both might aid in reading development, they do not emphasize the same phonetic blending foundational to synthetic phonics.