reading, spelling and comprehension, regardless of their socioeconomic status (SES). However, disabled readers did not benefit in spelling. The report clearly specified that the most effective manner of teaching PA was to include it with letters and the manipulation of phonemes (i.e. segmenting and blending with phonics), rather than limiting it to speech. Phonics instruction The NRP reviewed 38 studies on the teaching of phonics and found that teaching children the relationship between letters and spelling patterns and pronunciation and how to decode words improved reading achievement. Young children who received such instruction did better with decoding words, nonsense words, spelling, fluency, and reading comprehension. Older disabled readers also benefited from such instruction in terms of improvement in decoding, but without commensurate gains in spelling or reading comprehension. Systematic phonics instruction — that is instruction based on a planned curriculum — was found to be superior to more opportunistic versions in which teachers tried to teach what they thought students needed. There were no statistical differences between synthetic phonics programs in which each letter sound is taught versus analytic phonics that analyzes the sounds within complete words. Finally, the panel emphasized that "phonics should not become the dominant component" and "should be integrated with other reading instruction to create a balanced reading program". Oral Reading Fluency The NRP analyzed 16 studies showing that teaching oral reading fluency led to improvements in word reading, fluency, and reading comprehension for students in grades 1–4, and for older students with reading problems. Instruction that had students reading texts aloud, with repetition and feedback led to clear learning benefits. Encouraging Students to Read The panel analyzed the published research on the effects of encouraging students to read. Most of the studies of this focused on the practice of sustained silent reading, in which teachers makes books and time available for students to read on their own without interference, interruption, or teacher involvement. There is a widely held belief that if teachers encouraged students to engage in voluntary reading it would lead to better reading achievement. Unfortunately, the panel found that research "has not clearly demonstrated this relationship". In fact, the few studies in which this idea has been tried "raise serious questions" of its efficacy. Vocabulary and Comprehension Strategy Instruction Comprehension instruction includes several factors including vocabulary instruction which is a key to learning the connection between oral speaking, reading and writing, and comprehension.