Which approach refers to teaching phonics based on previously learned sight words?

The correct approach described in the question is analytic phonics. This method is centered on teaching phonics through the analysis of previously learned sight words. In analytic phonics, students begin with familiar words and break them down to understand their phonetic components. This strategy allows learners to see how letters and sounds work together within the context of words they already recognize, making it easier to grasp new words and the phonetic principles behind them.

The approach contrasts with synthetic phonics, where students learn to sound out and blend the individual sounds of letters to form words from the onset, often beginning with isolated phonemes and then blending them together. Whole word phonics is typically focused on recognizing whole words as units rather than analyzing their smaller parts, which is not the focus of the analytic phonics method. Contextual phonics refers to teaching phonics within the context of reading and writing activities rather than isolated practice, but it does not specifically relate to previously learned sight words in the same way that analytic phonics does.