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What is Phonological Awareness?
Phonological Awareness is the "conscious attention to the sounds of spoken language" (Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a). Phonological awareness encompasses knowledge of phonemes, syllables, and onset and rime.
With in phonological awareness, there are several subcategories. They are:
- Phonemes- the smallest unit of sound in a language; phonemes distinguish one word from another (Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a).
- Syllables- a unit of pronunciation consisting of a vowel alone or a vowel with one or more consonants (Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a).
- Onset- the consonants sounds that comes before a vowel (Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a).
- Rime- The part of the syllable that includes the vowel sound and any consonant sound that comes after it (Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a).
With in phonological awareness, there are several subcategories. They are:
- Phonetics- The visual representation of what a sound will look like.
- Phonemic Awareness- the ability to hear a sound, and know what letter it represents with out having a visual.
The following YouTube video explains in detail the concept and importance of phonological awareness. It also gives some suggestions for informal assessments to try with students.
Why is Phonological Awareness Important?
Phonological Awareness helps to determine reading achievement later in life. (McKenna & Stahl, 2009). A child's early phonological skills will help predict how well they will be able to read from third grade and beyond. When a child has difficulties in phonological awareness, they will normally have issues in reading.
Phonological awareness specifically aides the child or student in:
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
Phonological awareness specifically aides the child or student in:
- The ability to break down words into syllables or beats. This will help the child or student decode words.
- The ability to recognize and generate words that rhyme. This will help the child use known words to read new words.
- The ability to recognize and generate words that start and/or end with the same sound. This will help the child associate sounds with the letter that represents them.
- The ability to blend sounds into words. This will help the child or student sound out words on his own.
- The ability to segment words into sounds. This will help the child with spelling.
- The ability to move sounds around to create new words. This will help the child decode words.
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
How is Phonological Awareness Developed?
Phonological awareness develops in the following order:
Syllables and beats
Rhyming
Individual phonemes and sounds
Recognition
Generation
Beginnings of words
Endings of words
Middle of words
Blending
Segmentation
Moving sounds to create new words
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
Syllables and beats
- Combine syllables to say words
- Segment spoken words into syllables
Rhyming
- Recognize and generate rhyming words
Individual phonemes and sounds
- Ability to recognize and manipulate individual phonemes and sounds
Recognition
- Recognize individual sounds
Generation
- Ability to generate sounds in words
Beginnings of words
- Alliteration
Endings of words
- Rhyming the ends of words
Middle of words
- Finding similarities and differences in the middle of words
Blending
- Using the onset and the rime to blend the sounds together to say the word.
Segmentation
- Breaking apart words
Moving sounds to create new words
- Ability to change words and sounds to create new words
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
Assessments for Phonological Awareness
Informal
One way to informally assess phonological awareness is to play rhyming games, read stories and as you read draw out the sounds of different letters or even sing the alphabet with sounds, instead of letters!
The following YouTube video is a Sound Blending activity that parents and teachers can use with their students:
One way to informally assess phonological awareness is to play rhyming games, read stories and as you read draw out the sounds of different letters or even sing the alphabet with sounds, instead of letters!
The following YouTube video is a Sound Blending activity that parents and teachers can use with their students:
The Garden City Library in Garden City, Nebraska offers these informal assessments (video found on YouTube):
Formal Assessment
This assessment tests a student's ability to accurately record a specific dictated sound. The tester will read the words in a story slowly and have the student record each sound that they hear (Michigan Department of Education Early Literacy Committee, 2001).
This assessment tests a student's ability to accurately record a specific dictated sound. The tester will read the words in a story slowly and have the student record each sound that they hear (Michigan Department of Education Early Literacy Committee, 2001).
mlpp_hearingrecording-sounds-a.pdf | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
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This formal assessment tests the phonemic awareness of the student by using rimes and onsets. This assessment lets teachers know specifically what a child knows about phonemes and how sounds create words (Michigan Department of Education Literacy Committee, 2001).
mlpp_phonemic-awareness-a.pdf | |
File Size: | 57 kb |
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Instructional Strategies to Address Phonological Awareness
There are many different strategies that teachers and parents can use to aid in phonological awareness.
1. Songs
2. Books
3. Word games
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
•
- Rhyming words
- Rhyming blanks
- Phonemic manipulation
2. Books
- Books
- Poems
- Tongue Twisters
- Rhymes and rhyming poems
- Rhyming
- Alliteration
- Phonemic manipulation
3. Word games
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
•
Multimedia Resources for Phonological Awareness
This link demonstrates the core standards for English Language Arts. These are foundational skills for students.
http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards/reading-foundational-skills/kindergarten/
The next couple of YouTube videos are from PBS Between the Lions Series. This series promotes reading through short songs that students can use to discover phonemic blending, phonemic awareness, rhyme and syllables.
http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards/reading-foundational-skills/kindergarten/
The next couple of YouTube videos are from PBS Between the Lions Series. This series promotes reading through short songs that students can use to discover phonemic blending, phonemic awareness, rhyme and syllables.
Additional Journals, Articles, and Power Points for Phonological Awareness
Articles and Journals (PDF)
kindergarten_teachers_develop_phoneme_awareness_in_low_income_inner-city_classrooms.pdf | |
File Size: | 1587 kb |
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first_grade_teachers__knowledge_of_phonological_awareness_and_code_concepts.pdf | |
File Size: | 325 kb |
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phonological_awareness_vocabulary_and_reading_in_deaf_children_with_cochlear_implants.pdf | |
File Size: | 315 kb |
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Articles and Journals
Bruck, Maggie. (1992). Persistence of dyslexics' phonological awareness deficits. Developmental Psychology, 28(5), Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com
Frohlich, L, Koglin, U, & Petermann, F. (2010). Relationship between phonological awareness and behavioral problems in preschool children. U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 38(4), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Fr%C3%B6hlich%20LP%22[Author]
Lundburg, Ingvar, Frost, Jargon & Peterson, Ole-Peter. (1988). Effects of an extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23(3), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/748042
Bruck, Maggie. (1992). Persistence of dyslexics' phonological awareness deficits. Developmental Psychology, 28(5), Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com
Frohlich, L, Koglin, U, & Petermann, F. (2010). Relationship between phonological awareness and behavioral problems in preschool children. U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 38(4), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Fr%C3%B6hlich%20LP%22[Author]
Lundburg, Ingvar, Frost, Jargon & Peterson, Ole-Peter. (1988). Effects of an extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23(3), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/748042
Power Points
Holdgreve-Resendez, R. T. (2010). Phonological Awareness. Extracted from www.angel.msu.edu on September 29, 2010. Phonological Awareness.
phonological_awareness.ppt | |
File Size: | 363 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
References
Blachman, B, Ball, E, Black, R, & Tangel, D. (2009). Kindergarten teachers develop phoneme awareness in low-income, inner-city classrooms does it make a difference?. Reading and Writing, 6(1), Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/v687984268704n10/ doi: 10.1007/BF01027275
Brady, S, Gillis, M, Smith, T, Lavalette, M, & North, W. (2009). First grade teachers’ knowledge of phonological awareness and code concepts: examining gains from an intensive form of professional development and corresponding teacher attitudes. Reading and Writing,22(4), Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/jw768g75314484u5/ doi: 10.1007/s11145-009-9166-x
Holdgreve-Resendez, R. T. (2010). Phonological Awareness. Extracted from www.angel.msu.edu on September 29, 2010. Phonological Awareness.
Dow, R.S., & Baer, G.T. (2007). Self-paced phonics: A text for educators. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Johnson, C, & Goswami, U. (2010). Phonological awareness, vocabulary, reading in deaf children with cochlear implants. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Reasearch, 53. Retrieved from http://jslhr.highwire.org/cgi/content/abstract/53/2/237
McKenna, M. C., & Stahl, K. A. D. (2009). Assessment for reading instruction, second edition. New York: Guilford.
Michigan Department of Education Early Literacy Committee. (2001). Michigan Literacy Progress Profile. Lansing, MI: Department of Education.