Literacy Lunch Phonemic Awareness

Definition: the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. (auditory skill) Phonemic Awareness is a subcategory of Phonological Awareness. Phonological Awareness includes rhyming and syllables in addition to phonemic awareness skills. Why is this skill important? Phonemic Awareness improves a child’s word reading, comprehension, spelling abilities, and writing abilities.

Phonemic Awareness How is it taught? 5-10 minutes daily in small group instruction/whole group instruction/ or through literature How is it assessed? First Sound Fluency (2 (+) times a year) Example at the end of the presentation Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) 2 (+) times a year In reading groups

Auditory Memory Auditory memory is the ability to keep orally given information in memory long enough to recall and use the information. Student keeps segmented sounds in memory and blends them back together to form the word. (supports writing) /p/ /a/ /n/ /t/ = pant /f/ /i/ /n /= fin Student cannot keep segmented sounds in memory and blend them back together to form the word. /p/ /a/ /n/ /t/ = pan /f/ /i/ /n/ = fun

Auditory Memory Training Keeping a sequence of items in order: Repeat the following words in the order that I say them: bread, doll, run monkey, book, hall, rain glass, trip, alligator, van, sandwich Chains: write a sequence of words that change one sound at a time. Students: Say the old & say the new Tap the old & tap the new Identify the change and move a tile Keeping segmented sounds in memory long enough to blend them back together. What word is: /c/ /a/ /t/ /b/ /a/ /th/

Phonological/Phonemic Awareness Activities 80 – 90% of struggling readers have deficiencies in phonological or phonemic awareness. ComponentSkillActivity Word Identify and change words in a sentence Push an object for each word in a sentence, walk one step for every word in a sentence Syllable Identify and manipulate syllables in a word Clap, tap, or move an object for each syllable within a word Onset-rime/rhymingRecognize, identify, and produce words that rhyme Ask what word rhymes with “hat” and give two or three choices. Ask what word rhymes with “hat” and ask the student to generate a word. Phonological Awareness Phonemic Awareness: ComponentSkillActivity IsolationHears individual sounds in words What is the first sound in cat? /c/ Identification Hears the same sounds in different words What sound is the same in fan, fill, and fog? /f/ Categorization Recognize the word in a set that does not belong based on a rule What word doesn’t belong? sat, sing, did (did) Blending Can blend a series of sounds into a word What word is /p/ /i/ /g/ (pig) Segmentation Can break a word into its individual sounds What are the sounds in mat? /m/ /a/ /t/ Deletion Can state the word that remains after a sound (phoneme) is deleted What is cat without the /c/? (at) Addition Can state the word made by adding a sound (phoneme) to an existing word Say top, now add an /s/ to the beginning. What is the new word? (stop) SubstitutionCan substitute one sound (phoneme) for another to make a new word Say bus. Say it again and change /s/ to /n/. What’s the new word? (bun) Source: pg 188 of I’ve DIBEL’d Now What?

Read the rhyming books emphasizing the rhyming words. You could also read the first word in the rhyme and ask students to predict what the second rhyming word is. Differentiated rhyming instruction for Second Language Learners, students of varying reading skill, and for younger learners Use pictures instead of words in activities for younger and lower level readers Include oral rhyming activities. (finish the sentence... The pot is (hot). Playing in the sun is (fun).) Include a writing activity for more advance learners. Read pairs of words and have your child identify if they rhyme: 1.shade fade2. end rug3. best nest 4. live dive5. box line6. gas clown 7.cold mold 8. sit pit Read pairs of words and have your state an additional word that rhymes: 1.big, pig2. hat, mat3. pot, not 4. sun, bun 5. pet, get

Phonemic Awareness with Picture Support: Using a series of pictures, ask your child to answer a question using a verbal response or pointing to the picture. Examples are as follows: Which picture begins with /t/? (sound not the letter) Which picture begins with /d/? Which picture begins with /p/? What sound does banana begin with? (Student states the sound-not the letter)

Phonemic Awareness How can I help my child? Support your child’s use of Lexia Read books with rhyme or alliteration Play rhyming games Do the activities on the monthly Activity Calendar Try activities from the handout