1. Phonological Awareness
What is it?
Why is it important to literacy acquisition?
LEER MAS Revised 2006

2. Phonological Awareness
The ability to recognize the sounds in spoken language and how they can be segmented (pulled apart), blended (put back together), and manipulated (added, deleted, and substituted).
Students who enter first grade with a limited awareness of the individual sounds (or phonemes) that make up words may have more difficulty in learning to read and write in an alphabetic language than those who have a stronger understanding of the sounds in words. This is true for English speakers as well as Spanish speakers and other second language learners.
Students with a high level of phonological awareness in Spanish appear to apply their knowledge of their first language as they learn English.
Students, while learning to read in their first language, also need to hear the sounds of the second language in order to make the transition to the second language in the appropriate time.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

3. Phonological Awareness Does Not Equal Phonics
Does not involve print
Involves print
Activities are auditory
Requires looking at print
Begins before students have learned a set of letter-sound correspondences by using manipulatives
Focuses on the representation of spoken language
Focuses on the sounds of spoken language
Helps students identify words in print by “sounding out” the phonemes, blending them together, and saying the word
Phonological awareness is the auditory recognition of the sounds of spoken language and how they can be combined, separated, and manipulated. It does not involve print. Although phonological awareness activities deal entirely with auditory skills, first grade teachers may have to present letters and print almost in conjunction with these activities to facilitate a timelier and stronger letter-sound relationship for their students.
Phonics is an instructional approach that focuses on how the sounds of spoken language are represented by letters and spellings. For example, the letter “m” represents the phoneme /m/. Teachers need to remember that in Spanish we introduce vowels first. Phonics involves print.
Phonics instruction can help children to understand sounds and their corresponding written symbols or letters, and to identify words by “sounding out” the sound represented by each written letter or letter combination, blending the sounds together, and saying the written word.
Phonological awareness and phonics are two related but different aspects of an early literacy program. Phonological awareness provides the basis for understanding the alphabetic principle. It lays the foundation for the systematic instruction in letter-sound correspondences that children will receive in kindergarten and first grade.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

4. Phonological Awareness Includes Phonological Awareness Includes
Rhyming
Alliteration
Sentence Segmenting
Syllable Blending and Segmenting
Onset-Rime Blending and Segmenting
Blending and Segmenting Individual Phonemes
In Spanish reading, the syllable is the pivotal point for early literacy development. Therefore, onset-rime must be considered within this context.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

5. Phonological Awareness Continuum
Blending and Segmenting Individual Phonemes
Phonemic Awareness
Onset-Rime Blending and Segmenting
Syllable Blending and Segmenting
Sentence Segmenting
Phonemic awareness represents the most complex level of phonological awareness on the continuum. Phonemic awareness is the manipulation and isolating of individual phonemes.
Rhyming/Alliteration
LEER MAS Revised 2006

6. Phonological Awareness Overview
Rhyming/Alliteration
Matching the ending sounds of words
Producing groups of words that begin with the same initial sound
Sentence Segmentation
Segmenting sentences into spoken words
Syllable Blending and Segmentation
Blending syllables to say words or segmenting spoken words into syllables
LEER MAS Revised 2006

7. Phonological Awareness Overview
Blending and Segmentation
Blending/segmenting the initial consonant or consonant cluster of a one syllable word (onset) from the vowel and consonant following the onset (rime) is rare in Spanish
Blending and Segmenting Individual Phonemes
Blending phonemes into words, segmenting words into individual phonemes, and manipulating phonemes in spoken words
Remember that in Spanish the syllable is pivotal.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

8. Guidelines for Teaching Phonological Awareness
Model each activity, especially when it is first introduced
Consider the number of syllables in a word
Provide many opportunities for practice with feedback
LEER MAS Revised 2006

9. Guidelines for Teaching Phonological Awareness
Include a range of different types of activities:
Start with easier activities that many students know
Extend the activities to the performance level of the students
Use concrete objects (such as counters, blocks, picture cue cards) to help students manipulate sounds. Slowly, transition away from the concrete to the abstract.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

10. Linking Phonological Awareness and Print
Phonological awareness instruction helps students make the connection between letters and sounds.
Phonological awareness, especially phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge, should be introduced early. In Spanish, the vowels are introduced first.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

11. Why is Phonological Awareness Important?
Focuses on the sounds of spoken language and how they can be blended, segmented, and manipulated
In Spanish, syllable segmentation and manipulation is essential
Provides the basis for understanding the alphabetic principle and lays the foundation for phonics and spelling
Has been identified as a strong predictor of later reading success
It is important to remember that many children acquire phonological awareness skills as they learn to read. However, other children may not acquire phonological awareness unless they receive additional instructional support.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

12. Student Expectations for Phonological Awareness
Prekindergarten (5)-The child
becomes sensitive to the sounds of words,
begins to identify rhyming,
begins to attend to the beginning sounds in words,
begins to break words into syllables, and
begins to create/invent words by substituting sounds.
K.6-The student orally demonstrates
dividing spoken sentences into individual words
identifying, segmenting, and combining syllables into words
producing rhyming words
identifying initial and final sounds of spoken words
blending sounds to make spoken words by moving manipulatives
segmenting one-syllable words into individual phonemes
1.6-Same as K.6 except “blending sounds to make spoken words by moving manipulatives” includes “including three and four phoneme words”
LEER MAS Revised 2006

13. Strategies and Activities to Develop Phonological Awareness
Expose students to poems, songs and nursery rhymes
Use rhyme, alliteration, and patterned texts
Play rhyming and alliteration games
Integrate activities throughout the curriculum
Trainer Notes:
Refer participants to “Guía de actividades”
LEER MAS Revised 2006

14. Monitoring Student Progress
Identify students who are having difficulty acquiring phonological awareness and who need more intensive instruction
Conduct brief, planned instructional assessments
Observe and note student’s interactions while talking, reading, and writing
Keep a portfolio of students’ work
Use checklists
Keep anecdotal records
LEER MAS Revised 2006

15. Monitoring Student Progress
In the Tejas LEE, phonological awareness is assessed in sections called
Rhyming,
Segmenting syllables,
Blending syllables,
Identifying initial sounds,
Blending phonemes, and
Omitting initial sounds.
The results of individually administered reading inventories help teachers make instructional decisions about children’s academic progress.
By assessing every child and analyzing children’s responses in reading inventories like the Tejas LEE, teachers are better able to plan instruction to help children acquire phonological awareness skills.
LEER MAS Revised 2006

16. Phonological Awareness
Prekindergarten
Kindergarten
First Grade
Rhyming Activities
Alliteration Activities
Sentence Segmenting Activities
Sentence Segmenting Activities with Print
Syllable Blending/Segmenting Activities
Syllable Blending/Segmenting Activities with Print
Onset and Rime Activities
Onset and Rime Activities with Print
Phoneme Blending and Segmenting Activities
Phoneme Blending and Segmenting Activities with Letters
In kindergarten, students should learn up through Onset and Rime and Blending/Segmenting. Not all kindergarten students will master the last level of Phoneme Blending and Segmenting Activities.
First grade instruction should focus on blending and segmenting parts of words, from syllables to words to phrases. For example, from ‘ma’ to ‘mamá’ to ‘Mamá me ama.’
Research shows that in first grade it is more beneficial for phonological awareness and phonics instruction to be presented simultaneously early in the year.
LEER MAS Revised 2006