1. Grade 1: Phonemic Awareness
Comments or conclusions do not necessarily represent the positions of the U.S. Department of Education, and endorsement by the Federal Government should not be assumed.
These materials are copyrighted © by and are the property of the Texas Education Agency and the University of Texas System and may not be modified, reproduced, or distributed without their written permission, except by educators under the following conditions:
any portion modified (a derivative work), reproduced, or distributed will be used exclusively for non-profit educational purposes;
any use will credit the source by including the following: “This publication is based on First Grade Teacher Reading Academy, ©2002 University of Texas System and the Texas Education Agency, which has been reprinted and modified with their permission.”; and
no monetary charge is made for the derivative or reproduced materials, any document containing them, or any activity at which they are distributed; however, a reasonable charge to cover only the cost of modification, reproduction, and distribution may be charged.
The material in this Institute has been modified from the Florida version of the original reading academies that were developed by the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts. The copyright to these materials is held by the Texas Education Agency.
The copyrights of individual articles included within the academies is held by the original publishers of the articles, and they are included here with permission.

2. Survey of Knowledge Alphabetic principle Phonological Awareness
Handouts 1 & 2
Activity
Alphabetic principle
Phonological Awareness
Phonemes
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Onset
Rime
Materials:
Handout 1: “Survey of Knowledge: Phonemic Awareness”
Handout 2: “Answer Key – Survey of Knowledge: Phonemic Awareness”
Chart paper or blank slide
Marker
Activity: Survey of Knowledge
Objective: Become familiar with the terms and definitions associated with phonemic awareness

3. Phonemic Awareness Phonemic awareness involves:
segmenting – pulling apart words into sounds
blending – putting sounds back together
manipulating – adding, deleting, and substituting these sounds
Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in spoken words
/ m / / a / / p /
1st phoneme nd phoneme 3rd phoneme
Materials:
4 pennies
Demonstration Activity: Phonemes
Objective: Examine phonemes in spoken words and how phonemes are represented by single letters or combinations of letters in written words.

4. Phonemic Awareness Phonemic awareness involves:
segmenting – pulling apart words into sounds
blending – putting sounds back together
manipulating – adding, deleting, and substituting these sounds
Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in spoken words
/ m / / a / / p /
1st phoneme nd phoneme 3rd phoneme
Materials:
4 pennies
Demonstration Activity: Phonemes
Objective: Examine phonemes in spoken words and how phonemes are represented by single letters or combinations of letters in written words.

5. Components of Effective Reading Instruction

6. North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Activity
Competency Goal 1:
The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
1.01 Develop phonemic awareness and demonstrate knowledge of alphabetic principle:
Count syllables in word
Blend the phonemes of one-syllable words
Segment the phonemes of one-syllable words
Change the beginning, middle, and ending sounds to produce new words
Materials:
North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Highlighter
Activity: North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Objective: Become familiar with state curriculum standards that address phonemic awareness.

7. What We Know From Research
Phonemic awareness instruction improves students’ understanding of how the words in spoken language are represented in print
Phonemic awareness instruction helps all young students learn to read
Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when students learn to use letters to represent phonemes
Phonemic awareness instruction also helps preschoolers, kindergartners, and first graders learn to spell

8. Phonological Awareness Continuum
VIDEO
4:31
Handout 4
Type
Description
Examples
RHYME
Matching the ending sounds of words
cat, hat, bat, sat
ALLITERATION
Producing groups of words that begin with the same initial sound
ten tiny tadpoles
SENTENCE SEGMENTATION
Segmenting sentences into spoken words
The dog ran away.
SYLLABLES
Blending syllables to say words or segmenting spoken words into syllables
/mag/ /net/
/pa/ /per/
ONSETS AND RIMES
Blending or segmenting the initial consonant or consonant cluster (onset) and the vowel and consonant sounds spoken after it (rime)
/m/ /ice/
/sh/ /ake/
PHONEMES
Blending phonemes into words, segmenting words into individual phonemes, and manipulating phonemes in spoken words
/k/ /a/ /t/
/sh/ /i/ /p/
/s/ /t/ /o/ /p/
Materials:
Video (TIME – 4:31)
Handout 4: “Continuum of Phonological Awareness”
12 Phonological Awareness Activity Cards – 1 set per table
Sticky notes
Activity: “Phonological Awareness Continuum” Video
Objective: Identify activities featured in the video that address phonemic awareness.
Activity: Phonological Awareness Activity Cards
Objective: Determine the type of phonological awareness addressed in different activities along the continuum.

9. Rhyming, Alliteration, and Sentence Segmentation
Rhyme
Is the match between ending sounds of words
Alliteration
Focuses attention on initial phonemes
Sentence Segmentation
Helps students to understand that sentences are composed of separate words that are spoken in a particular order to convey meaning
Materials:
Five counters
Phonological Awareness Activity Cards

10. Syllable Blending and Segmentation
Syllables
Blending syllables together to form words and segmenting words into syllables
Materials:
Phonological Awareness Activity Cards

11. Onset-Rime Blending and Segmentation
Initial consonant or consonant cluster or consonant digraph
Rime
Vowel and consonants that follow the onset
Materials:
Phonological Awareness Activity Cards

12. Phoneme Blending and Segmentation
Listening to a sequence of individual sounds and combining them to pronounce a word
Segmenting Words into Phonemes
Breaking a word into its individual sounds

13. Say It and Move It Handout 5 Activity Materials: Five counters
Handout 5: “Say It and Move It”
Handout 6: “Using Elkonin Boxes”
“Say It and Move It” cards
Activity: Say It and Move It
Objective: Practice phonemic awareness using manipulatives to segment words into phonemes and to blend phonemes into words.
Handout 5
Activity

14. Phoneme Manipulation Manipulating Phonemes in Words
Working with phonemes (adding, deleting, or substituting them)
Materials:
Phonological Awareness Activity Cards

15. Grouping for Instruction
Teach phonemic awareness in small groups.
Small-group instruction may be more effective because students benefit from listening to their peers and having more opportunities to participate.

16. Explicit, Systematic Phonemic Awareness Instruction
Focus on types of phonemic awareness most closely associated with beginning reading and spelling achievement by linking phonemes to print
Explicitly teach phonemic awareness, and regularly schedule instruction
Handouts 7 & 8
Activity

17. Explicit, Systematic Phonemic Awareness Instruction (cont.)
During a lesson, target only one type of phonemic awareness, such as blending phonemes or segmenting words into phonemes
Begin with easier activities and progress to more difficult ones
Model each activity
As soon as possible, help students make the connection between letters and sounds to read and spell words
Materials:
Handout 7: “Modeling Phonemic Awareness and Letter-Sound Knowledge”
Handout 8: “Phonemic Awareness and Print Lessons Lesson One”
Dry-erase boards
Dry-erase markers
Activity: Phonemic Awareness and Print
Objective: Become familiar with lessons that help students make the connection of sound to print as they blend, segment, and manipulate phonemes.

18. Ongoing Practice in Phonemic Awareness
Handout 9
Provide opportunities to practice phonemic awareness with teacher support.
When students practice sounds along with the letters of the alphabet, they learn to blend sounds to read words and to segment sounds to spell them.
Materials:
Handout 9: “Literacy Lessons”
Activity: Literacy Lessons
Objective: Become familiar with ways to scaffold instruction during phonemic awareness lessons.

19. Phonemic Awareness and Phonics
Handout 10
Phonemic Awareness =
Phonics
Phonemic awareness instruction focuses students’ attention on the sounds of spoken words
Phonemic awareness instruction helps children make the connection between letters and sounds
During reading and spelling activities, children begin to combine their knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics
Materials:
Handout 10: “Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Chart”

20. Phonemic Awareness + Print
Many phonemic awareness activities can be adapted to help students make the connection between letters and sounds.
Materials:
Video (TIME – 3:59)
Handout 12: “Phonemic Awareness Activity Cards”
Activity: “Linking Phonemic Awareness to Print” Video
Objective: Summarize why it is important to link phonemic awareness to print in first grade.
Activity: Plus Print
Objective: Apply knowledge of linking print to phonemic awareness by adapting a phonemic awareness activity to include print.

21. Consider Diversity: Limited English Proficient Students
Capitalize on native language ability
Teach blending, segmenting, and manipulating individual phonemes and syllables
Accept oral approximations
Focus on words students already know

22. Taking a Closer Look
Phonemic awareness instruction is addressed in different types of published programs.
Comprehensive core reading programs
Supplementary phonemic awareness programs
Materials:
Teacher’s Editions of reading programs
Chart paper
Markers
Tape
Activity: Reading Programs
Objective: Examine reading programs to determine how phonemic awareness instruction is addressed.

23. Progress Monitoring: Phonemic Awareness
Progress monitoring of phonemic awareness helps to:
Verify
Identify
Recognize
The results of individually administered reading inventories such as DIBELS can help you make informed instructional decisions.
Handout 14
Materials:
Handout 11: “Phoneme Segmentation Fluency”
Handout 13: “Phonemic Awareness Progress Check”
Handout 14: “Guidelines for Teaching Phonemic Awareness”
Activity: Guidelines
Objective: Review the guidelines for teaching phonemic awareness.

24. Remember . . .
Phonemic awareness “ provides children with essential foundational knowledge in the alphabetic system. It is one necessary instructional component within a complete and integrated reading program.”
-National Reading Panel, 2000, p. 8
“Adding well-thought-out phonemic awareness instruction to a beginning reading program is very likely to help your students learn to read and spell.”
-National Institute for Literacy, 2001, p. 9