Phonological Awareness Part 1 Dr. Steven Rosenberg. Education 573 University of Bridgeport Fall, 2012

Emergent Readers/ Beginning Stage 1 Phonological Awareness Education 573 University of Bridgeport Steven Rosenberg, Ed.D. 2Literacy How, Inc.

Consensus Definition of Reading At a general level, reading is a process of getting meaning from print using knowledge about the written alphabet and about the sound structure of oral words for purposes of achieving understanding. “Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children” 1998

Theory: Since English has an alphabetic system of writing (i.e. the characters, or letters, represent individual sounds (phonemes), the ability to analyze the sound (phonemic) structure of words will increase reading achievement.

Since letters represent sounds (or phonemes), the novice needs to first be able to consciously listen to (and analyze) the sound (phonemic) structure of syllables and words.

Oral Language is Transparent The focus of the speaker and the listener is on the message/communication and not on the structure of the language in the same way as the focus of the viewer is on the view outside and not on the transparent pane of glass they are looking through.

Learning oral language does not require conscious attention; it is part of our genetic inheritance. (In the same way learning to walk is learned unconsciously.)

Written Language is Opaque When glass is opaque, the viewer must pay attention to it and can not focus on the view outside. In the similar way, the beginning reader/writer (at times) must be able to consciously attend to the structures of language and not to its communicative functions.

That is, in order to learn to decode and spell words, the learner’s attention must shift from the meaning of the message to the structure(s) of the language.

The learner who is unable to analyze oral words into phonemes would need to memorize the letters in their selected order in order to decode and spell words because they would not be able to apply letter-sound relationships or even understand why they are learning letter-sound relationships in the first place..

The ability to consciously analyze words into phonemes allows the beginner to understand why he is learning the relationships between letters and sounds. He can then apply knowledge of letter-sound relationships to pronounce and spell (or at least approximate the pronunciation and spelling of) words he has never seen before. It is a strategy that allows them to learn new words independently.

Why is the oral word /c a t/ spelled with the letters “c” “a” ”t,” and in that order? Why not: tac ? or cta ? or xyz? or wxhgtvlmn?

The oral word /cat/ is spelled With the letters “c,” “a,” “t” (in that order) because the oral word /cat/ is composed of the oral sounds (phonemes) /c/, /a/, and /t/ in that order.

A beginning reader who can consciously attend to all the sounds (phonemes) in the oral word /cat/can understand the reason why the written word “cat” is spelled with the letters “c,” “a,” “t.”

Beginning readers/writers can understand the reason they are learning that sounds (phonemes) represent letters, only if they can consciously attend to/analyze oral words into sounds (phonemes).

What are the top two predictors of a kindergarten student’s success in learning to read in first grade? 1. Amount of television watched 2. Amount read to at home 3. Phoneme segmentation ability 4. Ability to recognize alphabet names and shapes 5. Prediction of former Kindergarten teacher 6. Score on oral vocabulary test 7. Whether or not student attended preschool 8. Ability to decode made-up words

And the winners are: 1. The best predictor of success in first grade reading is being phonemically aware; the ability to identify, consciously, individual sounds (phonemes) in words. 2. The second best predictor is knowledge of letter names.

Phonological Awareness Phonemic awareness is only one type of phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is the most difficult/advanced type of phonological awareness

Since learning to analyze words into phonemes may be too difficult for many/most children entering kindergarten, it is best to start (on the basis of assessment) with easier phonological tasks such as syllable awareness (i.e. the oral word /dinosaur/ has three “parts” or syllables; /di/ /no/ /saur/) and/or identifying and producing rhyming words (i.e. /no/, /go/ /so/, /jo/).

Phonological awareness tasks can be done with the eyes closed.

Is Phonological Awareness the same as Phonics?...NO Phonics is the relationships between letters and phonemes. Phonics is the mapping of each sound to a letter or group of letters. It is the instruction of sound-symbol relationships (the code). ABC’s

Phonological Awareness Phonological Sensitivity Phonemic Awareness

What is Phonological Awareness? Phonological awareness is t he conscious awareness of the sound structure of language: -Rhyme and alliteration (cat/fat; Peter Piper picked) -Syllable segmentation (Ro /sen/ berg) -Onset/rime (c at; st ep) -Identification of the initial sound in words (map, mat, milk) -Phonemic awareness (m-a-t; s-t-e-p)

What is Phonemic Awareness? Most sophisticated/difficult skill under the umbrella of phonological awareness. Begins when an individual can identify the initial sounds in words. The awareness that words can be broken into individual speech sounds. Continues in sophistication until an individual can identify all the speech sounds in a word (full PA grade one 5 phonemes -think ‘blast’)

Common Misunderstanding Phoneme awareness will develop spontaneously and is a by- product of reading...

Reality supported by research Phoneme awareness is: -A necessary prerequisite of decoding (or phonics) and spelling instruction -Very predictive of future reading success, but it must be taught first -Different from broader phonological awareness skills -Different from phonics

National Reading Panel Report

The National Reading Panel concluded that… “teaching children to manipulate phonemes in words was highly effective under a variety of teaching conditions with a variety of learners across a range of grade and age levels and that teaching phoneme awareness (PA) to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to phoneme awareness.”

What does the research tell us about phoneme awareness? 1.Phonemic Awareness can be taught and learned 2. Phonemic Awareness helps children: learn to decode and spell

What does the research tell us about phoneme awareness? 3. Phonemic Awareness instruction is most effective when it focuses on only 1 or 2 types of manipulation; segmenting and blending 4. Phonemic Awareness is most effective when it is teamed up with the letters of the alphabet (as soon as possible)

Research tells us PA instruction should: 1. Be explicit and systematic, incorporating previously taught material into subsequent levels 2. Use engaging activities that give the child an active role in discovering the sounds

Research tells us PA instruction should: 3. Provide concrete representation of sounds (blocks, mouth pictures, etc.) 4. Link directly to letters of the alphabet ASAP to be most effective. 5. Small group instruction is most effective

The Importance of Phonemic Awareness Phonemic awareness is the prerequisite knowledge necessary for phonics or code instruction.

Is there a developmental sequence of phonological awareness skills? Yes!

Levels of Phonological Awareness Word Awareness Rhyme Awareness Syllable Awareness (segmentation & blending) Awareness of Initial Consonant Sounds Alliteration Onset-rime Awareness (segmentation & blending Phonemic Segmentation Phonemic Blending (synthesis) Phonemic Manipulation (addition, deletion, substitution) Level 1 Easiest Level 2 Level 3 Hardest Dechant

Rhyme Word Awareness The idea that sentences are made up of strings of words. 1.Present orally :“John eats.” Tell student the sentence has two “words.” 2.Present visually with each word on a separate card: Johneats Have students count the words

John eats

Rhyme : The part of the syllable that contains the vowel sound and the sounds that come after it. Instruction : Begin with words that end with a vowel name (i.e. the vowel says its name – or long sound.) Emphasize the final sound: I am going to say some words in a silly way. “nooooooooo, soooooo, those words rhyme.” Have student repeat in a silly way. Prompt (if necessary) by providing the initial sound: “I’m thinking of a word that rhymes with “no” “mmmm______”

Rhyme Instruction Have students use hand held mirrors to watch the shape of their mouth as they say final sound.

Rhyme cont’d After open syllables: me, shoe, pie, etc. proceed to cosed syllables: /cat/, /pig/, /hop/, /run/, etc.

“ C aaaat’” “h aaaat” “Those words rhyme.”

Sorting Words by Rhyme

Syllable Segmentation It is easier to become consciously aware of parts of words (i.e. syllables) than it is to become consciously aware of individual phonemes. The syllable is the basic unit of speech production. We speak syllable by syllable and not sound by sound

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Syllable Segmentation Instruction Have students use hand held mirrors to watch their jaw drop for each syllable.

Syllable Segmentation Have them represent the syllables for words in their oral vocabulary. (i.e. After a trip to the zoo, have them represent the number of syllables in the names of the animals.)

Syllable Segmentation Have students use hand held mirrors to watch their jaw drop for each syllable.

/Ro//sen/ /berg/

/Ro//sen/ /berg/

/Ro/ /sen/ /berg/

/Ro//sen/ /berg/