PHonological Awareness

With

Increasing

Sophistication

PRE

• Instruction in phonological awareness involves helping children examine and manipulate phonemes in spoken syllables and words. It is essential that students are able to recognize that words are made up of specific sounds, and that these sounds can be changed to make other words.
• Ensure students understand:
  • Rhyme
  • Initial, Medial and Final Sounds
  • How to listen to sounds
  • Syllabication – or the rhythm of words such as spaghetti vs. dog
  • Blend – that words are made of separate sounds, which when blended together, make a whole word
  • Letters of the alphabet by name from its sound

DURING

• Rhyme – ensure the words that rhyme are from same word families to avoid confusion.
• Model sounding out words while pointing to letters that have been spaced apart (blending).
• Using a pocket chart, or a circle graphic organizer, have students sort word cards into groups of rhyming words.
• Same sounds – say three words that have the same beginning sound eg. Dog, dip, doe – ask what sound is the same.
• Say a word, (e.g. rat). Ask students what is the first, middle or last sound. Can they think of words that rhyme? What does the word become if the “r” changes to an “h”? What happens when that word has an “m” on the end? You will want to print this out, modeling the sound changes.
• Segmentation – have students clap syllables while saying words (e.g. Spa-ghe-tti) or segment their name on their arm – lower arm being first syllable, mid arm – mid syllable, and so on.
• Say words, “Cat, Car and Rat”.  Repeat these words, but have students clap on the word that doesn’t rhyme.
• Have students write the word “tip” then change it to “ lip” and then list other words with the same word endings (groups of rhyming words).
• Sound (Elkonin) Boxes – Provide students with three tiles or unifix cubes to make words with letter/ sound relationships. Ensure letters are segmented properly before blending together (word families are a great start). As you teach, have the students spell the words with the cubes. For example, c / a/ t would be “spelled” with three different colored cubes. (Note* – This should only be taught when you are certain students understand how to listen, rhyme, and know that words are made of letters and that sentences are made of words).
• Once the above are understood, then students can start spelling predictable words (three letter, short vowel, word families are recommended).
• Read a lot of books with rhythm and rhyme (e.g. Dr. Seuss, poems, chants and songs).
• Use picture cards or sets of objects for initial and final sound isolation (e.g. find all the objects that start with a /s/ sound).
• Model segmenting words into syllables by holding your hand below your chin to feel each syllable as you say the words.

POST

• Frequent assessment of individual students identifying letters by sound in terms of segmenting, deleting, substituting or blending.
• The teacher is to monitor how students are listening to separate sounds in words by having students blend predictable three letter words.
• Consider building on the ideas suggested in the “during” section to embed understanding.
• Play rhyming games with children using predictable groups of rhyming words, chant the words.
• Reread Dr. Seuss books until the child can correctly predict the rhyming word.

RESOURCES TO SUPPORT OVERALL DEVELOPMENT

• Wide range of reading materials that support rhyme
• Adams, M et al. (1998). Phonemic Awareness in Young Children. Toronto: Irwin Publishing
• Yopp, H. K., & Yopp, R.H. (1997). Oo-pples and Boo-noo-noos: Songs and Activities for Phonemic Awareness. Harcourt Brace
• Reithaug, D. (2009) Three Tiers of Instruction and Intervention for Reading. West Vancouver, BC: Stirling Head Enterprises Inc., p. 211-231
• Heggerty Program
• UFLI