LEER MAS Revised 2006 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).

LEER MAS Revised 2006 3

Phonological Awareness Does Not Equal

Phonics

Phonological Awareness 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

LEER MAS Revised 2006 4

Phonological Awareness Includes

• Rhyming

• Alliteration

• Sentence Segmenting

• Syllable Blending and Segmenting

• Onset-Rime Blending and Segmenting

• Blending and Segmenting Individual Phonemes

Phonological Awareness Includes

LEER MAS Revised 2006 5

Phonological Awareness Continuum

Rhyming/Alliteration

Sentence Segmenting

Syllable Blending and Segmenting

Onset-Rime Blending and Segmenting

Blending and Segmenting Individual PhonemesPhonemic Awareness

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

• 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

Phonological Awareness Overview

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

LEER MAS Revised 2006 12

Prekindergarten Kindergarten First Grade

(5) Phonological

Awareness

K.6

1.6

Student Expectations for Phonological Awareness

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

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

• Rhyming,• Segmenting syllables,• Blending syllables,• Identifying initial sounds,• Blending phonemes, and• Omitting initial sounds.

In the Tejas LEE, phonological awareness is assessed in sections called

LEER MAS Revised 2006 16

Phonological Awareness

Rhyming Activities Rhyming Activities

Alliteration Activities Alliteration Activities

Sentence Segmenting Activities

Sentence Segmenting Activities

Sentence Segmenting Activities with Print

Syllable Blending/Segmenting

Activities

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

Prekindergarten Kindergarten First Grade