Mark Gil R.
Calamian GED 115
Feb Hyacinth Paglinawan
Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Part II
Phonological awareness is a wide-ranging skill set that encompasses
recognizing and working first with larger units of sounds in spoken language
and then smaller units, from the word level to the syllable level, and finally to
the onset and rime level.
It's the foundation of early reading and involves several tasks, including:
Rhyming: Recognizing words with similar ending sounds, such as "cat" and
"hat."
Alliteration: Identifying repetition of initial sounds in words, like "Silly Sally
sings songs."
Sentence Segmentation: Breaking down sentences into individual words.
For instance, the sentence "The cat is black" can be segmented into "The,"
"cat," "is," and "black."
Syllable Segmentation: Dividing words into syllables. The word "banana"
can be broken down into "ba-na-na."
Onset and Rime: Splitting the beginning sound (onset) from the rest of the
word (rime). In "cat," "c" is the onset, and "at" is the rime.
Each of these skills should be taught systematically to build from simple to
more complex. These tasks coupled with phonemic awareness are essential
to a child's ability to decode words and understand the sound structures of
language, setting the stage for successful reading development. Encouraging
activities that promote phonological awareness, such as reading rhyming
books and playing sound games, can greatly enhance a child's literacy skills.
Phonemic awareness focuses on the smallest sound units in language—
phonemes. It's about hearing, identifying, blending, segmenting, and
manipulating these individual sounds in words. Mastering phonemic
awareness is crucial for learning to decode and encode, which in turn helps
learners read and spell. Key tasks include:
Phoneme Isolation: Picking out a single sound in a word. For instance,
identifying the /b/ sound in "bat."
Phoneme Blending: Combining individual sounds to form a word. For
example, blending /c/, /a/, /t/ to say "cat."
Phoneme Segmentation: Breaking a word down into its constituent sounds.
For example, breaking "dog" into /d/, /o/, /g/.
Phoneme Deletion: Removing a sound from a word to create a new word.
For instance, removing the /s/ sound from "stop" to get "top."
What Is the Difference Between Phonological Awareness and Phonemic
Awareness?
While both involve understanding and manipulating sounds in language, they
are distinct concepts.
Phonological Awareness is a broad skill that includes recognizing and
working with sounds within the larger units of sound. It covers activities such
as rhyming, alliteration, segmenting words, syllable blending and deletion,
onset-rime blending, and segmenting.
Phonemic Awareness is a more specific subset of phonological awareness
as it focuses on the smallest unit of sound in language, the phoneme. It
focuses on the child's ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes.
Skills include isolating, blending, segmenting, and manipulating individual
phonemes.
Strategies for Using Literature to Develop Phonological and Phonemic
Awareness
Interactive Read-Alouds
Engage students by reading aloud and encouraging them to participate.
Pause to emphasize rhyming words, alliterations, and repetitive phrases. Ask
predictive questions about sounds and words to stimulate thinking and
participation.
Sound Manipulation Activities
After reading, involve students in activities where they identify and
manipulate sounds from the story. For example, ask them to generate new
rhyming words or substitute initial sounds to create new words, enhancing
their phonemic manipulation skills.
Incorporate Music and Movement
Many of these books have a rhythmic quality that can be complemented with
songs and physical activities. Clapping hands, tapping feet, or using musical
instruments to match the beat can reinforce syllable segmentation and rhythm
recognition.
Recommended Books:
1. "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
This lively alphabet book introduces letters with rhythmic, rhyming text,
making it engaging for young readers. The repetitive and musical nature of
the story helps children recognize letter names and sounds, enhancing their
phonemic awareness.
2. Sheep in a Jeep" by Nancy E. Shaw
Filled with playful rhymes and humorous scenarios, this book captures
children's attention while highlighting phonological patterns. The use of
simple, repetitive language aids in reinforcing sound recognition and rhyming
skills.
3. Fox in Socks" by Dr. Seuss
Known for its tongue-twisting rhymes, this classic challenges children to
listen closely to sounds and word endings. It's an excellent resource for
practicing sound discrimination and phonemic awareness in a fun, interactive
way.
References:
https://www.learninga-z.com/site/resources/breakroom-blog/phonologicbooks
%20that%20al-awareness-vs-phonemic-awareness-explained?
srsltid=AfmBOopT9SpmzvyKs4FovuypGKFlDrrEZj-tAdWcEtlS4GX6t7AAk10K
https://www.theliteracynest.com/2017/10/the-top-6-picture-books-for-building-
phonological-awareness
