Phonemic Awareness
Featured FAQs
Question:
I have a student who has trouble blending phonemes. Any suggestions?Answer:
Mastering phonemes is the gateway to reading. Though some children begin recognizing sound-symbol patterns just through exposure to books, many children need direct instruction in this area. The following articles may give you some good ideas for helping your student:
Question:
What is the best order in which to introduce letters and their corresponding sounds?Answer:
Many people feel that the most natural way to introduce the alphabet and the letter sounds is to go straight from A to Z, but there is a more logical and systematic way that introduces letters based on the type of sounds that they make. The following article suggests which letters to introduce first as well as activities that help students learn the phonemes:
Question:
What strategies and programs do you recommend for teaching phonics and early literacy skills to preschoolers?Answer:
Although we cant recommend specific reading programs, the following article lists the characteristics that all good reading programs should have:
These next articles will give you information about early reading instruction and suggestions for helping your students develop the interest and skills to become lifelong readers:
- Beginning Reading
- Learning to Read, Reading to Learn
- ABCs of Phonemic Awareness
- Tuning In to the Sounds in Words
- Making Friends with Phonemes
- Phonemic Awareness in Young Children
- How Now Brown Cow: Phoneme Awareness Activities for Collaborative Classrooms
This last article is geared toward parents but offers ideas for fun games to play with your students:
Question:
My child is 18 months old and is not yet speaking, but understands commands and responds to directions. What can I do to help her develop her language skills?Answer:
Each child develops language at her own rate. Typically children say their first word around one year of age and then slowly acquire more words. Some children can say around 70 words at 18 months, however others take longer to get started. The key is that your child's receptive language, meaning what she understands, is not delayed. A typical child at 18 months can follow directions, point to a number of pictures in books, point to objects/people in their environment when asked, and point to several body parts.
Reading to your child makes the biggest difference in language development and future reading skills. Also, imitate and expand on your daughter's attempts to speak. If she says, "Uh-oh," you say, "Uh-oh, we spilled the milk!" If she still isn't talking by her second birthday, talk with your doctor and consider an evaluation by an early intervention specialist. This may ease your concerns if you continue to have them.
Check LD OnLine's Speech & Language and Early Identification sections for more information.
Also see the Reading Rockets section on developmental milestones for speaking and reading.
Question:
How can I help my son practice blending sounds as he reads?Answer:
You can do a lot to help your child practice. One way is to use modeling to introduce these skills. As you read to your child, sound out some of the words before you say them completely. Also, you can make a game to practice blending. Give your child a picture (e.g. a cat) and have him sound out the name while placing marbles, drawing marks, or tapping their fingers for each of the individual sounds in the word (e.g., /c/.../a/.../t/ is composed of 3 sounds, thus the child would use 3 marbles, marks, or taps.) You can also practice counting syllables by clapping or using your fingers to tap out the number of different sounds, or phonemes, in a word.
Once he can do this, have him practice sliding the sounds together. Check out the following segment of our Launching Young Readers series which models this very skill:
- Reading 101: Phonemic Awareness (Click on "Watch video clip")
As your child continues to develop as a reader, the best thing you can do as a parent is to support him and give him many opportunities to practice.
Question:
Do all dyslexic children have a weakness in the phonological area?Answer:
Our work with other researchers, especially Robin Morris and Jack Fletcher, on examining subtypes of reading problems has demonstrated that a phonological weakness is present in 90% of all struggling readers. Phonological problems may be associated with problems in other areas such as memory as well. A small group of children may demonstrate problems in rate alone and not in phonology. These results are for young children; we are now working on an adolescent study to see if the same is true for this group of older children.
— Dr. Sally Shaywitz
