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First Cycle: Phonemic Awareness and Decoding

(Phonics Instruction)


Essential Element 1: PHONEMIC AWARENESS

Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words
(phonemes
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) and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of
sequences of speech sounds. t is sometimes called !phonological awareness"# though
there is a slight difference between the two concepts# because phonological
awareness is an inclusi$e term that describes an awareness of all levels of the sound
system used for speech including words# syllables# rimes# and phonemes.

%Phonemic awareness is not phonics.
%Phonemic awareness is auditory and does not necessarily in$ol$e words in print

E&amples of Phonemic Awareness 'kills:
%'egmentation: (ow many sounds can you hear in mop)
*irst sound isolation: +hat is the first sound you can hear in mop)
% ,ast sound isolation: +hat is the last sound you can hear in mop)
%'egmentation (complete): +hat are all the sounds you hear in mop)
%-lending: (.eacher sounds out
/
the word m-o-p ) +hich word can you hear if say m0
o0p)
1ne of the most compelling and well0established findings in the research on beginning
reading is the important relationship between phonemic awareness and reading
acquisition.


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A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word. *or e&ample# the word cat is made up of three
phonemes (or three sounds): 2c2 2a2 and 2t2. .he word fish is also made up of three phonemes (or three
sounds) e$en though fish has four letters: 2f2 2i2 2sh2.

/
'ounding 1ut: .he process of saying each sound that represents a letter in a word without stopping
between sounds.
/

Phonemic awareness is essential to learning to read in an alphabetic writing system#
because letters represent sounds or phonemes. +ithout phonemic awareness# phonics
makes little sense.

Phonemic awareness is fundamental to mapping speech to print. f a child cannot hear
that 3man3 and 3moon3 begin with the same sound or cannot blend the sounds
2rrrrrruuuuuunnnnn2 into the word 3run3# he or she may ha$e great difficulty
connecting sounds with their written symbols or blending sounds to make a
word.

Phonemic awareness is a strong predictor of children who e&perience early reading
success. 3.he best predictor of reading difficulty is the inability to segment words and
syllables into constituent sound units (phonemic awareness)3.
'trengthening a child4s phonemic and phonological awareness in$ol$es helping them
to recogni5e# single out# and manipulate letters.
'ome of the acti$ities that specifically address phonemic awareness are: saying
rhymes# identifying the onset and rime in spoken words and syllables# hearing and
isolating indi$idual sounds in words# connecting words that sound alike and words that
sound different# blending and segmenting words# making new words by deleting or
substituting phonemes# and attending to sounds of words in stories# songs# poems# and
rhymes. n a phonemic awareness lesson# the teacher pro$ides a brief# e&plicit lesson
on an auditory discrimination# phonemic awareness# or phonological awareness
principle.
.he most reliably effecti$e approach is always through a systematic and explicit
instruction.

Essential Element /: DECODING (PHONICS INSR!CION"

6ecoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter0sound relationships# including
knowledge of letter patterns# to correctly pronounce written words.

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8nderstanding these relationships gi$es children the ability to #e$o%n&'e fam&l&a# (o#ds
)u&$*ly and to f&%u#e out (o#ds they haven+t seen before.

Phonics is the relationship between a specific letter and its sound# only as it relates to
the written word. Phonics is used# for e&ample# when a reader comes across an
unknown word. +ith knowledge of phonics# s2he can try to read the word by focusing
on the specific sound of each letter or combination of letters.
*or e&ample# if a child does not recogni5e the word chant# he might break the word
apart into pieces# such as 2ch2 2a2 2n2 2t2 (or 2ch2 2a2 2nt2# or 2ch2 2ant2)# assigning an
appropriate sound to each separate letter or combination of letters. .hen# the child
combines those sounds to create the word chant.

Phonics instruction in$ol$es teaching children the relationships between letters and
indi$idual sounds (phonemes)# and teaching them that there are systematic and
predictable relationships between written letters and spoken words.

Phonics is taught e&plicitly with sounds# letters# and words in isolation# and through
the use of meaningful te&t (phonics decodable books). .he alphabet is considered to
be a basic tool of the reader and writer# and many children ha$e incomplete
knowledge of letter0sound correspondences. .he teacher first assesses the letter0
sound correspondences the children do know# and works to increase their knowledge.

.he teacher starts with simple words and letter0sound associations familiar to the
children# and progresses to less predictable sound patterns and their spelling. .hrough
e&plicit lessons# the children learn to identify letters# to associate phonemes with
letters# and to use phonics principles when reading and writing. 9hildren do e&ercises
with indi$idual words# which they sort by sounds and letters. .hey create personali5ed
alphabet books# write letters on a $ariety of surfaces# and work e&tensi$ely with
magnetic letters# which children en:oy manipulating. .he teacher keeps careful records
of the children4s progress to determine the sequence of instruction.

;

-efore# during# and after reading selected te&ts# the teacher brings children4s attention
to sound0spelling patterns using magnetic letters or white erase boards. .eachers
demonstrate phonics principles when teaching the children how to spell words. .he
children use their phonics knowledge when reading aloud and when writing words#
sentences# and longer te&ts.

'ource <eferences:
http:22www.learningpt.org2pdfs2literacy2components.pdf
http:22www.nhpirc.org2files2*i$e=/>elements=/>of=/><eading=/>.ip=/>'heet.pdf
http:22www.cde.state.co.us2coloradoliteracy29,*2EightElements?>10*i$e9omponents.htm