FACT SHEET
Reading is a complex activity. Phonological awareness is at the
beginning of learning how to read. Classroom teachers and specialists
must collaborate to deliver instruction in phonology and other language
skills because:
- Written language problems stem from earlier oral language problems
that are often first treated by speech-language specialists.
- Many preschool and kindergarten children with oral language
impairment are dismissed from speech therapy caseloads after reaching
their targeted oral language goals only to be re-labeled later
as reading disabled.
- Increasing numbers of students with mild early oral language
problems present reading, writing and spelling problems in second,
third and fourth grades when early intervention is not effective.
- Phonological awareness is a critical prerequisite for acquisition
of reading and spelling.
Phonological processing is the ability to remember, separate, blend,
and manipulate speech sound. It figures prominently in both specific
and generalized language disabilities. Phonological processing difficulties
include retrieving and using phonological codes in memory, problems
storing this information, and deficits in phonological awareness
and possibly speech production.
PHONOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES AT THE WORD LEVEL
1. Counting words.
Directions to the student: "We are going to count words.
How many words do you hear in this sentence (or it could be a
phrase)? Someone has been eating my porridge."
2. Identifying a missing word from a list.
Directions to the student: "Listen to the wards I say: =MY,
road, hungry, spoon, mama. Tell me which one I leave out when
I say the list again (leave ‘road’ out)”.
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS ACTIVITIES AT THE SYLLABLE
LEVEL
1. Syllable counting
Directions to the student: `We are going to clap syllables. ‘Bean’
has one syllable so we clap once. ‘Beanstalk’ has
two syllables so we clap twice, etc."
2. Syllable deletion.
Directions to the student: "We are going to delete or leave
out syllables or parts of words Say `beanstalk' and now delete
or leave out stalk, etc."
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS ACTIVITIES AT THE PHONEME
LEVEL
1. Initial sound matching
Directions to the student: "Listen to the word 1 say and
then guess which ward begins with that sound. Which word begins
with ‘b’? Dog, cat, bird, wolf Continue in this way.
Note: Give letter sound, not the letter name. Use pictured items
if you need to.
2. Blending sounds in monosyllabic words divided into onset-rime
beginning with single consonant and rime as ‘h + ot’
Directions to the student: "l am going to say a word very
slowly. You put these sounds together to make the ward as c +
oat = coat or m + an = man, etc."
LDA Early Childhood Committee
December, 2002 |
