Getting a head-start on the the new school year with a series of posts on Phonological Processing and Awareness skills; explicit knowledge of language's sound structure.
Phonics involves the connection between letters and sounds in written language, while phonemic awareness relates to sounds forming words.
The National Reading Panel describes phonemes as the basic elements of spoken language. Phonemes unite to create words and syllables. Many studies confirm that phonemic awareness and letter knowledge strongly influence children's initial reading progress in school.
Phonological awareness involves recognizing and tapping into the sound patterns of language. Spoken words are built from sequences of phonemes that convey distinct meanings. Understanding how altering these sequences changes meanings is vital for literacy growth. Without understanding the sequence of sounds in words, connecting sounds to written symbols becomes challenging for students.
Phonological processing involves utilizing sound details of spoken language to comprehend written language. Abilities in phonological processing strongly predict reading abilities. Key aspects like phonological awareness, memory, and naming significantly impact the acquisition of written language skills.
To address the pressing question: Phonological memory involves phonetically processing and storing information temporarily in short-term memory. Challenges in phonological memory may affect the acquisition of new vocabulary and decoding lengthy words.
Given my focus on students with significant disabilities, I frequently engage in special education settings where literacy instruction primarily centers around sight word acquisition.
Yet, focusing solely on sight words proves too limiting. Memorizing every needed word is impractical, leaving students unprepared to tackle new or challenging vocabulary. This deficiency in reading a broader range of words contributes to a growing disparity in reading abilities.
The focus areas in phonological awareness training usually include recognizing and distinguishing initial, final, and medial sounds in words; manipulating sounds to create new words; comprehending and generating rhyme and alliteration; counting syllables; blending sounds and syllables; and segmenting sounds and syllables.
Have you wondered about the SLPs involvement in phonological awareness? SLPs diagnose and enhance language and literacy skills, reinforcing our critical role in literacy education as recognized in recent laws. We persist in tackling language-related barriers in literacy education, extending beyond vocabulary learning.
Breaking down Phonological Awareness skills into 5 components, I will cover these skills:
- Rhyme - the capacity to identify and create rhymes
- Word Construction - skill to blend, segment, and remove syllables in words
- Sound Sequencing - identifying initial and final sounds in words
- Sound Separation - blending, segmenting, deleting sounds in words
- Manipulation - capacity to replace or insert sounds in words
The sequence of skills starts with blending, followed by segmenting, counting, and lastly deleting. Stay tuned for more details in the upcoming posts.
Share with me, what reading foundation activities do you enjoy the most?
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