Phonemic Awareness = Literacy Success

Drew D. Gerdes

Early Childhood Director

Messiah Lutheran School

Weldon Spring, Missouri

CID/SID Educator’s Conference

October 2014

How do many teachers teach young children do read?

Alphabet recognition

Read books

Games

Worksheets

Manipulatives

Phonics

What else?

But First…

First teachers need to set a solid foundation for

reading success…

This is done through Phonemic Awareness!

What About Phonemic Awareness?

What is it not? 1. A skill 2. The ability to

recognize what letters match specific sounds…this is phonics

3. Handwriting of the different alphabetic letters

Phonemic Awareness is… the ability to: 1. Hear the sounds

that make up the words

2. See relationships between sounds

3. Alter and rearrange sounds to create new words

Phonics vs. Phonemic Awareness…The Differences

Phonics Focuses on and

associates sounds to written symbols (the letter s makes the sound of /s/)

Assumes or requires knowledge of written alphabet

Builds on a child’s ability to segment and blend together sounds heard…this is why Phonemic Awareness instruction must happen first!

Phonemic Awareness Focuses on sound units

(phonemes) only Does not require previous

alphabet knowledge…but assists

Builds on the ability to makes a connection between sounds and speech

Is sequential…spoken words, then syllables, onsets/rimes, and finally individual sounds in a word

Definitions:

Onset: All of the sounds in a word that come

before the first vowel (in “splint”…the onset is “spl-”)

Rime: (not rhyme ) The first vowel in a word and all the

sounds that follow (in “splint”…the rime is “-int”)

Why Utilize Phonemic Awareness Instruction?

For a child, many times a word is heard as just one big sound (Fitzpatrick, 1997)

Sounds (or phonemes) are abstract in nature

Phonemic Awareness predicts reading success (IRA Position Statement, 1997)

Bridges the gap between inadequate preparation for literacy and success in beginning reading (Fitzpatrick, 1997)

Children Who Have Phonemic Awareness:

Come to school having been read toKnow some letter names (not required)Can track print!Know some meaningful words (own names, McDonalds, Toys-R-Us)Model their knowledge of nursery rhymes, traditional children’s songs, chants, rhyming books (Dr. Seuss)

In Simple Terms, Phonemic Awareness Is Taught Through…

Nursery Rhymes

Tongue Twisters

Words Games

Clapping Words

Silly Sentences

The Classroom Learning Environment

A Print-Rich Checklist:

Provide books and a variety of writing materials throughout the classroom

A Print-Rich Checklist

Have print in each Learning Center Signs Directions Posters Labels

www.preschoolprintables.com

A Print-Rich Checklist

Provide students with a variety of different writing materials Pencils, pens Colored pencils, crayons,

markers Stencils Paper punches Rulers Envelopes Stickers

A Print-Rich Checklist

Print displays are changed on a regular basis

Bulletin boards:

1. Theme Related

2. Ask a question

3. Accountability

A Print-Rich Checklist

Songs & Poetry around the room Nursery Rhyme

Chart Reading curriculum

charts Posters

Nursery Rhyme ChartCommercially made or Handmade

A Print-Rich Checklist

Provide comfortable places for the children to read and write

The Reading Loft

Ideally, when should Phonemic Awareness be taught?

In infancy!!!

Speaking to a child not yet born is important

Music, voice (both mother and father), soothing sounds

Repetition & Rhyme

True Story!!!

Shirley K. Morgenthaler, Concordia- ChicagoFather read Seuss In Utero to his yet-to-be-born childAfter birth, grandma comes to visit (child has not yet heard grandma’s voice)Another relative is holding child, but grandma begins to read Seuss In UteroAt only 1 week old, child recognizes the familiar rhyme and rhythm of book and focuses intently on grandma reading the book!

Classroom Instruction in Phonemic Awareness

Multi-leveled and progresses through 5 sequential stages:1. Rhythm and Rhyme2. Parts of a Word3. Sequence of Sounds4. Separation of Sounds5. Manipulation of Sounds

Extending Phonemic Awareness into Written Language

Having become accustomed to hearing letter sounds, moving into written letter combinations and sentence formation can be challengingTo ease this transition, children should be “overly exposed” to print!Before children can understand the “alphabetic principal”, they need to understand letters are more than just random symbolsIn each Stage of Phonemic Awareness, print must also be used and modeled!

Level 1: Rhythm & Rhyme

Within this level children:Develop an ‘ear’ for languageListen for and detect syllables within wordsListen for matching soundsGain greater auditory discrimination I refer to this level as the “exposure” level

Level 1 Activity

Rhyming WordsThis 1st level highly stresses rhyming and same/similar-sound knowledgeSay pairs of words and ask children to

identify those that rhyme fox/box, bear/chair, horse/house, etc…Multi-level – have more advanced students

determine a new rhyming word on their own Can you think of a word that rhymes with book?

Level 1 Activities

Tongue Twisters Peter Piper picked a

peck of pickled peppers. Each time the children

hear the /p/ sound, have them touch their nose

Use the cloze format, leaving off the ending word…the children can choose something else that begins with the /p/ sound

Nursery Rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb Clap out the syllables

and rhythm while saying the nursery rhyme

Put strong emphasis on the beginning sound of each word

Level 1 – Rhyme Away

Using specified story page, draw picture on boardRead text and have children erase as indicatedMulti-level…omit the word and have children guess what is to be taken away

Playing the Game!!

Text for Rhyme Away Game

Level 1 – Draw A Rhyme

Reverse of Rhyme AwayRead text and children volunteer to draw parts necessaryCould done as a group or individuallyMulti-level

Text for Draw A Rhyme Game

Level 1 – Hink Pink

What is hink pink? It really is a literacy term!!! A pair of rhyming words that answer a riddle

What do you call a chubby kitty? Fat cat What do you call a crying father? Sad dad What do you call a desk that doesn’t fall down? Stable

table What do you call a rabbit who tells jokes? Funny bunny

Level 1 Tools – What could a teacher use in Level 1

instruction?Nursery Rhyme Chart

Rhythm Instruments

Alphabet Books

Book Buddy Bags

Encourage the reading of rhyming books at home

Books on tape/CD which are sent home with students

Can add in other surprises…

So many opportunities for learning!!

Book Buddy Bags1. Canvas bag

2. Book with tape/CD

3. Journal

4. Instructions/Tips for Parents

(a copy is included in your packet !)

Book Buddy BagsIdea from the Building Blocks Literacy Model

Adapted by Mr. Gerdes

3-4 of them, depending on your class numbersSent home on Monday; must be returned by FridayWe don’t look at Journal Entries until Friday…this way children are encouraged to keep them for the entire week; children are more likely to reread them several timesSpecial Bonus!! Parents get to see the work of other children, too!!

Level 1: Simon Says Sounds

This game is played best with partnersGive each group of children a set of alphabet cardsPlay Simon Says using commands such as: Simon Says touch the /f/

letter with your thumb Simon says put the letter

Tt on your shoe Simon Says place the /s/

letter on your head

Notice the different colors of game cards; it’s a management technique!

Level 1 – Simon Says Sounds

Simon Says to hold up the letter that makes the /t/ sound.

Simon Says to put the letter that makes the /z/ sound on your nose.

Level 2: Parts of a Word

Within this level children:Listen for sounds within a wordExperiment with oral synthesis…blending

sounds together to form spoken wordsDiscover that speech can be broken down

into smaller “sound units”Words to syllablesSyllables to onsets and rimesOnsets and rhymes to phonemes

Level 2 – Break It In Half

Used with 2-syllable wordsPantomime holding the word with two hands (crayon)Say the 1st syllable as you move your left fist up and away with palm upwardSay the 2nd syllable as you move your right fist up and away with palm upward

Level 2 – Turtle Talk

This activity helps children stretch out words to hear how the phonemes blend together

As children slowly say a word, they move their turtles from left to right

Could also use rubber band, slinky, etc.

Level 2 – Pop Up People

Volunteers sit in front of the class

Teacher secretly tells volunteers the sounds

Volunteers “pop up” and say their sound…slowly at first and then faster

Children blend the sounds together and guess the word

Keep your sound a secret!!!

Level 2 - Pop Up People

Have the children say their assigned sound

Other children put sounds together and guess the word

More Pop Up People…

Hand out picture cards to the childrenTarget a specific phoneme, at the beginning, middle, or endChildren who have a picture with that phoneme stand upTrade picture cards with a friend!!!

It’s fun to watch the children “monitor” the cards of others!

More Pop Up People…

Popping up!! Look at your picture!

Level 2: Letter Patterns

This is to be used as a visual scanning activity only…not for word families yet at this levelMake a page of many words, 3 phoneme words work bestChildren can look for a specific letter pattern and circle it…use a highlighter!Change the desired letter pattern often

***Remember…this is a visual activity only…multi-level

Level 2: Picture Puzzles

Can be bought or handmade

Very popular…you probably already have some in your own classroom!

Multi-level…something for children of all academic levels!

Level 3 – Sequence of Sounds

Within this level children: Identify where a sound is heard in a word

(approximation) beginning, middle, endListen for sounds (phonemes), which can

be made by more than one letterShift from having difficulty sequencing

sounds…words are not just one big soundLearn to isolate sounds and hear them

separately

Level 3 Teaching Tips

Begin simply; identify only one target sound (letters/phonemes/blends, etc.)Children do not have to know the names of the alphabet letters to master this levelThe emphasis here is on listeningMulti-level…something for those beginning and those more advanced

Level 3 – What Big Ears You Have!!

Using Mickey Mouse ears to emphasize the importance of listening to soundsChoose a sound /d/ and say the verse: Listen, listen loud and

clear What’s the first sound

that you hear? Doggie, dolly, dark, and

daddy Tell me, tell me, what you

hear

Could also be done with middle and ending sounds

Level 3 – Where’s That Sound?

Use a “wiener dog” cutout to emphasize the length of a word

Use 3-phoneme words and an extra craft stick to locate the target sound

Beginning, middle, or end of a word

1. Can be done with any type of picture (picture card, magazine, drawing, etc.)

2. Think of interesting pointers!

3. Beginning stage of word segmentation.

Level 3: Picture Spelling

Make “consonant picture cards” with sentence strips for beginning and ending soundsUsing picture cards, have the children determine which category to sort the card inCan be done with any target sound (single, onset, rime, etc.)

Can be done in so many ways!!

Level 3: Penny Push

Make your own “Penny Push” card

Use a variety of picture cards with varying numbers of phonemes (multi-level)

Children push a penny into a box for each phoneme heard

Use any kind of picture!

Makes a great individual learning center!

Level 3 Teaching Tools

Some of the following types of teaching tools may be introduced during Level 3 Instruction:

Mystery Word Builders Manipulative Reading Games

(from Lakeshore) (from Lakeshore)

Level 3: Word Walls

In all reality, an entire early childhood classroom should be a word wall…print should be everywhere

Some teachers like specific alphabetic Word Walls…this is a fine addition to a classroom! Listing of A-words, B-words, etc… Environmental Print Boards & Books

www.hubbardscupboard.com Check for Environmental Print Links…

Level 3: Environmental Print Boards & Books

Books…easy to make and change!

Boards…fun to collect items!

Level 4: Separation of Sounds

Within this level children:Become more comfortable with counting

the number of phonemes in a wordAre able to acoustically divide words Identify individual sounds within a word

(phoneme segmentation)Some children can easily identify isolated

sounds, but they cannot break them into separate phonemic components

Level 4 Teaching Tips

Before attempting to split apart and identify individual phonemes, have children sound the number of sounds in a word

Say words s-l-o-w-l-y and “tap out” the phonemes heard

Repeat SOUNDS and not letter names!!

Level 4: I Spy

Choose a collection of picture cardsHave the children identify “spied” objects according to your phoneme clues I spy an object with 3

sounds 1st sound is /b/ Last sound is /k/ It rhymes with “look”

Multi-level as children can play on their own in groups

Level 4: Put It Together, Take It Apart!

Use Unifix cubes or other snap-type blocksLink sounds together to say the word, and take them apart of identify individual phonemesLink in phonics…children are able to see which letter is connected to each phoneme

Commercially-made products are also available

Level 5: Manipulations of Sounds

Within this level children: Substitute beginning, middle, and ending sounds

of a word (phoneme substitution) Omit beginning, middle, and ending phonemes

(deletion) Greatly expand their knowledge of families (-at, -

ip, -ot, etc.) Become more confident with their reading and

writing abilities…they are using their previous background knowledge

Level 5 Teaching Tips

This is the highest level of phonemic awarenessFirst work with beginning sounds…sequential instruction…then middle and ending soundsA child’s ability to manipulate phonemes strongly correlated with success in beginning reading acquisitionUse Silly Songs and Playing With Words techniques

Level 5: Zippity-Bippity

A “piggyback” song to Zippity-Do-DahUses substitution of beginning phonemes…in this example /b/: Bippity-bo-bah, Bippity-bay My, oh my, what a wonderful day Plenty of sunshine coming my way Bippity-bo-bah, Bippity-bay

Mippity-mo-mah, tippity-to-tah, etc…Another great song is “Apples & Bananas”…this focuses on vowel phonemes…serves same purpose

Level 5: Change A Letter

Using letter cards, have the children make different words by manipulating lettersCan use a specific Word FamilyInvolved with whole class…multi-level Some will experience

early phonemic awareness while others make the transition to phonics!

Level 5: More Change A Letter…

As children move around with different phonemes/letters, new words are made

Talk about real words vs. nonsense words

Level 5 Teaching Tools

Many teaching tools are available…use what you are comfortable with…use what your class enjoys!!

Level 5 Websites

www.starfall.com

www.rhymesandsongs.com

www.nellieedge.com

Teaching Phonemic Awareness Book

Resources:Phonemic Awareness Activities

Building Blocks Literacy Model

In Conclusion…

Have fun teaching!

Remember…phonemic awareness first, then phonics will follow!

Contact Information:

Drew D. Gerdes

Early Childhood Director

Messiah Lutheran School

Weldon Spring, Missouri

dgerdes@messiahnetwork.org

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Let me know your ideas!

Ask a question anytime, too!