Empowering Early Readers: Phonological Awareness in the Classroom
Phonological awareness is the ability to hear, recognize, and manipulate the sounds in spoken language. It includes skills such as identifying rhyming words, recognizing when two words begin with the same sound (also known as alliteration), and segmenting words into syllables or onset-rimes.
The most advanced phonological awareness skill is phonemic awareness which refers to the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds, or phonemes, in spoken words. It involves skills such as isolating the first or last sound in a word, segmenting words into their individual sounds, and deleting or substituting phonemes to form new words.
Why is Phonological Awareness Important?
Phonological awareness, especially at the phoneme level, is essential for learning to read and spell, and similar to alphabet knowledge, is one of the strongest predictors of later literacy development (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). Children with strong phonological awareness skills understand that spoken words are made up of smaller sound units and are able to easily identify and manipulate them. Without this understanding, children may struggle to decode words, which can ultimately hinder their ability to read fluently and comprehend.
Preschool Phonological Awareness Activities
In preschool, phonological awareness instruction typically focuses on rhyming words, alliteration & beginning sounds, as well as compound words, syllables, and onset-rimes. Below are some activities that you can try out in your classroom to help your students develop these essential skills!
Rhyming:
Alliteration/Beginning Sounds
Compound Words, Syllables & Onset-Rimes
References: National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Washington DC: National Institute for Literacy.
Literacy Specialist
