Building a Foundation for Reading
Valarie Algee, M.Ed.
Phonological awareness is a vital indicator as to how well a student will learn to read, write, and spell. This seemingly simple declaration has been extensively researched for years and is currently widely acknowledged. However, you may be asking yourself, "What is phonological awareness and how does it affect my struggling reader?"
Phonological awareness is a foundational part of language and refers to the awareness of and the ability to manipulate the sound units of words. In other words, it is the understanding that words are made up of sounds, coupled with the ability to "play with" those sounds. It includes the concept of rhyme (e.g., cat and sat), alliteration (e.g., Silly Simon sat sideways.), syllabication (e.g., the word "elephant" is made up of three syllables, "el-e-phant"), as well as onset and rime (e.g., in the word "read," "/r/" is the onset and "/ead/" is the rime). Phonemic awareness is also included under the phonological awareness umbrella, but is a much more specific term referring to the ability to hear and manipulate the smallest sound units in words (i.e., phonemes). For example, the word "fish" has three phonemes, which include /f/-/i/-/sh/. Although, the word "fish" is spelled with four letters, the final phoneme, /sh/, is represented by both the "s" and the "h" together. As a side note, phonics is the linking of sounds to letters (e.g., the /sh/ sound is represented by the letters "s" and "h"), and is a skill dependent upon solid phonological awareness. Students who are phonemically aware can identify and articulate the three separate sounds in the word "run" (e.g., /r/-/u/-/n/) and can, in turn, blend the phonemes /r/-/u/-/n/ together to create the word "run".
According to research, phonemic awareness has the strongest relationship to reading, in that a student who has not developed the ability to hear and manipulate the individual sounds units in words will likely have difficulty learning to decode (and encode) text. Although many students seem to gain this ability effortlessly and almost magically, a large number do not and, as a result, end up reaching a standstill as they learn to read. Phonological awareness, in fact, is not an innate skill and often requires direct, explicit, and repeated instruction. The good news, though, is that it typically responds well to this type of training, showing marked improvement over a period of time.
It is important to note that struggles with phonological and phonemic awareness are not the only hurdles to reading. Attention, sequential ordering, memory, and vocabulary are all areas that may also play a role in a child's reading difficulties. However, if phonological processing is the determined stumbling block for your student, following are some activities that may develop and support his or her ability to understand how words work:
- Read books that include rhyme and word play (e.g., The Hungry Thing by Jan Slepian, Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss, Each Peach Pear Plum by Allan Ahlberg).
- Play "Round up Rhymes" after reading with your child, helping your child to locate all of the rhyming words in the book (e.g., sat, splat, flat).
- Clap syllables (e.g., yes-ter-day = clap, clap, clap). Have your child figure out which of two words is the longer (i.e., has more claps).
- Find the word that does not belong with the other first sounds (e.g., horse, happy, sister). When identifying the target word, your child could say a fun catch phrase such as, "Sister, you're outta here!).
- Take turns with your child substituting the first sound in a word to make a silly word and see if you can figure out what you are each trying to say (e.g., "I would like to have a fanana for snack.").
- Say a word in pieces and have your child blend the parts to figure out the word (e.g., tell your child that you're going to the /p/-/ark/, or when setting the table, ask your child to bring you two /f/-/or/-/k/-/s/).
- As a variation on the song Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, challenge your child to segment a word with one to four phonemes while touching his/her head, shoulders, knees, and toes (e.g., cat = /c/ head, /a/ shoulders, /t/ knees).
- Have your child break a word apart into its individual phonemes (or syllables, if more appropriate), tapping a "magic wand" on the table or pushing a coin into a box for each sound.
These types of "sound" games and activities can be interspersed throughout each day, mixed into routines and tasks, thereby making the learning fun as well as relevant. The activities that focus on the larger chunks such as full words (e.g., rhyming) and syllables are for beginners, while those that deal with the smaller sound parts of words, such as onset and rime and phonemes are for those who have some basic awareness. Work at a level at which your child can be successful… and have fun!
Additional reading and resources:
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Making Summer Count
Yellin Center for Student Success
Summer vacation is here and families have a break from their daily routine. Some children are attending day or sleep-away camp, others are enrolled in summer school programs or are traveling, and still others - by choice or default – are sitting around and taking it easy for the next couple of months.
Whatever your child is doing for the summer, parents should keep in mind that there are academic risks to a completely carefree summer. Studies have consistently shown that most students can lose up to two months of grade equivalent mathematical computation skill and score lower on all kinds of standardized tests at the end of the summer. Lower income students also may lose about two months of grade equivalent reading skills while on summer break. This drop in reading ability is not seen in other students who, researchers posit, have more access to reading opportunities outside of school i
So, what's a parent to do? Here are some suggestions for keeping academic skills sharp even during summer break.
MATH:
Parents can keep math education going all summer long by incorporating math into age appropriate day to day activities. Cooking, shopping, and helping to plan a family trip can all build skills for children of different ages. Ask questions such as:
- "How many miles between our hotel and the place we want to see?"
- "What percent of our travel budget have we spent on meals?"
- "If we increase our driving speed by five miles per hour, how much sooner will we reach our destination?"
Younger students with summer access to a computer may enjoy the Funschool website, which has games for students in grades K-6.
Somewhat older students (Grades 2-7 and up) may enjoy Math Playground, an interactive math tool that uses spatial ordering while engaging in math games, word problems, logic puzzles, etc. The Thinking Blocks portion of the website encourages students to recognize and diagram common patterns for a variety of multistep word problems.
Students who are away at camp for the summer need not miss the opportunity to keep their math skills sharp. Math problems via email or letters from home can be a fun activity if they deal with interesting subjects. Ask your child questions, such as "Tell me more about the counselors. How many are there? How many male campers? What percent of the total number of campers is that?"
READING:
We have found audio books to be a helpful way to build reading skills that is also fun for students of all ages. The audio book websites we list below all charge for their products, but some have unlimited use with short-term introductory fees.
For older students:
For younger students:
This site allows a child to hear, see, and read a book of his/her choosing from a large library of quality picture books.
Of course, there are numerous ways to build interest in reading the old fashioned way. Summer is a perfect time to introduce children to books you enjoyed as a child. Most classic books still capture the imagination of the youngest generation. Most libraries have summer reading programs where students earn certificates, or even prizes, for reading a set number of books. Wherever you or your child are spending the summer - traveling, at camp, or under a leafy tree, the joys of reading are available and will make the return to school all the more successful.
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