Getting Started
Unfortunately, many of us are not aware of the science that exists and even if we are, find it too difficult to understand. I have spent countless hours researching what the science says and internalizing it to be able to share it in a way that makes sense for everyone.
I started phonological awareness with my son when he was 3 (almost 4). He is currently in preschool and is reading books. Was the goal to have him reading early? Not at all. The magical (or scientific) thing is that now reading almost just comes naturally to him since he has phonological & phonemic awareness.
What is Phonological Awareness
So what is phonological and phonemic awareness?
Well, here is the order of skills from simple to complex. You can & should work on more than one skill at a time. It depends on the age & ability of your child/students of when you will introduce the next skill. So, if you are working on Syllables and Rhyming, you are not going to throw Phoneme Addition in there, as that is a more advanced skill. But you can work on Word Awareness, Syllables, Rhyming, and Onset & Rime at the same time if it is not too much for the child.
Phonological Awareness:
- Word Awareness or Concept of Word
- Syllables*
- Rhyming*
- Onset & Rime
(the goal of the above skills is to get to the skills below)
Phonemic Awareness (the next part of phonological awareness):
- Phoneme** Isolation
- Phoneme Blending
- Phoneme Segmentation
- Phoneme Addition
- Phoneme Deletion
- Phoneme Substitution
*Some sources say rhyme before syllables, and some say syllables before rhyme. I have done both at the same time and have not found any research that shows doing one before the other is crucial.
**Phoneme simply means SOUND. There are 44 phonemes in the English language. /SH/ is a phoneme even though it has 2 letters because it only makes one sound.
Here is a video showing all the skills in just 60 seconds!
@learningwithheidi These are essential pre-reading skills! #scienceofreading #LearnOnTikTok #teacher #fyp #teachersoftiktok #YouShouldKnow #tips #edutok #parents ♬ Up Beat (Married Life) - Kenyi
MYSTERY WORDS
Solve the mystery words is another fun way to practice both phonemic awareness (beginning sounds) AND incorporate letter sound skills! Kids look at the picture, say the word, then identify and spell the beginning sound. Once they have all 3 letters, they blend the sounds together to read the CVC word. This one activity hits so many foundational skills!
USING MULTISENSORY METHODS
Knowing how sounds are spelled is another important foundational skill. We love using multisensory methods to practice this skill!
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