http://www.texasreadsource.org/PDSRIWebApp/jsp/search.jsp#t3:{'query':'facet=true&facet.field=facet _id&facet.limit=1&facet.

mincount=1&q=facet_id:1112101000,Phonological,Awareness','ls':'251eafa151654a72a0a2ec 082d43cfb0','lp':'d9dc6b19c6554b3d88c04c15ff2d114b'}

Phonological awareness, sometimes referred to as PA, is knowledge of the structure of oral language. It is the understanding that language can be divided into smaller pieces and the knowledge of how those pieces can be manipulated. Phonological awareness is an umbrella term that includes various subskills. These skills fall on a continuum from simple, like rhyming, to complex, like phonemic awareness. Being phonologically aware means having an understanding of each of the skills on the continuum. Phonological awareness creates the foundation upon which decoding skills can be built through the alphabetic principle, or the fact that the sounds in oral language can be represented by written symbols (letters). Research has shown that alphabetic instruction without phonological awareness is not as effective as alphabetic instruction with phonological awareness. Therefore, early reading instruction should include instruction in both phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle (phonics). A common misconception is that phonemic awareness is the same as phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is one skill that falls on the overall continuum of phonological awareness skills. Phonemic awareness is the most complex of all the phonological awareness skills--it is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words.

Phonological awareness is an oral skill; phonics, or graphophonemic knowledge, on the other hand, is connected to print. However, research has shown that awareness of oral language should be tied to print as early as possible. Explicit instruction in phonological awareness has many long-term benefits, especially when combined with instruction in letter names. Phonological awareness includes a continuum of skills. If teachers focus too much time or attention on one of these skills, such as rhyming or phonemic awareness, then students may not acquire the full range of skills necessary to become strong readers. It is important for teachers to be knowledgeable about how to teach the entire continuum of phonological awareness skills.

Phonological awareness instruction improves students' understanding that sounds in oral language can be represented by written symbols (letters). Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when students are taught to use letters to represent phonemes. Teaching sounds along with letters helps students see how phonemic awareness relates to reading and writing.

Phonological awareness instruction in the early grades provides a foundation upon which decoding skills can be built. Research has shown that early readers--those in prekindergarten and kindergarten-who receive direct instruction in phonological awareness become more skilled readers than those who do not. In fact, phonological awareness has been found to be one of the best early predictors of later reading success. In addition, phonological awareness is indirectly related to other necessary reading skills. Because phonological awareness sets a foundation for decoding words, it is related to word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. Research shows that for all students except those with established learning disabilities, phonemic awareness impacts word recognition, comprehension, and spelling. Strong word decoding skills allow more frequent exposure to connected text. Therefore, students are provided more direct practice with such higher-level reading skills.

Phonological Awareness TEKS Review the Kindergarten ELAR or SLAR Student Expectations for Phonological Awareness (PA) in your Vertical Alignment.
Underline key words that describe the skills to be taught. At what grade levels do you find Phonological Awareness? Skim over the PA expectations for first grade so that you will know how to support your advanced

students.

http://childcare.sc.gov/main/docs/gsgs_finalbook_022608.pdf SC preK standards p. 64 addresses PA

3-Year Olds 4-Year Olds 5-Year Olds

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics ELA-4K-3.7
Phonological awareness is a skill set that is primarily taught in the early grades to set a strong foundation for the alphabetic principle; however, it may be revisited later if students have not created a firm foundation and

need a review. Students generally like phonological awareness instruction. If pacing is brisk and lessons are fun, teachers can cover all the necessary information in about 10 to 15 minutes of instruction per day.

Phonological awareness instruction is effective in a whole-group setting, but research has shown that phonological awareness instruction is most effective when conducted in small groups, allowing the teacher to differentiate, monitor progress closely, and give corrective feedback as necessary.

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Use the features of effective instruction when teaching phonological awareness.

2010 Texas Education Agency/The University of Texas System

Because phonological awareness is an oral skill and is sometimes confused with phonics, teachers like to say that phonological awareness is a skill that can be taught with eyes closed and lights off. Produce phonemes correctly and do not add a schwa after them, as in saying /bu/ rather than /b/. One way is to tell students to "clip" their sounds and then model the correct pronunciation for them. A strategy for practicing voiced "stopped" sounds, as in /b/, /d/, /g/, or /j/, in isolation and eliminating the possibility of adding a schwa is to say a word with that sound at the end. For example, say the word cab and then produce the isolated sound /b/ as it was produced in the word. Lastly, it's important to segment words into phonemes correctly. Remember that consonant blends are two (or three) separate sounds. You can tell students that they blend together but they are still two (or three) individual sounds. Long vowels are one sound. Have students focus on what they hear.

Effective phonological awareness teaching includes orally manipulating the units of spoken language-sounds, syllables, and words. These are solely verbal. For example, a teacher may ask her students to count the phonemes in the word cat, which has three phonemes, /c/, /a/, and /t/, or blend the two syllables ga and to into the word gato. Make oral activities explicit by using kinesthetic connections, such as segmenting words into phonemes using body parts or clapping out syllables. For example, a teacher may ask his students to get out their chopping blocks by stretching out their arms, and their knives using their free hands, and

chop up words into phonemes. Or a teacher may ask her students to hop for every syllable in a word. Teachers may also use other manipulatives to make PA instruction explicit, such as blank tiles or Elkonin boxes.

It is best to choose a few related skills to focus on at a time, rather than overwhelm students with too much information. For example, a teacher may introduce a PA lesson with a review of letter sounds, then progress to identifying initial sounds as a review, and then introduce the new skill of identifying final sounds. Because these skills are related to each other in the task of identifying sounds in words, they will scaffold students' understanding, rather than overwhelming students with unrelated skills.

The continuum of phonological awareness skills begins with rhyming and extends to phonemic awareness. It is important to introduce the skills sequentially for best results, as they build on each other. Students, however, may move through the skills in a nonlinear fashion, jumping from skill to skill or even moving backward at times. Although skills should be introduced sequentially, it is not recommended that teachers wait for student mastery of one skill before introducing others.

Students' phonological awareness includes a continuum of skills that develop over time.

http://www.texasreadsource.org/PDSRIWebApp/jsp/search.jsp#t3:{'query':'facet=true&facet.field=face t_id&facet.limit=1&facet.mincount=1&q=facet_id:1112101000,Phonological,Awareness','ls':'251eafa151654a72a0a2e c082d43cfb0','lp':'7f0ff1bc17234da4a9120855d1f35925'} video? 16 or 22 of K PA on ReadSource clearer than my video but small. Activity materials in folder
Rhyme and alliteration involve words that share a common feature or sound. Rhyme is a match in the ending sounds of words. Here are some examples of a rhyme activity. Say to students: "Let's practice a few rhyming activities. Do the following two words rhyme? Fight, might? Yes. Way, rug? No. How about to and mo? Yes. Which word rhymes with fun? Any, bet, sun? Sun rhymes with fun. Or, which word rhymes with sol? Cancon, caracol, cama? Caracol." Alliteration focuses attention on initial phonemes. Students learn to recognize and produce words that begin with like sounds. Here is an example alliteration activity in English. Say to students, "Tell me which words begin with the same sound: garden, girl, share? Garden and girl begin with the same sound. How about mo, mula, and casa? Mo and mula begin with the same sound." Or say, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. All of those words begin with the same sounds. Say the sentence with me: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Good. Let's say it again faster. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." Or in Spanish, say, "Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal, en un trigal tragaban trigo tres tristes tigres." You can highlight rhyme and alliteration in nursery rhymes, storybooks, songs, poems, and games. The activity card you should have placed on the continuum for rhyming is "Catch a Rhyme/Lanzando rimas" and for alliteration, "Describe It!/Descrbelo!"

Sentence segmentation is a beginning skill that should be a focus at the beginning of kindergarten. It is a precursor to segmenting words into syllables and then into phonemes. This skill includes clapping and tapping words in sentences, counting words in sentences, and deleting words from a sentence until only one word is left. The activity card you should have placed on the continuum for sentence segmentation is "One at a Time"/ "Una por una." (For activity cards, see Phonological Awareness Activity Cards - activity included with "Phonological Awareness Continuum" of this section.)

Sentence segmentation is a beginning skill that should be a focus at the beginning of kindergarten. It is a precursor to segmenting words into syllables and then into phonemes. This skill includes clapping and tapping words in sentences, counting words in sentences, and deleting words from a sentence until only one word is left. The activity card you should have placed on the continuum for sentence segmentation is "One at a Time"/ "Una por una." (For activity cards, see Phonological Awareness Activity Cards - activity included with "Phonological Awareness Continuum" of this section.)

Phonological Awareness Activity Cards

Locate the sentence segmentation activity in your Phonological Awareness Activity Cards. Read the sentence segmentation activity and develop an additional activity you can do with your

students.

After students understand that sentences are made of words, they can be introduced to the idea that words are made of smaller units called syllables. Blending syllables together to form words and segmenting words into syllables help students to distinguish distinct units of sounds. Enunciate syllables clearly and begin with familiar words such as students' names, common compound words, and simple, two-syllable words. Here are some activities. Say to students, "First, let's practice a few examples of syllable blending. I'm going to make a word by putting two parts of a word together: tad--poles. What's the word? Tadpoles. Gar--den. What's the word? Garden. Now, let's practice segmenting words into syllables." "Listen as I count syllables in names. Joe. How many syllables do you hear in Joe? One. How many syllables do you hear in Mara? Three. Ma--r--a." Once students can blend and segment syllables, begin working on syllable manipulation. Say, "Now we're going to leave out syllables or parts of words. Say someone without some. One." Counting, clapping, tapping, and finger Counting, clapping, tapping, and finger snapping are some of the ways students can show that they hear the different syllables in words. It is important for students to produce the sounds orally as they blend, segment, and manipulate syllables. The activity card you should have placed on the continuum for syllable blending and segmenting is "What's in a Name?"/ "Slabla por slaba" or "Cubitos de sonidos." (For activity cards, see Phonological Awareness Activity Cards - activity included with "Phonological Awareness Continuum" of this section.)

As students develop phonological awareness, they learn to recognize words in sentences and syllables in words. They also learn to divide one-syllable words into onsets and rimes. In a one-syllable word, the onset consists of the initial consonant or consonant cluster of the word. The rime is the vowel and consonants that follow the onset. Please note: r-i-m-e is not the same as r-h-y-m-e. In the word cat, the /k/ is the onset, and the /at/ is the rime. Here are some activities to use with students: "Put these sounds together to make a word: /b/ /at/. What's the word? Bat. What is the onset? /b/. What is the rime? /at/. In the word shut, what is the onset? /sh/. What is the rime? /ut/." One-syllable words in Spanish are not common. One-syllable word families can be used for practicing onset-rime segmentation and blending in Spanish. Sets of words with matching rimes, such as the English words call, tall, mall, and fall and the Spanish words ven, ten, den, and tren are called word families. The activity you should have placed on the continuum for onset-rime blending and segmenting is "Sound Blocks." (For activity cards, see Phonological Awareness Activity Cards - activity included with "Phonological Awareness Continuum" of this section.)

Now we move even further along the phonological awareness continuum into instruction that focuses on even smaller sound units, phonemes. Phoneme blending, segmentation, and manipulation are the highest level of phonological awareness and it is what we would like students to achieve.

Initial lessons should use words with fewer phonemes, just two or three, while later lessons can include words with four or more phonemes. You can also move from single-consonant sounds to consonant blends, continuous sounds, such as /m/ and /s/, to stop sounds, such as /p/ and /k/, or short vowels to long vowels.

The skills focused on in this type of instruction and practice are similar to those discussed in syllable and onset-rime blending, segmenting, and manipulating, but rather than demonstrating these abilities with syllables or onset-rimes, students are expected to do so with phonemes in words.

One way to scaffold students into segmenting individual phonemes in words is to have students first practice identifying individual sounds in words. To do this type of scaffolding, begin with initial sounds. Then move on to final sounds. End with medial sounds.

In phoneme blending, students blend sounds to form words. It is important for teachers to enunciate phonemes clearly when modeling this skill. The first instructional activity moves from simple to complex by using a word with a consonant blend and more phonemes. In the second activity, students move from blending a word with continuous sounds and four phonemes to a word that begins with a stop sound and has five phonemes.

Now let's move into segmenting entire words. When segmenting words into phonemes, students count the number of sounds they hear in a word or tell the sounds they hear in a word. In the first instructional activity, students move from segmenting a three-phoneme word to a fourphoneme word. In the last activity, students move from segmenting a word with a single consonant to a word with a consonant blend.

Manipulating phonemes in words means adding, deleting, or substituting phonemes. Model some activities for manipulating phonemes for students. "What word do you have if you add the /s/ sound to the beginning of the word pin? Spin." "What word do you have when you take away or delete the /t/ sound at the beginning of trap? Rap."

"What word do you have if you substitute the /i/ sound in lip with the /a/ sound? Lap."

Say It and Move It

Locate the handouts Say It and Move It Activity, Using Elkonin Sound Boxes, and Elkonin Boxes

in Spanish. These handouts contain activities that enhance phonemic awareness by using manipulatives to segment words into phonemes and to blend these phonemes for reading.
Using blocks or other counters provides students with concrete, tangible ways of counting or marking

the individual sounds of words as they say them.

Read the handout Using Elkonin Sound Boxes. This handout presents an activity to help children

who may have difficulty segmenting and blending phonemes. A Spanish version of this activity is available. You may wish to print and retain this handout for classroom use.
Carefully review the contents of the handout Say It and Move It Activity. Using the Say It and Move It

Card, practice segmenting the following words into phonemes and blend the phonemes to read the words: cap, chip, green, throat.

Here are some activities for teaching phoneme manipulation. Say a word, then ask your students to say the first sound in the word. Then switch that sound with another and ask them for the result. You can do the same with the final sound in words and middle sound in words. Again, in addition to these simple activities, you can play the same games that we have already discussed with manipulating syllables and onset-rimes in words to have students practice manipulating phonemes in words.

Phonological Awareness Instructional Resources

Locate the handouts Phonological Awareness Examples and Examples of Phonological and

Phonemic Awareness.
Read through the handouts and think of two ways you can incorporate information from these

resources into your daily phonological-awareness lessons.

in PreK folder

When the features of effective instruction are emphasized during planning and delivering lessons, learning is maximized. Progress monitoring is key. Teachers need to know students' abilities to plan and scaffold appropriately and to meet the needs of all students using differentiated instruction.

Many students benefit from explicit instruction in phonological awareness.

When designing explicit and systematic phonological awareness instruction, focus on types of phonological awareness most closely associated with beginning reading and spelling achievement by linking phonemes to print. Teach phonological awareness explicitly, and regularly schedule phonological awareness instruction. Additional instruction and practice is needed for students who are having difficulty.

Begin with easier activities and progress to more difficult ones. Use words students know and find easy to work with. For example, me has two phonemes and is easier than trap, which has four phonemes. An identification task, such as, "Find the picture that starts with /m/," is easier than a production task, such as, "What sounds do you hear in moon?" Model each activity before asking students to respond.

Remember, as early as possible, help students make the connection between letters and sounds to read and spell words.

Here are some additional scaffolds that you can use to enhance your phonological awareness instruction.

There are many aspects to remember when providing multiple opportunities to respond.

Remember the following important points:

Provide feedback for correct responses. Provide scaffolds. Listen carefully. Document student progress.

Remember to provide immediate and corrective feedback for incorrect responses as well.

Grouping: Research supports the effectiveness of teaching phonological awareness in both whole group and small groups, but it is more effective in small groups, particularly for struggling students. Small-group instruction provides additional opportunities for students to hear others practice and for them to participate and practice. Differentiating Instruction: Students will be at varying levels at different points in the year. It is important to know your students so that you can differentiate during all forms of instruction. This will prevent any wasted instructional moments when students are ready to progress. Provide opportunities for students to practice at appropriate levels, reach mastery, and move to the next skill level.

While whole groups are important for the introduction of new skills, it is also appropriate to use whole groups for differentiating by providing different words or skills to different students or groups within whole groups. Embedded Practice Opportunities: Use transition times for practicing phonological awareness skills, use waiting time as an opportunity to practice, and read books to your students that draw attention to phonological awareness.

Word play enhances phonological awareness as students practice activities along the continuum using words and concepts in stories and books that are read aloud. Let's watch a video that shows how to incorporate a word-play lesson during a read-aloud session. As you watch, look for examples of word-play activities for each type of phonological awareness along the continuum. In the following activity you will have the opportunity to apply knowledge of phonological awareness to design a phonological awareness activity based on a student's book. script in folder http://www.texasreadsource.org/PDSRIWebApp/jsp/search.jsp#t3:{'query':'facet=true&facet.field=facet_id&face t.limit=1&facet.mincount=1&q=facet_id:1112101000,Phonological,Awareness','ls':'251eafa151654a72a0a2ec082d43c fb0','lp':'e44f7601e5994c41b62922f7c10ebcf3'} slide 43

Now it's your turn to develop activities like those you saw in the video Word Play (previous lesson

page). The handout Word Play contains simple guides for many of the phonological awareness activities presented in this section. This handout is designed as a guide for teacher planning, not as a student worksheet or overhead transparency.
Develop word play activities from a students' book of your choosing. You may also wish to use the

handouts Suggested for Phonological Awareness Instruction: Children's Books and Suggested Phonological Awareness Web Sites. lists in folder Phonological Awareness Lessons
Locate the handout Phonological Awareness Sample Lessons. Look at the multiple lessons provided in the handout. Refer to your data and choose three students at

varying levels. Which lesson would you use with each student?

Phonological awareness is not the same as phonics. Both are important parts of a beginning reading program. Phonological awareness instruction focuses students' attention on the sounds

of spoken words and helps students make the connection between letters and sounds. As soon as letters or print are added to a phonological awareness activity, the activity becomes a phonics activity. What is phonics? Phonics instruction involves teaching students how letters represent spoken sounds. For example, the letter m represents the phoneme /m/. Phonics instruction focuses students' attention on both letters and their sounds. During reading and spelling activities, students begin to combine their knowledge of phonological awareness and phonics. For example, they may use word families to spell and read many words that contain a common rime, such as /at/: hat, mat, cat, sat, and fat. Or, they may say each sound to help them spell and decode words, such as /s/ /i/ /t/ to spell or read sit. Further description of phonological awareness and phonics is presented in the following activity.

Phonological Awareness and Phonics

Locate and review the handout Phonological Awareness and Phonics Chart, which describes the

important differences between phonological awareness and phonics.

The handout Phonological Awareness Bingo contains an activity that provides practice in learning to

recognize initial sounds heard in spoken words in English or Spanish.

Think about one way you can adapt the Bingo game with another skill on the phonological awareness

continuum. Phonological Awareness and Phonics

Locate and review the handout Phonological Awareness and Phonics Chart, which describes the

important differences between phonological awareness and phonics.

The handout Phonological Awareness Bingo contains an activity that provides practice in learning to

recognize initial sounds heard in spoken words in English or Spanish.

Think about one way you can adapt the Bingo game with another skill on the phonological awareness

continuum.

Progress Monitoring for Phonological Awareness Skill Development

 Use district-approved assessment tools for screening, diagnostics, and progress monitoring.

As is the case with all reading skills, progress monitoring is imperative for knowing what your students are able to do and where they are headed next on a continuum. Consult available tools to determine what is appropriate for assessing phonological awareness skills using formal assessment. However, informal assessment methods are valuable.

Determine specific goals for students prior to leading lessons and prepare sticky notes that will allow

simple record keeping.

Remember that students will be at different points, so it is important to have a system that will allow you to determine what students know and what they are ready to do next.

Develop a progress-monitoring chart that will allow you to document student progress on sequential

skills for each student.

Because PA skills are sequential and are taught and learned along a continuum, it is easy to keep track of students' skill development. The example provided in the next activity is one simple way to keep track of student progress that is specific to the various PA skills along the continuum.

Make notes during whole group, small group, partner, and individual instruction on sticky notes, charts,

and the lesson plan.

Guidelines for Effective Instruction and Progress Check

Locate the handout Guidelines for Effective Instruction: Phonological Awareness. Read the handout and underline the key ideas for teaching phonological awareness.

 Locate the handout Phonemic Awareness Progress Check. It can be used to monitor your students'

progress.
Locate the handout Phonological Awareness Skill Progress Monitoring Chart. Look at the sample

chart and think of how you can use this document for progress monitoring your students' phonemic awareness.