Phonological
Awareness
Glasgow Dyslexia Support Service
What is Phonological Awareness?
“The skills that involve reflecting on, processing
and manipulating speech sounds.”
Carroll, JM; Bowyer-Crane, C; Duff, FJ; Hulme, C; Snowling, MJ 2011:6
Curriculum for Excellence
I enjoy playing with the sounds and patterns of
language, and can use what I learn.
LIT 0-01a/LIT 0-11a/LIT 0-20a
Why is Phonological Awareness important?
Bradley and Bryant’s work in the 1980s showed that:
‘Phonological ability in pre school children is one
of the biggest predictors of later success in
reading ability.’
Prof. J. Elliott’s 2014 review of research refers to this work as
‘ground breaking’ and citing Scarborough goes on to say:
‘Phonological Awareness appears to be a better
predictor of reading ability in general than
reading disability in particular.’
HMIe’s Perspective
Recent research into best practice, commissioned
by HMIe, found that one of the key features of
effective support was ‘improving the
phonological processing skills of dyslexic
learners’.
Elliot et al, 2007, pvi
Making Sense: Education for Children and Young
People with Dyslexia in Scotland (2014)
The Executive Summary states that ‘specific
phonological awareness activities’ are amongst
the ‘more significant approaches to
differentiating lessons for children and young
people ’.
Scottish Government, 2014:2
Making Sense: Education for
Children and Young People
with Dyslexia
Education Scotland 2014
(National)
Stages of phonological awareness
1. Awareness of words
2. Blending syllables to make a word
3. Breaking words into syllables
4. Awareness of rhyme
5. Blending of speech sounds (phonemes)
6. Awareness of where a phoneme is in a word
7. Breaking words into phonemes
8. Deleting phonemes/syllables within words
9. Substituting phonemes within words
10. Transposing phonemes within words
Awareness of the Rhythm of Speech
Awareness of the Rhythm of Speech
1.
Words in a Sentence
Can a learner isolate the words in an orally
delivered sentence?
The dog kennel is red.
Find the word ‘kennel’.
2. Blending Syllables
Can a learner blend syllables to make a word?
spi
der
3. Segmenting Syllables
Can a learner break a word up into syllables?
How many beats?
4. Awareness of rhyme
Can a learner identify rhyming words?
Find the Odd One Out
What else rhymes with
?
5. Awareness of speech sounds (phonemes)
Can a learner identify initial phonemes?
/t/
6. Awareness of Phoneme Positions
Can a learner identify the position of a given phoneme?
Beginning
Somewhere in the middle
At the end
Where do you hear the phoneme /m/?
/b/
/k/
/d/
/f/
/g/
/h/
/j/
/l/
/m/
/n/
/p/
/kw/
/r/
/s/
/t/
/v/
/w/
/ks/
/y/
/z/
/zh/
/ch/
/kh/
/sh/
?
B
/ar/
/er/
loch
/th/
/u/
/th/
them
/ā/
/wh/
/ou/
/a/
/e/
/i/
/o/
/or/
/ē/
=
/oo/
/ng/
/ī/
/ō/
/ū/
/au/
/oi/
/ur/
Use Pure Sounds
Basic Scottish
Phonemes
http://www.oup.com/oxed/primary/literacy/phonics/
Use pure sounds
/ŏŏ/
7. Awareness of phonemes that a learner
delivers
Can a learner orally split a word into phonemes?
/s/
/t/
/o/
/p/
s
t
o
p
/ch/
/i/
/k/
ch
i
ck
Add the letters used to write each phoneme if they are at that stage.
8. Awareness of phonemes in deletion tasks
Can a learner orally remove phonemes in a word?
s
t
a
n
d
A learner who can complete deletion tasks has the ability to
isolate and sequence the phonemes in a word.
9. Phoneme Substitution
Can a learner give the word if they are asked to
change a phoneme?
Change the /h/
in hat to a /m/?
Change the /i/ in
rib to an /o/?
10. Phoneme Transposition
Can a learner change red fox into fed rox?
This level of phonological awareness may not be reached by some learners.
When a learner, at any stage or level, is
having difficulty with reading or spelling
it is always of value to
check for and address gaps in their
phonological awareness.
Stages of phonological awareness
1. Awareness of words
2. Blending syllables to make a word
3. Breaking words into syllables
4. Awareness of rhyme
5. Awareness of speech sounds (phonemes)
6. Awareness of where a phoneme is in a word
7. Breaking words into phonemes
8. Deleting phonemes/syllables within words
9. Substituting phonemes within words
10. Transposing phonemes within words