Phonological Awareness
• What is it?
• Why is it important
to literacy acquisition?
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Phonological
Awareness
The ability to recognize the sounds in
spoken language and how they can
be segmented (pulled apart),
blended (put back together),
and manipulated (added, deleted,
and substituted).
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Phonological Awareness
Does Not Equal
Phonics
Phonological Awareness
Phonics
Does not involve print
Involves print
Activities are auditory
Requires looking at print
Begins before students have
learned a set of letter-sound
correspondences by using
manipulatives
Focuses on the representation
of spoken language
Focuses on the sounds of
spoken language
Helps students identify words in
print by “sounding out” the
phonemes, blending them
together, and saying the word
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Phonological Awareness
Includes
• Rhyming
• Alliteration
• Sentence Segmenting
• Syllable Blending and Segmenting
• Onset-Rime Blending and Segmenting
• Blending and Segmenting Individual Phonemes
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Phonological Awareness
Continuum
Blending and Segmenting
Individual Phonemes
Phonemic Awareness
Onset-Rime Blending and
Segmenting
Syllable Blending and
Segmenting
Sentence Segmenting
Rhyming/Alliteration
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Phonological Awareness
Overview
• Rhyming/Alliteration
• Matching the ending sounds of words
• Producing groups of words that begin with the
same initial sound
• Sentence Segmentation
• Segmenting sentences into spoken words
• Syllable Blending and Segmentation
• Blending syllables to say words or segmenting
spoken words into syllables
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Phonological Awareness
Overview
• Blending and Segmentation
• Blending/segmenting the initial consonant or consonant
cluster of a one syllable word (onset) from the vowel
and consonant following the onset (rime) is rare in
Spanish
• Blending and Segmenting Individual Phonemes
• Blending phonemes into words, segmenting words into
individual phonemes, and manipulating phonemes in
spoken words
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Guidelines for Teaching
Phonological Awareness
• Model each activity, especially when it is
first introduced
• Consider the number of syllables in a word
• Provide many opportunities for practice
with feedback
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Guidelines for Teaching
Phonological Awareness
• Include a range of different types of activities:
• Start with easier activities that many students
know
• Extend the activities to the performance level of
the students
• Use concrete objects (such as counters,
blocks, picture cue cards) to help students
manipulate sounds. Slowly, transition away
from the concrete
to
the
abstract.
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Linking Phonological
Awareness and Print
• Phonological awareness instruction
helps students make the connection
between letters and sounds.
• Phonological awareness, especially
phonemic awareness and letter-sound
knowledge, should be introduced
early. In Spanish, the vowels are
introduced first.
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Why is Phonological
Awareness Important?
• Focuses on the sounds of spoken language and
how they can be blended, segmented, and
manipulated
• In Spanish, syllable segmentation and
manipulation is essential
• Provides the basis for understanding the
alphabetic principle and lays the foundation for
phonics and spelling
• Has been identified as a strong predictor of later
reading success
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Student Expectations for
Phonological Awareness
P re k in d e rg a rte n
K in d e rg a rte n
F irs t G ra d e
(5 ) P h o n o lo g ica l
A w a re n e ss
K .6
1 .6
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Strategies and Activities
to Develop
Phonological Awareness
• Expose students to poems, songs and
nursery rhymes
• Use rhyme, alliteration, and patterned texts
• Play rhyming and alliteration games
• Integrate activities throughout the curriculum
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Monitoring Student
Progress
• Identify students who are having difficulty acquiring
phonological awareness and who need more intensive
instruction
• Conduct brief, planned instructional assessments
• Observe and note student’s interactions while talking,
reading, and writing
• Keep a portfolio of students’ work
• Use checklists
• Keep anecdotal records
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Monitoring Student
Progress
In the Tejas LEE, phonological awareness is
assessed in sections called
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rhyming,
Segmenting syllables,
Blending syllables,
Identifying initial sounds,
Blending phonemes, and
Omitting initial sounds.
LEER MAS Revised 2006
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Phonological Awareness
Prekindergarten
Kindergarten
Rhyming Activities
Rhyming Activities
Alliteration Activities
Alliteration Activities
Sentence Segmenting
Activities
Sentence Segmenting
Activities
Sentence Segmenting
Activities with Print
Syllable
Blending/Segmenting
Activities
Syllable
Blending/Segmenting
Activities
Syllable
Blending/Segmenting
Activities with Print
Onset and Rime
Activities
Onset and Rime
Activities with Print
Phoneme Blending
and Segmenting
Activities
Phoneme Blending
and Segmenting
Activities with Letters
LEER MAS Revised 2006
First Grade
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