Phonological Awareness

These skills develop from bottom to top and from left to right simultaneously. They do not develop in a lock-set fashion meaning that one skill does not have to be fully developed before another may emerge. 

 

Playing With the Sounds of Language

It is important to know that these skills develop both orally and aurally (hearing and speaking) without connecting the sounds to printed text. We are simply playing with the sounds of language without thinking about the meaning or how they connect to print.

However, for children who are strong visual learners, it is helpful to pair sounds with images. This helps them to comprehend the skill and to attend when they are struggling. Once they are making progress, it is critical to test their ability to manipulate the sounds of language without the visual prompts. With a consistent music cue for each skill, fading of the visual cues is much more successful.

When we reach the phonemic awareness columns on the far right of the continuum, it is important to make the connection to print. It's okay to be introducing a child to letters and their sounds throughout childhood, but this is not the beginning of literacy development. Without a strong foundation of phonological awareness, a child will struggle with learning to read even if they know every letter and the sounds they make. 

 

Why Does Phonological Awareness Help Us Learn to Read?

There is plenty of research clearly demonstrating that a child's level of phonological awareness predicts their future success in reading and writing.

It was helpful for me to think about our ancestors figuring out a writing system. They started with pictures for each word, but quickly figured out this wasn't going to be enough. To put words on paper, the process involved breaking the spoken words into smaller chunks. These patterns could then be translated into writing. 

If you're interested in learning more on this topic, I recommend this book: Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It by Mark Seidenberg. It is a fascinating read.

How Much Time Should We Give to Phonological Awareness?

In recent years, there has been some debate about how much time should be spent at the phonological awareness stage. Once children are in kindergarten, it is recommended that only about 10 minutes per day is devoted to the larger chunks as it is important to spend most instructional time at the phoneme level.

However, for kids who are struggling, it may be necessary to explicitly teach all of the developmental stages of phonological awareness. Learning to manipulate syllables and onset-rime is effective for helping children "get to the phoneme." This is especially true if we are structuring this instruction with rhythm and music.

 

Video Resource for You

Here is a video going into detail about phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and the developmental continuum. If you are already familiar with these terms, feel free to skip ahead to a detailed explanation of the developmental continuum at 4:45.