Phonological Awareness

The ability to recognize the phonological pattern or sounds of words is known as phonological awareness. Phonemes, rimes and onsets, and syllables are the three levels of sound structure that phonological awareness involves manipulating and detecting. An expansive continuum of dimensions is used to build phonological recognition. The manipulation of and attention to bigger size units come naturally to students. Teachers should give learners-appropriate guidance for phonological understanding (Bowyer-Crane et al., 2008). This essay will discuss five phonological comprehensiveness training methods.

Repetition of noises is the first phonological awareness technique used in instruction. Repetition of sounds can be used in teaching, which is beneficial for pupils learning English or a second language. These students benefit from finger plays, rhymes, and repetition of songs in classroom. These activities help dual or English learners to differentiate phonemes in English that is not part of their original language (Boulware‐Gooden et al., 2007).

The second phonological consciousness strategy is to depict how to separate words into syllables, and sentences into words. This recognition strategy offer opportunities for teachers to guide students to understand that oral speech can be split into parts. This strategy is good for teaching students with challenges in delivering speech or any form of verbal communication. The teacher encourages children to chant their names and clap each syllable in classroom.

The third phonological understanding strategy is to offer books that foster phonological comprehensiveness to the students. This strategy provides a wide variety of high-quality books for children. For instance, books such as Peeny Butter Fudge, Henny Penny, and Chika Chika Boom Boom are full of funny rhyming text that enables students to recognize sounds in word endings.

The fourth phonological awareness strategy is the use of rhymes, games, and songs to help develop students’ phonological consciousness. Rhymes, games, and playful songs are used to draw the attention of students to the separate sounds of the language. This strategy can be used in teaching students who are easily distracted in class (Syverud et al., 2009).

Activity

Common core state standards identify four basic foundational skills for reading, which is fluency, phonics, and word recognition, phonological awareness, and print concepts. Print realization is the first stage of literacy where emergent readers start to connect with the language they comprehend and are learning to speak. Students can learn print concepts through an extensive exposure to close interactions with several print materials. Reading fluency is the reasonably accurate reading at an appropriate rate. On the other hand, phonic entails knowing which letters symbolize the sounds in a word. Phonics and word perception entails knowledge of grasping irregularly spelled words, word of parts, and spelling-sound and letter-sound correspondences.

Student

Common Core Standards

Strategy

Brandie

She is not enable to use phonics and morphology to decode words. She is only capable to read sight words only and she needs help with non-verbal and verbal signals.

Demonstrate how to separate words into syllables, and sentences into words because she has problems in delivering speech.

Donnie

She is also not able to use phonics and morphology to decode words. She also has hearing problems.

Offer books that foster phonological awareness because she has hearing problems so reading by herself will enable her understand better.

Mason

He is able to use phonics and morphology to decode words. His common core standards characterizes reading fluency, since he is able to reasonably accurate reading at an appropriate rate. The only problem he has is the ability to stay focused on one topic.

Rhymes, games, and playful songs are used to draw the attention. It will help him concentrate on one topic for a long time.

Rationale for Instructional Decisions

These instructional decisions the development and learning of the above students in relation to the objectives of school success. Moreover, it helps students develop lifelong critical thinking skills and confidence through discovery and encouraging the exploration as a way of learning. The phonological awareness strategies offer several tools devoted to literacy and early language development (Ryder et al., 2008).

Learning to read is not natural unlike learning to speak that occurs organically and naturally, since human brains are genetically hard-wired for spoken language. Written language is a new phenomenon present in human development and the brain must be taught how to change the meaningless symbols of print into something useful, memorable, enjoyable, and meaningful. For the students to master the vital foundational skills for reading an effective instruction should be provided and distinguished skillfully to meet the varied needs for children. Struggling students like Donnie and Brandie will commonly need more specifically targeted guided practice to learn the foundational skills. Lessons should be conducted with small groups of children, in short duration, and should be engaging. Therefore, teachers should take care to discern the type of students that require effective, appropriate, and additional intervention as well as how to provide it efficiently and effectively (Phillips et al., 2008).

References

Bowyer‐Crane, C., et al. (2008). Improving early language and literacy skills: Differential effects of an oral language versus a phonology with reading intervention. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(4), 422-432. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01849.x/abstract

Boulware‐Gooden, R., et al. (2007). Instruction of metacognitive strategies enhances reading comprehension and vocabulary achievement of third‐grade students. The Reading Teacher, 61(1), 70-77. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1598/RT.61.1.7/abstract

Phillips, B.M., Clancy-Menchetti, J., & Lonigan, C.J. (2008). Successful phonological awareness instruction with preschool children: Lessons from the classroom. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 28(1), 3-17. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240731225_Successful_Phonological_Awareness_Instruction_With_Preschool_Children_Lessons_From_the_Classroom

Ryder, J.F., Tunmer, W.E., & Greaney, K.T. (2008). Explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonemically based decoding skills as an intervention strategy for struggling readers in whole language classrooms. Reading and Writing, 21(4), 349-369. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11145-007-9080-z

Syverud, S.M., Guardino, C., & Selznick, D.N. (2009). Teaching phonological skills to a deaf first grader: A promising strategy. American Annals of the Deaf, 154(4), 382-388. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/366272