230 Reading October 30, 2007
Yopp & Yopp Article Summary
Introduction:
The term phonemic awareness is often misunderstood and therefore sometimes overlooked as an important step in the process of teaching young children to read. It is important for parents and educators to better understand phonemic awareness and where it fits into the overall literacy picture
Phonemic awareness and reading:
When children are taught phonemic awareness they can build a better foundation for our "alphabetic orthography" language. Without the awareness that speech is made up of a string of small sounds, our letter symbol system becomes arbitrary and can be overwhelming to young learners. Phonemic awareness is one of the most important foundations of reading success and it is generally thought that kindergarteners should have at least a basic understanding of phonemic awareness by the end of their kindergarten year.
Phonemic awareness and instruction:
Phonemic awareness instruction should primarily be in the form of word-sound games and songs, chants, and rhyming books and activities; thereby keeping instruction meaningful and fun for kids. Moreover phonemic awareness should be consciously taught because playful language games and activities will be most effective in actually teaching phonemic awareness if they are specifically used for that purpose. While essential, phonemic awareness is only a part of the whole pie of literacy instruction and therefore should be used in the context of real reading and writing activities. Teachers also need to consider how these concepts will be taught, such as the unit of sound to be emphasized, and exactly how the information will be presented. When considering the size of the unit of sound to be addressed, lessons should generally move from smaller to larger as the children learn and become more familiar with sound manipulation. There is also evidence of some tasks being easier than others; for example, matching sounds is thought to be easier than blending sounds and together this should be taken into consideration when lessons are planned.
Time:
The time devoted to phonemic awareness instruction is usually 10-30 minutes per session and can vary from being taught on a daily basis to only a few times per week. What is most important with this type of instruction is quality rather than quantity. Of equal importance is the responsiveness to the individuals in the classroom so flexibility in phonemic awareness instruction is essential to its success.
Activities for building sensitivity to sounds of speech:
The article goes into detail on several excellent activities that could easily be incorporated into a comprehensive literacy program for children. Many of the ideas are simple and could be added without too much stress for the teacher. Games such as the lunch bag game that are played in conjunction with the book, "The Hungry Thing" and simple rhymes like "The Ants Go Marching," among others are all excellent ways of building phonemic awareness into a literacy curriculum.
Conclusion:
Phonemic awareness instruction needs to remain flexible so that it can meet the individual needs of the children it is targeted at. There is no requirement for phonemic awareness to be completely mastered before other types of literacy instruction are taught, the learning of the English language is a process and phonemic awareness is only one piece of the puzzle. There may be some children who need extra help and when this is the case it can be helpful for the instruction to include the use of more concrete objects and an increase of more familiar letters. Phonemic awareness can only support reading awareness if it is part of a broader scope that includes topics such as vocabulary, comprehension, and strategic reading abilities, among other things. Teachers should provide rich linguistic environment that encompass reading and writing as a means of understanding each other and that also encompasses the exploration and examination of the language itself.