Did you ever wonder what this learning lingo might mean?

Phonemic awareness is the official name given for oral language and auditory discrimination skills. It is one of the most imporatnt skills for emergent readers. No matter what reading method children are taught, they must grasp the abstract concept that words are composed of separate sounds, and that individual letters and combinations are used to represent those sounds.

Some researchers maintain that being able to analyze the sounds of words "is the most important prerequisite for the successful learning of reading and writing. The ability to segment words is crucial for literacy development. Such skills as rhyming, hearing initial sounds, and blending sounds together are the building blocks for reading. Good readers do these things intuitively".

Phonemic awareness is broken down into four basic skills

• Rhyming Sounds: Children can hear and recognize that the last part of some words sound the same.
• Blending Sounds: Children can hear and recognize individual sounds in words--for example, c--at or c-a-t.
• Matching Sounds: Children can hear and recognize words with the same initial sound and words with the same ending sound.
• Segmenting Sounds: Children can hear a word and clap the number of syllables. Or, children can repeat a word, then leave part of the word out.

One of the best ways to develop phonemic awareness is to have fun with words. As children play and experiment with language, they become aware of it on a more abstract level. They begin to think of words as words, and hear sounds of language on an abstract level. A good place to begin to develop phonemic awareness is through rhymes. Reading nursery rhymes and other rhyming stories to children helps them with early reading skills.

After children have developed some sense of rhyme, they are introduced to the concept of separate sounds in words, and then they begin to catch on to the concept of blending and matching sounds. Without these skills, learning phonics and other reading skills becomes very difficult.

Monday, November 17, 2008
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