Phonemic Awareness/Letter/Word Work Intro

Terms:

Phonemic Awareness
Ability to identify and manipulate phonemes, the individual sounds in
words. This refers to ORAL language activities.
Phonics
Understanding that there is a relationship between phonemes (smallest part of spoken language) and graphemes (smallest part of written language). That is: learning how individual letters and combinations of letters in print represent different sounds in a word. For example, in print both the letter s and the letter c can represent the phoneme (sound) /s/.

Goals of Phonemic awareness, letter and word study include to:

  • help students recognize (hear) and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words (e.g., rhyming, changing onsets to make new words, breaking sounds apart orally and blending them together orally)
  • learn alphabetic code and common sounds represented by letters in print--and apply these to reading and writing whole texts
  • help student learn to use segmenting and blending abilities (phonemic awareness foundation) to break words apart into smaller sounds/ chunks and blend them back together while reading print (applying phonics knowledge)
  • help students learn to use their current knowledge of letters and words to strategically solve unknown words in whole texts or to spell new words when writing
  • help students learn to recognize increasing numbers of high frequency words automatically in whole texts and to use them in their writing or to communicate

While there are many workbooks and worksheets available for alphabet and phonics practice, most students learn best through varied activities that are interactive and use various materials and approaches (including kinesthetic and musical activities). Routine activities can be integrated into opening, small group rotations (e.g., guided reading with the teacher, then word work with a paraprofessional at a different station); and individual or partner work at centers or computers.

 [See Letter and Word Work Videos]

Phonemic Awareness and Letter/Word Work Activities

Examples of Activities and Routines

FULL GROUP routines for younger students

  • Sing familiar songs with rhyming words during morning opening. (Down by the Bay)
  • Shared reading/ reciting of poems
  • Teacher read aloud of picture books with rhyming text
  • Singing alphabet songs while leader points to leatters
  • Chanting letter names and sounds and key words together as reader points to letters (e.g., "A ." /a/ , "apple" B /b/ boat...
  • Singing silly songs that manipulate phonemes (e.g. Raffi: Willoughby Wallaby)

SMALL GROUP, adult-facilitated routines for younger or older students (led by teacher or paraprofessional)

  • Any of above full group activities
  • Making and reading "alphabet books" (finding pictures that begin with sound for each letter) Older students can construct books with age appropriate photos for each letter.
  • Lotto/ bingo: Matching letter cards with photos/ pictures of objects that begin with that sound
  • Making words with individual letter tiles or magnetic letters (teacher models and facilitates--e.g., This word is at. Let's add one letter-- a C to the beginning --now we have /c/ /at/--say it fast--cat... what if we change that letter c to an M... Now we have /m/..../at--say it fast--mat!)
  • "word wall" On the first day, the teacher introduces 2-4 high frequency words and talks about meaning and spelling features. For each new word, students read it, spell it, clap it, chant it together with the teacher. On subsequent days, the teacher facilitates "guessing games" to find and point to or copy words from the word wall and to read them aloud together.

SELF-DIRECTED PRACTICE routines for younger or older students

  • computer software with commercial programs (e.g., Earobics, Edmark, other phonics programs)
  • making new words with onset and rime cards (e.g., cards that have individual consonant cards and "word family" cards ).
 m 
  f  
  r  

 __an

  • "playing teacher" and pointing to letter charts to review and chant letters and sounds with a partner ("A, apple, /a/,  B, ball, /b/...") 
  • making new words with individual letters and tiles


FOR MORE INFORMATION AND IDEAS to support student learning about phonemic awareness, phonics, letter and word study, see:

www.specialconnections.ku.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/specconn/main.php?cat=instruction&section=main&subsection=ra/emergent

www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/fourblocks/second_words_activity.htm