Concerned Parent
You have a child in a first grade whole language class who is not learning to read as well as expected. This puzzles you because you read to your child, have traveled as a family, and are quite involved in your child's activities. You thought about asking to transfer your child into a class that emphasizes phonics instruction until you talked with your neighbor. Your neighbor's child is in a more traditional classroom that emphasizes phonics instruction, yet that child is also having difficulty learning to read. Since the approach used by the classroom teacher doesn't appear to be the key to preventing reading difficulties, you volunteer for the task force to look for an answer to this riddle. Through your investigation, you encounter the term Phonemic Awareness. You ask: What does Phonemic Awareness mean? Why is it so important? What tasks or abilities are associated with it? What can parents do to help develop it?
Your Task
Highlight the questions below. Select Copy from the Edit Menu. Open a MS Word document, and then choose Paste from the Edit Menu. As you read, look for the answers the questions below. Record your answers on your word processing document.
What is Phonemic Awareness?
Why is Phonemic Awareness important?
What abilities or tasks are associated with Phonemic Awareness?
What can parents do to help their children develop Phonemic Awareness?
Print your answers and share the results of your investigation with your group.
Resources
- Phonemic Awareness: An Important Early Step in Learning to Read
- Beginning Reading and Phonological Awareness for Students with Learning Disabilities
- Phonemic Awareness Activities for 4-5-6 Year Olds
- Ask the Experts about Phonemic Awareness
Project
Meet with members of your group and share the results of your investigations. Develop a PowerPoint presentation that summarizes and sythesizes the findings of all members of the group. Be sure to address the following points:
- Define Phonemic Awareness
- Explain why it is important
- Describe how it affects reading instruction in early primary classrooms
- Identify the tasks/abilities associated with Phonemic Awareness
- Describe how to assess Phonemic Awareness
- Suggest activities for parents and teachers to use to develop Phonemic Awareness in children