| Phonological awareness is the ability to | | | | sound. They do sound a lot alike. One way I |
| discern sound units smaller than a single | | | | make the difference clear is to use the edge |
| syllable. It is imperative that children | | | | of a desk or table. I run my palm along the |
| learn these small sound units at an early age | | | | edge of the table and say /eh/ for edge, |
| and it is not an easy task. | | | | which is the short /e/ sound. Then, each |
| | | | time a child comes across a word that has the |
| First, the letters of the alphabet must be | | | | short /e/ sound, I remind them with my hand |
| learned, but the sounds of the letters must | | | | on the desk, but do not say anything. They |
| be taught next. Teach children as early as | | | | quickly learn to discern the difference. Use |
| age 3 and 4 each individual sound that each | | | | models as often as possible to aid in |
| individual letter makes. This process is the | | | | learning and teaching. |
| base children must have to be able to learn | | | | |
| the next sequence of sounds. Resources such | | | | Teaching blends as in two-letter and |
| as picture books that show the letter and an | | | | three-letter blends must be taught after the |
| accompanying picture work well. | | | | vowels (short and long) are mastered, but |
| | | | that's another paper. |
| Vowels (short first, then long) must be | | | | |
| taught next. By making a game out of this | | | | A child's level of phonemic awareness on |
| learning process, the child's interest is not | | | | entering school is widely held to be the |
| lost. Parents and teachers alike can be very | | | | strongest single determinant of the success |
| creative. Now is the time to use that | | | | that he or she will experience in learning to |
| creativity to make learning and child | | | | read, or conversely, the likelihood that he |
| development fun for the child. Most of the | | | | or she will fail )Adams 1990). Parents who |
| short vowels are fairly easy for children to | | | | home school their children and teachers in |
| learn with the exception of the short /e/ | | | | the business of educating our students should |
| sound. I have found in my years of teaching | | | | be aware of this research and seek counsel |
| that many children have problems discerning | | | | from Reading Specialists to assure our |
| between the short /e/ and the short /i/ | | | | children do not fail to learn to read. |