Nurturing Early Reading Skills: Phonological Awareness in Focus

Equip readers with the tools needed to recognize and manipulate sounds embedded within language.

DR. CRISTINA COMPTON
Director of Program Development
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This is the second installment in our Science of Reading series

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​As the science of reading becomes more influential in the field of education, it is important for us to not only accept and incorporate the principles in our practice, but also make sure we fully comprehend the essence and significance of what it means. Because I am an elementary educator and instructional coach dedicated to nurturing emerging readers, my commitment lies in breaking down the intricacies of the science of reading, while providing support for our young readers' development.

Phonological awareness — much like fluency, the topic of my previous article in this series — serves a crucial role in shaping a child’s reading journey. In this article, I intend to define phonological awareness and offer practical insights for fellow educators. Drawing from my experiences in the classroom as well as my own reading and research, I will explore its significance, its alignment within the science of reading, and provide guidance on fostering it effectively in early childhood settings.

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Defining Phonological Awareness

Through my pre-service training, my experiences in the classroom, and ongoing reading and research, my understanding of phonological awareness has crystallized as the capacity to recognize and manipulate the sounds embedded within spoken language. Imagine it as a playground of sounds within the mind, where children identify rhyming words, dissect sentences into syllables, identify individual sounds (phonemes), and play with the rhythm of language. Like fluency, this skill is crucial, serving as the foundation for reading readiness.

Strong phonological awareness equips children with the tools to decode words, comprehend texts, and eventually become proficient readers and writers. In essence, phonological awareness is akin to the scaffold that supports the acquisition of language, empowering children to construct sentences, paragraphs, and stories with confidence. It encompasses the following micro-skills:

• Recognizing rhyming and sound patterns: A child distinguishes words that share similar endings or patterns, such as realizing that both "cat" and "hat" conclude with the "-at" sound.
• Segmenting and blending: A child effortlessly breaks a word into its individual sounds, such as saying /s/ - /u/ - /n/ for "sun," and seamlessly blends them to pronounce the word.
• Sound manipulation: Children manipulate sounds within words, altering a sound to form a new word, like changing "top" to "cop."
• Sound isolation: Children identify specific sounds at the start, middle, or end of words, fostering an awareness of sound positions and contributing to word recognition, as with recognizing the initial /d/ sound in "dog."

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Strategies for Supporting Phonological Awareness 

Recognizing its significance, I have dedicated considerable time to identifying effective strategies and promising practices to support phonological awareness. Drawing from strategies I utilized as a third-grade teacher, coupled with observations from visits to flourishing early childhood classrooms, I want to share three promising practices: 

​Playful phonemic activities
Engage students with interactive and playful activities that focus on phonemic aspects of language. Activities such as rhyming games, alliteration exercises, and sound matching tasks cultivate a heightened sensitivity to the sounds within words. One activity that I found to be particularly effective and enjoyable involved organizing a "sound hunt.” Students would listen for words beginning with the same sound, or create a rhyming picture-matching game, pairing words with corresponding ending sounds. 

Multi-sensory approaches
Elevate phonological awareness through multi-sensory experiences. Incorporate tactile materials, such as textured letters or foam manipulatives, allowing children to touch and arrange these to represent different sounds. This tactile engagement reinforces the connection between visual letters and auditory sounds. For instance, in a second grade classroom I visited, students were molding letters from Play-Doh while the teacher prompted them to voice the corresponding sound. 

Storytelling and songs
Incorporate phonological awareness into storytelling and songs. Opt for books and stories rich in rhyme and rhythm, accentuating sound patterns in the text. I would encourage my students to clap out syllables as they read or sang songs featuring repetitive sounds. Other ideas might include developing activities related to stories that involve identifying words with shared sounds or dissecting words into sounds. These immersive experiences help children understand the complex and often subtle aspects related to the sounds and patterns found in spoken language. 

​These practices, while adding an element of enjoyment to learning, lay the groundwork for phonological awareness, preparing the stage for successful reading development.

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Embracing Phonological Awareness

In the world of reading science, phonological awareness plays a vital role, mixing together words, sounds, and understanding. Just as fluency helps connect understanding and reading, phonological awareness serves as a crucial link between grasping the tiniest sounds within words (phonemic awareness) and linking these sounds to letters (phonics). When we nurture this skill, we help kids confidently deal with reading challenges and build on the fluency we talked about in article one. 

By recognizing the importance of phonological awareness and finding effective and engaging ways to teach it, we ensure every child embarks on their reading journey with a strong foundation, unlocking the power of literacy and lifelong learning.
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ADVANCING LITERACY INSTRUCTION

SUPPORTING EMERGING READERS

FOSTERING FLUENCY