Childrens Literature and Literacy

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===== Definition =====
Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the smallest units of sound, a phoneme. It is an awareness that language is made up of sounds that can be broken down  into parts. The ability to blend, segment, and manipulate sounds indicates a learner as phonemic awareness.

You manipulate the spoken, not writtern word. A rule of thumb. "If using your ears only it is **phonemic awareness** if using your eyes and ears to map sounds to letters it is **phonics**

Learners need Phonemic awareness as a precursor to read and phonemic awareness awareness develops from learning to read. It helps students to recognize the [[alphabetic principle]], recognize common [[phonics]] patterns, blend sounds to read, and segment sounds to help [[spelling]].

===== Key Skills =====

**Blending**-Taking sounds and smahing them together such as /k/ /a/ /t/ "cat." Readers master this skill typically by kindergarten.

**Segmentation**- Being able to creak words into sounds such as being given the word cat and breaking it into three sounds /k/ /a/ /t/.
**
Deletion**- Removing a sound. Being able to remove a phoneme from the start or end of the word such as saying "mat" without the /m/ sound and writing at.

**Substitution**. Switching a phoneme. Can you say cat but replace the /k/ sound with the /m/ sound?

You begin phonemic awareness with single letter sounds and then progress to blends and digraphs.


{{youtube>oWvypc2RBp8|Phonemic Awareness}}

===== Research ======

Phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later achievement in reading (Stanovic, 1993). We do know that instruction can increase phonemic awareness (Adams, 1990). Some research has shown this instruction will improve reading and writing instruction (Stuart, 1999).

===== In the Classroom =====

Phonemic Awareness instruction takes no more than ten minutes a day. If Kindergarten readiness shows a lack of phonological awareness, ten minutes a day for 3-4 for days a week over 10 weeks will usually suffice.You can identify atypical development around processing, speech and hearing, or having a home environemnt not steeped in literacy. 

You can make phonological and phonenemic awareness fun. Use songs and movement. Have student do head, shoulders, knees and maybe toes for CCVC and CVC words.

Break sentences in words. Play games where students move on a board based on words they hear. Give out blank pies and have students check off slices as they hear words.

Have students switch words in sentences. You can use pronouns like She for the Teacher or develop madlibs,.

Rhyme a ton Play name games with rhyming words. Sing songs. Watch Sesame Street with children,

Smash and stretch words and phonemes. Show students how you can count phonemes in words by stretching them out,. Then smash the words together.

===== In the Home =====

Encourage parents to play with phonemic awareness. Let parents know what kind of sounds you are working on. Send out text messages with tips or with clips from YouTube sounds you like