Phonological awareness is the ability to discern sound units smaller than a single syllable. It is imperative that children learn these small sound units at an early age and it is not an easy task.

First, the letters of the alphabet must be learned, but the sounds of the letters must be taught next. Teach children as early as age 3 and 4 each individual sound that each individual letter makes. This process is the base children must have to be able to learn the next sequence of sounds. Resources such as picture books that show the letter and an accompanying picture work well.

Vowels (short first, then long) must be taught next. By making a game out of this learning process, the child’s interest is not lost. Parents and teachers alike can be very creative. Now is the time to use that creativity to make learning and child development fun for the child. Most of the short vowels are fairly easy for children to learn with the exception of the short /e/ sound. I have found in my years of teaching that many children have problems discerning between the short /e/ and the short /i/ sound. They do sound a lot alike. One way I make the difference clear is to use the edge of a desk or table. I run my palm along the edge of the table and say /eh/ for edge, which is the short /e/ sound. Then, each time a child comes across a word that has the short /e/ sound, I remind them with my hand on the desk, but do not say anything. They quickly learn to discern the difference. Use models as often as possible to aid in learning and teaching.

Teaching blends as in two-letter and three-letter blends must be taught after the vowels (short and long) are mastered, but that’s another paper.

A child’s level of phonemic awareness on entering school is widely held to be the strongest single determinant of the success that he or she will experience in learning to read, or conversely, the likelihood that he or she will fail )Adams 1990). Parents who home school their children and teachers in the business of educating our students should be aware of this research and seek counsel from Reading Specialists to assure our children do not fail to learn to read.

Brenda Geier
K-12 Reading Specialist and Highly Qualified Educator.
Ms. Geier teaches reading, writing and spelling online at www.childfont.com