Phonemic Awareness

927 Words2 Pages

According to Bursuck & Damer (2011) phonemes are “the smallest individual sounds in words spoken.” Phonemic awareness is the “ability to hear the phonemes and manipulate the sounds” (p. 41). Phonemic awareness is essential because without the ability students are not able to manipulate the sounds. According to the National Institute for Literacy (2007), “students with poor phonics skills prevent themselves from reading grade-level text and are unable to build their vocabulary” (p.5) Agreeing with the importance of phonemic awareness, Shapiro and Solity attempted to use whole class instruction to improve students’ phonological awareness. The intervention showed that whole class instruction assisted not only the students with poor phonemic awareness, but also on-level developing readers.

The Institute of Literacy, Bursuck & Damer, Shapiro & Solity all concur that teaching phonemic awareness in a whole group setting is beneficial. To increase success, the authors established a need for extra support and differentiation lesson is also needed with the whole group. According to Shapiro, Solity (2008) Bursuck and Damer using whole group instruction “was beneficial if the teacher also used differentiated learning.” Along with whole group instruction, students would receive differentiated activities; students at a “lower reading achievement would be given more practice on the previously learned material, while higher achievement students would receive an opportunity to progress in new vocabulary or material” (p. 614). To support struggling students, Bursuck & Damer (2011) set up a similar system of a three-tier instruction where students receive extra support, depending on the students needs, in the company of the whole class instruct...

... middle of paper ...

...rther increase success because it is not only reaching the students who would benefit from the instruction but for on-level students to receive more practice. Without a basic knowledge of phonemic awareness students will struggle through reading and manipulating sounds of new words. The intervention is easy to implement in schools/classrooms and should be implemented at a young grade level so students will receive the help to succeed. I feel now that I am much better equipped with phonemic awareness and able to teach and aid struggling students.

Works Cited

Shapiro, L. R., & Solity, J. (2008). Delivering phonological and phonics training within whole- class teaching. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(4), 597-620. doi: http://proxy.buffalostate.edu:2076/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=13&sid=03a89b0f- 4e60-4eae-bfe9-8361eeba7722%40sessionmgr14&vid=5

Open Document