Phonemic Awareness & Phonics

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Best Practices for Phonemic Awareness & Phonics

Phonics and Word Recognition Red Book.pdf
Phonics & Word Recognition Red bookThe "Red Book" series was developed by the Texas Student Success Initiative to provide guidance for research-based reading instruction. The attached booklet focuses on phonics and word recognition instruction.
wwc_foundationalreading_Rec 2.pdf
The WWC Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Recommendation #2 is: Develop Awareness of the segments of sounds in speech and how they link to letters.
wwc_foundationalreading_Rec 3.pdf
WWC Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade
Recommendation #3 is: Teach students to decode words, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words.

Sample Lessons

Sentence Segmentation

Syllables with kindergartners

Linking phonemes to letters

Blending by chunking & blending by sounding out

Building words with sound boxes

Syllable Sort

Word Analysis

Neuhaus - Say it and Move it

"Say it and move it" is a great way to make syllables and sounds in words tangible for students. In this video, a teacher models this strategy with a group of students.

Neuhaus - Phonological Awareness and Phonics Lesson

This video is a little longer (about 10 minutes) but goes through a progression of activities starting with rhyming words to identifying syllables in words. It models some nice extensions to the "say it and move it" strategy.

Activities & Resources

Construct-a-word

(From ReadWriteThink.org): Construct-a-Word provides a simple, engaging way for students to generate dozens of different words by first choosing an ending (for example -an, -ed, -at, -op) and then adding a beginning letter or blend. When a correct word is created, the word is stored in a Word Bank where students can read and review their words. For each ending, Construct-a-Word prompts students to create between 6 and 14 different possible words, adding an element of fun and discovery. It uses animation and sound to guide students through the steps of creating words, and employs prompts that are clear and easy to master. This interactive tool could be used individually or in small groups, either in one session or across multiple lessons.

Picture Match

(From ReadWriteThink.org): Picture Match is designed to give new readers practice with identifying beginning-letter and short- and long-vowels sounds through a simple, fun game. Updated in 2008, the game features all letters of the alphabet. In the beginning-letter sounds section, a picture of an object (for example, a car) is displayed, and students are prompted to choose the letter that corresponds with the first letter of the word. In the short- and long-vowel sounds sections, students are prompted to choose the vowel that corresponds with the word. If students choose the correct match, they get words of encouragement and a new picture. If they do not choose the correct match, they receive an audible prompt and can then try again, choosing among the remaining letters. Once all of the pictures have been matched, students can print out a chart showing which pictures go with which letters. Pictures are sorted randomly with each game to provide a challenge if the game is played more than once. Picture Match is intended for beginning readers and can be used individually or in small groups.

How Now Brown Cow: Phoneme Awareness Activities

(From ReadingRockets.org): Phonemic awareness training is essential for students who are at risk for reading difficulties. This article describes the components of phonemic awareness and provides activities that special educators can use to provide this training to at risk students.

Florida Center for Reading Research Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Printables