Phonemic Awareness
A phoneme is the basic unit of sound within a word. E.g., the word “ship” has three phonemes: /sh/, /i/ and /p/.
For many years now, research has been indicating that phonemic awareness, the ability to identify and manipulate the sounds within words, is a critical area of knowledge that is necessary for children to be able to learn to read successfully. It is important for children to have help to develop this ability before or when they first go to school if there is a family history of reading difficulties. Help is also essential at the first sign of difficulties with reading.
Evidence is mounting that the primary specific mechanism that enables early reading success is phonological awareness: conscious access to the phonemic level of the speech stream and some ability to cognitively manipulate representations at this level. (Stanovich, 1986, p 362)
Adams (1990, p 97) reports that programs that teach phonemic awareness along with reading instruction are extremely successful. These programs include games and activities involving nursery rhymes, other rhyming stories and games, breaking sentences into words, clapping syllables … and isolation and identification of initial, final and intermediate phonemes. Grossen (1997) maintains that phonemic awareness, like other reading skills, needs to be taught, particularly if a child starts falling behind. She recommends teaching phonemic awareness directly and early (kindergarten).
Because it is so important that children develop an adequate ability to hear the sounds within words, if they experience difficulty with this as they learn to read, sufficient extra help must be given quickly. I suggest using Alphabet Album, Textured Letters, making simple words with cards with single letters, the early sections of Phonic Comics 1 and the easier parts of Traffic Lights (easy version with letters) as a preventative measure for any child before he or she goes to school. This helps ensure that learning to read is a happy and successful experience. Much of this available at Free Videos for Children.
Studies using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fRMI) have shown that people with dyslexia and normal readers use different areas of the brain when they are reading. (Shaywitz, 2003, pp81-85) Shaywitz demonstrates that for children with dyslexia, using appropriate programs that systematically teach phonemic awareness and phonics, and also give practice, fluency training and an enriched language environment (p262) can enable them to develop the same neural pathways as non-dyslexic readers. (pp 85-86)
(The terms phonemic awareness and phonological awareness are often used interchangeably, although, more technically, phonemic awareness deals with individual phonemes and phonological awareness includes more general skills like rhyming and splitting words into syllables.)
Adams, M.J. (1990) Beginning to Read: Thinking and learning about print, a summary (prepared by Stahl, S., Osborn, J. and Lehr, F.), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Grossen, B. (1997) A Synthesis of Research on Reading from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, <http://www.nrrf.org/old/synthesis_research.html>
Shaywitz, S. (2003) Overcoming Dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any age, Alfred A. Knopf, New York
Stanovich, K.E. (1986, Fall) Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy, Reading Research Quarterly, 21(4), 360-407 <http://www.keithstanovich.com/Site/Research_on_Reading_files/RRQ86A.pdf >
