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Explore by Literacy Component: Phonological Awareness

• What is the difference between Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness?

  Let’s talk about some common, and often confused, terms. Is there a difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness?  Yes – phonemic awareness is one type of phonological awareness skill. Phonological awareness is the awareness of units in speech –syllables, onsets, rimes, and the separate sounds in words (which is phonemic awareness).
  
  Download this graphic that shows that phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness.
  
  
  

• Why should we teach phonological awareness?

  Phonological awareness (PA) is a foundational skill upon which the other reading skills are built. When students don’t master PA, it can affect their future progress in the other essential components of reading. Small-group instruction, when delivered explicitly and systematically, addresses the missing skills for nearly all students. Phonological awareness lessons are often combined with phonics, skipped altogether, or not taught in an explicit manner. While there is benefit to adding letters at a certain point, PA instruction should initially be taught with pictures and shapes added to orally playing with words.
  
  Download this phonological awareness continuum that shows 24 separate phonological awareness skills at the syllable, onset-rime, and phoneme level.
  
  
  

• What are the most commonly taught PA skills?

  Phonological awareness skills fall into 3 main categories:  syllable, onset-rime, and phoneme. There are many different subskills within each of these three areas. Online and printed resources that contain PA activities are plentiful. Often instruction builds from identifying a single syllable or sound to manipulating them to generate a new word.
  
  Download this table for a description of 10 different types of PA instruction.
  
  
  
  

• Should PA Skills be taught in any particular order?

  Effective phonological awareness lessons provide instruction that is systematic, structured and sequential. Teachers often ask if there is a recommended order of instruction? Research indicates that especially for students who struggle, lessons aligned with the developmental approach that awareness of larger units (syllables and onset-rimes) develops before awareness of smaller units (phonemes) is optimal. “A developmental progression in the emergence of this ability to become consciously aware of a word’s sound structure is apparent.” (Gillon, 2004)
  
  Download this summary of research on progression. 
  
  
  

• Can you recommend a sequence, or continuum, for phonological skills?

  During the period from 1995–2005 phonological awareness was one of the most lively areas of research in the reading field. The National Reading Panel Report (2000) contained a summary of much of the research. Around that time period 95 Percent Group developed a ‘basic’ PA continuum to use in professional development. It showed eight separate skills at the phoneme level and the syllable and onset-rime level had no breakout.
  
  A number of years later we released an Advanced Phonological Awareness Continuum showing 24 separate subskills within the 3 areas of syllable, onset-rime, and phonemes. The purpose of this continuum was to show teachers how skills can be assessed and taught in a sequential order, moving from easiest to most complex.  
  
  Download this graphic showing both continuums.
  
  
  

• Are there any precursor skills to teaching phonological awareness?

  95 Percent Group believes that there are some key precursor skills that students need in order to be ready for PA instruction. We have called these “Phonological Awareness Readiness Skills”. They include terms that teachers commonly use in instruction such as beginning, ending, same, and different as well as concepts such as left-to-right and deleting and adding phonological units to make new words.
  
  Download this resource on PA skills.