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.