In addition to symbol imagery, phonemic awareness is another necessary skill that is required for proficient reading. Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize “phonemes” within words and letters. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound within a word. These phonemes are the building blocks which allow us to build letters and words out of sounds. For example, in the word cat, there are three phonemes. The “kh” sound from the letter C, the “ă” sound from the letter A and the “t” sound from the letter T. In order for a student to read this word correctly, they have to correctly pronounce and blend the letters together. During our sessions with students, we aim to increase their phonemic awareness along with their symbol imagery. For example, during one of our activities, we will say a word aloud to the student. They have to hear the word with all of its phonemes, picture the correct letters and order in their mind, and then give them back to us. For a student with weak phonemic awareness, the process of recognizing what sounds belong to which letters can be difficult. A child just beginning to read does not have the knowledge or ability to correctly identify letters based on their sounds. At Next Step Learning, we dedicate ourselves to teaching students and building phonemic awareness, so that every child we work with can become a proficient reader.
This post was written by Stephen Magill.