This summer, I'm taking a short class that introduces a new structure that will be happening during our reading block in the fall. As a speech-language pathologist, I try to support students with what is happening during core time, so it's important that I know what about the changes, more specifically what targets are being covered and how my knowledge of language can be used to best meet each student's needs.
During a portion of the class, I noticed the term phonemic awareness was used also used to describe what I remembered to be phonological awareness. I have to admit that I haven't dabbled with phonological awareness for quite some time since I've been working in a 4-5 building for the last eight years, but my mind started racing. I'm not sure if the questioning look on my face sparked the comment or if it was coincidence, but the instructor acknowledged phonological awareness and then informed us that the class was not going to dive in to the differentiating between phonemic awareness and phonological awareness, and that for time's sake, they would be referring to it as phonemic awareness. Fair enough. It didn't go too much in to detail, but my mind was already wandering. It must be a sign that it's time for a refresher, at least for my benefit.
Both phonemic awareness and phonological awareness focus on the auditory and oral components (i.e. listening and manipulating sounds), and they are important components of early reading success. Phonemic awareness is a much narrower area than that of phonological awareness. While phonemic awareness refers to the identification and manipulation of phonemes in spoken word, phonological awareness is broader; it includes phonemic awareness. Phonological awareness activities focus on rhyming, blending, and segmenting.
Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss has a helpful visual that aligns age and skill acquisition for phonological awareness that you can access here.
I also really like the this phonological awareness development continuum from Tuneful Teaching. It is a bit more detailed but just as useful.
Super Duper publications offers a fantastic handout on phonological awareness that you can find here. It is a great parent handout that talks about what phonological awareness is and offers ideas on how it can be worked on at home. Reading Rockets also has a Top 10 Resources for Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness.
The National Institute for Literacy also has very helpful publication that goes into detail about how phonemic awareness can be both taught and learned.
There are an abundance of resources that you can access with a quick Google search. What are some of your favorite websites, activities, or handouts?
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