The BIG SIX: What is Phonological Awareness?

Research has shown that there are six key components that contribute to successful beginning reading. Because of the importance of these components, they have become known as the 'Big Six': oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

In today's post we are going to dig into one key components, phonological awareness. Phonological Awareness is the ability to recognize that spoken words are made up of individual sound parts. The brain’s phonological processor is the frontal inferior in the left hemisphere of the brain. It helps a person to recognize, produce, and decipher speech. In an effort to develop our brain’s phonological processor, phonological awareness activities should focus on the sounds and not the symbol. Since these skills are auditory, they can be taught and learned with your eyes closed. 

Phonological Awareness is often described as an umbrella that covers the skills related to the sounds of the spoken language. Under the phonological umbrella you will find: rhyme, alliteration, sentence segmentation, syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemic awareness.

(https://www.therealogreadingtutor.com/blogs/phonological-awareness-the-ultimate-prerequisite-for-reading)

 

The progression of phonological awareness skills should be taught from less complex and larger sound units to more complex, smaller sounds units. Below is a brief overview each of these skills.

Rhyming and Alliteration

Rhymes are words with a close similarity in the final sounds of two or more words (cat/bat; drought, scout).  Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession (Sam slid down the slippery slope). Tongue twisters are a great way to teach alliteration in the younger and older grades. Initially, the goal of instruction may be identification, eventually leading into creation.

Sentence Segmentation

Sentence segmentation, also sometimes referred to as word awareness, is the ability to identify and manipulate words within a sentence. Students can clap or count each word in a sentence. Another activity is to use manipulatives such as a counter or beads to represent words read aloud.   

Syllables

Syllables are parts of a word that contain a single vowel sound that is pronounced as a unit (ta/ble; ba/na/na). In this skill the students develop the ability to identify and manipulate syllables within a word. Activities can include counting, clapping, or tapping the parts of a word into syllables or breaking up a word into syllables then having the students guess the word. 

Onset and Rime

Onsets are any consonants before a vowel in a spoken syllable; rimes are the vowel and any consonants after it (sh-ip, t-ank). Students can practice blending or segmenting the onset and rime of words read aloud. Manipulatives, such as counters or beads, is another way to engage learners in onset and rime activities.

Phonemic awareness is the final skill under the phonological awareness umbrella, but it is so important that it deserves its own section. Stay tuned for the next blog post to learn more about this very key reading skill.