In order to further assist my students as they learn to read, I am using the book, Shifting the Balance by Jan Burkins and Kari Yates, as a resource. I will share my learning about the importance of phonemic awareness instruction from the second chapter, “Shift 2: Recommitting to Phonemic Awareness Instruction” and reflect on some ways I intend to use it in my classroom. It has also inspired me to try something totally new and I can’t wait to see how it all works out over the year.
READ THIS: “Shifting the Balance: Professional Reading for the Summer”
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What is Phonemic Awareness Instruction?
In the opening of this chapter, there was a description of how certain terms like phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, and even phonics are often used as if they all mean the same thing. I have also been confused over the years with the terms. Reading this chapter has helped clarify it more for me, but I will surely revisit this chapter often to build upon and review my learning.
According to the text, Shifting the Balance, phonemic awareness “involves only spoken sounds, without letters attached” (page 38), while phonemic awareness instruction is “teaching children to notice, articulate, and manipulate the smallest sounds in words” (page 35).
READ THIS: “Talking Builds Comprehension: Create Opportunities to Talk”
Phonemic Awareness Develops Naturally?
This was one of the topics of “misunderstanding” in this chapter, that “phonemic awareness develops naturally” (page 36). Learning to listen, learning to read, is a whole lot of work! It takes great time and effort to develop these key skills. For that reason, students need the time and regular practice to work on becoming stronger in these areas.
Reading through this chapter made me realize just how necessary it is to consistently and explicitly teach students about the sounds they hear, especially as they learn to read. It made me think about how I’m going to plan for phonemic awareness instruction in my daily routines. I definitely want to approach teaching phonemes differently this year.
What are Phonemes?
Phonemes are the smallest sounds in words. These small, individual sounds (phonemes) are what I need to help my students learn more. There are 44 phonemes in the English language. Check out Jake Pool’s post, “44 Phonemes in English and Other Sound Blends” to see a nice breakdown of phonemes.
Here is a great video that models the 44 phonemes in English.
This Chapter is So Important!
This chapter is extremely important and I’m so glad that it’s part of this book. I have to admit, however, that it was overwhelming. There is so much helpful information packed into this chapter. It is why I will revisit the chapter many more times this year in order to try out different things!
A recommendation for making this shift calmed me down after wondering how I would be able to “do it all”. The authors suggest that educators “gather what you need for thoughtful phonemic awareness instruction” (page 50). Here are the four things they suggest teachers really need to do this:
- Instructional Routines
- Word Lists
- Multisensory Scaffolds
- Assessment Plan
WEBSITE: www.TheSixShifts.com
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A Routine I Will Use for Phonemic Awareness Instruction
One suggested routine is to help students learn to observe how sounds are made. The reasoning behind this routine is to give children the opportunity to see how their mouth, lips, etc. make different phonemes. I instantly loved the recommendation to have students look in a mirror to see what their mouths look like when they make certain sounds…then I remembered that it won’t work this year in class since we are wearing masks due to the pandemic.
That’s when I decided I needed to find another way to help this process start in the classroom, despite the fact that we cannot see our mouths as we manipulate sounds.
I decided that I will use a Sound Wall, one with images of mouth shapes connected to the sounds being made.
I searched through many resources online and finally selected one by Simply Kinder. Check out this awesome resource here!
I plan on instructing my students carefully and not simply placing the images on the wall before explicitly teaching them about a specific sound. I want to encourage them to use it as a reference.
Other Routines I Will Try Out This Week!
- Blending – Students will listen to the individual sounds (phonemes) I make, then guess the word! I already know my students will enjoy the mystery of it all.
- Isolation and Discrimination – This routine will help students identify words that have the same beginning, middle or ending. For example, which words have the same sound at the beginning: down, dog, tag?
Closing Thoughts on this Chapter
I have learned that I truly need to be intentional about phonemic awareness instruction. If I consistently and explicitly help my students focus more on this, it is my hope that I can especially help those who may be struggling readers and writers.
How do you use phonemic awareness instruction to help students learn to read and write?
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