Monday, February 20, 2012
Introducing Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is crucial to a child's literacy skills. Yopp defines phonemic awareness as "the awareness that the speech stream consists of a sequence of sounds- specifically phonemes, the smallest unit of sounds that makes a difference in communication." It is very important for a child to acquire phonemic awareness because it greatly aids in using our writing system. Without this awareness, our written symbols are arbitrary and very difficult for a child to understand. What really stood out to me about this article was how to teach phonemic awareness. Yopp gives the examples of using songs, chants, and word-sound games. These all allow for children to interact and enjoy learning about phonemic awareness. If they enjoy learning, then they are more likely to remember what they have learned about phonemic awareness. Also, it will help the child if he or her is stumbling on a word. He or she can think of what song or chant went with the sound and work on sounding it out. Teachers can also use the songs and chants when using the coaching technique for phonemic awareness. When the child is having difficulty with sounding out a word, the teacher can remind them of the song that the sound went with. For example if the child is having trouble with the /ch/ sound in chair, the teacher can ask, "Do you remember the song we learned about cheetahs?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree about the songs. It's so much easier for me to remember things in song form. I really like the idea of using music in the classroom for as many subjects as I can. I think it's much easier to do that now than it used to be because we have things like Youtube.
ReplyDeleteFacilitating learning through fun is a great way for children to learn. We always have to remember the students that may not like singing though. I was always uncomfortable singing in a classroom setting. So instruction always needs to be presented in multiple ways.
ReplyDeleteI agree that songs are a good way to learn phonemic awareness. I can remember songs way better than anything else. Also, if you make it fun for the class they are more interested in learning and are more willing to learn.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using songs to teach phonemic awareness. I especially like Down by the Bay, because I used that song in my preschool classroom. It encourages creativity and rhyming. Seeing what kids fill in the blank with is hilarious!
ReplyDelete