The methods in which teachers use for reading instruction have changed drastically throughout the past years. At one point in time, students simply memorized and recalled words when they read. However, now there are numerous concepts and rules attached to why words are spoken a certain way. Amongst the earliest of reading strategies, come two commonly confused terms: phonemic awareness and phonics.
What is Phonemic Awareness?
Phonemic awareness can be, and should be, introduced at a very early age. During this instruction, students are simply taught or encouraged to hear sounds within words. There are no letters or symbols attached to the sounds. Teaching reading skills through the awareness of phonemes is auditory. Children as young as three and four years old can master hearing and identifying phonemes.
Phonemic Awareness Activities for Young Children
Rhyming games are wonderful for introducing the concept of phonemes to preschool children. Simply having children repeat nursery rhymes can increase phonemic awareness. As children learn to listen to the sounds in words, have them begin identifying beginning sounds. Some great preschool activities include identifying sounds that are the same or different from one another. Students can look at pictures and match the ones that begin with the same sound. There is no need for the child to have any concept of which letter makes the sound.
Examining Phonics
Whereas phonological and phonemic awareness both include the hearing of sounds, phonics takes these two to the next level by relating a symbol or letter to the spoken sound. During phonics activities, children begin to learn to identify letters and the sounds that they make. Phonics includes both auditory and visual practice.
Phonics Activities for Young Children
While phonemic awareness activities included mainly pictures and spoken words, phonics activities will begin including letters and written words. Students can glue pictures that begin with the same sound under the letter that makes the sound. Flash cards are also popular for learning letters and letter sounds. Placing letters in a bag and having students pull out a letter and tell its sound is often a fun game for young children.
How do Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Correlate?
Because children are not required to know any letters or their corresponding sounds to complete phonemic awareness activities, these skills are typically considered the foundation to begin phonics. Most find that children who struggle hearing sounds, will struggle even more when a letter is attached to the sound.
Both phonemic awareness and phonics are key to teaching reading to young children. Making activities that encourage children to hear sounds and focus on letters a part of a daily kindergarten routine is very important. Likewise, preschool students should be continuously exposed to the concept of sounds as parts of spoken words. Once the children have mastered this concept, phonics can successfully enter the curriculum.
Karri Weathers - Karri is a writer and a teacher. She taught 8th grade for four years, first grade for one year, and now is in her 5th year of teaching ...
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