Concepts and Research Show
Phonemic Awareness (PA) is:
An important distinction:
Phonemic Awareness is important ...
...but difficult:
Go to top of page Definitions of key PA terminology:
Go to top of page Examples of PhonemesThe word "sun" has three phonemes: /s/ /u/ /n/. The table below shows different linguistic units from largest (sentence) to smallest (phoneme).
The word "shut" also has three phonemes: /sh/ /u/ /t/. Examples of Phonemic Awareness Skills
What Does the Lack of Phonemic Awareness Look Like?Children lacking phonemic awareness skills cannot:
(Kame'enui, et. al., 1997; see References) Go to top of page Phonemic Awareness Research Says:"The best predictor of reading difficulty in kindergarten or first grade is the inability to segment words and syllables into constituent sound units (phonemic awareness)" (Lyon, 1995; see References). The ability to hear and manipulate phonemes plays a causal role in the acquisition of beginning reading skills (Smith, Simmons, & Kame'enui, 1998; see References). There is considerable evidence that the primary difference between good and poor readers lies in the good reader's phonological processing ability. The effects of training phonological awareness and learning to read are mutually supportive. "Reading and phonemic awareness are mutually reinforcing: Phonemic awareness is necessary for reading, and reading, in turn, improves phonemic awareness still further." (Shaywitz, 2003, see References) Phonological awareness is teachable and promoted by attention to instructional variables (Smith, Simmons, & Kame'enui, 1998; see References). Go to top of page How do you classify speech sounds?Speech sounds are classified into two broad phonetic categories i.e. 'vowel' and 'consonant'. A vowel is described as a speech sound in the production of which there is no obstruction or narrowing so as to cause friction. All other sounds are under the category 'consonant'.
What are speech sounds examples?Some speech sounds (particularly vowel sounds) can be made up using just one letter. For example, The 'oo' speech sound just use the letter o, and 'ee' speech sounds just use the letter e. A few words that use oo sounds include: Boo.
What do you mean by speech sounds?Definition of speech sound
1 : any one of the smallest recurrent recognizably same constituents of spoken language produced by movement or movement and configuration of a varying number of the organs of speech in an act of ear-directed communication. 2 : phone.
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