Recently I began a new phonological awareness program with the kids in Smart Start Story Time. This program is from the curriculum adopted by Greenwood Schools by Michael Heggerty, PhD and is the pre-kindergarten component. Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. This is one of the most important skills that predict reading ability. So, if you hear the familiar refrain of, “It’s rhyming time, it’s rhyming time, it’s rhyming time, OH YEAH!!!!” That’s one of our new warm up exercises in story time. We will be doing, “Take 2 words and put them together” for compound words and lots of work on the first and last sound you hear in a word. Research has shown that playing with words in this way helps develop their expertise in isolating sounds. According to the website, Reading Rockets, here are some things you can do at home:
- Help your child think of a number of words that start with the /m/ or /ch/ sound, or other beginning sounds.
- Make up silly sentences with words that begin with the same sound, such as “Nobody was nice to Nancy’s neighbor”.
- Play simple rhyming or blending games with your child, such as taking turns coming up with words that rhyme (go – no) or blending simple words (/d/, /o/, /g/ = dog).
- Read books with rhymes. Teach your child rhymes, short poems, and songs.
- Practice the alphabet by pointing out letters wherever you see them and by reading alphabet books.
- Consider using computer software that focuses on developing phonological and phonemic awareness skills. Many of these programs use colorful graphics and animation that keep young children engaged and motivated.
- Follow this link for more information on phonological and phonemic awareness: https://tinyurl.com/39jekm3
Below is a wonderful video on a classroom that uses this method:
