3)+Phonemic+Awareness

Sounds are created by a combination of letters known as Phonemes. In the English language there are 44 phonemes (Hill, 2006). For example the word ‘bird’ has three phonemes /b/ /ir/ /d/ media type="custom" key="703183". This is because the ‘i’ and ‘r’ are pronounced as one sound. Phonemic awareness is the awareness of these sounds and the acknowledgment that when certain phonemes are combined, they produce different words. As children grow up they love to play with sounds such as creating their own rhymes and songs. By demonstrating this they are already showing signs of Phonemic Awareness. They realise that sounds can be very similar, however by changing certain combinations of letters they are producing an entirely different sound. ‘Children who lack Phonemic Awareness may have difficulty in sounding and blending new words, in retaining words from one encounter to the next’ (Wagstaff 2001, p.11). The development of Phonemic Awareness begins from the awareness of words. Children may realise that words consists of letters however are not conscience that each word is individual. This means when words are written there are spaces between them and each one produces a different sound. As words are now identified they become aware of syllables. Knowing syllables helps a child understand the structure of phonemes and helps them break the word up to sound out the phonemes. Hill claims syllables help children to read and write more difficult words that they may not yet be familiar with (Hill, 2006). Alliteration also becomes important in Phonemic Awareness as they learn more than one words can have the same beginning sound. For example: Amy, Apple and Ant.

The following You Tube Clip (2008) provides an explation of the importance of Phonemic Awareness and how it should be implemented in classrooms. media type="youtube" key="kSY6cojyG8E&hl=en" height="355" width="425" The following link provides activities on Phonemic Awareness including Syllables and Sound Isolation: [|Patti’s Phonemic Awareness Activities](Deakin Studies Online, 2008)