Phonological awareness is a broad skill that includes identifying and manipulating units of oral language. Children who have acquired phonological awareness are able to clap out the number of syllables in words; identify and produce oral rhymes and can hear and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words (phonemic awareness). Phonological awareness skills are one of the best predictors of how well children will acquire early literacy skills. Strong achievement in this area makes learning to read, write and spell a lot easier. Therefore, a focus on phonological skills and careful individual monitoring of achievements is needed to ensure the successful development of early literacy skills in young children.
There are four books in this Phonological Awareness series and they have been designed to be used sequentially.
- Book 1: Syllables and Rhyming: This book focuses on clapping out the number of syllables in words; identifying and producing oral rhymes and hearing and manipulating sounds in spoken words. These are all skills needed to produce great future readers, writers and spellers.
- Book 2: Phonemic Awareness: The activities in Book 2 are primarily oral, aural and requiring movement, such as: clapping, stomping and jumping. Picture cards are provided for some of the activities and can be kept and laminated for repeated use.
- Book 3: Alphabet Knowledge: Book 3 focuses on teaching the letters of the alphabet and their most common sounds. This is an important step in students’ reading and spelling journeys. Blending and segmenting activities are also included.
- Book 4: Alphabet Letter Formations: The final book in this Phonological Series focuses on teaching children how to form their letters correctly. Early handwriting skills are an important skill in early education. Letters are introduced in a particular order which differs from the traditional alphabet sequence.