Phonological Awareness Pack - Hertfordshire County Council

The Hertfordshire SpecificLearning DifficultiesPhonologicalAwareness PackSEND Specialist Advice and Support (Specific Learning Difficulties)Integrated Services for Learning

ContentsUnderstanding Phonological Awareness3Dyslexia and Phonological Awareness5Phonological Awareness Skills6How to Use This Phonological Awareness Pack7Section 1: Syllable Detection8Section 2: Rhyme26Section 3: Alliteration35Section 4: Phoneme Blending and Segmentation53Section 5: Phonological Awareness for Secondary Pupils70Supplementary:- Early Listening Skills78- Onset and Rime85Appendix 1:Phonological Awareness Assessment Pack for Primary SchoolsAppendix 2:Phonological Awareness Assessment Pack, SecondaryThe Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 2

UnderstandingPhonological AwarenessWhat is phonological awareness?It is an awareness of the sound structure of language. Can you hear the difference between birdsong and a dog barking?Can you hear that a spoken sentence is made up of a series of individualwords?Can you hear that a spoken word is made from a sequence of individualsounds?It is the awareness of the units of sounds – which may be words, syllable, rhyme,phonemes Can you hear syllables, e.g. el/e/phant, ap/ple, trai/ner?Can you hear rhyme, e.g. snow and toe?Can you hear phonemes, e.g. /ch/ur/ch/, /s/w/i/m/?Why is phonological awareness important? Phonological awareness is the foundation for matching sounds to letters(Stanovich, 1994).1- The effective mapping of sounds to letters (reading and spelling) will be morestraightforward if an individual has a clear understanding and experience ofthe sound structure of the language. Phonological awareness is both a prerequisite for and a consequence oflearning to read (Yopp, 1992).2- As well as necessary in the beginning stages of reading, awareness of thesound structure of more complex vocabulary can be directly seen oncereading and spelling become more fluent.-1 Stanovich, Keigh E. (1994) Romance and Reality (Distinguished Educator Series). Reading Teacher, 47(4), 280-91.2 Yopp, Hallie Kay. (1992) Developing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children. Reading Teacher, 45(9), 696-703.The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 3

How should phonological awareness be taught? Phonological awareness needs to be taught independently of phonicsSpoken language needs to be experienced and learned first before letters areintroduced.Phonological awareness needs to be continually taught and referred to whendeveloping reading and spelling skills.- There is a general feeling that once a child has begun to read and spell thatphonological awareness is embedded and does not need to be revisited.- However, if a child is having difficulty with making progress with reading orspelling, it is important to consider assessing and teaching phonological skillsas appropriate according to their age, learning preferences and previousphonological/literacy intervention.Why might children experience difficulties with developingphonological awareness? Some children, for various reasons, do not start school with the phonologicalawareness skills needed to develop their literacy.- These reasons include hearing difficulties, speech and language issues,learning disabilities, poor exposure to spoken language structure andlanguage delay. These children may begin to learn sounds and letters but are unlikely to makegood progress in reading and writing because they lack crucial foundationphonological awareness.- A child may be able to learn that an individual letter makes a particularsound, but if they are unable to identify the individual sounds within a word,they will not be able to blend and segment when reading and spelling.The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 4

Dyslexia and PhonologicalAwarenessCurrently there is no universally accepted definition of dyslexia that is basedon scientificfindings. However, difficulty with phonological awareness is.generally regarded as being one of the key indicators and is thereforeincluded in most dyslexia definitions. This helps to underline the importantrole of phonological awareness in learning to read and spell and supportsthe need for a pupil’s difficulties in this area to be addressed.The Hertfordshire County Council Guidance on Identifying Dyslexia and SupportingChildren and Young People who have Persistent Difficulties in Acquiring Literacy Skills (seeHertfordshire’s SEND Local Offer website)defines dyslexia based on three widelyrecognised definitions; namely, the Rose Report (2009), the British Psychological Society(2005) and the current British Dyslexia Association definitions.The Hertfordshire County Council Guidance on Identifying DyslexiaDyslexia is a term used to describe difficulties with developing and acquiringaccurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling, which is severe and persistent innature despite personalised learning opportunities (i.e. differentiated learningbased on identified strengths and difficulties) and evidenced-based intervention,(i.e. there is strong research to suggest that the interventions produce the expectedand desired outcomes.)Dyslexia is underpinned by difficulties in some, or all, of the following: Phonological awareness: the ability to identify, perceive and manipulatesounds in wordsVerbal memory: the ability to store, process and manipulate verbal informationVerbal processing speed: the ability to retrieve familiar words quickly andaccuratelyVisual processing speed: the ability to visually recognise familiar words/symbols/patterns quickly and accurately.Dyslexia should be recognised as a continuum (from mild to severe) across a rangeof abilities rather than a discrepancy between intelligence and literacy skills. Cooccurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor coordination andpersonal organisation, but these are not by themselves markers of dyslexia.An assessment of dyslexia is a process not an event and should happen over time,taking into account a child/young person’s patterns of strength and needs.The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 5

Phonological Awareness SkillsIncreasing complexityPhoneme segmentation and blendingAlliterationRhymingSyllablesNeither ‘Early Listening Skills’ nor ‘Onset and Rime’ have formal assessments in this pack.Although more appropriate for younger learners, ‘Early Listening Skills’ has been includedas a supplementary section to give ideas and guidance for those children who may havemissed this early work in early years settings due to hearing loss or developmental delay.The ‘Onset and Rime’ section is for those few children who have been successful with‘Rhyme’ and ‘Alliteration’ but who are not quite ready for ‘Phonemes’. It is not a stageneeded for all pupils.Onset and rime (supplementary)Early listening skills (supplementary)The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 6

How to use the PhonologicalAwareness packThe ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle is embedded in The Hertfordshire SpLD PhonologicalAwareness Pack. All assessments can be found in the appendix.Assess1. Using the assessmenttools included in thispack, assess the child’sphonologicalawareness skills.Compare this score toany baseline scores, ifappropriate.ReviewPlan4. Have the activities andgames had the desiredeffect? Has the childmade progress with theirskills?If not, think about whyand what might need tobe done differently.2. Ensure that any gaps in thechild’s phonologicalawareness skills areaddressed in the suggestedorder.Do3. Carry out the suggestedactivities and games. It isimportant that thesesessions are regular andconsistent. Rememberthat little and often ismore effective than onelong session.The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 7

Section 1rabb/itWhat is it?A syllable is a part of a word containing one vowel sound with or withoutsurrounding consonants. It forms the whole or part of a word, for example, rabbitcan be broken into two syllables ‘rabb/it’ but ‘cat’ is just one syllable. A syllable isthe largest phonological unit within a word. Syllable detection is the ability tobreak words into syllables and is a key skill for children to develop before movingon to detecting rhyme or smaller parts of a word such as phonemes.Why is it important?Syllable detection is important for reading and spelling words. It is a strategy thatchildren can use to support decoding of longer words and to break them intomanageable units for spelling. Although, syllable detection is an earlyphonological skill, it becomes increasingly relevant as children get older and thevocabulary being used gets more complex i.e. in a multisyllabic word likeperimeter – per/im/et/er.Teaching strategies:Suggested order of teaching syllables: Two syllable words Three syllable words Comparing two and three syllable words Four syllable words Comparing two, three and four syllable words One syllable words Comparing two, three, four and one syllable wordsWays to count syllablesConsider ways to count syllables according to the pupil’s age, preferences andany additional learning needs, such as concentration and attention difficulties.Try: Clapping Chin-bobs – Every time you say a syllable within aword your chin bobs down. Put your hand underyour chin so you can feel each syllable as you say it Syllable counting card with counters Finger tapping Beating a drum Castanets Stamping Throwing a beanbagThe Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 8

Syllable Detection Activities and GamesIntroduction to syllable counting:You will need:Syllable counting cardCountersSmall toys or syllable picture cards.How to play:Model how to use the syllablecounting cards and counters withchildren’s names, toys or picturecards. Show the item, say the word,clap or chin-bob the syllables andmove the counters onto the syllablecounting card to show how manysyllables in the word e.g. dolphin –dol/phin - two. Child to repeat andthen practise with other twosyllable words. Once secure, moveon to three syllable words.12345Syllable balloonsYou will need:Syllable sorting balloonsSmall toys or syllable picture cardsHow to play:Select e.g. three and one syllablesorting balloons and picture cards.Show the item and say the word.Child to count the syllables andplace item/card on the correctballoon.Syllable PairsYou will need:Syllable picture cardsHow to play:Adult to arrange four pairs ofsyllable picture cards face down onthe table. Players take it in turns toturn over two cards. If both pictureshave the same number of syllables,The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 9

the player keeps the pair and canhave another turn.Syllable SnapYou will need:Syllable picture cards.How to play:Select e.g. two and three syllablepicture cards. Shuffle the cards andplace pile face down in the middleof the table. Players take it in turnsto turn over one card and countthe number of syllables. If thenumber of syllables matches thenumber on the previously turnedcard, the first player to shout ‘SNAP’wins the pair.Syllable BingoYou will need:Laminated blank number grids/pens.Feely bagSyllable picture cards.CountersHow to play:Adult to select syllable numbers tobe targeted e.g. 2, 3 and 4syllables. Give each child a blanknumber grid and ask them to writethe numbers 2, 3, and 4 at randomon their grid. Put the picture cardsin a feely bag and pupils take turnsto pull a card out. The pupil looks atthe picture, counts the syllablesand sees if they can find thecorresponding number on the grid.If so, the pupil covers the numberon their grid with a counter. Thewinner is the first to cover all thenumbers.The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Phonological Awareness PackPage 10