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Reading Basics |  |
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Reading Basics | |
Phonemic Awareness, Alphabetics and Sight Words
Reading is based on the working knowledge that letters represent sounds and that groups of letters represent the sounds of words. The ability to break down words into sounds is known as Phonemic Awareness in the teaching profession. It has nothing to do with the meaning of words only the sound of words. Phonemic Awareness is more important in learning to read than any other measure of intelligence.
How do you know if your child
is phonemically aware? First
you can see if they are able to rhyme words. Give an example like,
"Cat
rhymes with bat." Ask what else rhymes with cat and bat. If they need
help,
ask them to make a choice. For instance, "Which word rhymes with cat:
cow
or rat?" Just try to get a feeling for rhyming skill. Then move on to
beginning
sounds. Say a word like dog. Then stretch out the sounds and emphasize
the
sound of each letter. Ask your child to drop the first sound and say
the
remaining sounds of the word. In the case of dog, this would be the
sound
of "og." Show them how it is done and then ask them to do it. Finally,
you
can try the same thing with ending sounds.
If your child has difficulty with rhyming and beginning or ending sounds, the following index of activities can be helpful. These are not drills, just language play. Make it fun and make it interesting. When needed, give plenty of examples so the object of the lesson is clear. Click on the links in the Help column for lists of books, tapes and games.
|
Type |
Activities that Teach Phonemic Awareness |
Help |
| Story | Read stories that are rich in rhymes and alliteration.
Nursery rhymes and books like those written by Dr. Suess are both fun and useful. |
|
| Song | Many children's songs are also rich in rhyme and alliteration
like "There was an old woman that swallowed a fly..." |
|
| Game | Make games out of sounds. For instance, "How many words can you make that start with the "b" sound?" |
After learning to work with sounds, the next step is associating sounds with letter symbols. This is called Alphabetics. No one can learn to read until they are comfortable with the letters of the alphabet. A good test of letter recognition uses a sheet of paper with the letters of the alphabet written in random order. [Click for Alphabetics Test] Ask your child to say each letter in turn and to associate it with a word that starts with the letter. For instance, "a" is for "apple". If your child has trouble with some letters, mark them for future practice. The following index of activities will strengthen alphabetic skills. Click the links in the Help column for all the details.
|
Type |
Activities that Teach Alphabetics |
Help |
| Story | Read to your child every day. Your public library is a great
place to visit regularly to stock up on alphabet and other books. |
|
| Song | Make sure your child knows the "Alphabet Song" to become familiar with the letters. Many good songs are available. |
|
| Card | Buy or make flash cards with a letter on one side (upper and
lower case) and a simple word that begins with the letter on the back. |
|
| Page | Have your child make letter pages. At the top, write or paste one letter in both upper and lower case. Then find magazine pictures of objects that start with that letter. Cut out and paste them on the letter page. |
Some words are used over and over in everyday reading. These are structural words like "it", "the" or "and". We call these Sight Words because a good reader recognizes them on sight. It is estimated that just the most common 25 sight words make up 25% of every book. If your child can learn these few words, reading will be much easier. It is best to practice sight words by rote memory or in simple sentences. Definitions are difficult since most are so fundamental. An expanded list of common words was compliled by Edward Dolch from children's books. Dolch words are divided into 220 service words ( non-nouns ) and 95 nouns. The table below has help links to pages listing all of these sight words from the 25 most common to Dolch words not included in the most common list. After learning the alphabet and its sounds, learning to recognize sight words is your most important reading task. Start with the Most Common Words and build from there as your child becomes comfortable.
|
Type |
Lists of Common Sight Words |
Help |
| Most Common | The most common 25 sight words with helping sentences. | |
| Kindergarten | Modified Dolch sight words for kindergarten level. | |
| First Grade | Modified Dolch sight words for grade level 1. | |
| Second Grade | Modified Dolch sight words for grade level 2. | |
| Third Grade | Modified Dolch sight words for grade level 3. | |
| Dolch Nouns | List of Dolch nouns to use for practice after the words are taught as part of the Phonics Lesson Worksheets. |
After your child has become skilled with sounds, letters and sight words, it is time for phonics. Phonics is just the set of rules that allow letter combinations to be decoded into word sounds. Unfortunately, English is a rich language built from many cultures over the centuries. So, there are a lot of rules, 103 to be exact. Don't let this number scare you. Phonics is taught over several years. And your child may already know quite a bit. That is why we have designed tests for phonics skills that allow you to pinpoint what needs work and what doesn't. Print the tests and evaluate your child. Then print worksheets for those skills that need reinforcement. Take it easy; a single sheet a night can make a big difference.
A well rounded reading program should also include lessons supporting word structure, vocabulary and comprehension skills. These subjects are covered by placement tests and worksheets very similar to our phonics lessons. Print the tests and evaluate your child. Then print worksheets for those skills that need reinforcement. And remember to visit your local public library for interesting books that put your child's new found reading skills to work. If your child has significant learning problems, you may wish to review the learning disability pages of this website. These pages give a general overview of learning difficulties and they discuss diet, food allergy, preservatives, vitamins, supplements, prescription drugs and helpful strategies. If you find this free website constructive and wish to help, consider placing a link to www.learningtarget.com on your own Facebook or Webpage. We appreciate your comments and feedback.
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