Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and work with the individual sounds in words. It’s a critical skill for early reading development, so it’s essential to identify any weaknesses as soon as possible. Read on or press play!
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Poor spelling
Earlier in my career, I thought poor spelling was a letter-sound correspondence issue, but that is not always true! Struggling spellers may demonstrate difficulty with phonological awareness – they cannot break down and manipulate sound units, such as syllables or phonemes. Providing intervention in phonological awareness can help sharpen spelling abilities more meaningfully!
Inaccurate decoding of new words
Students can find themselves unable to recognize the individual sounds that make up a new word – this undermines their ability to accurately read new words. A lack of understanding in these areas may hinder them from properly associating sounds and symbols with meaning.
Mispronunciation of new words
When trying to learn a new word, it’s totally normal and expected that mispronunciation will occur. However, continued mispronunciation may hint at struggles with phonological awareness. To help develop phonological awareness, break each word into its syllables or smaller parts (such as onset & rimes). Practice letter/sound recognition within words through activities, then provide positive feedback when mistakes are made!
Difficulty recalling new words
Struggling to remember or recall new words can be a sign of weak phonological awareness. This is an inability to distinguish the sound structure of language and manipulate its sounds to decode unfamiliar words. Often, little ones memorize the spelling of words instead of understanding how each letter-sound combination works together to form words.
When it comes to phonological awareness, there are a lot of things to keep track of. The sheer volume of what’s included can be overwhelming. I compiled all the terms into a phonological awareness cheat sheet, which I love keeping nearby. You can find it in this post. If you’re looking for more research on phonological awareness, you can find a few of my favorite books here.
