Helping Your Struggling Reader From the Foundations Up | Phonemic Awareness

So you have a struggling reader?  You are not alone.  I am approached on a regular basis by parents of struggling readers who need help.  Their child is usually in 1st grade or higher and struggling with basic Kindergarten material.  The question that always runs through my head is...How is their phonemic awareness?  There are specific diagnostic tests for this that a Reading Specialist would use but you aren't here for testing, you are here for a jumping off point on how to help.  If your child, at any age is struggling it is important to go back to the basics.  I am going to be doing a running series on how to identify this weakness at home and what you can to do help.  So, I know you have questions and want answers that are simple and straight forward.  I'm hear to help.

What is Phonemic Awareness?

The answer is simple.  It's the ability to identify the smallest identifiable unit of sound (phoneme) of spoken language.  In other words, when you hear the word "sat" you can distinguish the sounds /s/, /a/, /t/ in that world.  Even if you didn't know the names of the those sounds (letter names) you can still identify the sounds themselves.


Why is Phonemic Awareness Important?

More than 52 peer reviewed experimental studies have indicated that helping a child master phonemic awareness skills when combined with teaching letter names (National Reading Panel [NPR] 2000) revealed significant positive benefits.

Phonemic Awareness enhances the outcomes in word recognition and spelling for all students.  Children with phonemic awareness training become better readers overall.    In addition, the [NPR] 2000 reports that phonemic awareness helps all students with disabilities, students with reading difficulties, very young students, and so on.  The skills can be taught in brief time frames each day.


Okay, So What Should Be Taught?

This is simple.  Segmenting (taking apart) words into phonemes and blending them back together contributes more to learning to read and spell well than any of the other phonological awareness skills. [NPR] 2000.

First grade students who lack phonemic awareness, or who read lower than 20 words per minute, should also be learning these skills.  This is in addition to phonics rules or other reading components typically focused on in that grade level.

Words can be divided into parts such as syllables, onset-rimes, or phonemes.


HUH?  What Onset-Rime?

Words that can be divided into onset-rime are one syllable words.  "Onset" refers to the consonant/s before a vowel and rime refers to the vowel and every sound that follows.  Below are a few examples.

• In the word can, /c/ is the onset & /an/ is the rime.
• In the word scratch, /scr/ is the onset & /atch/ is the rime 

Easy right?  Of course the longer the word, the hard this becomes but with struggling readers it should be kept simple.  These skills should be kept simple and focused for about a week at the phoneme level.

This type of segmenting at the onset-rime level is considered a warm up skill and should be shifted to quickly to smaller unites as quickly as possible.

Okay, now that we've cleared that up.  Let's talk about how you can help your child.


How Do I Know If I Should Teach Phonemic Awareness At Home?

First ask yourself...

• Does my child need phonemic awareness instruction?
• What phonemic awareness instruction would my child benefit from?
• How much time should I spend teaching phonemic awareness?

If you aren't sure yet how to answer these questions, let me be your guide.

Does your child need phonemic awareness instruction?  

• Is your child struggling with reading?
• Is your child in Kindergarten or First Grade?
• Is your child in First Grade and reading a grade behind?
• Is your child  in any grade above First Grade and stuck at a First Grade Level?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then your child would benefit greatly from Phonemic Awareness Instruction at home.

What phonemic awareness instruction would my child benefit from?

There are several ways to approach this question.  One, you can simply as your child's teacher if any phonemic awareness assessments have been done and ask what the results indicated?  The answer should be one or all of three answers, your child could need help with....

• deleting (taking out sounds in words)
• segmenting (pulling apart sounds in words)
• blending (putting together sounds in word)

There are 4 very common assessments that can be administered by any teacher.  If you are having difficulty getting these answers from your child's teacher try harder or you can move forward on your own and start at the beginning.  You will eventually, if not right away, hit bumps in the activities that will give you a good clue as to whither to move on or keep working.

If you aren't sure were to start it helps knowing that the two most important aspects of phonemic awareness are segmenting and blending....pulling apart and putting back together.

Okay, I Want To Get Started.  Where Do I Begin?

First, let's establish some very important foundational guidelines.  The instruction you provide should be systematic and explicit.  Meaning, the methods of instruction should not vary and you should be clear with your instructions.  The instruction should be obvious, visible, and with goals that anyone listening could understand.  Lessons should be highly focused and well sequenced.

Allow time to model the activities, time for your child to respond, and time to reflect on how and when to move forward.

You should consider allowing your child opportunities to write the letters that represent the sounds that are heard.  It is important for children to be able to transfer their phonemic awareness skills to reading and spelling as they move along by writing.  Reading and writing go hand in hand, always.


What do I need to get started?

There are a couple of things you will need handy for sure.

• Word Lists (click here)
• chips, tiles, or fingers to help track syllables 
• Printable Phonemic Awareness Activities

I will be publishing 9 different activities for download that will be linked below.  Start with the first and work your way to the last with your child.  If additional materials are needed they will be mentioned in the activity list.  Since phonemic awareness has more to do with listening to sounds there are not many materials needed at all.  Some of these activities can even be practiced on the go.  

Phonemic Awareness Activities:

(activities available beginning after 11/25)

Syllable Split 

Deleting Syllables

Jumping Syllables

Elkonin Boxes

M&M Phonemes

What Did I Say?

Do The Phoneme Shuffle

Smiley Face Phonemes

Which Word is Different?

Reading Logs aren't just for summer

Simple As That has a beautiful example and free printables for a reading log.

This beautiful reading log could be used year round.

Reading Journals

If you haven't read "The Book Whisper" by Donalyn Miller and you are a teacher or home-school mom then you should.  These beautiful journals were posted by The Apple Basket Teacher and made after  having been inspired by the book.

Book journals are a great way for a reader to incorporate writing and to have them learn to write reflections of what they have read.  They journal in what they liked and didn't like and even how it may have affected them as readers.  Then, when they need to recommend a book or are asked about a book they read, the reader has a reference of their initial thoughts and feelings.   Sharing a great way to inspire others to read as well.

Teaching Your Child to Read Series

No Time for Flashcards is hosting the first post of series called Teaching Your Child to Read. It has some wonderful easy practical advice! Check it out here and look for the rest of the series over at I Can Teach My Child.

I'm Discouraged My Child Isn't Reading

Last May, at the end of the school year, I felt as if I was at a stand still with one of my children.  She wouldn't read, and when she did try I wasn't seeing much progress.  After much frustration on my part, I decided to back off for a while and give us both a break.  I continued to read to her, using my finger to point to the words so she could see what I was reading.  When we started school again in August, I decided she could use as much review as possible, so we pretty much went back to the beginning.  She didn't seem to be "getting it" any quicker than she had last spring, so we went slow.  Some days I wondered if she would ever catch up.  Within the last month I have seen huge progress.  It took a long time, but I feel like we're finally moving forward.  Here are a few tips that may help.   

• Try not to get discouraged - (Believe me, I know sometimes this is easier said than done).
• Stick with what they know until they are comfortable and fluent at it. - We worked on 3 letter words for about 3-4 months.
• Reward their efforts. - If she tries really hard and makes the effort I reward her with stickers, etc. After so many accumulated stickers you can offer a reward.
• If you feel yourself getting frustrated, find a mentor. - There is a great lady at our church who has/still is home schooling her 8 children.  She doesn't have a struggling reader, but she's had struggles and is such an encouragement to keep me from wondering "What am I'm doing wrong?"
• Most of all, try to enjoy them.  It's super hard when they don't want to read, but give them time.  Read to them and enjoy the time you are spending with them.

Resistant Readers: Helping them Fall For Reading

Who was it that coined the phrase about "To have a child is to have your heart forever go about walking outside your body?" Whoever they were, they were right. And when you send your child off to school struggling to read, you worry. It's inevitable. School curricula are so intense these days. There's always more you can do as a parent. It's so easy to begin measuring our own self-worth by our child's phonemic awareness. At the end of an exhausting day, the nagging, perpetual worry about a child's low reading level creep in.

As much as you and I try and be the solution, the aid, the help in our child's difficulties -- sometimes, we just make it worse.

Here's a small thought, just something to think about as you work with your child: Am I having fun? Because if you're too caught up in the angst, your child will be, too. They might not know why, but it won't be fun anymore. And that can be a contributing factor -- sometimes, a pretty powerful contributing factor -- to resistant readers.

There's still reason to smile, though. In fact, the answer can be that simple. If you think your child isn't enjoying reading (whether or not it has anything to do with you,) try these ideas -- or add your own in our comments!

• Have your child re-read books on an easier reading level. Praise, praise, giggle, praise. Make silly jokes, be impressed with what they can do, lavish them with adoration and smiles and glee. Success breeds enjoyment, and enjoyment breeds desire to continue.
• With books clearly beyond their reading level, take a minute to scan the page. Before they continue reading the story, pre-introduce one or two of the larger words to your child. Tell them what the word is, sound it out yourself, have them sound it out, and then explain the definition. This should be a brief, quick exercise so that it doesn't interrupt the flow of the story, but will help keep them from discouragement as they read.
• As the On The Lap blog has hinted before, don't feel the need to correct every effort, or to belabor every attempt they make. Sounding out every word on a page just isn't fun. (If I had to do the same thing in a foreign tongue, I'd want to die, wouldn't you?)
• Make sure you ask your child's teacher for independent and instructional reading level. At an instructional level, they should still be able to read 95% of the text without help.
• Offer to read a book taking turns with a child, and make goofy voices for different characters.
• Allow them opportunities to teach. They can "teach" younger siblings about letters; you can innocently ask, "What sound does CH make, again, honey?" as you are reading the newspaper (and then you can model sounding out a word! This shows them we all struggle and need reminders/assistance.)
• Ask school and local librarians for books on some of your child's favorite subjects. Choose some you can read to your child, and some to read together.
• Consider older children your child looks up to: older siblings, cousins, neighbors, babysitters, etc. and enlist their help. Have them model independent reading, and have them ask your child to read to them. When they shower praise upon your child, you have just multiplied your own efforts.

What else have you done with struggling readers to help them stay interested in reading, even when it feels challenging?

Tips for Helping a Struggling Reader

If you have a struggling reader you know just how frustrating it can be.  If you've looked for strategies, but it seems like they're not working, don't give up.  Here are a couple of things I've recently tried with my daughter who is resisting it too.

• Read street signs, cereal boxes, game pieces/cards, restaurant menus, etc.  You will be reading it to them, taking the focus off of the reading, but they'll be learning the value of why they need to learn.
• Try alternating pages.  You read the left pages and have them read the right side pages.
• Don't correct all their mistakes.  Give yourself a maximum number of mistakes you'll correct.  I only correct approx. one error per page.  If the focus is on the errors they won't want to read, only to be corrected.
• Read to them.  My daughter was resisting so bad I just stopped fighting her.  After about a month she asked why I wasn't having her read anymore.
• Most of all, praise them for their efforts! 

 

Help Your Child Pick a Book to Read Together

Kids Reading Circle is a website the helps your child pick books to read on their reading level.  They feature book lists for early and middle readers, young adults and pictures books.  These books lists are a little dated but are perfect for reading WITH your child.    More important than picking a book of interest for your child, is reading with and to them at an early age.  However, even big kids like to be read to from time to time.

Alphabet - Letter Rocks

When you take one look at these rocks, you know exactly what they are for.  Jennifer over at Just Write, shows us how to make these beautiful rocks that obviously should be used for letter recognition, spelling, phonemic awareness, etc.  Visit her blog for the how too...

Gumball Reading Timer

My Child Refuses to Read

Lately I have been having some great difficulty with one of my girls.  She all of a sudden started refusing to read.  I know its for attention - it started when the new baby was born - but it's frustrating none the less. 

In my mind I was going to 'win', so to speak.  I know its a battle of wills, and therefore I figured if I came out stronger, then I would win.  I guess I forgot where she gets her strong will from. LOL  We are now 2 months into our standoff.  I have been growing very weary of this whole thing.  I don't want to hold her back and redo Kindergarten.  In my mind that would make me feel like a failure (I homeschool), but I can't let her move ahead if she's not willing to do the work.  So, last Sunday I ran into a friend at church.  She also happens to homeschool and has much more experience than me, so I thought maybe she could help me come up with some kind of solution.  I broke down in tears over the stress that had been building.  She listened, without judgement, and then said to me, "Just read to her, that way she doesn't lose what she has learned up to this point."  It sounded so simple, so basic.  Why hadn't I thought of that?  I agreed to try it. But more importantly, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I was able to see the situation a little more clearly.

It's been one week since that conversation.  Not only am I reading to her, but I realized if I use my finger to point out the words I'm reading, she will at least follow along visually.  At times I will find her looking at books, and sometimes she will ask me what something says.  Usually it is a word that is way above her phonics level.  I answer her, with the hopes that maybe she is reading silently to herself, even if she won't read to me yet.  I've decided to back off on trying to get her to read, at least for a little while. After all, I don't want her to end up hating reading.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, I encourage you not to get discouraged.  Don't let it become a battle of wills.  The biggest lesson I've learned through all of this is to just love your child through it. And read to them, so they will someday learn to love reading too.

6 Helpful Reading Tips for Parents before saying "Sound it Out!"

1.     Language Sense - knowledge of how words, phrases and sentences work together.

• From birth, children learn about language through conversations at home, playing with friends, listening to radio, watching television and so on.  Children grow up knowing how words name things, describe things, denote action and link thoughts.  Children also learn how language has different tones and sounds.  They know how words go together to make sense.

As your child reads aloud, you can encourage use of this "language sense" by asking questions like these:

1. Did that sound right?
2. Does that make sense?
3. What do you think would make sense there?

2.     Pictures - information in pictures and graphics

• Encourage your child to look at the pictures and graphics to see whether there is some clue to help figure out what might come next.

1. Can you find something to give you a clue?
2. What does the picture show?

3.     What Has Already Happened - what has already been read.

•  Just as oral language makes sense, so does printed language.  When a child reads, keeping in mind what has already happened can give important clues about what might happen next or what the text says.

1. What do you think might happen next?
2. What happened when...?
3. Do you remember the part we read about...?

4.     What Comes Next - words that come after unknown words.

• Sometimes skipping a word can help determine an unknown word.  This is called reading on.  Encourage your child to read beyond a problem word to see if that will help give a needed clue.  Then ask your child to go back to the start of the sentence and try again.

5.    Language Patterns - patterns in the text.

• Certain kinds of text include patterns that can help a reader.

1. patterns of words, phrases, or verses that repeat such as Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
2. rhyming words such as; One, two, buckle my shoe.
3. flowing rhythms such as; Over in the meadow, where the green grass grows.

6.      Word Construction and Letter Sounds - letter sounds of the words in the next text.

• When other strategies fail, encourage your child to look at the letters and combination of letters in the word.  Looking at the first letter sound and/or familiar word parts (beginning, endings, root words, etc.) can provide another important piece of the puzzle.  For example.

1. fish, fishing
2. walked, talked
3. slow, slowly, slowest

Good readers learn to put all the pieces of the reading puzzle together.  Learning how to do this requires lots of practice.  Encourage your child to try what he or she things will work and to try something else if that piece of the puzzle doesn't fit.

Enjoy your shared reading times.  Together, you and your child can make a great reading team.

Download a book mark that reminds your child about each of these strategies.

 click the link above to print the bookmark below.

Echo Reading

Echo reading provides a fluent oral model for a child and gives an opportunity to practice inflection (alteration in pitch or tone of the voice) and intonation (a use of pitch characteristic of a speaker or dialect).  It is especially helpful for a child who tends to read word by word, or who needs practice in running words and phrases together in a natural flow.

In echo reading, you read a sentence of the text and have the child read it back to you.  Remind and encourage the child to make the reading sound interesting. You can do echo reading sentence by sentence with early readers, but with older children you may want to model the reading of several sentences or a short paragraph at one time.  By reading the piece fluently and smoothly, you demonstrate how the language of the text should flow and give the child a chance to get a feel for it.

Echo reading not only is good practice but helps children see that reading is interesting.  It makes reading fun.  If your child is a beginning reader, try this technique with books that are on your child's reading level or slightly above.

Picture It!

I just read this really great article by Victoria M. Naughton about a Reading Strategy called Picture IT!  I thought it would be something that could be used for all ages and even at home.  This is the why, according to Naughton, that picture it is a good strategy..."it uses pictures to enhance the comprehension by illuminating story structure, promoting questioning and discussion of the store, and teaching vocabulary.  When I read about this strategy, my first thought was that this would have been beneficial when I was growing up to help me with my book reports.

Naughton uses the mnemonic devise as shown below!

The word story is illustrated above to help children remember what each letter stands for.  S = picture frame for setting, T = is a stick figure of the character, O = oops, there's a problem, R = resolution attempts, Y = Yes!  The problem was resoved!

 Above is a form that I made for my seven year old to use after he has read his story for homework or a library book.  We are doing these to improve upon his comprehension and because he is a fast reader, I don't want him to read parts of the story so fast that he doesn't remember what he read.  This is a big problem in second grade if you aren't remembering what you just read.  This strategy makes him think about what he is reading.  It can also be brought down to the level of Play School age children, do the diagram for them and as they recall the store, draw the pictures.  They can later color the pictures drawn by the teacher as an extension to the story.

or

Try it at home for yourself.  Print this above form here.  If you try this strategy with your class or your child, take a picture and send it in as a demonstrate for other parents and teachers.