Key Takeaways
- Five pillars of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension
- Phonemic awareness = sounds in spoken words; Phonics = letter-sound relationships
- Phonemic awareness skills: isolation, blending, segmentation, deletion, substitution
- Digraphs = two letters, one sound (sh); Blends = each letter keeps its sound (bl)
- Fluency includes accuracy, rate, and prosody (expression)
1.1 Foundational Reading Skills
Foundational reading skills are the building blocks of literacy. Understanding these concepts is critical for teaching beginning readers.
The Five Pillars of Reading
The National Reading Panel identified five essential components of reading instruction:
| Pillar | What It Is | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Phonemic Awareness | Ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words | Foundation for decoding written words |
| 2. Phonics | Understanding letter-sound relationships | Enables students to decode unfamiliar words |
| 3. Fluency | Reading with speed, accuracy, and expression | Frees cognitive resources for comprehension |
| 4. Vocabulary | Knowledge of word meanings | Essential for understanding text |
| 5. Comprehension | Understanding and interpreting text meaning | The ultimate goal of reading |
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
Key phonemic awareness skills:
- Isolation: Identifying individual sounds ("What's the first sound in 'cat'?")
- Blending: Combining sounds to form words (/c/ /a/ /t/ = "cat")
- Segmentation: Breaking words into individual sounds ("cat" = /c/ /a/ /t/)
- Deletion: Removing sounds ("say 'cat' without the /c/")
- Substitution: Replacing sounds ("change /c/ in 'cat' to /b/")
For the Exam: Phonemic awareness is about SOUNDS, not letters. It can be taught with eyes closed.
Phonics
Phonics teaches the relationships between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes).
Types of phonics instruction:
| Approach | Description |
|---|---|
| Systematic/Explicit | Direct teaching in a planned sequence |
| Synthetic | Blend sounds together to form words |
| Analytic | Analyze known words to identify patterns |
| Analogy-based | Use familiar word parts to read new words |
Key phonics concepts:
- Consonant blends: Two or more consonants together (bl, st, str)
- Digraphs: Two letters making one sound (sh, ch, th)
- Long vowels: Say their name (cake, bike)
- Short vowels: Quick sounds (cat, bed)
- Diphthongs: Vowel sounds that glide (oi, ou)
- R-controlled vowels: ar, er, ir, or, ur
Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read with:
- Accuracy - Correct word recognition
- Rate - Appropriate speed
- Prosody - Expression and phrasing
Strategies to build fluency:
- Repeated reading
- Choral reading
- Partner reading
- Reader's theater
- Modeling fluent reading
Which of the following is a phonemic awareness activity?
What are the five pillars of reading identified by the National Reading Panel?
What is the difference between phonemic awareness and phonics?
Which word contains a consonant digraph?