Phonemes

Phonemes are the smallest units of speech - the basic building blocks of speaking and writing. The word "cat," for example, contains three phonemes - the /k/, /a/, and /t/ sounds. (Most non-readers share a common problem. They have not developed the capacity to recognize phonemes.)

Phonemes are often identical to individual letters, but not always. The word "ox," for example, has two letters but three phonemes - the /o/, /k/, and /s/ sounds. Researchers have demonstrated that accomplished readers are adept at recognizing phonemes and putting them together to construct words and phrases.

In teaching phonemic awareness, the focus of all activities should be on the sounds of words, not on letters or spellings.

• Use strategies that make phonemes prominent in children's attention and perception. For example, model specific sounds, such as /s/ in the word sat, and ask children to produce each sound in isolation and in many different words until they are comfortable with the sound and understand its nature.
• Begin with simple words and simple challenges, e.g., listen for initial /s/ in sat, sit, sip, and sad or for long /e/ in me, see, bee.
• Teach the child to blend phonemes into words. Begin by identifying just one phoneme, e.g., /m/-ilk, /s/-at, working gradually toward blending all the phonemes in words, e.g., /s/-/a/-/t/.
• Teach the child to identify the separate phonemes within words, e.g., what is the first sound of soup? What is the last sound of kiss? Beginning phonemes are easier to identify than final phonemes.
• Once students are comfortable listening for individual phonemes, teach them to break up words, into component sounds, e.g., /m/-/oo/-/s/= "moose".