The foundations of early literacy development begin at home. Children begin learning about literacy long before they are able to read. Although research suggests the literature rich environment in which children are raised varies considerably, it can be assumed that most parents, regardless of their approach to early education, hope their children will successfully learn to read, and some will make attempts to prepare their children for success in learning to read. This article will highlight just that, research based strategies parents can do to best prepare their young children for successfully learning to read. As an instructor of early education, it is the experience of the author of this article that phonemic awareness is one part of a balanced literacy program that is often misunderstood by parents. It is a skill that with early practice is essential for learning to read. Therefore, the explanation and importance of phonemic awareness will too be brought to light as a contributing skill for success in early literacy.
It is important to note the variety in type of literacy that occurs in homes. Although on may not realize it, literature appears everywhere. Literature is in the story a picture tells. Like the old saying goes, “a picture tells a thousand words”. Many children are fortune to experience the pleasure of being read to. Children who experience story time learn that print represents words, and words tell an account of something. Children may develop favorite stories and can expect these narratives to be the same each time they are read. Evidence of storytelling’s favorable impact on early literacy is undeniable. “Children who have had many and diver experiences in storybook reading do well on school-based measures of literacy” (Paratore, 57). However, not all children participate in story time experiences prior to a formal schooling experience. “There are other rich and varied literacy and language practices that are embedded in the fabric of children’s daily lives” (Paratore, 57). Though such practices may go unnoticed, a short list of everyday uses of literature and language appears quite impressive. Consider the following uses of everyday language: cutting coupons, reading roads signs, singing songs, filling out a form, cooking from a recipe, perusing the television guide, studying sports scores, balancing a budget, conversation, etc.
Unfortunately, socioeconomic status appears to parallel laying a literacy rich foundation for early literacy skills. “By the age of 3, children in poverty [are] already well behind their more affluent peers” according to a study by G. Wells, 1986 (Waskik and Bond, 63). On the basis of his study, Wells found that lower-income parents placed less value on literacy as evidenced by an absence of books in the home, and lack of rich language use. Not only do children in poverty have less access to literature materials, but their opportunities to converse with adults is 2x-3x lower than that of their middle-class counterparts. Therefore, providing a literacy rich learning environment in the home appears to require access to text, opportunities for read alouds, and meaningful conversation between child and adult.
“Reading aloud to children at home…is probably the most highly recommended activity for encouraging language and literacy” (Beck & McKeown, 2001). Read alouds strength brain development by forcing children to think about more than just the here and now. To make these experiences most effective for children, text must be challenging, and parents must engage in “text talk”, that is “getting children to think about what is going on in the story” (Freppon, p. 144, et al Beck & McKeown, 2001). Talking about text entails asking opened ended questions, activating background knowledge, making comparisons between text and text and/or text and real life, and explaining new vocabulary.
The key to preparing young children for success in learning to read is by providing read aloud experiences coupled with effective text talk. Although it may be relatively easy for middle class parents to provide read aloud experiences for their children, it is not as simple to engage in text talk that promotes language and literacy development. The most common read-aloud strategies are not the most effective. It takes practice on behalf of the parent and child. Use of open-ended questions allows children to construct meaning from what has been. Considering the following questions: “That character’s getting into trouble, isn’t he?” versus “What’s the character doing now?”, the latter probes the listener to construct meaning. Beck and McKeown suggest occasionally waiting to show pictures until after the reading has been discussed. Children often rely too heavily on pictures cues and can misconstrue basic story information when the content of the pictures is in conflict with the text (p 17). “Children need help in bringing background knowledge to bear in appropriate ways”, rather than simply recalling personal experiences, they need to be helped understand how their connection compares with the text. Parents also need to take advantage of the sophisticated vocabulary found in texts, by applying it in conversations with their children. Young children can handle challenging content (McKeown, 10).
In my experiences as an early education educator I have encountered numerous parents that have provided literacy strategies to help their children become successful readers. These parents provided read-aloud opportunities for their children and engaged in successful text talk. Moreover, the culture of their home was a rich literacy environment that included varieties of everyday text, early writing opportunities, singing, phonological activities (rhyming, knowledge of onset & rime), use of rich language, and letter recognition. Although their children knew the alphabet, could print their name, and recognize both upper and lowercase letters, time and time again parents have commented they wished they had spent more time on phonemic awareness. “Phonemes are the smallest units that make up spoken language. English consists of approximately 41-44 phonemes” (Ehri & Nunes). The letters of the English alphabet represent the phonemes in the spelling of words.
Phonemic awareness is a particularly difficult concept to understand. Whereas letter recognition simply implies being able to identify upper and lowercase letters in print, phonemic awareness relies entirely on listening to the units of sounds in spoken language. Many people confuse phonemic awareness with phonics, which is better explained as associating speech sounds with each corresponding letter. Phonemic awareness is difficult because there are more phonemes in the English language than there are letters in the alphabet. Many letter sounds blend together to form a single phoneme which is very difficult to distinguish because “there are no boundaries in speech marking where one phoneme ends and another begins”.
Phonemic awareness is essential for learning to read because of the sheer volume of words in our English language. Occasionally teachers run across a proficient early reader who appears to have mastered decoding, when in reality the students Has simply memorized a considerable amount of sight words. This system of reading may work for a few years, but eventually as the student encounter complex and richer vocabulary, without phonemic awareness skills the reader will fail to advance. While it is true that nearly 85% of the words adults read are sight words, the other 25% must be decoded or sounded out. For one to become a fluent reader, they must understand how to break works into smaller segments and break the code, so to speak.
“Phonemic awareness measured at the beginning of kindergarten is one of the best predictors of how well the child will learn to read during the first two years of school” (Paratore, 2001). Phonemic awareness is equally important in early literacy to write as it is to read. It’s no mystery that writing and reading go hand-in-hand. A beginning writer uses invented spelling by sounding out the smallest pieces of language (phonemes), and putting them into print (Yopp & Yopp, pg 131). The English language is much like a prescription. There is a prescribed spelling and pronunciation for each word dependent on the regularities of phonemes. Although some words with silent letters and unusual spellings defy the rules of the English language, most words can be decoded and spelled correctly simply by having a phonemic awareness and applying it to break words down to the smallest unit of sound.
To reiterate, the most important things parents can do to prepare their children for success in learning to read include providing read aloud experiences coupled with effective text talk. Effective text talk increases a child’s vocabulary and provides essential comprehension strategies such as answering opened ended questions, activating background knowledge, making comparisons between text and text and/or text and real life, and inferring main ideas. In part with providing a literacy rich home environment, parents might consider providing phonological experiences for their child, such as singing songs, playing rhyming games, and teaching children to identify onset and rime. In addition to learning letter names and basic sight word recognition, parents can provide phonics lessons for their children by teaching the sounds associated with each letter. Children who engage in early writing activities such as labeling pictures, and use of invented spellings are practicing phonemic awareness skills by sounding out words and breaking speech into the smallest units of sound for decoding purposes. All of these parts of literacy contribute to a balanced and rich early learning environment that will prepare children for success in school.
