Foundations of Reading: Effective Phonological Awareness Instruction and Progress Monitoring

Description

Research has shown conclusively that children's phonological awareness (their ability to detect sounds in speech in order to learn sound-letter relations) is one of the best predictors of their success in learning to read. This professional development guide is designed to introduce audiences to: (a) phonological awareness and its importance to reading success; (b) activities that foster phonological awareness; and (c) approaches to monitoring children's progress in phonological awareness.

The guide contains four sections of materials:

1. The presenter notes section contains detailed notes to accompany each presentation slide with suggestions on how to guide participants through the workshop.
2. The presentation slides section contains presentation slides with key points — available as color transparencies or as an electronic presentation.
3. The handouts section includes pages with snapshots of presentations slides for participants to take notes, activity handouts for group activities, and other resources.
4. The references section provides a list of references and resources on phonological awareness.

Special Education Adaptations

An earlier version of this guide, Phonological Awareness: Principles for Instruction and Progress Monitoring, was produced in 2000. It contains general adaptations (i.e., instructional design, instruction and curricula, behavioral support) and specific adaptations (e.g., teaching students with learning disabilities to blend phonemes into words) that will benefit struggling readers and writers, including students with disabilities. It was developed in conjunction with the Texas Education Agency Division of Special Education.