Phonemic Awareness Research

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds which make up words. In the past few decades, large amounts of research have improved our understanding of phonemic awareness and its importance in helping children learn to read. There are hundreds of research studies conducted on all aspects of phonemic awareness, and how it affects and benefits reading and spelling abilities of young children. The National Reading Panel of the US have stated that phonemic awareness improves children's reading and reading comprehension, and that it also helps children to learn to spell. Based on the research and reviews done by the National Reading Panel, they have concluded that teaching phonics and phonemic awareness produces better reading results than whole language programs.

When teaching phonemic awareness, children are taught the smallest units of sound, or phonemes. During the teaching process, children are taught to focus on the phonemes, and learn to manipulate the phonemes in words. Studies have identified phonemic awareness and letter knowledge as the two best school-entry predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first 2 years of instruction. In a review of phonemic awareness research, the National Reading Panel (NRP) identified 1,962 citations, and the results of their meta-analysis were impressive as stated in the NRP publication:

Overall, the findings showed that teaching children to manipulate phonemes in words was highly effective under a variety of teaching conditions with a variety of learners across a range of grade and age levels and that teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to phonemic awareness (PA).

Specifically, the results of the experimental studies led the Panel to conclude that PA training was the cause of improvement in students’ phonemic awareness, reading, and spelling following training. The findings were replicated repeatedly across multiple experiments and thus provide converging evidence for causal claims. [1]

As can be clearly seen, teaching children phonemic awareness early on significantly improves their reading and spelling abilities. Furthermore, the NRP research stated that these beneficial effects of phonemic awareness teaching goes well beyond the end of training period. The NRP phonemic awareness research also found that the most effective teaching method was to systematically teach children to manipulate phonemes with letters, and teaching children in small groups.

Phonemic awareness (PA) teaching provides children with an essential foundation of the alphabet system, and a foundation in reading and spelling. The NRP has stated that PA instructions is a necessary instructional component within a complete reading program.

Below are two other studies done on phonemic awareness, and its effects on reading abilities. In a study involving children aged 6 to 7 years old, researchers found that the few readers at the beginning of grade one exhibited high phonemic awareness scored at least close to perfect in the vowel substitution task, compared to none in children of the same age group who could not read when they entered school. The research also stated that phonemic awareness differences before instruction predicted the accuracy of alphabetic reading and spelling at the end of grade one independent from IQ. Children with high phonemic awareness at the start of grade one had high reading and spelling achievements at the end of grade one; however, some of the children with low phonemic awareness had difficulties learning to read and spell. The study suggested that phonemic awareness is the critical variable for the progress in learning to read. [2]

Another study looked at phonemic awareness and emergent literacy skills of 42 children with an average age of 5 years and 7 months. The researchers indicated that relations between phonemic awareness and spelling skills are bidirectional where phonemic awareness improved spelling skills, and spelling influenced the growth in phonemic skills. [3]

It is clear that with the conclusions made by the National Reading Panel and other research studies on the benefits of phonemic awareness, children should be taught PA at a young age before entering school. This helps them build a strong foundation for learning to read and spell.

>> Help your child develop phonemic awareness and teach your child to read today
 

Notes:

1. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

2. Cognition. 1991 Sep;40(3):219-49.
The relationship of phonemic awareness to reading acquisition: more consequence than precondition but still important.
Wimmer H, Landerl K, Linortner R, Hummer P.
University of Salzburg, Austria.

3. Exp Child Psychol. 2002 Jun;82(2):93-115.
Emergent literacy skills and training time uniquely predict variability in responses to phonemic awareness training in disadvantaged kindergartners.
Hecht SA, Close L.

Teaching Phonics to Children

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

Phonics is a necessary part of any good method of teaching children to read. Teaching Children phonics and helping them develop phonemic awareness is the key to mastering words, which is the first key step toward successful reading. Children need to develop a knowledge of the letters, the sounds represented by the letters, and the connection between sounds created by combining the letters where words are formed. This is an essential part of mastering reading, and enabling children to become independent readers. By learning phonics and phonemic awareness, children gain the ability to pronounce new words, develop clear articulation, improve spelling, and develop self confidence.

When it comes to teaching your children to read, it must include three basic principles:

1) Reading for the child, whether it's a word, sentence, or story, must appeal to your child's interests.

2) Never pressure or force your child into reading, turning it into a negative "event" in their life. It should be a fun, enjoyable, and rewarding experience. This will take ample amounts of patience on the part of the parents, and some creativity.

3) Teaching your child to read must begin with the mastery of the phonemes - the individual sounds which makeup the words.

The basic process of teaching phonics and phonemic awareness to children includes teaching them the letters and letter sounds; then you teach the child to combine (or blend) various letter sounds together to form words; which is then followed by reading sentences and simple stories. This is a logical progression for children to learn reading, where they develop accuracy in decoding words and pronouncing words. This method of teaching also helps the child to spell correctly. Gradually, the different elements of phonics are combined to produce new words, and leads to the discovery of new words by the child using this process which becomes an "automatic reflex".

Teaching phonics to children should take 10 to 15 minutes each day, and these "lessons" should take place in several small sessions each day - such as 4 or 5 session lasting 3 to 5 minutes each. For older pre-school children, lessons can be slightly longer; however, several minutes each session is all that's needed.

One way to start teaching phonics to children with with ear training - by helping them develop the understanding that words are made up of smaller units of sounds, or known as phonemes, and when you combine these sounds, a word is formed. You can start this with very short sessions, as already mentioned. A few minutes a day is all that you need. The key, however, is consistency and patience.

During these short sessions, sound out words slowly and distinctly. You can do this without even making the child aware that you are trying to teach them. Simply take words from your everyday speaking to your child and include oral blending sounds into your sentences. For example, if you wanted to ask your child to drink his milk, you could say: "Joe, d-r-i-n-k your m-ilk." The words drink and milk are sounded out slowly and distinctly. The level of sound separation can be set by you to increase or lower the difficulty. Thus, if Joe has a tough time figuring out that d-r-i-n-k means drink, you can lower the difficulty by blending the word as dr-ink instead.

Alternatively, you could simply pick different words and play blending sounds games with your child. You simply say the sounds of the word slowly, and ask the child try to guess what you are saying.

This concept of individual sounds forming words may take some time for your child to grasp. Some children will pick it up quickly, while other children may take longer, but one thing that's certain is that if you keep it up, your child will catch on. Below are some sample words which you can use to play blending sounds activities with your child.

J-u-m-p   J-ump
R-u-n   R-un
S-i-t   S-it
S-t-a-n-d   St-and
M-i-l-k   M-ilk
S-t-o-p   St-op

The first word is more segmented than the second word, and will be more difficult to sound out. Please note that hyphens are used to indicate the letter sounds instead of slashes.

ie: J-u-m-p  /J/ /u/ /m/ /p/

This is done to make things easier to read; however, when you read it, you should not read the names of the letters, but instead say the sounds of the letters. This type of ear training for phonics and phonemic awareness should continue throughout the teaching process, even well after your child have grasped this concept. It can be applied to words with increasing difficulty. Again, please always keep in mind that not all children can readily blend the sounds to hear the word, so you must be patient, and drill this for days, weeks, or even months if needed. Consistency and frequency is the key to success here, and not sporadic binge sessions.

If you would like to learn about a simple step-by-step program designed to easily teach your children how to read, please click here.

How to Help Your Child Learn to Read

By: ChildrenLearningReading.com

The ability to read is vital for success. It helps your child succeed in school, helps them build self-confidence, and helps to motivate your child. Being able to read will help your child learn more about the world, understand directions on signs and posters, allow them to find reading as an entertainment, and help them gather information.

Learning to read is very different from learning to speak, and it does not happen all at once. There is a steady progression in the development of reading ability over time. The best time for children to start learning to read is at a very young age - even before they enter pre-school. Once a child is able to speak, they can begin developing basic reading skills. Very young children have a natural curiosity to learn about everything, and they are naturally intrigued by the printed texts they see, and are eager to learn about the sounds made by those letters. You will likely notice that your young child likes to look at books and thoroughly enjoys being read to. They will even pretend to behave like a reader by holding books and pretend to read them.

As parents, you're the most important first step in your children's journey into the wonderful world of reading. It is up to you to create the most supportive environment that turns your child on to reading - such as reading aloud to them often during the day and before bedtime, and placing age appropriate books for children around the house, so that the child will have access to plenty of books. Reading often to your child will help develop their interest in books and stories, and soon they will want to read stories on their own.

With the help of parents, children can learn how to read. Make reading into a family activity, and spend time playing words games and reading story books. This will not only help you child learn to read, but it'll also help them build a rich vocabulary, teach them language patterns, and help them fall in love with books and reading.

Below are some tips to help you teach your child to read.

Talk to your child - before a child can learn to read, he or she must first learn to speak. Talk to your child about everything and anything - whatever interests them. Tell them stories, ask your child lots of questions, play rhyme games, and sing songs with them.

Read to your child consistently everyday - we're all creatures of habit, and enjoy having a daily routine. Set time aside each day to read to your child. Read to your child every night. Make this their "cool down" period before they go to sleep. This not only helps your child develop an interest in books and reading, it also help the parent bond with the child, and develop a healthy relationship.

Help your child develop reading comprehension - typically, parents will take the time to read for their children; however, many parents do not put much emphasis or thought on whether their children understands what they've just been read to. Instead, occasionally, make an effort to question your child on what you've just read. For example, you read to your child:

"Jack and Jill went up the hill..."

You pause briefly and ask your child:

"So where did Jack and Jill go?" Or alternatively, "Who went up the hill?"

Young children may not catch on right away initially, and it may take a little practice, but they'll eventually catch on and begin to develop a deeper understanding of what they are reading. This is a very important step in helping your child develop reading comprehension. Of course, don't do this every single time you read, or your child will quickly get bored and lose interest. Do it at random times, and do not over do it.

Help your child to read with a wide variety of books and keep reading fun- 

There is no shortage of children books, and you should always have a wide variety of children books, stories, and rhymes available. Reading is a lot of fun, for both parents and children. Read to your child using drama and excitement, and use different voices. Give your child the option of choosing what book they want you to read, instead of picking the book you want to read to your child.

When reading to your child, read slowly, and point to the words that you are reading to help the child make a connection between the word your are saying and the word you are reading. Always remember that reading should be a fun and enjoyable activity for your children, and it should never feel like a "chore" for them.

>> Click here to help your child learn to read

The Attributes of Successful Networkers

Successful networkers share a wide variety of attributes. All of which can make for success, persons who do not have these attributes would be well advised to make friends with successful networkers.

The best way to build a successful network is to identify successful networkers and get included in their networks. That way you can build a large network with a large number of contacts without doing that much work on your own.

Therefore you need to be aware of the attributes successful networkers share so you can identify them. Here are a few of those characteristics:

• A successful networker has what is called high emotional intelligence. That is she is very good at getting along with others and cultivating contacts and friendships.
  
• A successful network builder is often very astute and well-informed about what is going on.
  
• A good networker is a participator he or she regular attends meetings of organizations like the National Association of Professional Women or NAPW and gets involved. They are often the leaders and officers of groups.
  
• An expert networker is often highly involved in many different organizations and causes. In many communities there are a few people who run everything and work on everything. Cultivating these people is often the way to get in the loop.
  
• Competent networkers are free from prejudice and bigotry. They are willing to work with everybody and to try and include everybody in their activities. In many cases they are the first to welcome newcomers and the last to turn away a person in need.
  
• The best networkers are very sensitive and intuitive they know what is going on and what people are doing. They are often good at reading people and will often cultivate relationships with those others ignore.
  
• Really good networkers are often very good at avoiding persons with criminal or antisocial tendencies. They are often the first to spot and avoid stuffed shirts, blowhards and hucksters. Yet they will also be the first to spot a true opportunity.
  
• Finally, great networkers are great listeners, they may take little or no part in the conversation but they know everybody in the room and what everybody is doing. They get this way because they close their mouths and keep their ears and their minds open.

Strategies for Success in Today’s World

To be successful at an activity such as a career or a business you will have to create a strategy. Unfortunately most women do not how to create such a strategy. They do not know to take control of their lives and change direction to achieve their goals.

Now it is certainly possible to learn about strategies from books, tapes and seminars. It is also possible to learn your own strategy by accident or by circumstance. That of course can be both expensive and painful and very wasteful.

There is a better way to learn strategies for success and apply them. Expose yourself to successful women and learn from them. Instead of spending your time in a seminar or listening to tapes participate in organizations like the National Association of Professional Women where you can meet and interact with such ladies.

You can learn all sorts of important lessons from such women including how to succeed in your career and your family life. You can learn how to budget time, set goals, deal with sexism and discrimination and much more from them if you are willing to get to know them. That means you must be willing to participate and to interact.

An important skill that you can learn from such gatherings is networking which is one of the most powerful, creative, and successful business strategies around. Most successful businesspeople and executives are great networkers.

There are many other strategies that you can use including some that can be applied to your business. All of these can be learned from acquaintance with successful persons and the best organization like the National Association of Professional Women

Rowena is a successful entrepreneur who likes sharing her knowledge to aspiring entrepreneurs. She also likes the National Association of Professional Women or NAPW for empowering women.

How to Achieve the Qualities that will lead you to Success

The best way to become successful is to achieve the qualities that will lead you to success. Fortunately this task is not impossible but it will require a lot of hard work and sacrifice upon your part. You may have to change your thinking and your attitude.

The first step in this process is to identify the qualities that will lead you to success. These qualities include:

• Tenacity
  
• Courage
  
• Intelligence
  
• Integrity
  
• Imagination
  
• Intuition
  
• Ambition
  
• Faith
  
• Determination
  
• Creativity
  
• Clarity
  
• Strength
  

Contrary to popular belief most women have these qualities but they simply do not know how to use them to succeed. For thousands of years, traditional societies conditioned women not to use these qualities or to channel them into one facet of their lives such as their family. How many women are bold and assertive around their families but not at work?

Developing the qualities that will lead you to success and more importantly applying them in your life is not as tough as you think. Simply recognizing that you have those qualities and starting to use them is the first step. A second and even more important step is to find role models.

Role models are women that have the qualities that will lead you to success and more importantly know how to use them. Fortunately such women are all around you even if you don’t recognize them. Family members, superiors, coworkers, friends, neighbors, teachers, and others may have these traits. So will famous women in all fields including businesswomen, entrepreneurs, lawyers, actresses, singers, politicians and leaders. Your local community leaders are often some of the best role models so are your superiors at work. 

Another place to find good role models that can teach you how to develop the qualities that will lead you to success is in organizations. Groups like the National Association of Professional Women or NAPW can expose you to such ladies and let you learn from them. The more time you spend around successful women the more likely you will be to develop the qualities that will make you successful.

Women’s Success Rate in the Corporate World, Rising

The success rate for women in the corporate world is rising despite the recent economic downturn. There are now more women CEOs than ever before.

Major companies with female leaders include Pepsi, Xerox, RiteAid, Sunoco, Western Union, Archers Daniel Midland and Kraft Foods to name just a few. In addition to running the company, there are now more women in the board room than ever before. Almost every major corporation has more than one female board member.

As the success rate for women rises, the profile of women rises and so do the opportunities. Stock holders and boards are more likely to entrust the future of their companies to women than ever before. There are also more qualified women for these positions than ever before.

Thousands of Women Executives


There are now thousands of women executives with decades of experience. Not surprisingly corporations want to take advantage of this tremendous pool of talent. Women themselves are also more assertive and demanding and getting the leadership roles.

One reason why women leaders are in demand is that people believe women have more tenacity and emotional intelligence than men do. The Harvard Business Review found that most executives thought women had more emotional intelligence and tenacity than men did. These attributes were seen as strengths in a leader and vital to leadership.

The survey indicates that attitudes towards women leaders are changing. Women are now seen as having strengths that men do not have and of being as good or better than men. Another reason why women’s success rate is increasing is that companies increasingly recognize that having both men and women on the leadership team makes the company stronger. The attributes women have balance those of the men and give the company an edge in decision making.

As the stature of professional women rises in the workplace, the need for places where women can network and communicate will increase. That increases the demand for organizations such as the National Association of Professional Women or NAPW. Such organizations can give women the tools they need to take advantage of the increasing success rate.