Language and Literacy Learning Groups
Learning Outcomes:
Through hands-on activities including art, cooking, music, drama and writing, children will increase cultural literacy, early phonological awareness, reading and writing skills including:
- The print to language link
- Letter recognition
- Letter-sound correspondence
- Narrative skills
- Illustration skills
- Rhyming
- Phonological Awareness Skills
What are phonological awareness skills?
Phonological awareness refers to the conscious awareness of the phonological structure of words, phrases and sentences. Phonological awareness skills are not spelling skills. Children develop phonological awareness skills by consciously attending to how words sound-by listening to words. Phonological awareness skills are an indispensable foundation to the acquisition of spelling and reading skills.
It is important to know that, unlike the ability to use and understand language, phonological awareness does not develop naturally. Many reading experts recommend phonological awareness instruction as a prerequisite to early literacy training. Research has demonstrated a strong correlation between lack of phonological awareness and reading failure.
Children with language delays are at exceptional risk for reading failure and lack of acquisition of phonological awareness skills!
There are several levels of phonological awareness skills. Phonological awareness develops in a top-down fashion. That is to say, the learner begins at the level of the whole word and gradually progresses to even smaller parts of the word- sounds and letters. Here are some examples of phonological awareness skills that are taught in our Language and Literacy Sessions:
- Awareness that sentences and phrases can be broken up into words. For example, "How are you?" can be broken up into: how-are-you.
- Awareness that some words share sounds or sound sequences. For example, "sing" and "ring" rhyme and the words "black" and "blue" have the same beginning sound.
- Awareness that words can be broken down into component parts. For example, the word "tomorrow" can be split into: to-ma-row.
Early Literacy Development
The terms beginning reading and writing or early literacy development frequently include several phases of learning through which children progress in different ways and tempos. It is an exciting and complex process. The goals for children are:
- To become fluent and efficient readers and writers who can make sense of and convey in written language,
- To become thinkers and communicators who actively review and analyze information,
- To enjoy reading and writing,
- And, to feel successful as users of literacy for a variety of purposes.
Emergent Readers:
Pre- Kindergarten through 1st Grade- Understand that written language conveys messages.
- Pretend read and write: they turn pages of books, invent stories using pictures and their memories.
- Begin to match spoken words with print.
- Know letter names and some sound associations.
- Can write some letters.
- May reverse some letters or write in only capital letters.
- Are able to make simple rhymes.
- Can break apart words into sounds
Early Readers:
1st Grade through 2nd Grade:- Know that reading needs to make sense.
- Are more attentive to print and know more print conventions.
- Can identify letters by name and can use some letter/sound knowledge to help figure out words.
- Know the meaning of some punctuation.
- Can recognize by sight a growing store of words in different contexts.
- Use pictures, story patterns, context and memory of some words to make sense of print.
“Paula: Each time I see you with one of your kids at Class Inc., I see how much you give to them. You give in the way that a new and idealistic therapist gives. Your spirit is reflected in the other therapists you have helping my two little ones. Bruce and I appreciate the high quality, realistic advice and support you have given the whole Wolff family. How blessed we are to know you.” December 8, 2008, Barbara Wolff, Parent