From A Feast of Rhyme, Rhythm, and Song: Developing Phonemic Awareness Through Music

by Nancy Lee Cecil and Carol W. McCormick

Song Page 115

Authors Nancy Lee Cecil and Carol W. McCormick have created this book for all children but specifically for children who are unaware of the subtleties of the sounds in the speech stream, or who do not realize that sounds represent letters in words. The many useful ideas and activities in this book prepare children for the introduction of letter and sound correspondences.

Below are just 5 of the many helpful ideas you can use in your classroom.

Tip 1: Phonemic awareness is basically oral in nature and is most appealing to and memorable for children when embedded in meaningful, interactive games and activities.

Tip 2: Phonemic awareness lessons should last no more than 30 minutes in length daily.

Tip 3: Songs, with their rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, are particularly potent pathways to language competence and literacy for children who have special language needs, or for whom English is an additional language.

Tip 4: Children appear better able to capture and gain control over larger units of sound before smaller units of sound. Therefore, with younger children, such a preschoolers, or older children who have little sensitivity to the sound structure of the English language, focus initially on whole words and sounds in general.

Tip 5: Syllables are acoustically and articulatorily distinct in the flow of oral language, making them easier to identify and distinguish than individual letter sounds, or phonemes. Therefore, syllables should be among the earliest phonemic awareness subskills introduced to children.

To purchase a copy of A Feast of Rhyme, Rhythm, and Song please visit www.pandmpress.com.