Phonemic awareness is the understanding that syllables and spoken words are made up of specific speech sounds. It is possible to “tease out”, isolate or “sound out” these sounds, which are known as phonemes, in order to help a child learn to spell or read.
It is well know that phonemic awareness is a powerful predictor of success in learning to read.
Furthermore, children who are able to sound out and isolate specific sounds in words are usually better at spelling.
When children struggle to hear or manipulate sounds in spoken words they have trouble with decoding (the process of transforming information from one format into another; e.g. combining letters to form words while reading).
Unfortunately, in the past many children were taught the “whole language” approach to reading (also known as “look-say” or “sight reading”). In this approach children attempt to memorise whole words by sight rather than sounding them out phonetically. As a result, many people have struggled to learn how to read effectively.
Research has demonstrated that explicit training in phonemic awareness benefits all readers.
Parents often do a great job at teaching their children the symbols (ABCs) and some whole words, but they often miss important steps in developing phonemic awareness.
What can parents do to help?
You can help your child develop phonemic awareness by:
Teaching them to rhyme by singing songs, reading books that rhyme (Dr. Seuss is wonderful!) and creating their own rhymes.
Engaging in alliterative language play by listening for and generating words that begin with the same initial sounds. E.g. “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”.
Identifying ending phonemes that are the same. E.g. What words end with the same sound, brick, tack, and mouse?
Breaking words into syllables. E.g. by clapping or tapping out syllables.
Joining phonemes together to make words. E.g. what word does “k”…“at” make?
Segmenting words into phonemes. E.g. what two sounds make up the word “cat”?
Making new words by substituting one phoneme for another. E.g. “cat” could become “hat”.
Tracking print when beginning to read.
Sounding out unknown or new words, one phoneme at a time.
The more phonemic awareness your child can develop, the better equipped they will be for learning to read, spell and write at a high standard.
Reference: Harwell, J, M. (2001). Complete learning disabilities handbook. John Wiley & Sons: San Francisco
The article contains several intriguing examples of scientists who gained inspiration for their research from childhood toys.
That’s right, toys can be inspirational…even for adults!
But what types of toys are best for children?
Over the next few months I will be searching for the best educational toys and books I can find, and, as my list grows, I will share my thoughts here on the blog.
Homework is an important part of your child’s daily routine. Good habits, established early in school, help children consolidate what they have learned at school.
Here are a few tips for parents to help with homework:
Develop a homework routine and schedule
Together with your child, establish a specific time and place for homework. Set a specific time allocation each day for homework and stick to the routine.
Ensure that all extracurricular activities, medical appointments, chores and responsibilities, meal times and bedtimes are accounted for in the schedule.
Be aware that some children prefer to start their homework immediately after school, however other children need to play and relax before settling into their homework. Experiment with different times to see what works best.
Keep an eye on things to ensure that homework is actually being done during the agreed time.
Create a better work environment:
Make sure your child’s study is free from distractions and is easy for you to monitor.
Limit distractions in the home during homework hours, such as noise or interruptions from other siblings.
Turn off TV and radio.
Remove phone and if working on the computer, close email and the various chat and social networking sites.
Be sure all books, pens and homework resources are within easy reach.
Consider placing a couple of motivational posters on the walls in the study area.
Help with preparation and structure:
Expect your child to have all assignments and homework recorded.
Review each task with your child.
Encourage your child to review tasks each night and make a plan before beginning.
Write a to-do list with estimated time to spend on each task.
Encourage your child to check off tasks once they have been accomplished.
Increase motivation:
Use a timer to challenge your child to stay on task.
A “beat the clock” system is often effective – motivating children to complete the task before the buzzer goes off!
Remind your child to complete homework and offer incentives: “When you finish, you can play computer games.”
Praise work well done.
Withhold privileges until a certain amount of homework has been completed.
I hope these tips help to make homework time run more smoothly at your house!
Ten General Principles of Instruction for Teachers to Help Kids with Learning Issues
Help kids experience success!
Involve the student – students need to be involved and actively engaged in their learning. Teachers need to discuss each aspect of the program with the child. Goals that are set together are far more effective than those set by the teacher. Talk with the student about the approach to learning they will take and ask for feedback. Teachers need to ask the student how they are feeling about the process and understand what is working and what needs adjustment.
Use multi-sensory teaching methods – students need to see, hear, say and write what they are learning! Teachers need to be as creative as possible.
Teach students to use logic rather than rote memory – students can learn about spelling rules rather than only relying on their memories. In maths, teach students about logic.
Present materials sequentially – use the metaphor of building a house and work slowly and sequentially.
Present material in small units – don’t overload the student. They need small manageable chunks of information.
Practice, practice, practice and review – always spend part of the lesson reviewing what was learned and review the previous lesson at the start of each lesson.
Help students organise time and space – use a diary or calendar to assist in planning and always have spare pens and pencils ready to give to students.
Individualised instruction – where possible, one-on-one time is highly beneficial.
Always be aware of the emotional climate – if a student is really struggling and it is affecting their self esteem and mood, be prepared to switch to something else; preferably something the student is really good at!
Laugh a lot – learning needs to be fun, especially if you want to convert students into lifelong learners.
Phonemic awareness is the understanding that syllables and spoken words are made up of specific speech sounds. It is possible to “tease out”, isolate or “sound out” these sounds in order to help a child spell or read.
Help your child develop good reading skills
It is well know that phonemic awareness is a powerful predictor of success in learning to read. Furthermore, children who are able to sound out and isolate specific sounds in words are usually better at spelling.
When children struggle to hear or manipulate sounds in spoken words, they have trouble with decoding (the process of transforming information from one format into another; e.g. letter combinations to words while reading).
Unfortunately many people in the past were taught the whole language approach to reading. (Also known as “look-say” or “sight” reading.) In this approach children were taught to memorise whole words rather than sound them out. This has caused many issues with children learning to read.
Research has demonstrated that explicit training in phonemic awareness benefits all readers. Parents often do a great job at teaching their children the symbols (A, B, C, etc.) or even some whole words, but they often miss important steps in developing phonemic awareness.
What can you to improve phonemic awareness in your child?
You can teach your child to:
Hear rhyme by singing rhyming songs, reading books that rhyme (Dr Seuss is wonderful!) and generate their own rhymes.
Engage in alliterative language play by listening for, and generating, words that begin with the same initial sounds. E.g., “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
Identify ending phonemes that are the same.
Break words into syllables. E.g. clapping or tapping out syllables.
Blend phonemes to make words. E.g. what word does “c” or “at” make?
Segment words into phonemes.
Make new words by substituting one phoneme for another.
Track print when beginning to read.
Sound out unknown or new words.
The more phonemic awareness we can develop in our children the better equipped they will be to learn reading, spelling and writing.
Reference:
Harwell, J, M. (2001). Complete learning disabilities handbook. John Wiley & Sons: San Francisco
Watch this video and see how these amazing dolphins have developed a new way to catch fish!
Dolphins learn new ways to thrive and survive and so can children with learning disabilities. Children can also adapt to their environment if they are given the right resources and skills.
Davis (1997), talks about dyslexia as a ‘gift’ -- a natural ability or talent. He lists several characteristics and abilities that most dyslexics or students with learning disabilities share:
Using the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions
Being highly aware of the environment
Being more curious than average
Thinking in pictures rather than words (a much faster process)
Being able to think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses)
Being able to experience thought as reality
Vivid imagination
Through assessment, I often find that children who struggle with a particular cognitive function tend to excel in other areas.
This can be particularly frustrating for parents -- watching their child struggle to read, when they know they are talented in other areas.
Suffering from dyslexia, a developmental delay or a learning disability does not necessarily have to hold your child back.
Like the dolphins who adapted to their environment and invented a new way to round up fish, a young person can effectively learn to adapt, and even thrive, in the classroom.
Reference: Davis, R, D. (1997). The Gift of Dyslexia. Ability Workshop Press: New York
All the children go back to school and the parents cheer “hooray”!
It is important for parents and children to be organised and prepared for school. Here are a few important tips to help:
Get back into the routine as quickly as possible.
Talk to your children and teenagers about the routine they will need to follow during the week and establish clear guidelines and boundaries. This will avoid fights and arguments. For example, what time they will wake up and go to bed, what time they will need to be ready to leave for school, what time they will have any sporting or other commitments afterschool and what time they are expected to do their homework.
Have clear boundaries about the amount of TV, phone/texts and internet time. Differentiate between computer time to complete homework and computer time for socialising. Young people don’t need to have MSN, MySpace or Facebook open while they are completing their homework! Instead, that sort of activity should be used as a reward after homework and any additional study is completed.
Try to eat together and talk about the day. Yes – without the TV on!
Talk to young people about their day at school. Yes – even those reluctant-to-talk teenagers! Be creative with your questioning techniques. Ask them to tell you about their maths teacher or how well they think their teachers will be able to teach them this year. Ask them to tell you three good things about school and three things they would like to improve.
Make sure there are heaps of healthy foods for each main meal and as snacks. Young people don’t need to drink soft drinks (that should be a special treat). Chips and lollies should be for parties ONLY, or again as a special treat. Kids need fruit, veggies and wholegrain food. Try to be creative and healthy with lunch. Water is often the best solution for drinks. Low fat flavoured milk is also ok.
Try to be positive about school and talk about why school is important. It is essential that children develop a healthy opinion of school and how it will help them achieve their goals.
Set goals with your children. Help them to set realistic goals and time-frames to achieve them. Place written goals up on the fridge or in your child’s room. Have fun with goals and display them visually and use lots of colour and stickers.
Celebrate your Child’s success! Have a special dinner or a special toast, go out for dinner or give your child a small reward for making a smooth transition back into school.
Enjoy the fact that your children are back at school learning new things. Easter Holidays are 8 weeks away!
Flash cards are a great way to summarise your notes, learn definitions and answer single sentence questions. They are good for true and false test questions.
Example of a definition flashcard:
Side 1: Dyslexia ( put the key term in the middle of the card).
Side 2:
1. Impaired ability to learn to read.
2. A learning disability in which a person finds it difficult to read and write.
You may like to include a picture of a person reading a book! (Having a picture to go with you definition helps you make visual links with the key word.)
Tips for making good flashcards:
Use a reasonable size card and write legibly!
Don’t try to cram too much information onto one card. (The general rule is no more than five key ideas).
Always try to understand what the concept or definition before you write a flash card for it.
Where possible use your own words, never just copy! (I know it is tempting to just copy!)
If you are writing flash cards by hand, draw a picture of symbol that might help you recall the information more easily.
Test yourself often and make a pile of the ones you might struggle with memorising and review these more often.
Get a friend or family member to test you.
Most of your time should be spend learning the flash cards, not creating them!
The Flashcard Machine
The flashcard machine is a free web application that enables users to create interactive web-based study flash cards and share them with others. It is easy to use and user-friendly.
There are several groups of flash cards up on this site with various VCE subjects already in the data base!
Children get stuck from time to time and they need expert help to manage their emotions and deal with issues.
Children Need Help Too!
We see children every day that benefit from counselling. Children need a safe and secure environment where they can express themselves and get help with anything that they might be struggling with.
At School Psychology Services we specialise in working with children and young people. We work with young people, because love it, and that is what we do best! We are child and adolescent friendly psychologists!
Goals
Counsellors have identified four levels of goals when working with young people . These include fundamental goals, the parents’ goals, goals formulated by the counsellor and the child’s goals. (Geldard & Geldard, 1997). All these goals are need to be taken into consideration when working with young people.
Fundamental goals address painful issues, allow the child to feel good about who they are and empower the young person to control emotions such as anxiety, depression or anger.
Fundamental goals enable the child to accept their limitations and strengths and help to change any negative behaviour. Furthermore, these goals help the child adapt and thrive in their external environment and reach their full potential.
The psychologist working with the child addresses the fundamental goals, parents’ goals, formulates their own goals and works with the child’s goals. At times this may appear to be a bit of a juggling act, but with careful planning and negotiation, all needs and goals can be addressed.
We set goals with the parents and young people so everyone is clear about the direction each counselling session will take.
We focus and specialise in the following Child Psychology Issues:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Anger Management
Asperger’s Syndrome
Anxiety in Children and Teenagers
Building Positive Relationships with peers and parents
Bullying
Conflict Resolution
Career Counselling
Depression in Children and Teenagers
Divorce and separation
Dyslexia
Educational Assessment
Friendship Issues
Gifted and Talented Assessment
Goal Setting
Grief and loss
Learning Disabilities
Learning Issues
Learning Styles
Life Coaching
Motivation for school
Organisation Skills
Parenting
Problem Solving Strategies
Psychological Testing
Relaxation Techniques
Self Development
Self Esteem Building
Stress Management
Special Education
Social Skills
Study Skills
Thinking Skills
The more quickly an issue is addressed the faster it will be resolved. Don’t wait until your child has a serious issue, contact us today!
Help your child be all they can be and live life to their fullest potential!
