Foundation Of Early Reading Instruction by Samantha Shoemaker

Print Concepts

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 03:47:26 UTC

Print Concepts (Print Awareness): The understanding of how written language is organized and use, which is essential for literacy development.

Appropriate Age/Grade Range

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 07:41:51 UTC

Children can begin to develop an understanding of print as early as infancy and continue to develop into early childhood. Print awareness can be developed through activities such as reading and showing babies, toddlers, and young children letters and words explaining what they are. By Kindergarten, children should be able to identify most letters, follow correct print directions, and understand that individual letters can form to make words. This is an important milestone to complete in these early years as it sets the foundation of reading.

Assessing Print Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 07:43:26 UTC

Since print awareness is a basic yet foundational skill, it is important that teachers assess students at least twice during the year, once in the beginning to get an idea of where the child is at, and once midway through the year to see if they have mastered the concept. This video shows a basic assessment that shows if the child has a basic understanding of the written language and parts of a book.

Assessing Print Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 07:49:21 UTC

A Phonological and Print Awareness (PPA Scale) assessment assesses the child’s understanding of both phonological and print awareness through 6 tasks. These tasks are rhyming, print knowledge, initial sound matching, final sound matching, sound-symbol matching, and phonemic awareness. “The PPA Scale yields an age-based standard score for comparison to same-age peers, as well as a Rasch-based growth score that can be used to track change over time. Additionally, a Descriptive Summary form facilitates task- and item- level analysis for identifying areas of strength, as well as those that need improvement” (Williams, 2014, p2).

Williams, K. T. (2014). Phonological and Print Awareness Scale (PPA Scale) [Manual]. Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.

Instruction

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 07:58:32 UTC

A great way to instruct print awareness is the “immersion in print” which is mentioned in a study to helping to teach print awareness. In this environment teachers use several materials (books, activities, labels) that promote a print rich classroom (206-207). This means multiple books with large print that children have access to as well as read -along books, and fun activities that go along with said books. The teacher then focuses on teaching while introducing and showing new and familiar words. This creates and environment focused on printed letters and words, building the foundation of print awareness. Building this foundation leads to an understanding of written words which is essential to reading development.

Reutzel, R., Oda, L.K. and Moore, B.H. (1989) Developing Print Awareness: The Effect of Three Instructional Approaches on Kindergarterners’ Print Awareness, Reading Readiness, and Word Reading, Journal of Reading Behavior. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328039672_httpjournalssagepubcomdoiabs1011770887302X07303626 (Accessed: 07 September 2025).

Differentiated Activities

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 08:02:39 UTC

A way to differentiate a lesson for students who may have problems with learning print awareness is to use multimodal learning. Multimodal learning allows teachers to use multiple different activities to help all types of learners. By blending visual, auditory, and kinesthetic aids, students with different needs and learning styles can be helped. In the case of print awareness, teachers can use visual aids like labels and large print books to help children see letters and words. Then teachers can use a fun video about letters and allow students to get up and move into the shapes of letters. The video above gets students who struggle to sit still and concentrate by allowing them to move while learning the shapes of letters and what sounds they make.

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 08:04:47 UTC

Another great strategy for differentiation in a lesson for print awareness is shared reading. In a classroom rich with print, shared reading between an adult and a student or a small group of students, can help promote understanding of written words. This is also very beneficial for English language learners (ELLs) and students with dyslexia. While shared reading the teacher/adult reads the story, asking questions to themselves and commenting on what is going on in the book. This is modelling behavior and allows the student to not only hear what is being read but hear someone question or comment on the story. This creates a better understanding of the story. At anytime the student can participate and add in their own questions or thoughts on the story. This helps build their language skills and communication skills. When reading, try to read a book that interests the student; whether it is in something that interests them or a book relating to their native language or culture. Students who relate to the subject are more interested and will participate more.

Phonological Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 08:13:19 UTC

Phonological awareness: The understanding of how spoken words can be broken down into smaller parts (syllables and sounds). This aids in the understanding of words which is essential for decoding and reading of words.

Appropriate Milestone Ages

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 08:29:43 UTC

From the ages 3 to 7+, children are coming into contact and learning different parts of phonological awareness. Above is a graphic of basic milestones each child should reach in these different areas. Grades K through 3rd work and build these foundational skills.

Assessing Phonological Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 08:37:33 UTC

This basic assessment tests different parts of phonological awareness through questions and responses. This assessment should be done in K and 1st grade at least twice to see if a student is catching and meeting that milestone or needs more help in one or more of the different parts.

Assessing Phonological Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 08:41:48 UTC

This assessment is a much more involved assessment than the previous one.

Assessing Phonological Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 08:55:42 UTC

Heggerty Phonics is a very hands-on and kinesthetic learning strategy and if you teach in this way, they provide assessments specific to this learning style. The above link has videos on preforming these assessments. They are one-on-one with the teacher and student and lets the teacher see where the student is excelling and/or struggling. With this information, the teacher can tailor their lesson or materials to help bring the student up to their peers.

Strategy for Instruction

shadysam19 — 2025-09-07 09:08:10 UTC

A great strategy for teaching phonological awareness is using rhyming stories, songs, and chants. Rhyming is the initial set in phonological awareness and can be fun to learn when paired with different activities like songs, movement and chants. Rhymes are auditory pleasing to hear and are easier to remember because of the rhyming. Add a visual aid like the spelling of the words, students are able to see that “cat” and “rat” rhyme due to them sharing the “-at” letters.

Differentiated Instruction for ELLs

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 00:34:40 UTC

For English Language Learners (ELLs), learning phonics can be difficult because they may not know the letters and what sounds they can make. Also, even if they do recognize the letter, it may made a different sound in English versus their native language. Differentiated teaching involves focusing and emphasizing on sounds that different or don’t exist in their native language. Making connections is also very important so using visual aids with new sounds so the child can make the connection of the object to the sound to the English word.

Differentiated Instruction for Gifted Students

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 00:35:43 UTC

For gifted/advanced students, challenging them is important so they don’t become bored and unfocused or distracted. Having these students explore deeper into phonics patterns, like providing activities with one sound that has different spellings. Gifted students can also get more exercise with phonological awareness through peer tutoring. They have to explain and provide their own examples to assist their peers. Cementing this concept.

Phonemic Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 02:06:41 UTC

Phonemic Awareness: A subset of Phonological Awareness, is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phoneme in words.

Key Components:

o Identifying

o Blending

o Segmenting

o Manipulating

Phonemic Awareness Milestones

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 02:08:28 UTC

Phonemic Awareness follows the same path as Phonological Awareness as far as milestones are concerned and are worked on during K and 1^st grade. The basics of phonemic skills are created early in childhood and parents can set the foundation. Reading books with their children and highlighting different sounds, letters and words allow small children to gain the beginning of phonemic awareness.

Phoneme matching: The middle of kindergarten
Phoneme isolation – Initial (first) sound: The middle of kindergarten
Phoneme isolation – Final (last) sound: Late kindergarten or early first grade
Phoneme isolation – Medial (middle) sound: Late kindergarten or early first grade
Phoneme blending: Late kindergarten or early first grade
Phoneme segmentation: First grade
Phoneme manipulation – Initial (first) sound: First grade
Phoneme manipulation – Final (last) sound: First grade
Phoneme manipulation – Substitution: Middle to end of first grade or early second grade

Assessing Phonemic Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 02:09:20 UTC

Reading Rockets provides examples of informal assessments for phonemic awareness. These include questions asked to the students to gauge their understanding of phonemes and fill-in with verbal responses. Students would be asked to match words based on sounds and isolate the different sounds in one word. All of answers provided can determine where the student struggles, if they do, and where they have met their goal.

Assessing Phonemic Awareness

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 02:10:13 UTC

Heggerty also provides several formal assessments for phonemic awareness for schools. There are different assessments for the different levels of phonemic awareness, early phonemes and mastery of phonemes. These assessments help teachers cater their lessons for the class if they are struggling or moving fast through the concept. This is a foundational concept for reading and can be the difference between having an easy time for reading or difficulties reading.

Evidence Based Instruction

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 02:11:55 UTC

The use of technology such as computer programs for phonemic awareness instruction can be a great tool to use. “A review of 18 studies implementing computer-based PA programs indicated positive effects for preschool through first grade students on phonemic outcomes” (Rice et al., 2022). These programs are fun and can teach phonemic awareness through games.

Rice, M., Erbeli, F., Thompson, C., Sallese, M.R., & Fogarty, M. (2022). Phonemic awareness: A meta-analysis for planning effective instruction. Reading Research Quarterly. Advance online publication.

Differentiated Instruction

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 02:13:12 UTC

Using small groups as a strategy for differentiation instruction can help support students who are struggling with phonemic awareness. Small groups allow teachers to group students according to their strengths or weaknesses. Using these similarly leveled groups of students, the teacher can spend more time and instruction with groups who are struggling. They get more individualized help with the teacher and their peers. The materials can also be differentiated to meet the needs of these different groups to cultivate phonemic awareness.

Differentiated Instruction

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 02:14:09 UTC

When teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), Heggerty recommends to teach explicitly and systematically their instruction to all students, but additionally add extra instruction in areas where the ELL student is struggling in. During this extra instruction, teachers should focus on targeted vocabulary to help build their phonemic awareness and English Language.

Letter-Naming Knowledge

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 03:14:46 UTC

Letter-Naming Knowledge: the skill that involves recognizing both the uppercase and lowercase form of letters. This is crucial in literacy since knowing a letter in either form sets the foundation for words.

Letter-Naming Knowledge Milestones

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 03:15:58 UTC

Early Letter Awareness (3-4 Years) Developing Letter Knowledge (4-5 Years) Mastering the Alphabet (5-6 Years)

Using Letter Recognition to Begin Reading (6-7 Years)

Kindergarten sets the foundation for exposing students to letters and their names. During this time, they are also shown both forms of a letter. By first grade, students are introduced to the proper use of letters and how they form words, mastering the alphabet.

Assessing Alphabet Knowledge

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 03:17:59 UTC

An informal or initial assessment for letter-naming knowledge can be the above video where students are shown letters (in either upper or lower case) and the student must name the letter. This can give the teacher an idea on where the child stands when it comes to understanding the names of letters. They can also see what letters they are struggling on like for example if they are struggling on lower case “d” “p” “b” due to the similarity of the letters. The teacher can then spend more time including more instruction with these letters.

Assessing Alphabet Knowledge

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 03:19:52 UTC

A fun informal assessment for students would be picking out the correct letter out of a pile of small toy letters. This allows the student some time to find the letter and reduces the stress timed assessments. The teacher can either just include one or both cases to see if the student can find one of the letters and maybe which one they are more comfortable finding. The teacher can use this knowledge to better tailor their lessons or materials to assist the student in the areas of struggle.

Instruction on Alphabet Knowledge

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 03:21:11 UTC

Reading Rocket states that teaching alphabet knowledge “explicitly and systematically helps children acquire the alphabetic principle and form these long-lasting association”. The use of visual aids like flash cards can make learning fun and show the association between the letter and a familiar object. This leads straight into phonemic awareness.

Differentiated Instruction

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 03:22:29 UTC

Technology integration can cater to the diverse needs of different students in the classroom. There are several games and videos where students can be exposed to the different letters and sounds that they make. These games can make learning fun while discreetly showing the children the letters and pairing them with vivid pictures and objects. When paired with movement or songs, technology can solidify letter-naming knowledge.

shadysam19 — 2025-09-08 03:24:22 UTC

Using different levels of materials for the class allows the teacher to present the student with individualized materials suited to their needs. “Tiered activities are a key component of differentiated instruction, allowing teachers to cater to diver skill levels within the classroom” (swordlily.com). For students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), these materials can be personalized to them and have them focus on the different sounds that each of the letters make. Also, this heavy focus on letters is beneficial for students with dyslexia so that they have a good foundation of what the letters look like and how they can differentiate alike letters. An example would be that while the class got black and white letters on paper, a student with dyslexia got a color coded one with similar letters being all different colors.