A definition in Unlocking Literacy, Marcia K.Henry, 2003, Paul H.Brooks
Publishing Co., may prove helpful.

"The term phonological awareness is generally used to indicate awareness of
and facility with all levels of the speech sound system, including word
boundaries, stress patterns, syllable patterns, onset rime units, and
phonemes.

"Phonemic awareness, the most advanced level of phonological awareness,
requires the conscious awareness of individual phonemes in a given word,
along with the ability to manipulate these sounds."

Anyone with an interest in this subject will find the cited publication not
only useful for teaching but fun to read.

I have found students grasping reading and spelling skills when they
understand how the 26 alphabet letters combine to produce 44 sounds.  More
information can be garnered from the International Dyslexia Association.
Educators Publishing Service, Inc. and Academic Therapy are sources for easy
to use materials.

Lucille Cuttler
  -----Original Message-----
  From: learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of
RKenyon721 at aol.com
  Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 8:17 AM
  To: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov
  Subject: [LearningDisabilities 2257] Phonemic Awareness


  Hi all,

  I was interested in a message that was posted on the Assessment Discussion
List this morning.  I have copied that message below.  Does anyone on our
List want to respond to this?  Once it is posted on our List, I will cross
post it to the Assessment List.

  Stephanie,

  I am disturbed by the often-used term "phonemic awareness." Can you please
explain exactly what it means?  I give priority in my teaching and workshops
to the importance of sounds in language.  Sounds are the basic medium of
real language. I hear this term often. However, most teachers and many
"experts," cannot define "phoneme," let alone "phonemic awareness."  On the
native speaker level,  is a familiarity and instinctive ability to recognize
and discriminate similar sounds enough? On the non-native speaker level,
what does a student with "phonemic awareness" know and what are they able to
do? I would be very pleased to see it spelled out. (not a pun)   What about
allophones?  Aren't they equally important?  That would constitute "phonetic
awareness," which I find necessary to real listening and speaking
proficiency.  The word "awareness itself is rather loaded!   I'm aware of
"physics," but truly don't know anything about it and can't use it.

  Respectfully,  Ted

  www.tedklein-ESL.com


  Thanks, in advance to someone who would be willing to post a response.

  Rochelle



  Rochelle Kenyon, Ed.D.
  Moderator, NIFL/LINCS Learning Disabilities Discussion List
  Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee
  RKenyon721 at aol.com
  321.637.1319

  To post a message:
  Learningdisabilities at nifl.gov

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