© by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. | TG P-4 | Connect to Phonics PLUS Teacher Guide BASIC CONCEPTS OF PRINT While engaging in phonemic awareness activities, students are also learning the letters of the alphabet, both for their visual elements and their role in representing the sounds of language. Accurately writing the letters connects auditory and visual learning. Have students demonstrate knowledge of the basic concepts of print, if necessary. Use a decodable reader or a familiar book. Ask students to: • Point to and distinguish individual letters within a word and individual words within sentences. • Match print to speech by pointing to each word in a sentence as you read it aloud. • Identify different parts of a book (front cover, back cover, title page, author). • Track print from top to bottom and left to right as you read aloud. • Identify all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet. • Explain how print and pictures work together to convey and support meaning. PHONEMIC AWARENESS ROUTINES Phonemic Awareness is the understanding that words are made up of individual sounds, or phonemes. The ability to identify and manipulate sounds in spoken words is critical in learning to read. Connect to Phonics PLUS covers the full scope and sequence of phonemic awareness, but the following routines focus on the three skills that are most directly linked to and have the most impact on reading and writing success (Blevins, 2017). Phonemic Awareness Routine 1: Isolate Phonemes Phoneme isolation requires students to recognize individual sounds in words. Begin instruction with isolation of initial sounds. Once students have grasped initial phoneme isolation, begin instruction in final and medial sounds. 1. Tell students to listen for the first (middle, last) sound in a word. 2. Say the word and have students repeat it. 3. Say the word again. Then model by identifying the first (middle, last) sound in the word. 4. Have students repeat the sound and word. Introduce other words for practice, prompting students to say the word and identify the first (middle, last) sound. Phonemic Awareness Routine 2: Blend Phonemes Blending phonemes directly mimics the process of decoding words during reading. When blending phonemes, be sure to hold continuous sounds for three seconds. Continuous sounds are: /f/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /s/, /v/, /w/, /y/, /z/. 1. Tell students to listen as you say a word slowly. 2. Say each phoneme in the target word. 3. Then say the phonemes again as you put down a blank word building card (use one color for consonants, another for vowels). 4. Have students repeat the sounds with you as you tap each card. 5. Then tell students they will now say the sounds quickly. Slide your finger under the cards as you blend the sounds to say the word. 6. Have students repeat the word. Provide additional words for guided practice.
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