Sound or Phonological Awareness - What is it?
Phonological awareness skills involve being able to consciously hear and “play with” the sounds in our language. It is different than hearing accurately, or being able to say the sound correctly or “phonics” or letter recognition. Phonological awareness skills begin to develop at an early age - before formal school starts but also continue to develop further as reading skills improve.
Why is Phonological Awareness Important?
There is a vast amount of research that shows that Phonological Awareness is an important component of early reading success which has consequent roll on effects on academic success. A child’s level of phonological awareness PRIOR to school is one of the best predictors of their later reading development. Well developed Phonological Awareness skills allows children to more rapidly develop an understanding of the link between spoken words and the letters that represent them. Studies have demonstrated that training in Phonological Awareness has an impact on reading acquisition, particularly when children are also exposed to letter formats. The National Reading Panel reporting on “Teaching Children to Read”(2000) identified Phonological Awareness skills as one of the 5 key areas to be included in early reading instruction. The other four areas were phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency. While the Top Talk Sound Adventure Books particularly provide an excellent exposure to phonological awareness skills they also encourage development in all five of the areas.
How will the Top Talk® Sound Adventure Books Assist in Phonological Awareness Development?
Phonological awareness involves many different skills. The table here provides some examples of known phonological skills that have been linked with reading success and some of the ways in which the Top Talk Sound Adventure Books provide fun ways to develop these skills simply by your child enjoying an engaging story book and joining Pop in exciting adventures.
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