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Hi, I’m Dr. Guffanti, creator of Rocket Phonics. This video is the first in a five
part series on teaching reading. Researchers state, "The single most important predictor
of reading success is phonemic awareness.” Phonemic Awareness is being able to hear and
work with the smallest sounds in English.
WOW! So many programs skip teaching this key step and start with phonics.
It is simple common sense that if your child can’t hear the sound he or she won’t be
able to link it to a letter.
I’m thinking of a word game is my favorite for developing phonemic awareness. It’s
convenient. Moms often use it while doing their daily errands. As you drive down the
road think of a simple word like Mom. Then say, “I’m thinking of a word /m/ /o/ /m/.
Can you guess my word?
Your child will attempt to blend the sounds into a word. Whether your child guesses the
correct word or not say something positive like “Great!” and tell him, “Now, it’s
your turn.” He will take a word and break it into its sounds which is called segmentation.
Both blending and segmentation strengthen phonemic awareness.
Why say something positive if he gets it wrong? Three reasons: Fun is more important than
perfection, the game evaluates awareness and playing it builds phonemic awareness. Your
child won’t play if he feels he is losing. If he plays enough for you to use all the
phonemes in the English language then you will know which sounds he hears and which
he doesn’t. Or if he has phonemic awareness at all. If he doesn’t have phonemic awareness
then he is too young to learn to read using phonics. If he seems to hear some sounds and
not others take him to a doctor and check his hearing. Sometimes ear infections will
create this result.
Be sure you test all the sounds in the English language. You can get them from any dictionary’s
pronunciation key, but many kids and parents can’t hear the subtle differences that the
professionals hear. So for a few dollars you can get Rocket Phonics Play & Read cards which
has the essential 36 sounds at http://www.RocketPhonics.com Avoid the mistake of getting alphabet cards
because English has 13 vowel sounds, but only 5 vowel letters. Remember this is a game play,
enjoy and laugh. The more fun you have the stronger your child’s phonemic awareness
will be.