Yoga for Emergent Literacy 127later reading success (Giess 2014). Metalinguistic awareness for
literacy includes phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge,
and print awareness (Pence Turnbull and Justice 2017). Literacy
awareness is nurtured in the context of the literacy events
previously mentioned. Each of these three aspects of literacy
awareness shall be discussed below.
Phonological awareness
Literacy events with artifacts, two of the three areas of literacy
socialization discussed above, provide a context for the
development of phonological awareness, the first aspect of
metalinguistic awareness. Phonological awareness is a type
of metalinguistic skill because it requires children to reflect on
one aspect of language—the sound system—as an object in itself.
This awareness of the sounds of spoken language is crucial for
learning to read ( Justice and Pence 2005).
Beginning around two years of age and continuing through
the early school years, children gain sensitivity to the sound
structure of words and syllables (Pullen and Justice 2003). Literacy
experiences allow children to progress from an awareness of larger
units of sound, such as whole words and syllables, to an awareness
of smaller units, such as phonemes. Children with phonological
awareness understand, for example, that “man” and “pan” are units
of language called words, that words are built from units of sound,
and that these words differ in one letter but share two others
(Whitehurst and Lonigan 1998). Such awareness of phonemes is
critical for learning to read; conversely, learning to read increases
one’s phoneme awareness. Table 9.1 lists some phonological
awareness skills in developmental order with examples of adult
procedures that can be used to elicit them.