English Language Development

Figure 3.31. Grade One Standards in Phonological Awareness with Examples

Standard 2 Example

a. Distinguish long from short vowel

sounds in spoken single-syllable

words.

They say that tape and tap are different words when

they hear them spoken.

b. Orally produce single-syllable

words by blending sounds

(phonemes), including consonant

blends.

They say stop when asked to blend the orally

presented phonemes /s/-/t/-/ŏ/-/p/.

c. Isolate and pronounce initial,

medial vowel, and final sounds

(phonemes) in spoken single-

syllable words.

They say /f/ when asked the first phoneme in the

orally presented word food. They say /ŏ/ when asked

the medial phoneme in the orally presented word dog.

They say /t/ when asked the final phoneme is the

word hot.

[Note: Isolating the medial vowel is more difficult than

isolating the initial or final phonemes and generally is

addressed after children successfully isolate initial and

final phonemes.]

d. Segment spoken single-syllable

words into their complete

sequence of individual sounds

(phonemes).

They say /f/-/r/-/ŏ/-/g/ when asked to say all the

sounds in order (segment) in the spoken word frog.

As noted previously, phonological awareness is an
exceptionally important understanding—one that contributes to
children’s ability to gain independence with the alphabetic code.
Some children achieve phonological awareness prior to grade
one and require little instruction in the grade level; their time
is better spent engaged in other learning experiences. Other
children require quite a bit of instruction. Because children who
experience difficulty with phonological awareness are likely
to have difficulty becoming independent readers and writers,
assessment is crucial and should be followed by appropriate
additional, highly targeted instruction.

In grade one, phonemic awareness instruction is tied closely
to decoding. Children use letters to represent the sounds
comprised by words they hear. They may use Elkonin boxes to
segment words into phonemes, but rather than using blank chips,
children place letter cards or tiles in the boxes to represent each
sound in a spoken word. (See figure 3.32.) The class environment continues to support phonological
play as children recite and compose poems and songs that manipulate sounds and listen to and
interact with books that prominently feature play with phonemes. The phonological characteristics are
explicitly discussed. (See previous sections on phonological awareness in this chapter.)

Because children who

experience difficulty with

phonological awareness

are likely to have difficulty

becoming independent

readers and writers,

assessment is crucial and

should be followed by

appropriate additional,

highly targeted instruction.

248 | Chapter 3 Grade 1